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Optimising your bathroom for best effect
Where opulence meets relaxation
Incredible home transformations
Imagine moving into a house with a one year old with no central heating and dodgy electrics. Yes that was me. The kitchen had carpet and there were no drawers! So a few years in I installed a temporary kitchen (it was there for 15 years) and decided one day I'd get rid of the Artex ceiling and create a space that was warm and vibrant. That what this space is, the rubber sunshine yellow floor always adds warmth to the space even on the cloudiest day and I designed the room so it would always be flooded with light. I wanted touches of industrial feel, so I designed the copper light installation which is inspired by the London Underground map and added large tiles as a splashback that look like copper but are actual porcelain. It's where I entertain friends and on an evening you find me dancing along to a disco vinyl I have playing on the record player.
An inviting place to entertain
I love to entertain and I love to cook and having a large table that I can fit 14 people round is central to my dining room which is part of an open plan kitchen dining space. It's such a warm space that often the party never leaves the table! The chairs are a mixture of high street and second hand to add to their eclectic feel of the room. I used test pots to create stripes on the chair backs and to add to their individuality. Even though I have my studio upstairs I love working from here because its always flooded with light and lots of room for me to spread my paint samples and swatches on.
Beautiful home grown looks
Making a great start
What you want, when you need it
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Your outdoor living space.
Making the most of a forgotten space
I think its so important to treat a hallway just like any other room and not just a walkway. It's the first impression that people have of your home and what to expect in the rest of the house and it also has to have its own personality. My hallway is a gallery to my art collection. So whilst wood work is a brilliant green the walls are deliberately a soft white. I was inspired by lego when picking the primary accessories. All the light switches are different colour and the reclaimed gym floor on the ground floor, picks up some of those colours in its layout. Upstairs the huge Margot in Margate painting again ties all the colours together. It's meant to be playful which is why I was inspired by the colours of lego.
Productivity at home
Showcasing “the look”
Where style meets function
The kitchen used to be a space that you would run into and run out. Cold and damp, it was functional but not warm and welcoming. When I designed the new kitchen, I wanted light, colour and texture. The crittal doors and velux windows flood the room with light and the yellow rubber floor adds warmth and colour to the room. I went for pan drawers as my main storage which I had the builder float mount. The plywood cupboards were made by my carpenter and they are all different to add the bespoke nature of the design. I incorporated two yellow lockers to house the mop, broom and cleaning liquids, which adds a pop of colour. My favourite feature is the light installation made from copper pipes that I designed myself and is inspired by the London tube map.
A room you can relax in
The best compliment I got was from my dad who said it looks like an art installation and for a gallerist and collector it was a great compliment (and this is before I put the art in). In this room I wanted to experiment with colour blocking but in an unconventional way. The biggest colour block is the ceiling and the cornicing which is painted in light bronze green. I have colour block stripe that goes from the ceiling through to floor and across the shutters. Furnished with high end, high street, second hand and vintage it reflects my personality. The green sofa is an old ikea sofa that I had for 15 years that I had reupholstered.
My SUNBURST image is more rustic at this stage but I still lurvvve it just the same, and the CONVEX mirror in the centre creates a minature reflection of the lounge area; I have contemplated spraying it bright gold and that would be pretty amaaazing too. If I buy a similar mirror, I would be able to have two separate designs to alternate between the two displays. Having recently found out about the competition by chance, it is not 100% perfect but the essence and character is what it is all about (lively and animated).
I adore gold because its vibrant, it shines bright and its uplifting. I have upcycled and recycled gold paper into picture frames and will continue adding more, integrating them with images that I have taken from leaflets, magazines, newspapers, postcards and posters that I have bought to continue growing my ever-changing Wall Art Gallery as I like to call it; I have moved some of them around changing their placement for mental stimulation.
I love lighting too; I have several short and tall freestanding floor lights as creative centre pieces that are so beautiful to observe without being switched on and then when I do switch them on the variety of lighting from the awesomely designed lightbulbs is a spectacular show of joy and excitement. I like scatter rugs with gold accents that I can layer in a variety of different ways.
My alignment to thought provoking images, statements or slogans are also on display. It happens to be a coincidence that my posters can relate to my Sunburst and Wall Art.
My ideas are bold enough to STANDOUT, EXCITE me and be a show-stopper; Bringing JOY and EXCITMENT to others. I deserve to be, not only a winner but a strong contender for my uniqueness.
Making bedtime fun for the kids
Big looks with small funds
Getting the most out of your rental space
Something that wows
Expression through colour
Colour is a huge theme in my home, particularly yellows and greens. It brings warmth and life into the spaces and is like a big hug. Colour for me can be something small like a light switch or big like the rubber yellow floor. I dress like my home and my home dresses like me.