Both bathrooms in this very upmarket property in Barnes were ripped out and completely refurbished.  The one shown  here is in natural stone with Bauhaus floating sanitaryware, wall mounted taps and a fabulous large walk-in shower.

At the opposite extreme is a small downstairs cloakroom (<<) tucked away in a space occupying just 2.5 sq. m., yet I managed to incorporate a good sized shower, strong yet simple design in black and white, and at an amazing price.

A large circular mirror (>>) matches the curves of the basin.

 

With new handles, a good sanding, and the right colour choice, your old kitchen cabinets (<<) can be transformed (>>).

This is what a dilapidated 30’s armchair (<<) could look like after a makeover (>>).

When the lounge was redecorated this fireplace surround (<<) was given a new lease of life as a kitchen feature. It found a new home (>>) on a large high ceilinged blank wall.  Painted white, the same colour as the walls, and with an old mirror placed above it and given the same treatment, it’s purpose is to provide a shelf and focal interest  without dominating the room.  Works brilliantly!

Old cottages are often built with a ground floor bathroom to the rear of the house, accessed via the kitchen. This restricts the kitchen to a thoroughfare and  limits the enjoyment of the garden as well as not being suited to modern lifestyles..

My solution was to open up the back of the house to its full width, the extra metre giving fabulous rewards in terms of space, light and view of the garden.  The kitchen and working areas were refurbished and the downstairs bathroom converted to a small shower room and toilet beneath the stairs. Opening up the top floor created additional space, so it was possible to move the main bathroom upstairs, a larger and brighter space..

The value add to your house from this kind of project is twofold:  re-sale value and increased enjoyment of your home.

 

 

Bespoke fireplace with a new commissioned oak surround and slate base (<<).

Placing a mirror at the back of an open fireplace (>>) can add interest to an otherwise dark hole.  Candles placed in the space look superb and can also make the space more inviting.

When the lounge was redecorated this fireplace surround (<<) was given a new lease of life as a kitchen feature. It found a new home (>>) on a large high ceilinged blank wall.  Painted white, the same colour as the walls, and with an old mirror placed above it and given the same treatment, it’s purpose is to provide a shelf and focal interest  without dominating the room.  Works brilliantly!

As the focal point of your room, a fireplace can make the room 'special', otherwise it can be a dark and uninviting  ‘hole’ in the middle of the room. 

A new or refurbished fireplace can  instantly transform a room, and any new design/redecoration should include a proposal for the fireplace. 

And if your room does not have a fireplace, but you would like to create one, or even a fake, well why not!

This client’s kitchen had small glossy black tiles with lots of old, discoloured white grout. 

We covered the space with – wait for it – roofing tiles, and changed the grout to charcoal. 

The result is stunning, we even covered the pipework under the boiler with a large removable panel and a huge transformation was achieved at minimal cost.

With new handles, a good sanding, and the right colour choice, your old kitchen cabinets (<<) can be transformed (>>).

As anyone embarking on the project of a new kitchen will discover, the choice is vast, with the prices ranging from bargain to huge overdraft.  Most of the lower range kitchens will offer you an in-house design service with someone who has never built a kitchen, and it will usually depend on you providing the measurements and precise location of the water, pipes, electrical points, drainage etc. The kitchen that you will get will largely depend on the limitations of the standard cabinet sizes that they have on offer. 

It is possible to just replace the doors, handles and worktops for a complete transformation of the kitchen as it currently exists, which may be perfectly adequate for your needs.

Moving upmarket, I can provide you with a purpose-built kitchen, with top quality fittings and individual finishes, unavailable anywhere else, designed and built  locally by highly skilled craftsmen to your most exacting standards.

Look how these old mirrors have added interest into an otherwise dark and uninviting hallway (<<).  The old gramophone cabinet was ‘rescued’ from a skip and painted a light colour.

These large arts & crafts cabinets (>>) are often very well made, provide great storage and can be made to look simply beautiful by painting and picking out the wonderful detail in the carvings.

Originally plain and unattractive wood, this cabinet (<<) has had several incarnations.  Firstly the shelves were covered in green moiré silk wallpaper, and the wood was painted and stippled to match. The lower part of the cabinet hides a radiator behind the brass grill. 

Following an extension to the kitchen a new modern white and light look (>>)was required, and the green, although beautiful, was just too dark and oppressive.  Shelves were stripped of their covering and everything was painted with white eggshell, a matt hard-wearing oil based paint - total transformation!
 

This much loved and expensive sofa (<<) had a new loose cover made in durable ‘ticking’ fabric to coordinate with its new surroundings in a modern home

This nursery chair (<<) will have a new seat made and covered with the ‘elephant design fabric’ The chair will be painted green to co-ordinate with the green on the fabric, and the end result will be fun and useful.

By painting more than one piece of furniture or shelving in the same colour, (<<) the overall look is streamlined. When you want to change the decor in the future, well just paint it again!

Attractive use of an old mirror adds to the style of this bedroom (>>).

Your style will depend on your budget and your taste.  I can help you make the most of  your decorative items and furniture by recommending placement, lighting and colour improvements.  The right colour can make a dramatic difference to a room.  Whether you are looking for ‘impact’ or subtle elegant touches, the brief is to your taste, and I can help you to achieve that – whatever your budget.

If you are planning to sell or let your property,  then the task is different - you need to present your property in the best possible light. My experience in the property market enables me to view your property through the eyes of the potential occupant.  I can supply, or loan, accessories, curtains, pictures and mirrors, all of which will help to ‘sell’ your property.  I can suggest where a quick re-decorate may pay dividends, arrange for a garden tidy to give your property ‘kerb appeal’. An independent eye can also identify issues that could put off potential occupants or purchasors (such as blocked gutters, niffy drains, loose hinges, grubby grouting) -  little things that can be fixed at minimal outlay and which can maximise your return.
 

This is what a dilapidated 30’s armchair (<<) could look like after a makeover (>>).

Small chairs, window seats and even boat seating can be arranged.

The stair window (<< although beautiful, was cold and draughty in the winter.  The brief was not to hide the window. I enhanced the window by adding clear faceted glass beads to the lower edge so that when the sun shined, the beads twinkled like the faceted glass in the window. The blind was interlined so that it provided extra protection from the cold.  The client themselves selected the fabric and was delighted with the result.

Venetian blinds do not cut out all the light.  This window (<<)had interlined silk curtains added for this purpose, and also to ‘soften’ the look of the window

Voile curtains with glass beads showing tie-back detail (<<).

Did you know that matching roller blinds can also be made from most fabrics to co-ordinate with your other textiles? (>>)  You do not have to choose from the often limited range that is on offer.

The same fabric can be used in different ways for windows in the same room.  The huge lounge area (<<) needed curtains, but the dining room end was smaller so we chose roman blinds with dress curtains to the side, adding the check fabric to the blinds to co-ordinate the look.

These cerise curtains (<< ) were made recently for a very striking modern flat with a simply huge window. The clients wanted to make an impact, but didn’t want  bulky and expensive curtains.  The fabric comprised four different colours of lightweight satin chosen to match the colours in the fabulous artwork in the room and the result was exactly what they had hoped for.

This wide window (<<) in a master bedroom was overlooked and had a radiator beneath, so three roman blinds were made in co-ordinating Osborne and Little fabric with natural voile curtains on a pole. The combination of blinds (set high for maximum light) and lightweight curtains offered  privacy during the day yet still  kept the light out at night for sleeping, the curtains ‘softening’ the overall look .

A client measured curtains herself. Although shop-made, they were far too short so I added a silk panel at the bottom with a thin matching strip at the top, changing the gathered heading to a goblet heading with ribbons to match the bedspread, thus averting a disaster.