VALERIE HOWELLS: A PLACE WITH A VIEW

Mr and Mrs Howells breed rare sheep and rams and had a small one bedroom cottage in need of modernistaion throughout.





Walnut Lodge prior to remodelling

 

 The scheme includes a single storey extension to provide an open plan living area with views over the adjacent fields that hold their livestock, internal remodeling to provide an aditional bedroom and new bathroom.




Views from Southern aspect over adjoining fields



We also reclad the entire property in Eternit Cedral Weatheboarding, a maintance free material, which completely transformed the property inkeeping with the countryside asethic and allowed us to update and improve the properties insulation to meet modern standards.

The connection to the outdoors was paramount to the client and with the house in such beautiful surroundings we included roof lights and open eaves to the open plan living space. Off of the living space are two fully glazed french doors which open to the southern aspect and take in views of the surrounding fields.

The project is nearly complete on site so watch this space for completed photos...

[Our] Place: Lounge Update

Whilst taking photos of [Our] Place for the blog, and mentally comparing them to the schemes I'm currently designing, our house came up short, very short.

The Lounge was one of the first rooms we did and on a tight budget. Five years on and our hand-me-down table and chairs are beyond tired, our 'cheap as chips' sofas are sheading bolts faster than our dog sheds fur and our mis-matched storage is cramping our layout. This is not the home of a interior design business.

However we are planning to move house soon to a place that we can really develop the way we want to with extensions and knocking out walls, so I'm not going to start replacing all the furniture just yet.

In the interim I am planning a few minor updates to maximise the impact with items we can take with us when we move.


The red tones and pattern of the feature fabric [a hug piece of remenant fabric which made two curtain panels, covered six dining room chairs, made two cushions and customised a nest of coffe tables] from Feran Fabrics need updating.

The Theatre Spread, in the John Lewis magazine, featuring metallic lighting spurned my recent metallic obsession and I find myself focused on bringing out the subtle metallics in the Graham and Brown feature wall paper, which I still absolutley love.

The Theatre Spread from the John Lewis Magazine

I intend to do this by replacing the ‘upcycled’ coffee table nest, incorporating the deep pink paint and the red feature fabric and replacing them with, what I consider to be a brilliant and very reasonably priced white coffee table nest from Habitat.

  

The Kilo Table nest is a sleek thin oak frame with a formed powder coated metal top give the apperance of a modern product with a nostalgic nod to 1950’s design. Kilo is avliable as a nest of three or a single table which allows us to inject a bit of symmetry into the lounge and have plenty of flexibility for when guests come round.

The tables are avliable in a range of colours, we have selected white to echo the white in the light fittings we installed when we first did up the lounge which also have a bit of retro appeal.

To make the space feel larger and seat more people we bought an Poang Arm Chair from Ikea for £55. Its so light and versitile we'll be able to find it a new place in which ever home we end up. It is now Milo's favorite new spot.

To accessorise the scheme I bought a neutral dog tooth pattern throw from TK Maxx and the Yves table lamp from Habitat with Grande black and copper lamp shade, also from habitat.

At a total cost of less than £300 the lounge updated has neutralised and updated the lounge ready for potencial buyers.

This is the joy of designing in a neutral base, something I often encourage clients to do, it’s easy to change and won’t break the bank, which is especially important if, like me, redecorating is a professional hazard.

[Our] Place: The Festive Version

I love Christmas and I love making our home festive for the season.

Literally any excuse to alter and improve my surroundings is gleefully pounced upon and Christmas is my favourite time of year.

This year we have decided to go out for Christmas lunch which leaves me more time to focus on those little details I never get quite enough time to master.

Our usual Christmas decorations are Nordic inspired and mostly white white with touches of red. The key staples are still white lights, white tinsel, real tree and lots of white candles.



My favourite Christmas decoration our 3ft Father Christmas (a.k.a. Bob) found a couple of years ago at TKMaxx



Left to right: Christmas tree and 'Bob', Mums home made 'Merry Xmas' banner, vase of bargain bucket baubles from B&Q and very fat reindeer from Dusseldorf Christmas Market, red bell wreath purchased from Sainsburys and finally our newly acquired I heart NY bauble from Bloomingdale's. 

Upstairs in the bedroom we have matched the colour scheme to our bedroom and kept it neutral and subtle. The selection of decorations were bought this year from Sainsburys. Sainsburys currently has a third off most Christmas decorations instore, also a small selection online.

I have suspended the decorations on curling ribbon from two nails above the bed. I find curling ribbon to be a good strong material for suspending decorations... those knots just don't come undone. The decorations are spaced a hand span apart, I find this a simple method of spacing things equally without getting out the tape measure.

As we get closer to Christmas I plan to further embellish the house with fresh greenery such as fir tree garlands and bunches of mistletoe so watch this space...

Happy Decorating

X



[Your] Place; The Brand Behind The Name

Branding is a big decision.

I spent a long time trying to find the right name and image for my venture. The right words and the right look to encompass everything I want this company to be.

Being a designer left to my own devices I was, naturally, a nightmare. The prospect of virtually unlimited possibilities to promote myself and my design ethos to the world left me chasing my tail for weeks.

This issue was alien territory for me; it is not a problem I suffer with when realising my client’s dreams and aspirations. I rarely have difficulty when it comes to ascertaining another's desires and personality and infusing them into a space.

 

Thinking about what I want this company to be is how I came to the conclusion that my brand had to describe my ethos;

I am client focused.

 

I believe that good design is not all about high end glossy schemes, it is about thinking about the people and the place as a single entity and designing the space to the way the people within it choose to live, work and play. Good design is about really thinking through how a space will be used and designing and detailing it accordingly. I believe that no matter what your budget, requirements or restrictions there will be a way to make your space work as hard as you do to improve your standard of living.

Now came the task to find the name and words to encompass homes and workplaces, offices, gardens and public spaces and my design ethos. So I came up with:

Place; The universal description of a space, building or area with defined or infinite boundaries. A word that conveys belonging and ownership

Your; Belonging to you; of you; related to you

 

And finally I am really rather happy with it.