Velvet Goldmine Interiors

When we bought this house 16 years ago the previous owners had converted the loft into a living space. When I say 'converted' I use this term very loosely! OK, a static staircase was put in with, yes a handrail! But from there on it went pear shaped. The floor hadn't been strengthened, the Velux window was too high to climb through in case of an emergency and one wall had been removed to create a mezzanine with awful spindles, some of which were missing. These were here to create an edging.  The whole thing was a disaster waiting to happen. We put in another Velux window to create a fire escape onto the roof, a fire door was installed and the floor joists were strengthened. That was fine for the practicalities, but I wanted to create a calm retreat away from the rest of the house.  I found it really hard to come away from my comfort zone of very strong colours and create a neutral palette. Normally the words neutral, tasteful and beige make me want to run away to the hills!...

My eldest son, Luke has just fled the nest.  It's a very weird feeling which I think most people will get. He's moved into a lovely open plan new build. His living room is navy blue with accents of mustard. He has also got a lovely little Russian Blue cat called Teddy, they both appear to be very settled. My youngest son, Izaak is still at home and always wanted his brother's bedroom as it is a lot bigger than his. Initially the move was to take place last July but with Covid there was a massive hold up with the construction industry.  Virtually the day Luke moved out, the paint and brushes came out to start decorating Izaak's new bedroom. Funnily enough Izaak wanted navy blue as well, the same as Luke, but with more of a boutique element. We painted over the cream walls with an undercoat and topped this off with two coats of of Dulux Sapphire Salute in a matt finish. Skirting boards, architraves and ceiling were painted white. I sourced a lovely French style bench from...

We are incredibly lucky to have three living rooms. Each one has a different feel, it's so nice to be able to choose which one to sit in depending on your mood. The one I have chosen to show you is at the front of the house. This room tends to get the most sun therefore it can afford to have cooler shades. WALLS The walls are white with a feature ( hate that term ) chimney breast wall with a little bit of 1960's influence in the wallpaper, sunburst clock and original 1960's mirror. When we bought this house there was an awful reproduction resin Louis-style fireplace which we ripped out and created a niche where I have displayed some of my dark side objects.  I would have liked to install an original fire surround but this proved too costly. The opposite wall is painted duck egg blue with an original canvas which we bought from a charity shop in Edinburgh while visiting The Fringe. I wrote about that - and the other artwork in my house - here. One of the other walls has a 3D...

When you talk about kitchens, most people's thoughts immediately go to a fully-fitted one. Given how big our kitchen is, we could have gone that way as an easy option - but that wasn't for me. I didn't particularly want a fitted kitchen - in fact I'm not keen on anything fitted.  So with Plan A cast aside, the other challenge was there are three doors on three separate walls in the space. We had to arrange the kitchen around that as it was too costly to start bricking up doors and changing the configuration.  But I love a challenge and my history as a trained chef and owner of a catering company really came to the fore with a great solution that was practical and quirky. I knew that I wanted an industrial influence and what would and wouldn't work. Stainless steel moveable tables are so practical, hygienic and heat proof, so I bought two of these and slotted them either side of the range cooker.  Open shelving looks contemporary and is quite versatile as it can be c...