Hjjh

from the editors

November is the month for cosiness –soft blankets, fluffy socks and mugs of hot chocolate. As the dark and chilly nights draw in, staying in with friends becomes the new going out, and we appreciate our comfy homes even more.

Speaking of friends, you may have noticed two new faces on here. Our most loyal readers might recognise that we, Amelia and Alison, have worked on Real Homes for a while now. And we’re so happy to be editing the magazine together going forward. With differing fields of expertise, we’re excited to pool our knowledge and share it with you all.

I (Amelia) have been tracking down the latest interior design trends, researching colour psychology and sharing creative decorating ideas for several years, and you could say it’s a bit of an obsession. I love nothing more than working with colour and pattern to bring a room to life. As a newbie London renter, I’m soaking up the hustle and bustle of city living. Safe to say I’ve learnt a thing or two about curating a cosy rented home on a budget. From scouring antiques markets to daily dates with Facebook Marketplace, I’m proud that nearly everything I’ve bought is second hand, as sustainability is high up on my agenda, too.

Since I (Alison) joined Real Homes, I’ve found it a moving experience –quite literally. I’d earned my stripes as a painter and decorator in my first house, but seeing and writing about so many clever and creative home renovations made me ambitious for more. I moved to a Victorian villa that I’ve been taking back to brick; stripping out past interior offences, uncovering

the best of the old and adding in all the modern necessities (hello connected living!). I’ve dug deep and learnt so many new DIY skills, helping me realise the vision I held in my head of what my home could be.

Subscriber offer

Take out a subscription to Real Homes today from just £8.99 – turn to page 10 for more

With our expert style advice and on-going renovation know-how combined, we’re here to hold your hand as a means of inspiration and support as you create your own happy haven, however big or small. So grab your favourite mug and join us – we hope you enjoy the issue.

AIMEE MADE

Meet the team

Get to know some of the people who bring you Real Homes with a monthly question. This time: What’s your favourite thing about autumn?

Emily Smith Senior art editor

‘The colour palette!

It’s the season when my interior schemes match the nature around me. And it’s when I’m allowed to put the heating on.’

Anna Morley Style editor

‘I love switching into chunky knit mode and experiencing the fresh new season air.

Plus I love a good pumpkin patch visit with the kids, too.’

amelia smith co-editor @ameliahelensmith

alison jones co-editor @alisonjones103

Camille DubuisWelch Deputy editor (website)

‘The crunch of leaves under big boots! It’s a time to pause and refresh, wearing your best trench coat.’

Christina Chrysostomou Content editor

‘Getting my fur-lined khaki jacket out and walking through rust-coloured leaves, my cheeks flushed by the brisk wind.’

Annie Collyer Deputy ecommerce editor

‘I religiously decorate my home for autumn and Halloween. Think garlands, lights, mini pumpkins... Oh, and a Pumpkin Spiced Latte.’

Style agenda contents

Inside track

The latest new homeware and essential design ideas

REAL HOME

Katie and Stuart’s extended home has proven perfect for big family celebrations

style

the feel-good factor with cool cottage décor picks

Front doormats

your home mud free with a fun and stylish doormat

Shop Next

roundup of the best buys from the new

STYLE CRUSH

The beautiful new buy we’re obsessed with this month

Shine a light

Give your rooms a glow up with a new lamp, pendant or stylish side lights

DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT

The independent makers bringing life to walls with colourful graphic art prints

COLOUR THEORY

We explore the inviting richness of opulent and autumnal plum

under £50

Revamp your home for the season with a host of cosy and colourful budget buys

Kids’ rooms

Adaptable sleep spaces that are cleverly designed to grow with your child

Shower rooms

Refresh your senses and your home with a revitalising shower design

SUNDAY PROJECT

Brighten up your bedroom with a homemade headboard

home life project advice

46 REAL HOME

Leila and Joe have created a home of two halves with their considered approach to colour

71

We answer YOUR QUESTIONS

Let Real Homes solve your DIY and decorating dilemmas

76 REAL HOME

After a loft conversion and kitchen update, Caroline’s house is a perfect mix of old and new

94 REAL HOME

An impressive array of artworks in every room gives character to Jen’s new build

10 STEPS TO a Smarter home

Stay in control and futureproof your lifestyle

A GUIDE TO going open plan

Turn cramped rooms into a light and spacious one where family can be together

128 PROJECT NEWS

The latest buys for your kitchen, bathroom and renovation

A GUIDE TO radiators

Keep warm with our pick of the best rads to suit your scheme and your budget

104

Rental revolution

Why more people are embracing the idea of renting rather than buying as a long-term option

148 FOCUS ON work surfaces

Add the finishing touch to your kitchen with a statement worktop

108

REAL bathroom

Ellie and Oliver called in an expert to help make their big bathroom a stylish sanctuary

132

REAL KITCHEN

Sarah’s cheerful kitchen is packed with personality and filled with treasured finds

151 THE EDIT

The best soup makers, matt black hardware, leaf blowers and morning alarms

out for this logo on our favourite sustainable picks

EDITORIAL

Editor of realhomes.com and EIC of homes ecommerce Lindsey Davis Co-editors (print) Alison Jones and Amelia Smith Deputy editor (website) Camille Dubuis-Welch

Senior digital editor Jenny McFarlane Style editor Anna Morley

Content editor Christina Chrysostomou Content editor Holly Phillips EIC of homes audience Amy Cutmore realhomes@futurenet.com

HOMES ECOMMERCE

Deputy ecommerce editor Annie Collyer Décor editor Amy Lockwood

Smart home editor Caroline Preece

Sleep editor Jaclyn Turner

Head of reviews Millie Fender Ecommerce writer Molly Cleary Ecommerce writer Louise Oliphant

ART

Senior art editor Emily Smith Group art director Billy Peel Art editor Karen Lawson

ADVERTISING AND EXHIBITIONS SALES

Media packs are available on request

Head of homes Nicola Ponting

Commercial director Rob Biagioni rob.biagioni@futurenet.com

Strategic partnership director Jackie Sanders jackie.sanders@futurenet.com 0330 390 6530

Sales manager Kelly James-Miller kelly.james@futurenet.com 0330 390 6543

Exhibitions sales director Hellen Roche hellen.roche@futurenet.com

For all media sales enquiries please contact kelly.james@futurenet.com or call 0330 390 6543

INTERNATIONAL LICENSING AND SYNDICATION

Real Homes is available for licensing and syndication. To find out more, contact us or view our available content at futurecontenthub.com Head of print licensing Rachel Shaw licensing@futurenet.com

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Subscription delays We rely on various delivery companies to get your

to you, many of whom continue to be impacted by Covid. We kindly ask that you allow up to seven days before contacting us about a late delivery to help@mymagazines.co.uk UK order line and enquiries 0330 333 1113

Overseas order line and enquiries +44(0)330 333 1113

Online orders and enquiries magazinesdirect.com

Director of acquisitions Sharon Todd CIRCULATION

Head of newstrade Tim Mathers

PRODUCTION

Head

Real Homes just aclick away

SUBSCRIBER COPY WRAP IMAGE Getty

PRINTED BY William Gibbons & Sons

BY

The UK’s best show for anyone looking to create their dream home

Hundreds of thousands of homeowners over the years have found a visit to our shows the most important day of their whole extension, improvement or self-build project. Prepare to meet the designers, experts, builders and suppliers who will help you create the home of your dreams

1000s of products

Browse, touch and compare the products and services from well known leading brands. From doors and windows to flooring and heating, structural systems, home technology and much more –we’ve got it covered.

Home Energy Academy

NEW!

Find out how you can cut down on energy usage in your home, save money on your bills and reduce your carbon footprint. Hear about the latest trends and advancements in sustainability that can help you make your home leaner and greener.

Live on stage

Whether you’re embarking on an extension, conversion, full renovation or self-build, our fantastic programme of advice and talks is unmissable, delivered by well-known industry experts on stage in our Seminar and Masterclass theatres.

Free one-to-one advice

From planning regulations to managing budgets, unlock the potential of your home in a one-to-one meeting with one of our experts.

More information can be found on our website homebuildingshow.co.uk

With

subscription from

Payment

visit

non-refundable after the

(excluding

For

unless

please

and

in

For

will be charged at

inside track

Calm & collected

Get the scoop on new design ideas, must-have products and looks you’ll love

Designed to help you feel emotionally at ease in your home, create an energy and awaken the senses, Farrow & Ball has introduced 11 new shades to its colour card. The first change to its palette of 132 colours since 2018, this is BIG news. Beverly is a clean, mid green, named in honour of a member of the Farrow & Ball team.

Charlotte Cosby, head of creative, says, ‘like its namesake, Beverly is reassuring, uncomplicated and full of depth. We used it here with Selvedge and I immediately wanted to move in.’

Walls painted in Beverly No.310 Modern emulsion; woodwork in Selvedge No.306 Modern eggshell, from £56 for 2.5 litres, Farrow & Ball

Cushions, from £20

Fun florals

Known for her signature bold prints and use of punchy colours, award-winning textile designer

Lucy Tiffney has launched an exciting collaboration with Next. Inspired by her love of nature, the collection includes two designs –Botanical and Folksy – on everything from embroidered cushions to printed curtains, wall art to hand-painted ceramics. ‘I’m excited to bring my style to the high street,’ says Lucy. ‘Expect blousy, large-scale florals that contrast and clash, with bold and colourful stylised florals.’ Her tip for incorporating the pieces into your home – ‘layer up alongside stripes or geometrics, don’t be afraid to experiment’.

Poppy wall art, £50

Throw, £55

Jug, £28

Emotional intelligence

Supporting the UK’s leading youth mental health charity, Young Minds, Dunelm has launched a gender-neutral cotton bedding set featuring characters with different emotions. From ‘awkward’ to ‘silly’, ‘shocked’ to ‘excited’, its aim is to help children understand, identify, and feel comfortable communicating their feelings. The design is reversible with a stripe on the other side. You can also shop for coordinating accessories. Ten per cent of the purchase price will go to the charity.

Emotions bedding, from £18 for a toddler set, Dunelm

Set of two vases, £22

Bookworm

The Art of Living With White, A Year of Inspiration by Chrissie Rucker (£35, Mitchell Beazley)

This inspirational book from The White Company’s Chrissie Rucker is her second on interiors. Featuring 10 breathtaking houses, it illustrates the different ways to incorporate white and neutrals to create a calming and stylish home. From a New England-style country house to a minimalist city apartment, each home varies in style, size and location, but all have mastered their own unique way of living with white. Grouped into spring, summer, autumn and winter, each chapter ends with a summary of seasonal rituals that will work in any space.

DESIGNER COLLAB

Made to measure

Emma Bridgewater fans will love the new designs available from Blinds 2go. Emma’s instantly recognisable, iconic prints, including Blue Swallows (pictured), Tulips and Love are available across curtains, roller and Roman blinds, with an array of colours and linings to choose from. The whole collaboration is founded on Emma’s philosophy of making the every day ‘a little nicer.’

HANGING AROUND

Interiors brand Safomasi’s homewares are inspired by travels around the world.

Its first collection of printed fabric and handwoven wall hangings are visual memories of mountain adventures in the Himalayas. The vibrant designs are brought to life by skilled printers, weavers and quilters in India. There are six designs to choose from to help brighten up a blank wall. They cost from £58 each.

’80s vibes

Blue Swallows multi Roman blind, from £41.95, Blinds 2go

From big hair to homeware, it’s time to relive this retro trend

‘Music Is Life’ poster, RocketJackDesign, from £14, Etsy

Jesmonite terrazzo vase in Royal Blue, £60, Lime Lace

Loft Geo duvet set, from £11, Matalan

Needlepoint Lips Bitten cushion, £195, Jonathan Adler

Pantop table lamp in Warm Yellow, £174, Nedgis

Love matches, £7.50, Raj Tent Club

Kartell Componibili Bio cabinet, £191, Heal’s

Terrazzo side table, £218, Beaumonde

Multicoloured wooden hooks, £14, Habitat

ANYDAY Tony desk lamp, £20, John Lewis & Partners MINI TREND

Holly table lamp with 25cm Empire gathered shade in green Savannah block printed cotton, £105, Pooky

Classic Easy Squish scatter cushion in Green Moss linen, £39, Loaf

Stay warm

The National Trust shop is the place to hunt for high quality, affordable wool rugs. Created by in-house designers and made from recycled end-cuts of yarn, choose from a spectrum of colours and patterns. Stay snug on the sofa, take on a winter picnic or throw over a bed. Recycled woollen rugs, £20 each; waterproof backed rug in Antique Buchanan, £45.

Pumpkin soup bowl, £25.99, Wayfair

Spend V save

Enjoy a hearty winter stew in a lidded tureen

Pumpkin soup bowl, £9, Matalan

HOT HUE

Moss green

Evoking a sense of calm, this warm, natural colour is the perfect shade for autumn

Olive Green ceramic vase set, £38, Marquis & Dawe

Green ridged plant pot, £4, Primark Home

Loop Stripe stoneware candleholder, £24, Bode Living

Mango wood serve bowl with gold detail, from £22; Logan serving platter, £20; Three mango wood dipping bowls, £24; Christmas Tree spoon rest, £5, Next

Kenton dining chair in Moss Green velvet & black, £149, Cult Furniture

Material matters

Mango wood comes from the same tree as the much-loved fruit. It’s a super sustainable option as the trees are fast growing and it’s easy to cut and shape. We’ve seen a boom in rustic and homely, mango wood serveware – this Golden Nature collection is new for AW22 and we are here for it.

ECO CHOICE

Classic glazed white patio doors lead out to the garden. They’ve been designed to complement the sash-style windows at either side and work with the rooflights to flood the space with natural light.

Stools, Cult Furniture. Dining set, Next

Transformed home

ROOM

Katie and Stuart have lovingly created a spacious home that caters to all of the family’s needs

WORDS IFEOLUWA ADEDEJI

PHOTOGRAPHS

ADAM CARTER for more

PROFILE

Katie and Stuart Thorner, of Summer House Interiors (summerhouse-interiors.com), live here with their daughters, Annie and Pippa, and cats Walter and Lily

Five-bedroom house in Telford, Shropshire

A neutral palette has been established with the large format tumbled limestone floor tiles. ‘We knew we wanted a large island, range cooker

and a large mantle, so this was our starting point.’

Lights, Dunelm. Fridge, Fisher & Paykel. Floor tiles Mandarin Stone

Buying a home with a 37-year-old heating system that was only able to reach a maximum temperature of 12 degrees in the winter might seem a bad idea. But when Katie and Stuart saw this two-bedroom period property, they were drawn to the character and the potential for it to become a stunning family home. They’d just needed to rip out a few gas fireplaces, add a double-storey extension and sort out the garden all while expecting their second child and organising a wedding (or two)! The 1930s property had high ceilings and beautiful period features worth restoring, and having lived in a new-build home for the last three years, the couple craved the charm of a traditional house.

Stuart was experienced in design and Katie in finance, and the couple combined their skills to make savings while creating comfortable and practical spaces. ‘We wanted to be in keeping with the house, and it still had a lot of period features we wanted to highlight, such as the fireplaces and high ceilings,’ says Katie. Where they could, the couple tried to upcycle as much furniture as possible. Their new office space features a preloved desk that Stuart drove to Wales to pick up.

Having welcoming spaces where they could spend quality time together as a family and entertaining friends was important. ‘We figured a bigger kitchen-diner would allow one of us to prepare a meal while the children play in the same space. That’s why we chose to create an extension to afford us the room we needed to be able to do this,’ says Stuart. Work on the extension started in the summer of 2019. ‘It took 12 weeks to build and be watertight,’ says Stuart. Designing this new addition to complement the original property was crucial. ‘We chose to use solid wood kitchen doors and solid brass fittings from Perrin & Rowe, as they have a timeless look. We wanted to achieve a classy, sociable openplan space – this was relatively easy to create as the extension was a large area and blank canvas.’

The master bedroom suite is a luxurious place where Stuart and Katie can escape. ‘We wanted to create something striking so went for the freestanding copper bath and Crittall shower screen,’ says Stuart. ‘You can see the bathroom from the main bedroom and we wanted to look onto the copper bath from the bedroom through the archway.’ A ‘his and hers’ shower has been achieved by sacrificing some space in the bedroom area.

Another money-saving route the couple used was to engage friends to help them transform spaces, including the garden. ‘We also did all of the outside with Brooklyn Outdoor Living,’ says Stuart. ‘The team helped with the front drive – we dug up all the concrete and put sleepers and gravel on the drive.’ At the rear, the garden was completely overgrown. Here, the couple wanted to create an area where the children could play, but also a space to entertain and enjoy warm evenings outside with guests. ‘It was important to have different spaces a bit further away from the house so that we could entertain friends and not disturb the children if they were sleeping, so down the bottom we have a lounge area where we have built a pergola.’

Renovating a period property often comes with unforeseen costs and hidden challenges, but Katie and Stuart have successfully navigated all these during a global pandemic to curate considered rooms that complement the age of their home. ‘We were very lucky in that we didn’t face any problems with the planning office,’ says Katie. ‘Our main challenge was actually juggling childcare.’ As Stuart carried out a lot of the work himself, it meant that they spent very little time together as a family. In the end, the sacrifices have paid off, as they have a home that truly reflects them. ‘Having an interior scheme that mirrored our personalities was important to us and we think we’ve achieved this,’ says Stuart.

The kitchen was designed and supplied by Summer House Interiors. It features a large panelled island.

‘As the house is over 90 years old, it was important for us to achieve a period look. We’ve installed panelling on the walls as much as possible’.

Kessler units, Summer House Interiors. Aged brassware, Perrin & Rowe. Sink Shaws of Darwen. Cooker, Rangemaster

Above The utility space was completed just before lockdown and has helped the family free up space in the kitchen. It leads onto a handy cloakroom WC.

Lath Victorian Kitchen Maid air dryer, Cast In Style. Basin Shaws of Darwen

Right A boot room is accessed from the garage and helps keep the interiors free of clutter.

‘We spend a lot of time in the formal lounge now because it feels like a grown up room, and we have friends round here, too.’

Walls painted in Farrow & Ball’s Skimming Stone. Sofas, Loaf. TV, Samsung. Rugs Nordic Hide. Large side lamp, Pooky Lighting

One of the last spaces to be completed was the hallway. ‘We stripped the entire staircase back before repainting and adding spindles’.

Console, Still & Bloom

Wood panelling runs through to the bathroom space, linking the two areas visually. The bold hue is softened by the neutral shade of the headboard.

Wall light, Laura Ashley. Bed, Sueno

Left, below and right Katie and Stuart’s bathroom is a luxury retreat. ‘We wanted a minimal, calming space.’ The arched doorway of the master suite that connects the bedroom and bathroom frames

a view of the copper bath. Bath, shower cubicle and basin, Burlington Bathrooms. Shower fitting, Drench. Wall tiles, Mandarin Stone. Oak floor Topps Tiles

Left and above The playroom allows the young children to have their own space to be creative and have fun – and leaves communal areas clear of toys.

Sanderson 1860 wallpaper, Wallpaper Direct. Tee Pee, Amazon. Step stool, Ikea. Chest of drawers, Facebook Marketplace, painted in Vert De Terre, Farrow & Ball

Right Annie’s room features a playful scheme complete with a bold wallpaper. Wallpaper, Emma J Shipley. Light, Pooky Lights. Floor lamp, Ikea, Mirror, Maisons du Monde. Chair, Lee Longlands

COSTS & CONTACTS

Building work £65,000

Kitchen and utility £45,000 En suite bathroom £15,500 Landscaping and driveway £12,000 Lounge £7,000 Downstairs WC £2,500 Bootroom £800

Renovation Summer House Interiors, 01743 461816, summerhouse-interiors.com

Flooring Wood Floors & Accessories, wfa.uk.net Garden and drive Brooklyn Outdoor Living brooklynoutdoorliving.co.uk

COLOURFUL

A WARM FESTIVE WELCOME

FORWARD

Shine a light

Whether it’s a subtle, ambient glow or a bright and beaming ray, your lighting can completely overhaul the look and feel of your space. Here’s how to get it right this autumn…

Cosy reading nook

A floorstanding lamp is the perfect companion to a statement armchair. As the nights draw in, curl up with a good book and a blanket. This directional light will help to block out the rest of the world, too.

Bluebell armchair in Paprika smart velvet, £1,145, and Bluebell small square footstool in Paprika smart velvet, £535; Tom Dixon Beat floor lamp in black, £775, all Sofa.com.

FEATURE ANNA MORLEY / EMILY SMITH / AMELIA SMITH

Zone out

In an open-plan space, lighting can work to highlight certain areas when they’re in use. Here, the pendant light above the dining table will cast a pleasant glow while eating dinner, leaving the rest of your kitchen (and the used pots and pans) to fall into shadow.

Wicker pendant light, £89; Brookland dining table with benches, £599; cast aluminium casserole dish, £49.50; 3D floral vases, from £15 each; embroidered floral tassel cushion, £22.50; all Marks & Spencer

Welcome home

Your hallway sets the tone for the rest of your home, so invite guests in with a statement pendant light that mimics your interior style.

Witney Farmhouse three-light lantern, £130; Amelie wall mirror, £85; Briar mango wood sideboard, £950; Kingham table lamp, £125, all Next

Bright light Position wall lights either side of your bathroom mirror to make getting ready a pleasure, no matter how gloomy your winter mornings.

Ripon IP44 rated bathroom wall light, £38; Moroccan wall mirror, £45; Jacobean gold wallpaper, £12 per roll; Humphrey bathroom undersink unit, £109; bubble glass tumbler and dispenser, from £6, all Dunelm

Get to work

Illuminate your working from home set up with a stylish desk lamp that’s a design feature as much as it is a functional piece. This mustard lamp blends in perfectly with the oak furniture, offering a warming and rustic feel.

Baldwin mustard table lamp, £60; Frame leather office chair, £349; Parquet desk, £259; Emma Scarvey ‘Flower Face’ framed print, £50; Vitra Eames House bird, £179; Shalstone six-drawer tallboy chest, £1,125, all John Lewis & Partners

Go asymmetric

If you’re tight on bedroom space, swap your bedside table lamp for a tiered pendant light like this. It adds a fun and quirky feel and sheds light on your bedtime reading.

Poppy stripe double duvet set, £12; knitted ‘Love’ cushion, £11; Rainbow rug, £30, all George Home. For a similar pendant light, try Wayfair

Deco opal glass pendant light, £240, Rose & Grey

Brass & Bronze drum pendant light, £105, The French Bedroom Company

Humble One shiny gold table light, £145, Beaumonde

Sawyer green ribbed glass pendant light, £24, Där Lighting

Arley semi-flush ceiling light in brass, £169, Cult Furniture

Tom Dixon stone pendant, from £270, Sofa.com

Leon 12-light crystal bar pendant in polished chrome, £275, Laura Ashley

An Artful Life Gesso table lamp, £250, HK Living

Gold and glass living pendant light, £95, Five & Dime

Lottie lamp, £106, with scalloped straight Empire shade in Blue Sky linen, from £63, Pooky

Okapi pendant light, £145, John Lewis & Partners

Fender wall light in Fool’s Gold, £84.99, Dowsing & Reynolds

Brunswick ceiling pendant, £90, Garden Trading

designer spotlight

Support independent businesses and meet the creatives making waves in the interiors world. This month, we’re talking colourful graphic art prints to brighten your walls…and your day

NINA ROBINSON, NINA BOMBINA DESIGNS

Nothing transforms a room quicker than a fabulous piece of wall art. Easier, cheaper and quicker to put up than wallpaper –not to mention easy to swap when you fancy something different – graphic art prints in particular are a great way to inject instant colour and personality into your pad.

Whether you rent or own your home, prints have the power to bring plain walls alive. And with a vast array of styles, colours and designs available from independent artists either directly or through platforms such as Etsy, shopping small for prints means you’re guaranteed to find something unusual, original and lovingly designed that speaks to you and reflects your personality.

This month, we’re highlighting three of our favourite independent designers creating beautiful graphic art prints

to jazz up every wall of your home –starting with Nina Robinson, whose digital collages are full of life and colour.

Q Can you describe your business in a sentence?

A I design cheerful, bright digital graphic art prints for anyone who loves colourful interiors.

Q How did you get to the point of having your own business?

Clockwise from above Paradise House Kitchen; Dreamtown Festival; Paradise House Living room and Paradise House Chillout room, A4 prints from £15.99

A I’ve always loved drawing and making things, right from a young age. I was working as a photographer when the pandemic hit and suddenly I had a lot more time and mental space to be creative. After noticing there was a lack of BAME people on greetings cards, I took a chance and sent in some digital collage designs to online card retailer Thortful.com. They loved them, and soon I was also working with Moonpig.com and Funkypigeon.com, which was amazing. The response to my cards made me decide to try my hand at designing art prints inspired by my love of interior design. When I opened my own shop on Etsy in September 2020, I was blown away by the interest, particularly as I don’t stick to a restricted palette. My prints are unashamedly colourful and maximalist, which is totally my style.

Q

What’s your favourite thing about what you do?

A I love having the creative freedom to let my imagination run wild. The actual process of designing makes me feel so happy and content. I still get a thrill every time someone buys one of

my prints – that people actually want to put the things I’ve made on their walls. I’ll never get over that!

QWhat has been your proudest moment – or moments – so far?

A Talking to magazines is always exciting, and I was blown away when the people from Etsy came to film me and make a video for their digital and social media channels, showcasing my work. There are thousands of printmakers who sell through them, so it was an honour.

Q

If you had to pick one, which would be your favourite print?

Prints charming

Meet two print designers who turn walls from drab to fab

ELEANOR MORRIS, ELEANOR ISOBELLE ART

@eleanorisobelleart

‘I create beautiful quality giclée prints for the home. I designed some to sell on Etsy as an experiment when I was furloughed from my job as creative lead for a marketing agency… and sold over 5,000 in the first few months! Since then, I’ve had pop-ups in John Lewis stores and collaborated with Look Fantastic to design one of their beauty boxes. Now Eleanor Isobelle Art is my business and my life. Sustainability’s important to me so I use giclée printing because the colours last. I’m inspired by almost everything –travel, restaurants, everyday objects and scenes. My new Fast Food designs feature cultural icons like a McDonald’s Happy Meal box and milkshake cup.’ Eleanorisobelleart.co.uk

LORENA SIMINOVICH, ROOMYTOWN

@Roomytown

A

The very first print I designed, Chillout Room from my Paradise House collection, which is a series of prints depicting an imaginary dream home. It shows a purple woman playing a guitar, and I love the balance of the composition; the starry sky seen through the window, and the contrast of neutral colours with pops of bright and neon shades. It’s my most popular print, so it seems other people love it, too.

Q Anything else we need to know?

AI’ve expanded into homewares and gifts, such as marbled candles in my trademark bright shades. I’d love to

have a physical studio, shop and workspace one day, as I’m working from home. I’ve also recently completed a course in Risograph printing (a kind of digital photocopying), which means I can create prints with truly fluorescent colours. So a super-bright new range will be coming soon – watch this space!

Follow Nina @nina__bombina on Instagram. Shop her homewares and prints at Ninabombinaart.etsy.com

‘My background is in graphic design, and several years ago I launched and ran a toy gift brand, Petit Collage. But wall art was my first love, so, last October, I started Roomytown. I create fine art prints for the family home, based on both modern graphic designs as well as vintage finds from libraries and antique bookstores, that we restore and update. At first, I assumed I was designing mainly for children’s spaces, but it became clear adults were buying prints for themselvesparticularly when Liberty started stocking them – which was fantastic. I’d love to expand the brand globally. We went to a trade show in New York, recently, and the positive reactions we had to our prints made me so happy.’ Roomytown.com

Happy Meal print, from £12

Fleurs et Insectes Fine Art print,

Dreamtown Piazza

Paradise House Bathroom A4 art print,

BRIGHTEN YOUR HOME WITH OUR EDIT OF THE BEST BARGAIN BUYS FROM B&M

‘There was a chair here before but we’d always fight over it,’ says Leila.

’The space wasn’t suitable for a sofa as it would be parallel with the kitchen and create one big line, so a snuggler was the best

option as it can be angled and we can both sit on it.’

Snuggle chair, Snug. Cushions, Furn. ‘Peace Now’ print, ‘You Say You Want a Revolution’ Exhibition at the V&A

FEATURE KAREN WILSON PHOTOGRAPHS KATIE LEE

Leila and Joe chose handleless high gloss units as the wipeable surfaces are easy to look after. ‘We also wanted an element of natural wood with the worktops,’ she explains. ‘It’s a bit more high maintenance, but we sand it down every year and reseal it.’

Kitchen units, Wren Kitchens

Bold renovation

two halves Home of

While the front of their home features dark and moody chill-out spaces, Leila and Joe have ensured the rear is made for socialising with a light, bright palette

PROFILE

The owners

Leila Davidson (@zephs_house), an HR advisor, and her partner, Joe Peddie, a civil and structural engineer, live here with cats Zephyr and Laszlo

The property

A three-bedroom period townhouse, built around 1904, in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire

Project cost £20,474

Left As this wall doesn’t join any neighbours, it was the perfect spot for the record player as the music can still be heard in the neighbouring dining room. ‘I painted the geometric mural four years ago, and have since added the neon sign for a nightclub feel,’

says Leila. ‘It ties in the green and mustard we have dotted around the house.’

Pendant lights, Swoon. Dining table chairs and record player stand, Ikea. Black crockery, Matalan Neon sign Neon Beach

BEFORE

Having viewed several properties within a mile radius of Grimsby town centre, first-time buyers Leila and Joe fell for the cheapest and most dated house of all.

‘We rented on and off for years and got travelling out of our systems, so we were ready to buy our first home,’ says Leila. ‘Our previous house was on the rural outskirts, and we wanted to be more central.’ As Leila had always loved her aunty’s spacious London terrace and Joe had grown up in a period home, the couple wanted a characterful house.

Luckily, the three-bedroom Victorian house they fell for had ‘good bones’ with central heating and a new roof, but also bags of potential to give it their own stamp. ‘On the day we moved in, Joe’s nana was ripping up the worn carpets in the dining room,’ says Leila. ‘And the first weekend I started with an easy job by painting the downstairs toilet. Then we decorated our bedroom in a pale stone grey and painted the floorboards white to create a sanctuary from all the building work we had planned.’

A few months later, the dining room, tiny kitchen and utility were knocked through to create one long kitchen-diner. The ceiling was vaulted and skylights added, while a window and side door were blocked up to give more scope for placing kitchen units and furniture.

After contacting lots of trades people, the couple chose a builder recommended by one of Leila’s best friends. However, there were several challenges during the four-month project. A damp proof course was an unexpected cost, and Joe had to fit the bi-fold doors with his dad because the builder wasn’t comfortable installing an unfamiliar product that Leila had sourced.

With a galley kitchen in the middle, the new space flows so much better. ‘We regularly have family over for Sunday tea and we love games nights with friends,’ says Leila. ‘It’s lovely being able to prep in the kitchen while chatting, and we can shift the table for late night kitchen discos.’

Shortly afterwards, the front living room was knocked through to the dining room by the same team, with structural engineer Joe working out calculations for a new steel beam.

Previously, the room had a dado rail with red and magnolia walls – this was removed, the walls replastered and floorboards sanded. A jammed bay window was restored to working order.

Over the years, the couple have honed their daring and bold interior style, which mixes contemporary with traditional. ‘We love the period features and wanted to restore as much as we could while also making our home feel modern,’ says Leila. ‘The living room and bedroom at the front are just for me and Joe to relax in, so we went for dark, cosy colours, whereas the back of the house was kept bright, colourful and fun. I enjoy telling family and friends my décor ideas and waiting for their reactions!’

Now the only pieces of furniture remaining from their previous property are the brown leather sofa in the living room and Peacock chair in the main bedroom. ‘Most of our furniture is second-hand,’ says Leila. ‘I’ll typically look on various home websites first, then try and find the same thing second-hand or cheaper on Ebay.’

While Joe’s favourite space is the living room, where he had the most creative input, Leila’s is the hallway, with its daring black paintwork, fun striped runner and original floor tiles. ‘It just feels so true to our style and the period of the house,’ she says. ‘It’s an instant wow factor every time we come in.’

With a recent garden makeover completing their renovation journey, Leila and Joe can’t imagine moving for a very long time. ‘We’ve put our absolute hearts into this home, there’s been blood, sweat and tears’ says Leila. ‘We’ve created our dream home and I’d be absolutely gutted to leave.’

‘The 1950s coffee table was £70 from a vintage fair in Liverpool,’ says Leila. ‘When we got home we googled it and discovered it’s a designer piece that can sell for £350 to £450.’

Rug, Ebay. Leather sofa, Made. Ceiling light, Wayfair. Floor lamp, Swoon

‘We were going to add a picture rail and paint it white above, but Joe wanted to go dark right up to the coving,’ says Leila. ‘I’m so pleased we did in the end as it feels really cocooning.’

Smoked glass ball lamp, Ikea. Tall vases, Facebook Marketplace. Round mirror, Select Mirrors

REALHOMES.COM

Left The gallery of black and white photos, taken on Leila and Joe’s travels, was inspired by one of the homes they viewed and creates a real talking point. The lighting took careful consideration. ‘I wanted something contemporary but big enough to make a statement, and to look like a piece of art when it’s not switched on,’ says Leila.

Dining table Swoon. Dining chairs, Amazon. Ceiling light, Made. Rug, Ebay

Right ‘When we walked in and saw the original tiled flooring, that was the clincher for us,’ says Leila. ‘Adding a striped runner and painting the staircase and Anaglypta wallpaper black has enhanced the flow of the house. Everything ties together now.’

Stairs painted in Rebel (custom mix with added black pigment), Crown Paints. Large art print, handmade

Project timeline

STRIPPED

KITCHEN FLOOR LAID

Amelia's top tip

Choosing a neutral colour for your bedroom walls means you can easily switch up your interior scheme to suit the changing seasons. Bedding instantly transforms a room, and I love how this soft orange duvet cover and olive green cushions creates a warning and cosy autumnal feel. Crisp white or pastel pink bedding would add a fresh feel to the room for the summer months.

After three years with pale grey walls, the success of the dark living room encouraged Leila and Joe to go dark in their bedroom, too. ‘We call it the “womb room” as it’s so cocooning and relaxing,’ says Leila. ‘We’ve kept the area

above the bed bare, so the alcoves are the points of focus.’

Walls painted in Forever and Ever, Coat Paints. Bed, Crazy Price Beds. Orange duvet cover, La Redoute. Grey throw, Ikea

REALHOMES.COM

After taking an Abigail Ahern interiors course, Leila felt more confident curating a display. ‘She talked about creating vignettes, using stacked books and grouping items at different heights in sets of three,’ she explains. ‘As the gold murals have a Japanese feel, I also wanted an oriental thread running through the artwork with flecks of gold and pretty colours.’

Vase, Dunelm, Amber glass candlesticks, vintage. Figurine of woman Abigail Ahern

Below The fireplace and hearth in the guest bedroom used to be hidden under boards and carpet.

Wardrobes, vintage. Wall painted in Sea Turtle, the fireplace in Huckleberry, both Valspar

Right ‘I initially painted the spare bedroom in white with a baby pink ceiling and mustard yellow woodwork,’ says Leila. ‘However, it started to feel like a nursery. We added a picture rail and I painted a wall and

the ceiling in green with an accent wallpaper opposite. The pink is in the accessories now.’

Drawers, vintage. Sofa bed, Made. ‘Go Your Own Way’ paper, Lust. Rug, French Connection

Right Leila and Joe toyed with the idea of going more traditional to match the era of the house, but were drawn to contemporary styles. ‘After considering a vibrant cobalt blue, the pink walls were a bit of a wild card,’ says Leila. ‘They

contrast really well against the black hardware and marble vanity top.’

Walls painted in Hearts Affire, Valspar. Vanity unit, basin and tap, all Lusso Stone. Mirror, Bathroom Mountain. Framed illustration, Etsy

REALHOMES.COM

Plum

Plum is a deep and luxurious colour that’s a mixture of both purple and red. The spectrum of plum hues varies just as much as the varieties of the fruit. Some shades err on the side of a darker, blackish purple, while some are a more vibrant, hotter red.

‘I’m seeing more and more people use plum purple in their homes and I’m not surprised,’ says Tash Bradley, colour psychologist and Lick’s director of interior design (lick.com).

‘We saw purple have a moment in the spring this year, with people gravitating towards that soft lilac tone which is gentle and calming to be around. And now, as we step into the colder months, plum is having its time,’

As Tash points out, the nation’s purple shade of choice is a reflection of the season. Plums are ripe and ready

towards the end of summer/ early autumn, and this change of season is precisely when we want to introduce more plum into the home. ‘Plum is synonymous with many aspects of autumn/winter. From rich winter berries and red wine to jewelled red leaves falling from the trees – plum is the perfect shade to set the scene for the colder months,’ says Emma Bestley,

A warm and rich autumnal shade that beckons us to hunker down, our colour guru, Amelia, explores why and how to use this opulent hue

Decadent Damson Simply Refresh Feature Wall paint, £29.77 for

Dulux

co-founder and creative director at Yes Colours (yescolours.com).

While purple is opulent, luxurious and mysterious, red is romantic, bold and empowering, and when these two shades combine, we experience a mixture of both. So it’s best to keep this in mind when deciding where in your home to use the shade. ‘Plum is wonderful to use in spaces you want to feel comforting and welcoming, like the bedroom, snug, living room or dining room. It can be used on all four walls for an enveloping space, or as an accent colour to avoid the room becoming too dark,’ says Dominic Myland, CEO at Mylands (mylands.com).

When using with other colours, two options stand out. ‘Due to the richness and earthiness of the plum colour, it looks amazing with other autumnals like burnt oranges, deep terracotta reds and greens,’ says Tash. But if you want it to take centre stage, pair with neutrals. ‘Plum works well with complementary grey or beige hues,’ says Ruth Mottershead, creative director at Little Greene (littlegreene. com). ‘You should always consider the undertones within your specific plum shade and opt for neutrals with a pink or lilac undertone for a harmonious finish.’

The perfect pairings with plum

Create a warm, cosy feel or pare it back with neutrals

The rules DO

Combine with other earthy hues Mix with gold and brass metallics Go all over for maximum impact

DON’T

Use a cool undertone in a north-facing room

Forget to try before you buy Combine with highly saturated colours

REALHOMES.COM

Oh Boysenberry Flat matt paint, £48 for 2.5ltrs, Coat

About Damson No.50 matt emulsion paint, £41.95 for 2.5ltrs, Victory Colours

Colourfast No.457 matt emulsion paint, £35.21 for 2.5ltrs, Crown

The autumnal palette

The neutral palette

Timepiece wallpaper in Amethyst, £65 per roll, Graham & Brown

AMELIA SMITH

Harper two-seater sofa in Plum smart velvet, £1,350, Sofa.com

90 Mini Mini Berry Red desk lamp, £115, Anglepoise

Zara plum luxury velvet throw, £60, Julian Charles

Style crush

Sometimes we come across a product we just can’t stop thinking about – and we want to share it with you. Here’s what we’ve fallen for this month

A bit on the side

Whether it’s a place to showcase your family snaps or simply to rest your coffee cup, the new collection of side tables from Rose & Grey adds a bold and colourful statement to a room –and the contemporary design makes it the perfect addition to any modern home. But here’s the question: can you stop at just the one?

Fallen in love with them too? We get you – it’s a style crush for a reason! Scan the QR code on the right to be taken to the website and make these pieces your own

Chubby side table in white, £195; Zig Zag side tables in beige and green, £325; small Kate side table in green, £99; Twister side table in light blue, £215; Marshmallow tall pillar in grey, £200, all Rose & Grey

50 UNDER £50

Elevate your home for the cosy season with a beautiful budget buy. Whether it’s an accessory update, piece of furniture or lick of paint, these easy changes punch above their price tag

Spiced Mulberry matt emulsion paint, £46 for

Small Sahara rug in mustard, £25, Walton & Co

Cane drawers,

Neefa cushion,

REALHOMES.COM

Fulton three-tier shelf,

Dunelm

Dacite pendant ceiling light,

Gladom tray table,

Ikea

Matalan

Graham & Brown

Afterglow brass candle,

Brown double duvet cover set,

Three reactive bud vases,

Marks &Spencer

Stemmed faux succulent,

Oliver Bonas

Face tufted throw, £15, George Home

Bloomingville Minoli vase, £38, Sweetpea & Willow

Rivan Storage black & gold table lamp,

Freemans

Homcom round black side table, £44.99, Mano Mano

Purple spiral candles, £20 for four, Talking Tables

REALHOMES.COM

Fabia pink tealight holder, £12.99, Dobbies

Warwick velvet footstool, £34.99, Homescapes

Eucalyptus in vase, £15, B&M

Jaded Teal matt emulsion paint, £15 for 2.5ltrs, Wilko

Bronx extendable curtain pole kit, from £30, Next

Josza Chenille rug, £39, Urban Outfitters

Fougere wallpaper, £40 per roll, John Lewis & Partners

Organic shaped mirror, £28, Matalan

Henry Holland The Compleat desk lamp, £40, Freemans

Metal log rack, £34.99, Wayfair

Teal fluffy cushion, £20, M&Co

Pandora cushion, £32, Lust Home

Shelf in Stratford on Avon matt emulsion; wall in Gentle Slumber (top) and Like A Boss (bottom) matt emulsion, from £30 for 2.5ltrs, Valspar.

Karuma ceramic jug in blue, £25, Nkuku

GoodHome Zanbar red light shade, £10, B&Q

ANYDAY Spot bar stool in mustard, £45, John Lewis & Partners

Wild stripe napkins in mustard, £21 for four, I Am Fy

Tall blue ceramic face vase, £12.99, Gisela Graham

Black pizza board, £38, Heavenly Homes & Gardens

Rust & Caramel vase, £39, Rose & Grey

Primavera linen seat pad with ties, £21, Walton & Co

Cena ceramic oven dish, £37.50, Oliver Bonas

Kitchen single lever mixer tap in brushed brass, £29.99, Mano Mano

Semaphore Mayflower tiles, £39 per m2, Claybrook

Two Denby Studio blue ridged mugs, £36, Marks & Spencer

La Cafetiere Pisa three cup, £22, Dunelm

Nissafors black trolley, £30, Ikea

Happiness woven placemats, £6 for two, Matalan

Optimist Blue cast iron casserole dish 6.8ltrs, £40, Habitat

REALHOMES.COM

Clinic The design

Need our help?

Got a DIY dilemma? Want to settle a domestic style dispute? Send us your questions on social media or email us at rhsubmissions @futurenet.com

Whether you’re torn on two paint colours or are debating whether to extend upwards or outwards, the Real Homes team is here to answer your questions

At your service

Meet the people ready to help with your dilemmas

Alison The goto for all things DIY, with tons of wisdom to impart

Annie Our shopping expert will pick out the best bargains for your home

Amelia Has her finger on the pulse of all things style, kitchen and bathroom

Jenny Has loads of renovation tips – and her own doer-upper on the go

Camille Has plenty of spacesaving, walletfriendly advice for renters

Christina Loves the high street and finding statement pieces – she’s also our cleaning guru

For a similar paint colour, try Flower Pot Claypaint, £50.50 for 25ltrs, Earthborn. Primo Naturals carpet in Pecan, £20-£25 per m2, Cormar Carpets

DECORATING ADVICE

QWhat colour should I paint my north-facing living room?

A North-facing rooms not only receive the least amount of natural light, but the light they do get is bluer in tone than the light in south-facing rooms. This has a huge impact on the look and feel of the space, so it’s important to consider this when choosing paint colours.

Warm hues such as pinks, terracottas and yellows will work to balance out the cooler light and warm up the feel of the room. If choosing a neutral colour, make sure to pick a shade with warm undertones – whites, greys and beiges are all available with both warm and cool undertones, so it’s essential to paint swatches onto your wall before you buy.

Ovens at eye level make it easy to check on your cooking

APPLIANCE ADVICE

QI need to choose an oven for my new kitchen but can’t decide between eye-level or under the counter style. Please help.

A It really comes down to comfort. Undercounter ovens can be a space saver in a small kitchen, but you will have to bend in order to use it. Also, if it’s on while you are using the hob above, it might feel warm against the legs. Eyelevel ovens can make it easier to check on food while it’s cooking or take dishes in and out of, especially if you’re tall.

SHOPPING ADVICE

Q Between muddy pets and messy kids, my floors are a mess. What can I do?

DISPLAY ADVICE

Q How do I put up shelves in my rented home without leaving holes in the wall?

AIf you need to install shelves for more storage and have a small room, buying a floor-to-ceiling unit will make the most of the space you do have without putting holes in the walls. Otherwise, the Command Brand has some very cool shelves and ledges available that can hold up to 5lbs or so. I have these in my bedroom – they are great for adding a decorative touch to a rental without having to use your drill.

Classic mop with built-in spray function, £21.99, Beldray

A

Damp autumn weather and seasonal get-togethers can lead to more dirt and spills all over our floors. These three mops are our favourites for quickly whisking them away and keeping things fresh and clean.

KITCHEN ADVICE

Command display ledges, £31.45, Amazon Turbo microfibre spin mop and bucket set, £38.89, Vileda Deep clean mop, £22.49, E-Cloth

Q I want to get quartz surfaces for my new kitchen – but how easy are they to clean?

A Though quartz requires less maintenance than natural granite or marble, it still needs a bit of sprucing to keep stains and spills at bay. You should wipe crumbs and dust off the surface every day with a damp microfibre cloth or paper towel. If you want to use a cleaner, try a mild dish soap solution – a few drops in warm water will suffice. Don’t ever use abrasive cloths, scourers, steel wool, a pumice stone or a stiff brush –they can damage the surface and make it lose its sheen. Avoid harsh cleaners like bleach, too.

PHOTOGRAPH DARREN CHUNG (RIGHT)

FOR OUR PICK OF THE BEST WORK TOPS, SEE PAGE 148

ADVICE

A Islands and peninsulas are very similar in that they both offer extra worktop and storage space, as well as providing casual seating.

The difference is that islands typically use central floor space, and a peninsula can be added to your kitchen design without interrupting the central flow of the room, thanks to its connection to the wall. The experts at Wren Kitchens say: ‘Peninsulas can be added to L or U-shaped kitchens, and can feature cupboards, drawers, dining areas and appliances. For small kitchens, a peninsula can be much more practical than an island, and can often be bigger, as floor space and manoeuvring around the kitchen doesn’t need to be as heavily considered.’

QMy kitchen’s long and narrow, but I’d love an island. How can I get one that works in the space?

Clinic The money

If your home needs a serious revamp but you don’t have the funds for a major makeover, the Real Homes team is here to help you achieve a stylish look for less

QI want to develop my DIY skills, where do I begin?

If you want to save when renovating, tackling as many jobs yourself can be the answer. If you need a place to begin, learn the art of tiling. You can start small with a splashback and before you know it, you’ll be brave enough to retile the bathroom. The Real Homes team give their tips on getting that professional finish.

A When you’re tiling a floor, a wall or kitchen splashback, it’s likely you’ll have some awkward gaps to fill along the way – mainly at the edges. You can still learn how to cut tiles without using wet saws and other electric tools. A manual cutter is used for straight cuts; they’re a cheaper alternative to power tools and simpler to use if you’re learning how to tile or replacing a few damaged tiles. They have a handle which runs on a rail, allowing you to make a smooth cut. You can also find cutters where a blade is pushed down from above –Christina Chrysostomou

Manoir Deco Tayberry tiles, £4.28 per tile, Original Style

A Painting your splashback or other tiling that’s looking lacklustre is a cheap and easy DIY fix. Just clean the tiles thoroughly, sand lightly so the paint adheres, prime and then paint with a small brush. Apply several thin coats to avoid heavy brush marks showing through and stop the paint peeling after a few weeks – Camille Dubuis-Welch

A If you want to give your bathroom a revamp without starting from scratch, there are more inexpensive options than you might think.

Glitter grout can be applied between tiles to add a personal touch and introduce a new colour into your bathroom scheme, whether you clash bright tones or go for something more subtle. Contrasting grouting, be it sparkly or not, will instantly create a more striking and defined look –Millie Hurst

A When learning how to grout, in an ideal world we would all do it perfectly without it smearing and staining the tile. In practice all of us make mistakes. If it’s fresh, warm water and a non-scratch scouring pad will remove stillsoft grout. If it’s dried on, kitchen specialist

Naveen Tikaram suggests pouring a 50-50 mix of water and vinegar over the grout, after first layering with paper towels, and let it sit for a few minutes. The grout should bead up and can be cleaned off with a toothbrush or sponge – Anna Cottrell

Period restoration

MOVING

on up

Old and new are paired to perfection in Caroline Kilgour’s Newcastle home, which is now fit for family life after a loft conversion and new kitchen

Buying different handles and adding Quartz worktops has elevated the budget kitchen.

‘Before it had jazzy tiles, dark teal walls in the kitchen and vivid yellow walls in the dining area,’ says Caroline. ‘Now it feels much calmer and lighter.’

Bodarp kitchen, oven and hood, Ikea. Handles, Amazon. Schumacher Citrus Garden fabric, Absolutely Fabrics

PROFILE

The owners Caroline Kilgour, an interior designer (@room_service_by_caroline), her husband, Stephen, an education advisor, and their children, Albie and Isabelle

The property

A four-bedroom Victorian terrace in Heaton, Newcastle Project cost £50,000 to £60,000

Left and below ‘To disguise the tired uPVC window and frame, I used chalk paint in a matt finish, which also saved money,’ says Caroline.

Window frame painted in Rainbow The One chalk paint. Tap and built-in microwave, Ikea. Worktop North East Marble & Granite

FEATURE KAREN WILSON

PHOTOGRAPHS

KATIE LEE

Below Having bought a huge solid wood kitchen counter to make the basin stand in the attic en suite, offcuts were used to

create three shelves in the kitchen so nothing was wasted.

Try Ebay for similar vintage jugs Kilner jars, Ikea

Left As the couple didn’t have a dining room in their old flat, they sourced a second hand pine farmhouse table and chairs from a local antique shop.

For similar, try pine Corona extending dining table, Dunelm, and Windsor spindle back chairs, La Redoute. Pendant light, Wilko

After living in their London flat for over 10 years, and with a second baby on the way, Caroline and Stephen Kilgour felt it was time to return to the North East.

‘Although we have family in Darlington, we wanted to be in a city,’ says Caroline. ‘We did a few recces and loved the vibe in Heaton, Newcastle. The main street has some lovely shops and restaurants, which swung it.’

After selling their home in Streatham, the couple moved into rented accommodation in London until their daughter was born. Fortunately they found a four-bedroom Victorian house in their preferred area quite quickly. ‘Everything felt very spacious and light when we walked into the hallway with lovely high ceilings,’ says Caroline. ‘We could move in and put our stamp on it without it being a huge fixer upper.’

Daughter Isabelle was born in London not long after they bought the house. ‘It was stressful trying to pack up a flat with a newborn, and there was a heatwave the day we moved – that made the drive fun!’ recalls Caroline. ‘I was desperate to nest and make it ours, so we got cracking straight away.’

Faced with ‘wall-to-wall magnolia’, son Albie’s bedroom and the main bedroom were decorated first. A woodburning stove was installed in the living room along with alcove bookshelves before the pair jumped headlong into renovating the kitchen diner and converting the attic into a guest bedroom and en suite.

The five-week project involved adding bi-folds to the dining area and new kitchen, while the top floor needed a new staircase, skylights and steel joists to be classified as a bedroom. The roof was retiled while the scaffolding was up.

‘Before the attic was just storage space with a pull-down ladder – you could even see into next door’s attic,’ says Caroline. A lot of thought went into the new layout. ‘We initially thought we couldn’t squeeze in an en suite,’ she explains. ‘However, the adjustments made to the space to meet building regulations configured the room slightly differently, giving us the space we needed for a shower area.’

Rather than snaffle the attic bedroom for themselves, it doubles up as a guest bedroom and Stephen’s office. ‘We prefer having our bedroom on the same floor as the children,’ explains Caroline. ‘It was the best thing we did as it means we have a whole floor to offer guests.’

Although the new kitchen layout is similar, replacing the white uPVC French doors with black bi-folds, updating the back door and replacing the tired cream units with a modern sage green design has made a huge difference. ‘At first I wanted Crittall windows, but we compromised with black aluminium frames that have a similar vibe and still really maximise the south-west facing light,’ says Caroline. ‘It’s lovely to have the one main family space where we cook and eat together.’

Throughout the house, the key thread has been mixing old and new. ‘Ultimately I wanted the décor to be sympathetic to the house,’ says Caroline. ‘I like clean lines and classic styles with pops of colour. Trusting your instincts is one thing, but mood boards can be really helpful to collate all your ideas and see if things look right together.’

Having previously been a communications manager, moving home led Caroline to switch careers. During lockdown she started an online interior design business (@room_service_by_caroline). ‘It satisfies my creative interests and gives me flexibility with a young family,’ she says. ‘I love helping other people reimagine their rooms.’ Caroline admits she’s learnt a lot from renovating her home. ‘Planning is everything,’ she says. ‘You need to think of every little thing to avoid any last minute rash decision making.’

She has no regrets about moving north either. ‘We love the area; the nearby beaches are beautiful, schools are within walking distance and the city centre is on our doorstep,’ she says. ‘My sister’s just moved up to Newcastle, so I definitely think we’ll be here for a long time.’

‘We loved the log burner in our London flat and wanted to recreate that,’ says Caroline. ‘Originally we were going to tile the recess but we loved the raw brick when the gas fire was ripped out. We added the sleeper from a local wood reclamation yard.’

Grey corner sofa, Ikea. Reclaimed sleeper, Newcastle Wood Recycling. Art print, More or Less mag poster. Cushions made using Designers Guild fabric and Toile fabric, John Lewis & Partners. Wood burner, Fires in Stone

‘I wanted to keep the brickwork of the original chimneys as a feature, which led to an industrial loft feel in here,’ says Caroline. ‘The Artist Residence boutique

hotels were a big reference point, with a simple palette that lets the raw materials speak.’

Bedspread, TK Maxx. Bed, Argos. Vintage

Habitat lamp with shade in fabric from Absolutely Fabrics. Bedside table, Aldi. Bottle vases, auctions and antique shops. Rugs, Homesense and Lidl

Below Caroline made this window into a reading area by painting it blue. ‘I wanted it to have its own identity rather than being a weird corner,’ she says.

Chair and floor lamp, family heirlooms. Rug, Lidl. Porcelain plinth, Ikea with Habitat globe light. Recess painted in Inchyra Blue, Farrow & Ball

Above ‘I love the grid tile with contrasting grout – like a maths book – and slightly retrolooking peachy pink wall tiles in the en suite,’ says Caroline. ‘Our joiner made the wooden shelf.’

BEDSIDE BEAUTIES

Matrix wall tiles in Blossom Pink; and Shapes Hexagon matt black and white mosaic floor tiles, both Topps Tiles. Wood counter Percy Hudson timber merchant. Basin and tap, Roca

Rustic dipped stool, £79, Vincent & Barn

Rattan bedside table, £175, John Lewis & Partners

Brigitte bedside table, £250, Next

Round rattan side table, from £45, Where Saints Go

Deep blue walls work well with dark wood vintage furniture in Albie’s bedroom. ‘It was quite bland before, but the power of paint is so transformative,’ says Caroline. ‘I updated the headboard of our old bed with red yarn, which cost next to nothing, and a friend made the London Underground throw.’

Walls painted in Stiffkey Blue and Skylight, Farrow & Ball. Bed, Bensons for Beds. Side table (sprayed red), Ikea. Drawers, family heirloom. London Olympics 2012 poster by Howard Hodgkin. Rug, H&M Home

Right ‘I remember loving how light and spacious this bedroom felt when we looked around the house, but again, I knew there was so much scope to make it our own,’ says Caroline. ‘Changing the layout was essential to the flow of the room, and I love the restful pink colour we went for on the walls.’

Walls painted in Calamine, Farrow & Ball. Blanket, vintage. Wall lights, Made. Drawers, Ebay. Lamp base, Streatham Antiques. Shade recovered with striped fabric Absolutely Fabrics

Left and below Caroline removed the pale green and magnolia textured wallpaper during lockdown. ‘The hall’s one of my favourite areas; I love the calm colours. I’ve added

a few antique/ charity shop finds, and grasses from the garden.’

Walls painted in Setting Plaster and Charleston Gray, Farrow & Ball

REALHOMES.COM

ANNA MORLEY

KIDS’ ROOMS that grow with your child

Create the ultimate, adaptable sleep space for your child’s ever-growing needs, with functional furniture, savvy storage and well-thought-out décor

Keeping up with the evolving requirements and demands of your child is a skill every parent has to master, so when it comes to planning and decorating their bedrooms, (often a place for work, rest and play) then the specific requirements of these smaller humans really come into focus. Change; it happens gradually and yet comes around surprisingly fast. Where a cute cot once stood, in the space you carefully created even before your bundle of joy arrived, you now have a ‘big kid bed’, and those small cuddly toys have been replaced with board games, Lego scale models and a library of books. Forwardplanning the fundamentals of this room will ultimately save you money, so investing in some long-term thinking should mean you will buy once, not thrice. This type of forethought can start from the very beginning once you know which their dedicated room will be. Spatially plan by looking at plug socket positions, and take into consideration wall lengths where larger beds can be placed and where fitted furniture can go, limiting the need for a total redesign five years down the line.

FUTURE-PROOF

The challenge here is not just looking at what their current needs are, but taking into account the young person your little one will become (a scary thought) or –if you’re a real forward planner – what the room might evolve into or how you can repurpose the furniture at a later date. Creating a practical, fun, yet ultimately restful sanctuary that’ll last into their teens without the need for big budget updates is the key to a savvy design.

FITTINGS AND FURNISHINGS

Big ticket items, such as the bed, wardrobe and chest of drawers, will ideally stand the test of time and be large enough for growing needs (hello sports and crafting kits plus copious amounts of outerwear).

Practical items like fit-for-purpose window treatments and easy-clean flooring are also worth opting for. As they grow, dedicated furniture for home working or hobbies will be crucial – as will extra space and seating for friends to drop by or stay overnight. So think multipurpose with choices to keep things flexible.

DECODE AND DECORATE

When it comes to decorating, you might have a child who happily lets you take the reins on how their room should look, which means you can easily incorporate their space into your home’s existing scheme. Then again, you may have a budding interior designer on your hands, chomping at the bit to get their idea of perfection materialised no matter what! If you want to go long term, a neutral scheme with accents can be easily switched up. For something more full-on, a tried and tested way to deal with design dilemmas is to edit down some of your own choices and then let them have the final say. This way, they will feel they are part of the process, while you get something that’s palatable for you.

Fargo small double bed with trundle, £795, Little Folks Furniture

Fresh thinking

Clean and crisp –use paler tones for a bedroom backdrop that’s easily updatable

1SOPHISTICATED STYLE

Kids love to feel like mini adults, so giving them the luxury of a four-poster bed will give their room a real identity, and provide them a sense of grown-upness. Decorating this sleep spot together can be fun, using bunting, fairy lights or a canopy over the top that can be updated as tastes change.

2 SHIFT INTO NEUTRAL

Decorating with a palette of softer neutral shades is more cost effective than covering the space with their favourite animal or hero. This more pared back base can then be added to with bedding, artwork, wall stickers and accessories.

Be mindful of paint choices though – it’s best to opt for tougher types as neutral can show scuff marks, resulting in more paint jobs.

3 UP UP AND AWAY

Keeping as much stuff off the floor in any room is key to a tidy and organised space – it also gives the visual illusion of a larger area. This is even more important in a kid’s room with the collections of toys and other keepsakes, so opt for wall-hung options that work with the scheme.

Plump it up

Providing a splash of colour and texture, cushions are masters of the easy update

Vox 4 You fourposter single bed with adjustable height levels, £449; Vox 4 You high wall shelf, £75, both Cuckooland

‘Happy’ oblong cushion, £7, Primark

Floral leopard cushion, £18, M&Co

Junior Collection Amelia rainbow cushion, £6, Julian Charles

4LIGHTING THE WAY

Combining various light sources in a child’s room is not only practical but will change the look and feel of the space, too. Plug in lamps for home working and reading can be moved throughout the room and house when a change is needed. When picking overhead lights, decide if the choice is worthy of an electrician’s call out charge or if switching shades will suffice.

5 UNDER COVER

A single bed can easily become a guest bed, so it’s worth considering the style choice early on. When picking, make sure there’s extra storage by way of pull-out drawers or just extra space underneath, that can house bulkier items to combat the clutter. Mid or high sleeper-style beds with shelves or even a desk underneath can be an efficient use of space, and grow along with your child’s needs.

1. This bedroom is my sassy eight-year-old daughter’s. She’s had many different styles as I love decorating. Before this she had a subtle pink wall with a wooden house frame made from reclaimed cladding.

2. My daughter loves her arts and craft, so needed space to do that. It made sense to use the area beneath her desk to help store her favourite things.

3. Adding storage was the main aim, but it had to look fun and stylish (and easy for her to keep tidy!) It turned out exactly how I envisioned. I built the storage out of Ikea products, adding my own twist to it. I had my little helper, but she was more interested in rediscovering toys when we were reorganising them.

4. This scallop effect is a really simple way to make a border that helps break up colours on a wall. I designed a scallop tool to help others create the same effect that I sell on Etsy.

5. My daughter LOVES this space. She sits for hours playing, creating and reading. Sometimes it’s chaos as everything’s pulled out, but the labelled drawers make it easy to pack it all away.

Apprentice Paramedic, @elocin_home

Nicole Soames

Bright young thing

Encourage their imagination to run wild by combining playful accents of striking colour

1PICK A THEME

If you’ve a Sophie Robinson in the making, it may be best to pick a theme with your child and use it as a jumping off point. Run this throughout the room by pulling out favourite colours and incorporating them into paint and paper choices, lighting and accessories. For longevity, make it less specific than their inspirational image, and instead inject as a general mood.

Designer wall

With a bold print or subtle pattern, wallpaper gives a room character

Fresno Retro ‘70s-style wallpaper in orange, £83 per roll, Bobbi Beck

Nu Wall self-adhesive spot mono wallpaper, £26 per roll, Dunelm

Palma Tropical wallpaper in green, £20 per roll, I Love Wallpaper

Beneath the Waves in Lapis, £39 per roll, Ohpopsi. For a similar bed, try Lund grey wooden storage bed, £159.99, Furniture Maxi

2 LIGHT & SHADE

Keeping the room closed off to natural light so that even a vampire would be happy comes down to a good window treatment. Early mornings and late night summer sun is great, but for parents who need those extra hours to themselves, investing in black-out solutions with curtains, shutters, Venetian blinds, or a combination of these, will help with this light battle.

Oh sit down

Squidgy and portable – bean bags make a perfect guest seat or comfy reading spot

Forest Friends bean bag in teal, £80, Belle & Boo

Nest Pear bean bag, £135, Ferm Living

3

RUG RATS

Whether you have fitted carpets or wood floors in your child’s bedroom, either can be enhanced with a well-chosen rug. These soft underfloor pieces are protective, sound-absorbing, and can be bold statements or islands of calm.

Opting for washable types for when messy play or bedroom snacking becomes too evident is a shrewd move.

4 COOL WALLS

Kingston cord classic bean bag in Ochre Yellow, £59.99, Bean Bag Bazaar

Give walls an urban texture uplift by covering in a raw material such as chipboard. Use to create a pinboard or backing for treasured artwork –or go BIG for a wall full of wow! Chipboard is relatively low in cost, unusual looking (kids love this), robust enough to plaster with posters, and makes a great backdrop to video calls or TikTok dance offs with friends.

Jellybean Mango rug, from £808, Sonya Winner Rug Studio. For a similar storage unit, try the Kallax range, from £19, and for a desk try Malskytt/Mittback birch desk, £140, both Ikea

ACCESS ALL AREAS

Take a flexible approach to storage by choosing open and closed designs. You can put more attractive items, or those used frequently, on display so they are grabbable, while hiding away the less aesthetically pleasing collections (and ones you don’t want to dust). Such versatile furniture can prove useful in any room, but is essential for a kid’s rooms.

COMING NEXT MONTH On sale 3 November

in your new

Amazing before-and-after makeovers

Gorgeous gifts for under £50, cosy guest bedrooms and all the key Christmas trends

Plus! Latest looks, style picks and best buys

‘The large openplan kitchen diner was one of the selling points of this house for me, it’s a great space that has so many uses, and I can keep an eye on the kids when I’m cooking,’ says Jen.

New-Build Makeover

canvas A BLANK

By introducing colour through artwork, painting and furniture hacks, Jen has given her new-build home a vibrant look that’s full of personality

FEATURE ZOE BISHOP

PHOTOGRAPHS

LIZZIE ORME SHOPPING EDIT EMILY SMITH

Jen found all her dining chairs on Ebay. ‘I love to shop online and decided to mix and match my chairs. I especially love my pink chair as it ties in with some of the wall prints.’

PROFILE

The owners

Jen Watkins, a sales director in the beauty industry and an artist, lives here with her three children, Rowan, and twins Arthur and Oscar, their dog Dottie and cat Saffy.

The property

A five-bedroom detached new-build in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire.

‘I used some leftover hallway paint to paint an arch onto this wall and blend the radiator in,’ says Jen. ‘Fitted shelves

make it look like a frame.’

Archway paint, Valspar. Velvet chair, Habitat

Below ‘I bought this drinks cabinet on Facebook and upcycled it, using leftover paint,’ says Jen. ‘Arcs and curves are very on-trend, so I was ahead of the game!’

Right ‘The cabinet was a bargain buy from a local charity shop – I love combining old and new items as I think it adds to a home’s character.’

Right ‘I love to display all my purchases, so I fitted wide shelving across the back wall and a low unit which houses the TV. The corner sofa creates a cosy corner when snuggling up with the boys.’

Left ‘This is my little reading corner. I’ve tons of design and reading books which help inspire my artwork. The library sign was from a local shop, which I love.’

Armchair, Made

When Jen first moved into this house back in 2017, it was because she wanted a home that would grow with her family’s needs as they got older. She also loved that it offered lots of space, especially the open-plan layout downstairs and the walk-in wardrobe! ‘I work from home some days, so the house needed to offer enough rooms so that I could use one as an office and guest room, and be very versatile,’ says Jen. With a passion for interiors, and often finding inspiration through Pinterest and Instagram, Jen wasn’t put off by the prospect of a plain white canvas. ‘I’ve developed my own maximalist style and I’m not concerned about things clashing, so I was ready to get going.’

When you purchase a new build, you often pick everything from scratch before the house is even built. Thankfully for Jen, this wasn’t a problem. ‘I’m quite creative so I really enjoyed the process of going to the sales office at several stages to choose things like the kitchen, bathroom tiles and carpets. It’s my home and I needed to have the major things right from the start,’ she says.

Although Jen is a huge fan of colour, she resisted the urge to have bold kitchen units, instead choosing a light grey with a white marble worktop, which she knew would work with any colours she eventually introduced. She chose hard-wearing natural wood flooring, and decided to pay extra to have underfloor heating installed – which is especially beneficial in an open-plan living space. She did the same in the bathroom as she wanted it to feel clean and natural, but just picked out some textured wave-effect white tiles to add some interest, then a natural faux wood vinyl flooring which looks as good as the real thing.

‘It was a strange feeling moving into a house I’d only ever seen off plan or half-finished, and when I got the keys it felt very white and empty,’ says Jen. After compiling several mood boards of how she saw the house looking, Jen knew exactly what would work where. She’d even ordered lots of new items and furniture months in advance, and luckily they arrived on the day she moved in. The living room was used for storage until everything was unpacked, but it meant that the rooms were quickly filled with furniture.

It’s advised not to paint newly built walls for at least 12 months to help them settle and avoid cracking. However, after eight, Jen couldn’t wait any longer and painted her bedroom wall in Deep Green by Valspar. She then upcycled her old headboard with a few metres of fabric from her favourite designer, Kitty McCall. She knew she wanted to brighten up the kitchen-diner, so got creative and painted the arch and radiator on the narrow wall near the patio door.

Above ‘I customised my office desk and spray-painted the table legs for that individual touch. I found the chair online.’

Metal wall rack, Sainsbury’s

Jen is a huge fan of upcycling old furniture, as it means she can get great quality pieces for less. The drinks cabinet from Facebook Marketplace was upcycled with an arch design to echo the kitchen wall and tie the curvy theme together. ‘I’ve often made cushions from left-over fabrics or sprayed legs of furniture to add interest. The unit in my office was a dark mahogany shade, which I updated with furniture paint and new handles,’ she says.

Over the years, Jen has built up a huge collection of prints and pictures, which she’s used to create gallery walls all over the house. ‘I feel every image reflects me and my style and the things I love about my family,’ she says. In terms of her style, Jen tends to go for bright colours and then tone down each room with the odd item of neutral-coloured furniture. The sofa is a soft grey filled with an eclectic mix of cushions, while the white dining table has a mix of different coloured chairs. ‘I try to see the house as one whole room, so it flows from one space to another,’ she says.

‘I don’t think this house will ever be finished as I’m always changing or adding something new. For now, though, I’m happy living in a house that’s full of pattern, style and colour – even if it’s a little chaotic with three boys!’

FIND MORE INSPIRATION FOR ADDING CHARACTER TO YOUR HOME AT REALHOMES.COM/DECORATING

Left ‘My sofa bed is ideal if guests stay. The room leads into my walk-in wardrobe, – a godsend for my shoe collection .’

Sofa bed, Ikea. Rug, La Redoute.

Below ‘Using colour on one half of the wall has added impact on the staircase. I also removed the carpet and painted the stairs white to create a light, airy space.’

HAVE A DUVET DAY

Feed their imaginations and fuel their passions with these fun bed covers

Glow-in-the-dark planets duvet cover, from £25.99, Zara

Wild jungle animals duvet set, £25, La Redoute

Dinosaur duvet set, from £14, Marks &Spencer

Enchanted Symmetry single floral duvet set, £13, Habitat

‘I added the vinyl letters and painted a triangle in the twin’s room, which I thought was a fun element,’ says Jen

‘Rather than bedside table lamps, I fitted the hanging ones to the wall – which are perfect and can’t be knocked off by the kids when they jump on my bed!’

REALHOMES.COM

‘Rowan’s room is full of “stuff”, so we agreed that a funky chest is a great way to keep it tidy.’

Home for rent

Has our approach to renting changed? Is it time we embraced the buy-to-let and build-to-rent markets and accept there’s nothing wrong with never owning your own home, asks Jennifer Morgan?

As a nation, we seem obsessed with ‘getting on the property ladder’; in fact, helping Generation Rent was one of the many promises made by our new prime minister, Liz Truss. This is nothing new – such ambitions can be traced back to Margaret Thatcher’s ‘Right to Buy’ schemes, which allowed council tenants discounts so they could buy their own homes from the late 1970s to the 1990s. But is the rental landscape changing? While intense competition, absent landlords, unsafe or damp properties, spiralling deposits, and renting through necessity due to property prices, might be the stories we see shared on the news and social media, there are also those who are happy renting, very much like many of our European neighbours, while the build-to-rent sector is growing rapidly, with a very different offering to a private rental.

Research by specialist property lending expert, Octane Capital (octanecapital.co.uk) revealed that around 8.7 million homes in the UK are now rented privately, with the UK buy-to-let market only falling behind the US, Germany and Japan in terms of the number

of rented homes it contains. ‘The buy-to-let sector is a serious business, and privately rented properties not only account for a third of all homes across the nation, they also provide a home for many more tenants, who have been priced out of homeownership,’ acknowledges CEO of Octane Capital (octanecapital.co.uk), Jonathan Samuels. ‘While we'll never rival the United States due to the mismatch in geographical size, population and property market size, we could see the UK start to catch the other frontrunners as longterm renting becomes more prevalent as a lifestyle choice,’ he adds. ‘This is already a commonplace occurrence in nations such as Germany, where nearly half of all homes are privately rented to satisfy this demand.’

Danielle Bayless, COO of Quintain Living (quintainliving.com) says attitudes towards renting are changing, ‘It's become an option of choice. There’s so much more flexibility available for renters these days. Flexible tenancies in the growing build-to-rent sector (professionally managed housing designed for rent, such as that offered by Quintain

Living) are an example of this. Residents can choose a range of tenancy lengths to suit their individual requirements.’

Lisa Ridge-Valentine (lisavalentinehome. co.uk) and her husband have been landlords for the past 20 years. Lisa says she’s seen a change in the rental market, with the demand for good quality homes rising. ‘I’ve seen an increase in expectation from tenants. We’ve all become more aware of our surroundings, especially with people working from home and spending so much more time in them.’

She currently has seven rental properties, and has had quite a few tenants who have stayed for several years. To meet that long-term demand, she strives to make them feel a step above a standard rental. 'I always keep my properties neutral and never over furnish them, so that my tenants can put their own stamp on them. I try and make them look homely and inviting. ’

Rosie Mullender and her fiancé, Don, are currently renting a two-bedroom flat in Worthing, West Sussex, having relocated from London. It’s via an agency, with a

‘I do worry about how the younger generation will afford to buy,’ says Lisa, ‘I think there will be a shift towards renting, out of necessity rather than the current “norm” of buying. But I also think renting has huge advantages and suits a lot of people’s circumstances. With the job market being so fluid, renting gives people more freedom to move with work or to not feel tied down to a certain place. Renting also gives people an opportunity to live in an area, or a style of property they might otherwise not be able to, or not wish to longer term.’

Danielle has met so many residents who have chosen to rent, with no intention of buying. ‘I saw a shift in attitudes to renting in the US over recent years, and that is now filtering through to the UK. People who could afford to buy a home are renting through choice for the freedom, flexibility and lifestyle benefits that renting provides.

'It depends on circumstances, of course, but there are various work, family and personal preference reasons that can make renting the sensible choice.

Homely touches

1

Colour lovers should go for big and bold pieces, particularly if you can't paint the walls. Those who prefer neutrals should add lots of texture, giving depth and rhythm to an otherwise plain space.

A big rug can change the feel of a room from the ground up, and offer a whole new palette. Pull colours from it and flow into cushions and throws.

Plants refresh a rented space as they literally add life. Choose a mix of floorstanding, medium and small pots to decorate your shelves or liven up the corners of your rooms.

12-month rental agreement with a six-month break clause. When they first met, Rosie had always rented, although they bought a flat together as Don was already on the property ladder. ‘I much prefer renting to owning, if I’m honest,' she says. 'Although of course there are cons: the expense, the fact the money you spend each month isn’t going towards a mortgage and the risk of your landlord selling a property you feel settled in. But I enjoy the flexibility of renting. I don't have children, so handing a property down to them isn't something I worry about.

‘Renting helped us to realise that Worthing was where we wanted to be. We also bought our colourful furniture and rug with us and recreated our living space exactly as it was in our old place. It instantly felt like home.

‘We seem to have a national obsession with home ownership in the UK that makes buying a point of pride,’ continues Rosie. ‘Personally, I’ve never felt that drive to own property. Our grandparents and greatgrandparents mostly rented, and I do think it’s becoming more popular again.’

For some residents, it’s a simple question of trying out an area before they commit to buy. Others are just not yet ready to settle down.’

Marketing consultant, Debbie Gainsford (debbiegainsfordcoaching.com) is more than happy renting in East Putney, London – she’s rented for the past 16 years, from flat shares to her own two-bedroom apartment. ‘I can (relatively) easily change where I live or move into a different property as my circumstances change,' she says. 'I love the lack of responsibility that comes with renting.’

‘Renting gives the tenants choice, as well as coming with the hassle of no maintenance and thus greater control over their spending. Renting is firmly Plan A rather than Plan B for a sizeable portion of our residents,’ says Danielle.

'Renting has huge advantages in terms of upkeep,’ says Lisa. ‘If something goes wrong on a property, I’ll make sure I fix it straight away, whereas our oven and dishwasher at home aren’t working and we haven’t got around to replacing them yet!’

If you can't fix anything to your walls, focus on making cosy zones with movable pieces. For example, a reading area could be created with a chair, angled lamp, side table and statement rug.

A home should tell your story, and you can do this in a rental by displaying your ‘wares’. A sideboard will look ultra-smart with some leaning prints, a lamp and loved objects on top that can be moved and rearranged.

Wil Law, John Lewis & Partners' home design stylist, has tips for tenants

'We have a national obsession with home ownership that makes buying a point of pride. I’ve never felt that. Our grandparents rented and it’s becoming popular again.’

Modern twist bathroom makeover

Ellie and Oliver got lucky with the bathroom they inherited with their two-bed Victorian terrace. It was a large space, complete with double sinks and a roll-top bath. ‘It always felt like this space had potential – it was just very beige and a bit bare,’ says Ellie. ‘We wanted to do more with it.’

Central to the project was kitchen and bathroom designer Joel LaRosa, who the couple hired to help them find their feet. ‘This is our first house – we had a complete lack of experience and no DIY skills,’ says Ellie. ‘Joel projectmanaged the whole thing. He was good at listening to what we needed.’

The work took five weeks. Luckily, Ellie and Oliver had a downstairs loo they could use – ‘and our Spanish friend down the road went back to Spain and left us his keys, so we could shower there,’ says Ellie. The makeover left her full of ideas for her future project. ‘We’re looking at a kitchen extension. It’s given me the bug.’

Space planning

‘Initially, the shower was in the alcove where the toilet is. I’d assumed it would stay there, but Joel came up with the idea of a walk-through shower in the centre of the room, which is a much better use of space. We kept the old bath, which cut costs, and was more sustainable. We both liked it – so there was no need to change.’

First-time homeowners Ellie and Oliver’s new bathroom is a well-planned fusion of contemporary pieces and exotic touches

Eclectic style

‘My family have always lived abroad, so I have an eclectic mix of trinkets from overseas. I suppose my style is a bit bohemian – as in, nothing matches! My background as a conservator means I appreciate older things, and we try to buy vintage or second hand – we do quite a lot of antiques shopping. But I also like modern style, and with no period features in the room, it was a good opportunity to bring that in.’

Two’s company

‘My one non-negotiable was keeping two sinks. The whole bathroom theme stemmed from the ceramic sinks, which I found on Pinterest and tracked down to the manufacturer. Joel and I planned everything else from there. I looked at upcycling a vanity unit, but saw this one on Tikamoon. I didn’t want a straight block of tiles behind it, but something more organic. Joel was on the floor laying them out to get them just right!’

COSTS & CONTACTS

Fixtures and fittings £5,540

Build cost (including professional fees) £4,460 Furniture and décor £1,000

Project manager and bathroom designer Joel LaRosa Design, 0116 251 3657, joellarosadesign.co.uk

WORDS ELLEN FINCH PHOTOGRAPHS

SHOPPING LIST

Flooring, Arden Oak LVT. Bath, old. Vema Timea shower kit Bathrooms to Love. Shower enclosure, RefleXion. Vanity unit, Tikamoon. Ceramic basin, Sidsid Design. For similar Lily Pad hexagon splashback tiles, try Tile Zone. Mirror, John Lewis & Partners. Wall lights, Made. Rug, Rockett St George

Tactile texture

‘It seems I always like expensive things I can’t afford, so when I saw Tadelakt (a traditional lime-based plaster from Morocco) while I was browsing the web, I knew I wanted to use something similar. I found a limewash paint on Abigail Ahern’s website that had a similar texture and thought that would work as an alternative. We painted it ourselves to reduce costs.’

Flooring it

‘Joel was brilliant and came up with workarounds for most of the issues that surfaced along the way. The only thing I might have changed is the flooring. We love what we have, and we love the slate shower tray, but we quite like walk-through showers where the tiles blend into the floor, too.’

RACHAEL SMITH

For perfect results, decorate with Harris

Whether you are handy around the house or new to DIY, creating your dream interior can be stress-free if you use the right tools for the job, says iconic decorating brand, Harris.

The manufacturer of paint brushes, rollers and preparation tools designed to help you decorate in the fastest possible time, Harris products give excellent coverage, neat edges, and smooth finishes.

To help select the right kit for the job, Harris brushes and decorating tools come in task-specific colourcoded packaging. And for extra guidance on choosing the best piece for a project, there is a ‘Tip Exchange’ section on the Harris website at harrisbrushes.com.

Choose the right tools

If you are painting walls and ceilings, the Harris range of brushes and rollers gives complete coverage on large areas. Try out the Harris Ultimate brush range and the Ultimate Powercoat Roller for quick, easy and smooth results. And when it comes to touching up those hard-to-reach parts, like ceilings, coving joins and corners, there are extension poles and tools specially designed for tricky angles.

For precision painting around doors, windows and switches, and along the top of skirting boards, the Harris Ultimate Blade Brush has tapered bristles for an edge as thin as a blade.

When it comes to woodwork, the Harris Ultimate Woodwork brushes and rollers are designed to achieve the finest finish with specific tools for use with gloss paint, stain and varnish.

Get a great finish

To ensure that there are no stray bristles to spoil the finished look of any paint or varnish, Harris brushes have

See the products to help you get a professionallooking finish

Harris Ultimate Walls & Ceilings Blade Brush, from £2.98

Harris Ultimate Walls & Ceilings Powercoat Roller Frame and Sleeve, from £8.66

patented NO-LOSS technology to eliminate the problem.

So, whatever your interior decorating dreams – and no matter what your budget is for paper or paint – make sure you have the best range of application tools for great results.

For more product details, decorating tips and inspirational how-to videos, go to harrisbrushes.com

Harris Ultimate Woodwork and Gloss Triangular Brush, from £4.56

Pick the right tools for the job and get a smooth finish every time

10 STEPS TO

A SMARTER HOME

Embrace technology to run a more efficient, connected home that can help you save money

Bella Noir motorised roller blind, from £105.47; operated by Somfy mini connectivity kit, from £85, both Blinds by Post

1Window dressing

The nightly rituals of closing blinds and curtains then opening them all again the next day can be at an end with smart window dressings. Blinds and curtains can be operated remotely or via an app that links to a motor at the top. Smart operation makes it easy to adjust blinds in places that are hard to get to or on rooflights. You can set them to close with the sunset, or open with the sunrise for a gentler wake up in the morning. And they are a useful security device, giving the impression you’re home as their movements echo your normal routines.

Stay up to date as we test out the best smart tech

Google Nest hub, £88.99

Top tip

If you don’t have a smart TV, upgrade your old one with a smart TV dongle so you can install apps, use streaming services, and add smart home integration.

3Keep control

Energy companies will install a smart meter to your home to help you and them keep tabs on your usage and put an end to estimated bills. But you can also make your heating smarter with a smart thermostat to connect your system to the internet. They are relatively inexpensive – some cost less than £100 – and there might also be a small charge for professional installation. They put the control of your heating at your fingertips so you can adapt it according to your needs – shutting it off in empty rooms.

2 4

Economical heating

A smart electric heater is a useful way to create warmth just where you need it. You can precisely control temperatures to minimise wasted energy. They can be wall mounted but also standalone, letting you move them to whichever room might need a boost of warmth – such as the spare room you’re using as an office or a guest bedroom. An energy-efficient electric heater can cost less to run than traditional heating, while apps enable you set and alter temperatures remotely.

Screen time

Voice assistants are the unobtrusive helpers that can answer your questions, obey your commands or act as your DJ. A smart display, like the Google Nest hub, offers a more visual, interactive experience through a touch screen. Follow videos while you’re cooking in the kitchen, catch up on your favourite streamed shows and check out who’s at the door through a link to a smart doorbell. Operation can be hands-free, as you can control many of the hub’s features with a wave of the hand.

5Lightbulb moment

Fitting smart bulbs gives you control of your home’s ambience with just a word to your voice assistant. You can lower or increase brightness or even change the colour to suit your activities – whether it’s watching a movie, enjoying a meal with friends or working. The LED bulbs are long-lasting and cheap to run. A wider smart lighting system linked to your phone or voice assistant can give control over every room. You can set a timer for lights, and make them switch on when you’re away to imitate family life.

Connected kitchen

Kitchen appliances big and small have got smarter, with everything from scales, air fryers and coffee machines up to ovens and cooker hoods becoming Wi-Fi enabled.

The most comprehensive smart offering is probably to be found on fridge-freezers. These can let you view the contents without opening the door, keep track of expiration dates, suggest recipes and show you how to make them.

But smart fridge-freezers can also be an entertainment hub, acting as a TV screen, a notice board, a calendar and a way to access the internet.

Top tip

If you don’t want to pay a monthly fee for your smart security footage to be stored, look for subscriptionfree cameras

Phillips Hue offers smart lighting systems for the home. A starter kit, including a Hue bridge to control the lights, and smart bulbs, costs from £69.99; smart bulbs cost from £14.99

Clever cleaning

The robot vacuum is cute as any pet, but this one cleans up after itself. The floor-level self-guiding cleaners are a boon to people who like a tidy house, but don’t have the time or energy for sweeping round with a traditional vacuum. They are not inexpensive, but it’s an investment in convenience and time saved. They can be controlled by app or voice, or be set to clean where and when you want. Sensors map out and remember its route, learning to avoid obstacles. Some even empty themselves at their docking stations so you’re not endlessly using the bin.

Wi-Ficonnected Roomba i3+ self-emptying robot vacuum, £559, iRobot

Voice in the mirror 9

Ask ‘mirror mirror on the wall who is the fairest of them all,’ or create your shopping list as you wash or shave with a mirror you can talk and listen to. The Luka Alexa mirror, which is available at Wickes, is connected to Amazon and can function the same as an Amazon Echo 4. The mirror can also be adjusted to four different colours to set the mood. This is just one way that smart tech is being used to update bathrooms– showers can be turned on via an app or voice assistant, underfloor heating and extractor fans can be switched on at your command, and lighting controlled at a word or touch.

SAFETY FIRST

Protect your home with a smart camera. EZVIZ BC1C

2K+ smart home security camera, £127.98; solar charging panel, £29.99, both Amazon

8A watchful eye

Safety has become paramount in our homes, and smart technology has allowed us all to have a near-professional set up, monitoring suspicious movements and recording images – even allowing interaction when we are not there. Smart security systems can let off alarms and flash lights to discourage intruders, record clear video at night and, most usefully, let us talk to people who are outside our homes via a smart phone, giving the impression we’re there even when we are not. Linking the cameras to small solar panels can also generate the power needed to run it.

Luka Smart LED Mirror with built-in Alexa digital assistant, £399, Wickes

10Get plugged in

For a simple and affordable way to create a connected home, look at smart plugs. They appear similar to an adapter, but they are a practical way to turn an ordinary appliance into one you can operate from your smart phone. They are easy to use – just plug one into a socket, pair it with your Wi-Fi network and then use it to manage your gadgets from an app. They are a handy resource if you’ve ever worried that you’ve left something on or want to switch lamps on and off while you’re out. They can also help you monitor your energy usage.

Gorgeous glazing draws admirers

Industry-leading door and window company Express Bi-Folding Doors is proving to have real star quality

A family-owned luxury door and window company is not only catching the public’s eye – but that of celebrities too – following the launch of some ground-breaking new products. Express Bi-Folding Doors is now one of the country’s leading UK-based manufacturers of luxury products covering sliding and bi-fold doors through to skylights and windows.

TV presenter George Clarke, actor and quiz show host Warwick Davis, and interior designer Linda Barker, are

among some of the leading names who have been impressed by the firm’s products. And following a record year in 2021, the Leeds-based firm – run by a father and son – has unveiled more cutting edge ways to improve homes in style.

Slim sightlines for better views

The XP View has been completely redesigned, making it one of the highest specification bi-folding doors

in the world with ultra slim sightlines. It is joined by the XP 88 bi-folding door system, featuring even slimmer sightlines and at a lower price point.

Warwick Davis said: ‘Their bi-folding doors are amazing. We’ve got them at the end of our kitchen-diner so you open them up and that space becomes part of the garden.

‘They fold right away out of sight and look absolutely fantastic. The other feature I really like is the integrated solar electric-powered Venetian blinds; they don’t get dusty and look great. The quality of the products is second to none.’

The Express patio door range has also been widened, and the XP Glide has been overhauled in 2022 to feature a reinforced, slimmer interlock, reducing the sightline from 35mm to just 20mm. Completing the line-up is the new XP Slide 25, which bosses believe will be a marketleading entry level sliding door system boasting a sightline of just 25mm.

See style on show

More people can see the products first-hand at four impressive showrooms, with their new £400,000 Weybridge site the latest addition – adding to Leeds, Glasgow and Romford.

TV presenter George Clarke said: ‘I’m genuinely blown away by The Leeds showroom. Having had a tour, it gave me a sense of scale and the whole set-up is incredibly impressive.

‘There’s nothing better than coming to a showroom, it is as simple as that.’

Interior designer Linda Barker said: ‘This is where the market is –thin frames, a lot of super-efficient glass and a very modern approach to windows and doors. It is essential within the home as it sets the scene for the whole house.

‘I always recommend Express Bi-Folding Doors because I believe and trust in what they do and genuinely love the products.’

Below At the showrooms, customers can get a real sense of how the new doors and windows might look in their homes.

Right Presenter George Clarke encourages people to go along and see the products on display in the showrooms before buying: ‘There’s nothing better.’

Designs with aesthetic appeal

Steve Bromberg, managing director of Express Bi-Folding Doors, said: ‘Our popular XP View has been completely overhauled and modified to create what we believe will be the highest specification and most aesthetically

pleasing bi-folding door system available in the world.

‘Add in our other new products, complemented by our existing lines, and we have what we feel is our strongest line-up of luxury doors and windows available on the market today.’ To find out more and see showroom locations go to expressbifolds.co.uk

Left Interior designer Linda Barker loves the Express bi-folding doors for their ‘thin frames and lots of super-efficient glass.’

OPEN-PLAN SPACE

Opening up an existing property or expanding one to create a large open-plan living, kitchen and dining space can really transform the way you live. Being able to cook, eat, do homework and chat all in the same room just makes balancing family life that little bit easier. Rethinking your ground floor also opens up the doors to new handy design features – be it

a designated utility room, the pantry of your dreams, or an extra WC, banishing walls can mean there’s more space to squeeze in clever additions.

If your house isn’t a listed building, it’s unlikely that you’ll need planning consent in order to complete the project. But you’ll need to meet specific Building Regulations, particularly Approved Documents B, which outline

the rules for properties in England and Wales.

First off, you’ll need to decide what your space will be used for, and create clear zones for each function. From this basic but important starting point, you can begin getting creative and building up your scheme.

Keep on reading to discover how this airy, open-plan home was created.

REALHOMES.COM

DISCOVER MORE OPEN-PLAN ADVICE AT REALHOMES.COM/RENOVATIONS

An open-plan layout is a great way to unify small spaces and make the most of what you already have

GLOSSARY

BUILDING REGULATIONS

A set of standards that should be adhered to when renovating or building a new property

PLANNING PERMISSION

A request made to the local council to carry out building works on your property or garden

PERMITTED DEVELOPMENT

Works that can be undertaken on a property or garden without needing planning permission

LISTED BUILDING

A building subject to regulations because of its architectural or historical importance

SOLAR GAIN

A temperature increase caused by heat from the sun through glazing

ZONING

A way of dividing an open-plan space to create distinct areas through decoration, surfaces and furniture placement PARTY WALL

A shared border wall that separates two adjoining buildings and marks ownership

Top tip

BIG PICTURE

Deciding on what type of finish you want to have might actually be one of the best ways to start your project. Before getting into the nitty-gritty details, try and visualise the completed scheme and then collect and collate images and ideas to help you establish a clearly defined look. This will aid any architect, designer and project manager that you might be working with, but most of all, it will help you stay focused on what you’d like to achieve.

Open views

When Lucy and James Greenwood moved into this property with their two daughters 16 years ago, it was tired and dated. Aside from refreshing the walls with a lick of paint, the kitchen had remained unchanged until the family decided to extend and open things up.

‘I wanted a relaxed blend of old and new in our kitchen-diner, and a more streamlined space, with better storage,’ explains Lucy. ‘I discovered Pluck Kitchens via Instagram and liked that they were local, and their muted colours and pared-back style were a great fit for our 1930s house. The cabinetry has a bit of a retro feel, so even though my Aga is decades old, it fits in nicely. I wanted to keep the Aga as I had grown up with one. When I saw Pluck Kitchens’ signature larder I knew I’d found a great solution for organising and storing food.

‘I suggested the yellow interior to add a bit more character, and I painted my kitchen stool so it all ties together. I was very keen to connect the kitchen to the garden – hence the workspace looks out towards the garden, and the choice of Pluck’s Brockwell Moss kitchen cupboard colour. The building work took six months and the kitchen fit took four days. We stayed here the whole time, so it was quite tough, as we had no functioning kitchen or access to the garden.

‘I found the input from designers to be invaluable; tips about details like the depth of drawers that I would never have thought of have really made a difference. We kept the room’s existing footprint, but updated it all with a new, contemporary glass roof and fabulous glazed steel doors, so the room feels more modern and light.

‘The dining table sits in front of the Crittall doors and this part of the kitchendining area stretches the width of the house, giving us a great sense of space. We also introduced a brick wall into the dining area for interest and texture. The whole space will stand the test of time, and thanks to the extra storage everything is much tidier now, too.’

Before you start

q

Do I need planning permission?

AIf you live in a listed building or designated area you should speak to your local council even if you’re removing an internal wall. However the Government’s permitted development rights mean that you can extend out considerably to establish an open-plan space.

q What Costs Are Involved?

ADepending on the complexity, expect to pay from £1,600 per m2

q

Do I need a professional?

AThere are many design and build companies that can offer you a full service if you’re building an extension. For a more complicated design, an architect might be more suitable. If you are removing internal walls, you might want to work with an experienced builder and a structural engineer, but it should be a relatively straightforward project.

Top tip

MODERN COMFORT

There won’t be as much wall space in an open-plan set up, so think about where artwork, furniture and fixtures such as radiators will go. Tall vertical radiators would suit a contemporary scheme. You could opt for underfloor heating, but project costs could increase considerably if you install it throughout; an electrical version might be viable if the floor area isn’t too big.

REALHOMES.COM

Top tip CLUTTER-FREE

Keeping on top of everyday cleaning and tidying of communal spaces is time consuming, and with open areas you can’t just close off the doors to the mess when you have an unexpected visitor. Plan in your storage early on and consider using two-in-one furniture such as ottomans that double up as seating, to maximise space. Floating shelving or tall bookshelves are a great way to display treasured items.

Clear divisions

As the recent pandemic has proved, having closed off spaces is important, as individual family members still require spaces to retreat to. This can still be achieved in an open-plan area with clever design ideas. If you’re on a tight budget, consider moveable screens. These will allow light to filter through and still make the spaces feel distinct but connected. Sliding glazed doors can work in the same way. Kitchen islands help create a clear kitchen boundary, and incorporating an oriel window creates a useful extra zone that’s perfect for built-in seating. Flooring is also a great way to zone different areas. As shown in this kitchen-diner, the tiles and wooden floor designate spaces.

Top tip WALLS DOWN

your wall run at a perpendicular angle to the joists? If so, it’s likely to be load bearing. When you’re removing walls, it’s key to check whether they are load bearing or not. If they are, you’ll need steel supports to ensure that things don’t come crashing down once they’ve been removed. A structural engineer or an experienced architect or builder will be able to confirm whether a wall provides structural support, and it is essential to do this before you start the project.

Sound off

If your living area and kitchen space is combined, consider whether you’ll find it disruptive to have the dishwasher or washing machine running in the background while you are trying to settle down for an evening film. And while an open-plan space should be well ventilated, if the extractor fan you install is too loud, it could prove to be surprisingly distracting when you’re trying to have a conversation. Choose dishwashers and washing machines with the Quiet Mark symbol, and bear in mind that appliances are considered quiet at 75 decibels or lower. Building in cabinetry that can be closed off to dampen the noise levels is also really effective, especially if you don’t have room for a separate utility space.

PROJECT

The latest ideas, trends and essential buys for your kitchen, bathroom and renovation

TAP IN

We love a designer collab –and we’re excited by the teaming up of interior and architectural design leaders Conran and Partners with bathroom suppliers Vado. The result is Arrondi, a modern twist on traditional brassware, offering a sculptural look to taps, mixers and showers. This form has function, and adds a touch of opulence to your daily wash. It costs from £225.

Happy place

Put a smile on your face, and in your kitchen, without leaving the comfort of your sofa. Smile Kitchens is a digital-first brand offering end-to-end kitchen design and supply. There’s a core collection of eight kitchens in 23 colours and finishes, presented on your screen in 3D so you can visualise how yours will look. And because everything’s done in the UK, delivery could take as little as three weeks.

Kitchens start from £2,100.

Nice slice

Tired of toast that’s either just warmed bread or the colour of carbon? Russell Hobbs’ clever Attentiv Toaster uses Colour Sense Technology to adapt the toasting time to your bread type, stopping when the perfect shade is achieved. And it remembers the settings used last, so it’ll be just how you like it every time. Attentiv two-slice toaster, £79.99 Russell Hobbs

Feel the burn

‘Tis the season to start getting the stove fired up. With electric and gas prices rising, people are looking for alternative fuels, and many might consider a wood burner. This Morsø 6140 is a contemporary take on this classic form of heating, with its clean curves and low base. It’s a versatile little number with a flue in the top or to the rear, so you can site it inside or outside a fireplace. Morsø 6140, £1,899.

DESIGNER COLLAB

Faro Barcelona Spy-2 outdoor bollard light, £145, Naken

Punch of colour

In summer we’re all about the living spaces in our gardens, but as we retreat indoors, we want to refresh the ones in our homes. A lick of paint is an economical way to pull off a quick change, and Paint & Paper Library has released a colour card featuring nine new shades, eight colours revived from the archives and three new families of colours for coordinated decorating. The paints are self-priming, so no need for a separate primer, and durable, in rich and inviting hues. A single paint pick can be used on walls, ceilings and woodwork, so you can have your favourite shade across every surface.

Guiding light

Outside lights aren’t just for summer, they are for all year round when it comes to lighting your way outside. Use them to highlight paths, driveways, or to showcase your house in an artful illumination. This slender bollard light from Naken has a tilted head to light your steps after dark, turning the path to your door into your personal catwalk.

Star quality

Claybrook’s new porcelain tiles are a feast for the eyes. Named in honour of the Italian filmmaker Fellini, they’re reminiscent of hand-crafted Moroccan Zellige tiles. Each one has a subtle artisanal style. They come in six colours, all under £70 per square metre.

Walls in The Long Room Architects’ matt, £59.50 for 2.5ltrs; top tiles in The Long Room, lower tiles and units in Roben’s Honour and Crittall doors in New Black, all Architects’ eggshell, £75 for 2.5ltrs, Paint & Paper Library

Roll up

ECO CHOICE

Get the drop on windows that let out heat and let in cold with a new blind. You can roll it down as soon as the sun sets to create a cocoon in your home. This Arora blind is simple yet stylish in its dark Impact colour that filters out all the light, and the material is made from 100 per cent recycled polyester. Close and open it at a touch with the motorised version.

Bathroom beauty

Embrace the curve with Victorian Plumbing’s tactile new fluted bathroom furniture. The Venice collection has an Art Deco feel and its raised rippled surface adds an extra dimension to your storage. It comes in on-trend shades, including anthracite, green, blue and white, for pleasing pops of colour – and a space to hide away all your essentials. From £169.95 for a 500mm WC unit.

PUSH & PULL

Accessorising plain or basic units with beautiful handles and knobs can elevate your whole scheme. Cast, from Buster + Punch, is a range of hand-cast knuckles and grips made from handpolished metal, inspired by factory architecture and pipework. Colours include brass, steel, gun metal and Welders Black. From £65 for a T-bar door pull.

Expert advice

Victoria Brocklesby, COO at Origin (origin-global.com) offers advice on updating your home’s windows

q what’re the rules regarding a fire escape window?

AThe UK building regulations were recently updated and included fire provisions. They now state that to ensure fire safety, all habitable rooms must allow emergency escape, and those on upper floors must be fitted with escape windows, unless they directly connect to a protected fire route. Jargon aside, this means that new windows fitted to a home should have an unobstructed openable area of 0.33m2 and be at least 450mm high and wide. Most modern windows will comply with this, but your builder or installer will be able to advise in more detail.

qIs it worth getting triple glazing rather than double?

Foot note

Havwoods has introduced seven new colours to its V Collection Origins – a cost-conscious range of engineered wood flooring –that can add visual warmth or a cool Scandi vibe. From the elegant milky Denman to the darker Dunsmuir, there’s a board to suit your style. Prices start from £77.95 per square metre.

a

Triple glazing offers superior thermal efficiency and noise cancelling properties, but it isn’t always necessary and is often much more expensive than double glazing. The extra thermal efficiency can reduce household bills. However, premium doubleglazed windows with quality thermal breaks can be just as adequate for residential properties. If you live near a busy road, then triple glazing can help dampen the noise, but homeowners could opt for double glazing on the windows that do not face it.

qHow can i stop my windows from getting covered in condensation?

a

Condensation is caused by the cold glass of windows colliding with the warm air from inside. Continuous, sitting condensation can damage windows and can cause mould. To prevent this, consider ventilation. Briefly opening trickle vents or opening the window a crack can help dispel a build-up of condensation. Rubber window seals that have become damaged increase the likelihood of condensation, but these can be replaced by a professional installer.

Arona Impact roller blind, from £25.34, or from £85.34, for the motorised version, Blinds by Post

Characterful kitchen

Colour play

Sarah Hill has made her kitchen a happier place with a scheme full of personality, fresh colours, and treasured finds

PROFILE

The owners

Sarah Hill lives here with her husband, Andrew, and sons Guy and Jasper.

The property

A five-bedroom, detached 1950s house in Datchworth, Hertfordshire

Project cost £22,730

For many of us, the kitchen is the most important room in the home. Whether or not you’re a keen cook, it’s become a place to gather, a spot to take a welcome coffee break or to help the kids with their homework. As a room that packs a lot in, we need it to function perfectly, as well as to reflect our personality.

Sarah’s is a shining example of this. From crafting a sociable layout to thoughtful colour considerations and incorporating upcycled vintage finds too, she’s curated a kitchen-diner bursting with personality, and one that beckons you to come in and take a seat. We find out how she did it…

Left and right Sarah was keen to use her kitchen to display treasured pieces that she’s been gathering since she was a teenager.

The build

‘The house needed top-down renovation when we bought it and I knew the kitchen would be an important room for us as a family, as well as a sociable space to enjoy with friends. Everything was stripped out. The builders laid a new floor and constructed a false chimney breast from MDF to frame a range cooker. The building work took two weeks and cost around £3,000. The trickiest bit was coordinating all the deliveries, but I kept track of everything on a big spreadsheet, and while it was full on, it was exciting, too.’

The layout

‘I wanted a functional space that felt fun and laid-back, and discovered deVOL’s Shaker-style cabinets, which were just what I was after. To keep the room feeling open and bright, I stuck to simple base units, with plenty of storage in the island. The made-to-measure larder unit fits neatly into a redundant space by the door. It incorporates the fridge along with tins and dry goods. Removing a fitted unit left an alcove perfect for our dining table. I’ve given the area its own atmosphere with tongue-and-groove cladding and interesting lighting.

‘I swapped a central dining table for an island, giving me much more workable storage space. I also wanted open shelving for all my china.’

For similar blue storage jars, try Jonathan Adler. Farmhouse sink, Villeroy & Boch. Tap, deVOL

An MDF chimney breast was built above the range cooker to hide the extractor fan and create a characterful feel.

Real Shaker kitchen units deVOL. Island painted in Trinity Blue, wall units in Lead, deVOL. Chimney breast painted in Oval Room Blue, Farrow & Ball. Pink Pradena tiles, Bert & May. Reconditioned Lacanche Cluny range cooker, Ebay. Woven tray, Soho Home

COSTS & CONTACTS

The colours

‘I considered the colours I chose very carefully, as I knew it would make a huge difference to the look and feel of the space. It’s amazing how swapping the wooden cabinets for brighter, lighter colours has lifted the room. To create an unfitted effect, I chose soft grey for the units and bluegreen for the island. I knew the pink tiles would work with that, and I love the visual variety. The white walls and worktops are practical and unobtrusive, so there’s no clash with the colourful tiles and painted furniture.

‘The lightshades above the sink were made from recycled egg cartons, and really affordable. They were a strong pink colour, but I toned them down by painting them white for a softer look.’

Wall-to-wall bench seating allows for ample space for friends and family to sit down and be together.

Kitchen chairs, Loaf. Existing farmhouse table top painted in Hague Blue, Farrow & Ball. Wall lights, Tinsmiths

The dÉcor

‘I love mixing different styles. Vintage and contemporary accessories reflect my passions, making the kitchen a vibrant, friendly and interesting space. I’m especially pleased with the pink tiles. They’re timeless but a bit of fun, and I like their not-quite-perfect character and solid, artisan feel. They make me smile every single morning, and they get a lot of compliments. I’ve collected bits and pieces from junk shops and jumble sales since I was a teenager. I’m usually drawn to colour, but I go for all sorts of different looks and don’t worry too much about things matching. Having tall shelves means there’s space for the biggest pots, but also for decorative and functional storage baskets.’

the Learnings

‘One of the key things I’ve learnt is to not over-spend on swish appliances. I found a reconditioned range on Ebay, bought a basic but functional dishwasher and our fridge is secondhand. They all work perfectly fine and were a fraction of the cost of buying brand new. Clever design tricks have really made a big difference to our space. Wall-to-wall built-in seating has meant that we can squeeze as many friends as possible around our dining table, which really helps to pull guests towards the kitchen and make it the hub of the home. I’m also so pleased with the false chimney breast which frames the range. This conceals the extractor and adds so much character and personality to the room.’

Keep it light with glazed internal doors

open the door with your foot when your hands are full. With a number of signature handle colours and materials available also, it’s easy to define even the smaller details of your doors.

A lthough you probably know how good glazed internal doors look in a home, you may not realise how transformative they can be. Swap out bulky frames and dull living spaces for light-filled rooms that feel more streamlined. Origin’s new OI-30 glazed internal doors make the perfect upgrade.

Exceptional design within reach

Built with premium-grade aluminum, Origin’s OI-30 glazed doors are designed with seamless operation in mind, with no compromise on their flawless finish. Starting from just £1,400, including the frame, glass and installation, you’ll be making a sound investment.

Sleeker than other designs on the market, the Origin OI-30 Internal Door system is completely customisable to better suit a variety of room

shapes and household needs. Choose from four configurations: a French door, single door, fixed screen or a combination with a corner post. Then select your preferred door opening direction and more to make the most of the your space.

Whether you have a newly installed cloakroom that needs privacy, or want rooms to feel more connected without going completely open-plan, you can work with your installer to choose from clear, frosted or reeded glass, to find the doors to suit your space.

ENHANCING YOUR HOME’S AESTHETIC

Whatever finish you want – classic or modern – you can amend the glazing bar configurations to match your interior design scheme. You can even have kickplates or solid panels to aid with usability if you need to nudge

MATCHING YOUR LIFESTYLE NEEDS

Designed with practicality and décor in mind, a powder-coating gives a great finish, but also makes these doors more forgiving to light scuffs and scrapes from a bustling home environment.

From energising your interiors, to streamlining the functionality of your space, there are plenty of reasons why it’s worth exploring Origin’s OI-30 glazed internal doors. Visit the website, origin-global.com, for your local installer. Available with an industryleading warranty of up to 20-years, you’ll get peace of mind that you’ll enjoy your doors for years to come.

LET’S TALK… Shower rooms

Refresh your senses and your home with a revitalising shower design that will provide good looks and a fast track to freshness for all the family

Spacious family bathroom, neat en suite or downstairs utility washroom, chances are you have a shower in one or more of these spaces in your home. The power of the shower is evident; they provide us with easy, speedy cleaning. What’s not to love about this refreshing, pick-meup option? Many of us are choosing

to ditch the idea of a traditional bathroom with a tub, altogether.

Available in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, finishes and configurations, showers are a truly flexible option that allows you to get creative with your design.

Being able to fit into almost any space, no matter how small,

Top tip

is something a bathtub can’t always do. What’s more, with a multitude of options available for brassware and fixings, they can work within any décor scheme of your choice.

They don’t have to be big budget to look good either. With some careful thought, you can create a shower room that’s practical and wallet friendly, too.

Opt for a windowpane shower screen to give your room a cool, industrial twist. Crittall-style screens can be bought ready made, or go DIY and apply waterproof black tape to create your own panes. Broden wall light, £40; London mirror, £38, both Dunlem. For a similar shower screen, try the Arezzo grid wetroom screen, from £110.95, Victorian Plumbing

Bring in some high-end luxury with gorgeously oversized, ultra glossy onyx-style tiles. The unusual colourway makes a powerful statement, and when used across walls, the large format tile size will help give a feeling of space – perfect in a smaller shower room. Ca’ Pietra California porcelain jade tiles, £128.16 for a pack of two (equalling 1.44m2), Hyperion Tiles

can save money and avoid the

of

by

for

vinyl

FEATURE ANNA MORLEY CONTRIBUTIONS FROM SOPHIE WARREN SMITH / MICHELA COLLING / ANNA COTTRELL

Small space showers

We often have to compromise when it comes to the size of our bathrooms, which means making the most of the space we do have and working out how to enhance it. A walk-in shower for a small bathroom is appealing because you can create an open-feeling, harmonious scheme while still being able to move about easily.

When exploring your shower design, you have three main points to consider: the space available to you, the look you want to achieve and the cost of materials and labour.

Once these are set, consider the style of your doors. This will depend on the amount of room you have. Explore all your options – with hinge, corner opening, sliding and pivot, there’s an option for any shaped room. For the ultimate open-plan space, consider a waterproofed wet room with no doors at all.

Creating a wow backdrop with decorative tiles behind the shower fixings draws the eye to really lift the space. If your budget is slim, only tile a small area with a patterned tile, using a plainer version for the rest. Or you can try a shower panel instead. Minimalist shower screen, £1,075; matt black rainfall shower and matching hand shower, £1,902, Ripples.

Ca’ Pietra Lily Pad wall tiles, £27.84 for a box of 10

Sushma Samonini

When we moved in, the bathroom was very dated. There was a huge corner bath, a whole wall of built-in sink storage, a massive cupboard, tiny shower and no toilet! It just wasn’t functional. I designed the new layout, and the first decision I made was to make the shower space bigger by moving the wall of the cupboard. Reducing the amount of sink storage also allowed us space for a toilet.

I wanted to be daring with colour, but wasn’t quite ready. So I chose a monochromatic palette, which I just love, and a reclaimed wood unit that adds just the right amount of warmth. The statement floor was where I got to be bold –and it really paid off.

I found the best way to save money but still get that luxe look was to put in the research and not scrimp on quality. I sourced all items myself and didn’t purchase everything from the same company. I went to different suppliers for the same brand at the lowest cost. We all love this space now. My four-year-old boy prefers a shower to a bath and my sevenmonth-old baby loves a bath, so we take one child each at bathtime and we’re all in there together.

Tile tactics

Tiles come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and they’re often the most decorative part of a bathroom. Clever use of shower tiles can make a small space feel much bigger almost instantly. Vertical tiles, like this, will work to make your ceiling feel higher, whereas horizontal tiles will make your room feel wider. We tend to default to square or rectangular tiles, but there are actually plenty more cool and vibrant shapes to choose from. Scallop-shaped designs, for example, are oh-so-pretty, and they’re guaranteed to give your shower a fabulous statement element.

Metro tiles are a popular, fail-safe choice for a shower space, and for good reason. There are many low-cost options out there, and they’re timeless. You can get creative with the layout – with linear, brickwork or herringbone designs to name just a few. Choose a high shine finish to bounce light around the room, or matt for a modern look.

@house_on_ the_way

Give a plain tile extra personality with a coloured grout. Gone are the days where white was the only option, dark grey or black will make a strong impact — also look out for blues, pinks and creams.

Arena 600 console unit worktop in steelwood, £620; Optix 10 pivot door shower enclosure with side panel, from £2,110, Crosswater

Top tip

Go for gold with brushed brassware – perfect for a luxe look. The oversized fixed head has hotel elegance and looks stunning set against pink tiles. Practical step-free access for this walk-in shower with low-level tray ensures ease of use for any age. EauZone hinged door with panel, £2,596; low profile Continental 40 shower tray, £302, both Matki

Awkward space? No problem. This sliding shower door provides a perfect solution. With its sleek opening and closing action, it’s ideal if you don’t have the necessary room for a traditional hinged door. Oslo matt black premium easy clean sliding shower enclosure, from £499.99, Bathroom Mountain

Add personality to your existing plain tiles on a budget by using a stencil to paint on a new pattern

WORDS SARAH WARWICK

A GUIDE TO

Radiators

An essential part of many home heating systems, radiators can also be a stylish feature. Here’s what you need to know when choosing yours

Top tip

LOW-COST STYLE

You can easily change the look of an existing radiator with paint. Clean thoroughly and sand before starting for best results. Use a specialist paint and apply when the radiator’s completely cold. If your room’s painted in a dark and dramatic shade and a white radiator is compromising the cocooning vibe, a simple coat of dark paint can make all the difference.

Terma Warp S designer towel radiator in Orange, £165, Radiators Online

The overwhelming majority of UK homes are fitted with radiators as part of their central heating systems, and they are an important feature because they both keep us warm and have an impact on the look of any room. Efficiency should also be front of mind when choosing a design for the home, with fuel prices reaching previously unimaginable highs.

While horizontal white panels are the standard radiator option (and will generally prove the most budgetconscious choice), there are a huge range of alternatives. Overall, designs fall into two camps: traditional Victorian-style column radiators, including classic cast iron; and modern radiators which encompass bathroom

Top tip

LOCATION CONCERNS

Traditionally, radiators were located under windows, and if your home is single glazed, it’s still a good idea. Got double or triple glazing? It definitely doesn’t have to be restricted to this position. Wherever a radiator goes, don’t cover it with curtains or a large piece of furniture – you’ll block the warmth.

towel radiators, flat panel designs, sleek sectional radiators, and designer takes in different shapes, textural finishes and even looking like artwork.

Today’s radiators also offer a variety of sizes and orientations other than the conventional horizontal rectangle, which makes room design easier.

‘Vertical radiators don’t take up as much wall space as the most common horizontal ones, but will still offer the same amount of heat,’ says Jess Steele from Best Heating. Very low floorstanding radiators (think from around 200mm in height) can also be space savers, and you might also consider bench radiators for small spaces since they function as seating and heat source in one. And white is

no longer the only colour choice –there’s an enormous range to select from, including subtler neutrals and bold standout shades.

Finally, if you’re planning on investing in an air source heat pump to reduce energy bills and your carbon footprint, you may wonder if you’ll have to invest in new radiators, too. ‘If you swap from a boiler to a new heat source, you won’t necessarily need to change to larger (or smaller) radiators,’ explains Simon Morris, marketing manager, The Radiator Company. ‘It all depends on the flow temperature your new heat source produces. To get an accurate indication, ask a plumber to calculate the flow temperature and any necessary conversion for you.’

Ionic two-column radiator, painted in Light Old Penny, £447, Foundry Cast Iron

Need to know

Q What size radiator do I need?

ABTUs are British Thermal Units, and a BTU is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by 1ºF. While this might seem abstract, the bottom line is that the right size radiator is crucial for any space so it’s neither under nor overheated.

BTU calculators, like the one at theradiatorcompany.co.uk, will allow you to see the BTU (as well as the Watts, which are the metric equivalent) needed to heat a particular size of room and therefore what size radiator(s) you need for it.

‘A BTU calculation assesses the amount of heat needed to keep a room at a comfortable temperature,’ explains Simon Morris, marketing manager at The Radiator Company. ‘Things like double glazing and whether the house is in a terrace or on top of a windy hill will have an impact, as will which room it is in the house you are looking to heat. Bedrooms are usually heated to two degrees lower than a living room, while a bathroom is heated to two degrees higher.’

Frame in Pop Memory 01 designer radiator, from £1,468.43, The Radiator Centre

Top tip

MAXIMISE HEAT

Air can become trapped inside radiators and prevent them from heating your rooms properly, wasting the money it costs to run them. Bleeding can release the air, and is a job you can do yourself with a radiator key from a DIY store or online. Scan the QR code on the next page for how-to instructions.

Athens Dove Grey triplecolumn radiator, from £219.99, Bathroom Mountain

Tide electric radiator in Pink, from £600, Fischer

Top tip

MATERIAL MATTERS

Steel radiators are often the most economical choice, and come in a huge range of designs. Stainless steel is pricier, but should prove very durable, especially for a kitchen or bathroom. Aluminium will cost more than steel, but is light, heats up fast and has optimum heat output for the size. Cast iron is heavier and takes longer to heat up but retains warmth well; as the original radiator material, it is possible to pick up a reclaimed bargain.

How to bleed your radiators to improve efficiency before winter

QHow are radiators fuelled?

ARadiators can operate in conjunction with a gas boiler or a heat pump, or be powered by electricity either through hardwiring or by plugging in. Some electric radiators contain water which is heated by an element. Towel rail radiators are available in dual fuel designs, which allows them to be run from the central heating in the colder months, and be heated with an element to dry towels in summer when the heating isn’t switched on.

QWhich type of radiator is cheapest to run?

AThe costs of running a radiator depend on its efficiency. ‘Radiators that have less water in them require less energy to heat up and, as a result, should be cheaper to run,’ explains Nick Duggan, director at The Radiator Centre. ‘There are a wide range of “efficiency” radiators designed to work in this way, with some having only 10 per cent of the water of a similar-sized conventional radiator.

‘The material the radiator is made from will also make a difference,’ he says. ‘Aluminium designs generally have a lower water content and faster heatup time than steel radiators.’

Oni radiator in Melon Yellow, from £899.50, Vasco

Inka radiator, £1,656, Real Stone, Tile & Bathroom

Left and above White threecolumn traditional horizontal radiator, £289.99; black flat panel horizontal radiator, £249.99

Quality radiators delivered quickly

By making its own products, Radiator Outlet can offer a speedy and affordable service

R adiator Outlet is dedicated to its mission statement ‘to provide high quality radiators at affordable prices,’ supplying them to thousands of customers throughout the country.

In the five years the Lancashirebased company has been operating, it has built a healthy reputation, with more than 14,000 online reviews and a dedicated social media following.

Radiator Outlet makes its own products, ensuring high quality home heating with no corners cut when it comes to materials used or the manufacturing process.

Equally as impressive is the speed at which the radiators, valves and accessories are sent out; with priority delivery as standard, a fast turnaround can be expected by any customer on a tight deadline or in need of a radiator

quickly. All the stock is stored in large warehouses ready for immediate dispatch, transported by Radiator Outlet’s own enthusiastic delivery drivers, ensuring a tracked, helpful, and safe service every time.

Finally, should customers have any problems down the line, the hassle-free 10-year warranty is with Radiator Outlet directly, so there is no lengthy process of chasing down a radiator manufacturer –the company will resolve any issues.

To see more of Radiator Outlet’s wide choice of radiators and to get details of its swift service, go to radiatoroutlet.co.uk

Right and below White oval panel vertical radiator, £249.99; raw metal three-column traditional vertical radiator, £279.99

FOCUS ON

Work surfaces

Whether you’re cooking a meal, baking a cake or sorting the weekly shop, you want your kitchen worktop to be as attractive as it is practical

▼ Best for seamless style

Corian is a man-made composite that’ll give a streamlined finish to your kitchen, as it can be heated and bent into a specific shape through thermoforming, to create rounded edges and corners. It looks even more seamless when paired with a Corian sink. Non porous and easy to maintain, it’s also hygienic. This versatile material comes in a variety of colours and finishes, and is inspired by natural surfaces, such as marble. It can chip but is repairable, and can be refabricated if you alter your kitchen and want to keep the surface. Corian Solid Surface in Artista Canvas, starting from £705 per square metre excl. VAT, CDUK

Best for recycling

Introduce character to your kitchen by giving a new lease of life to an old work surface. Reclaimed wood worktops, such as this from The Main Company, are environmentally friendly, look unique and add warmth and texture. The wood can be sanded back if stained, and will produce a soft, tactile material that looks particularly effective when paired with contrasting surfaces. The Main Company engineers the wood to stop it twisting, shrinking or splitting. Reclaimed wood worktop. £450 per square metre plus VAT, The Main Company

Best for an industrial edge

Choosing a ceramic clay worktop in a mineral shade creates the industrial look of concrete, but with less mess. SapienStone worktops are made from heat and stainresistant ceramic. This dark grey surface gives a contemporary edge. SapienStone Ceramic in Urban Anthracite, from £210 per square metre, Cullifords

ECO CHOICE

Best for sustainability Green in looks and green by nature, this Silestone worktop’s serene colour is Posidonia Green, named after Neptune Grass, which grows in the Mediterranean Sea. The surface is made from recycled raw and mineral materials, and produced using reused water and renewable electric energy. The high performance material is hygienic and comes with a 25-year warranty. Silestone starts at £450 per square metre, from Cosentino

Best for budget

Laminate work surfaces have the visual appeal of natural materials, such as solid stone, but at more budgetfriendly price points. A compact laminate, like Bushboard’s Zenith, has a slim profile and can be draped down the side of a unit for a striking waterfall effect. Compact laminate is also easy to fit, tough and hard wearing, waterproof and resistant to impact and abrasion.

Zenith Tectonica Fizzy 3050x650x 12.5mm compact worktop, £466.80, Builder Depot

Expert advice

Real Homes’ Jenny McFarlane reveals how to care for your wooden work surface and preserve its natural beauty

Wooden countertops add warmth to a kitchen and are very robust. However, because they’re made of a natural material, it’s important to clean them properly. You can do this easily using washing up liquid, plus natural ingredients like lemon and white vinegar to lift stains. Then it’s all about good maintenance.

PREVENTION AND PROTECTION

▼ Best for a luxury look

Enjoy a shimmer of sophistication with a quartz worktop. It is made from pieces of the natural mineral that is crushed and bonded together with resin and mixed with colour pigments, producing a solid surface. It is extremely hard, making it scratch, stain and erosion resistant, and the compact material inhibits the growth of bacteria. The glossy finish looks rich and luxurious – go for black for a bold, impactful scheme. Titan Quartz work surface, £720.95 per square metre, Wren kitchens

If your wooden worktop is sitting above a dishwasher, washing machine or other appliances that radiate excess heat or moisture, protect it by applying a moisture barrier to the underside of the surface. If it’s near a freestanding oven, allow a 30mm gap between them and fix an end cap to the edge of the worktop closest to the oven. You’ll need to apply another coat of oil to seal the surface after installation, which should be repeated regularly over the next six to eight weeks. Test whether your worktop is oiled sufficiently by spraying a small amount of water onto the surface. If it pools rather than forming droplets, you’ll need another coat.

KEEP IT CLEAN

You can clean wooden worktops using washing up liquid, plus a couple of natural ingredients like lemon and white vinegar to lift stains. For a deep clean, you need to firstly remove any food debris. Mix some hot water and washing up liquid, then use the rough side of a sponge to remove any stains before wiping off. Once the area is clean, sanitise by spraying white vinegar liberally. Leave this for a few minutes and then scrub off again. This will also help with sticky areas and tough stains. Dry thoroughly to protect your wooden surface from warping or cracking. If vinegar didn’t lift the stain, try rubbing half a lemon on it to remove or at least lighten the mark. You could also drench steel wool in lemon juice and scrub until it’s gone.

REALHOMES.COM

MORE KITCHEN AND WORK SURFACE INSPIRATION, GO TO REALHOMES.COM/KITCHEN

Soup makers

Conquer the chilly months and warm your hands and heart on a bowl of homemade goodness with the best models on the market

R E V I E W C O R NE R

Want to know more? Read our reviews of the best blenders

Ambiano soup maker, £34.99, Aldi

Soup Chef Pro, £89.99, Drew & Cole

Soup Maker Plus, £140, Cuisinart

Clarity soup maker, £89.99, Morphy Richards

Ninja Foodi blender and soup maker, £149.99, Ninja Kitchen

Touch screen soup maker, £139.99, Lakeland

Neo 4-in-1 digital soup maker, £54.99, Amazon

Easy soup maker in stainless steel/white, £129.99, Tefal

Matt black hardware

Add a touch of drama to your bathroom with

of noir that will stand out against any

or scheme

REALHOMES.COM

FOR MORE FINISHING TOUCHES TO ENHANCE YOUR SPACE, GO TO REALHOMES.COM/BATHROOM

Check out more stylish black and white bathroom designs here

Cubiko black storage mirror, £105, Beaumonde

Milano Elizabeth single lever mono basin tap, £149.99, Big Bathroom Shop

Mode black-framed bath screen, £255, Victoria Plum

Black complete shower set, £279.99, Dowsing & Reynolds

Bezel matt black grooved knob, £10.95, Plank Hardware

Harbour Status vanity unit & basin with matt black frame, £399.99, Drench

Harbour Status matt black tall basin tap, £144.99, Tap Warehouse

Module two outlet, two handle shower valve & handset, £1,199, Crosswater

Leaf blowers

Clear your lawn, flower beds and terraces with blowers and shredders that make light work of autumn leaves

DeWALT DCM572 FlexVolt blower

We’ve voted this DeWALT model as the best leaf blower on the market. A top of the range blower for efficient leaf carpet clearance, it is more than good enough for those with an average-sized back garden – and, depending on how efficient your leaf blowing skills are, could clear bigger gardens as well. It runs on powerful batteries that are interchangeable with other smaller power tools in the DeWALT range, and the 195 km/h speed motor should enable you to do some ample leaf shifting in a short space of time. One of the lighter weight models, it is easy on the arms, and thanks to the electric motor, shouldn’t be too strenuous on the ears, either.

SPECIFICATIONS

Best for: Efficiency

REASONS TO BUY

time

TO AVOID

R E V I E W C O R NE R

Advanced Leaf Blower 36V-750 with long-life brushless motor, £159.99, Bosch

Draper Tools D20 cordless leaf blower, £64, Amazon

Flymo Power Vac 3000 blower vacuum and leaf shredder, £83.99, OnBuy

BGA 45 Lithium-Ion cordless leaf blower, £119, Stihl

Three-in-one leaf blower vacuum and mulcher, £47.99, VonHaus

LB7650E leaf blower, £249, EGO Power Plus

THE EDIT

Alarms

Avoid a stressful start by keeping phones out of the bedroom and ease yourself into the morning a gentler way

Enjoy a breakfast brew with an alarm clock & coffee maker

DCF02 drip filter coffee machine with clock/ timer and auto start function, £199.95, Smeg

Echo alarm clock in Marshmallow Pink, £24.95, Annabel James

Bodyclock Luxe 750DAB with sunrise/ sunset function in tumeric, £229, Lumie

Osalis wake up light with nature sounds, £67.99, Stress No More

Zen Plus alarm clock radio/bluetooth speaker with pink noise and Wake Sound setting, £99.99, Roberts

Kreafunk Care Collection aTUNE DAB+ radio with built-in alarm, £182.95, The Hut

Fred alarm clock with silent sweep in brown and cream, £25, Newgate

Magic Block clock with alarm, calendar, temperature and humidity, £59, MenKind

OLD SCHOOL COOL

SILENT ACTION

sunday project

Stuck for ideas this weekend? Get your DIY fix and delve right in with our quick and easy ways to update your home for less

Head over heels

Looking for something to do this weekend? Why not get ahead in upstyling your home by trying this DIY headboard by Marisa (@oakappledecor). Not only will it create the perfect bedrooom focal point, it won’t break the bank in the process.

Looking for more inspiration? See our Sunday Project hub for plenty of ingenious ideas to transform your home

You will need:

■ 18mm sheet plywood

■ Jigsaw

■ Spray adhesive

■ Foam cut to size

■ 2oz wadding

■ Fabric

■ Scissors

■ Staple gun and staples

What to do:

1 First, measure your bed so you can work out the size your headboard needs to be. Then, draw your chosen shape onto the plywood and cut out with a jigsaw.

2 Spray the plywood with a layer of adhesive and attach the foam to the board. Once secure, cut off any excess and trim the edges to create a rounded edge.

3 Apply a layer of 2oz wadding over the foam. Staple to the back of the board to hide any imperfections and create a smoother surface for the fabric.

4 Cut your chosen fabric to size, laying it pattern side down on a table. Place the plywood foam side down on top.

5 Starting from the bottom, staple the fabric onto the plywood. Then keep the material taut while stapling the other edges into place.

6 Once all the fabric is secure, trim any excess and attach the board to the wall behind your bed.

FEATURE EMILY SMITH PHOTOGRAPH

MARISA (@OAKAPPLEDECOR)