Trust me. I'm a designer.

Husband has just very sweetly said how impressed he is at how many things I can remember about this renovation we're doing. And as anyone knows who has worked on such a project it is like juggling a thousand balls. But with so many balls in motion the odd one can not exactly drop but just slip out of sequence. 

Today, for example, I realised my error in forgetting (may as well fess up!) to give my electrical plan to my joiner and as a result I have had to come up with another solution to fitting a double socket to the island unit. In the end no one will know but me, but it goes to show how you need to think on your feet if you forget to think at your drawing board.

I also realised that 5 pendants in the dining room might be over-egging the situation so have reduced to three (only 2 of 5 below).

Dining room in progress: terracotta tiles down, blue ceiling in.

But equally my fondness for occasional episodes of moody gloom, at least in my own homes, might get the better of me in the bathrooms. So it's back to Mr Resistor and the Davey Lighting catalogue. Loving something like this below. And IP (ingress protection) rated too - so while designed for outside perfect for bathrooms too.

Kitchen taking shape though.

Island unit in and wall run also. Nathan from Fluid Stone, who's making the concrete worktop for the wall run with cantilevered barbecue the external side of the nib wall, seems confident of my templating skills. Yikes!

Snaps, combined with the fact that this is only the start, make kitchen look very cuisine ordinaire but gold mirror faced and angled wall cabinets plus bespoke larder unit and restored mid century Scandi table, chairs and light fittings inherited with house should be er....distinctive.

 
  

Shower rooms are almost done (yes, those are gold taps - my own new range, The Cuprum Collection for Barber Wilsons, to be fitted to Master bathroom and kitchen) - just need those lights. And teak boxes fitted (for toiletries): tiled recess a result of tiler enthusiasm! Tiling excellent by the way - thanks Ian and NJ Whittaker! Note my "random brick" tiling format: patent pending.

And Ali and Dave were working today on the framework for the marble counter top in the master bath.

Finally my studio is fully glazed, we just have some finishing off to do outside - after a degree of "debate" between our roofer (yes, he turned up for a couple of days) and the glazier over detailing, and another example of how people in glass houses really shouldn't throw stones (not the glazier by the way)!

We also saw the bath for the Master Bathroom in William Garvey's workshop - and it looks absolutely stunning. Sorry - forgot to take pic. So nice to be working with them again after doing an amazing kitchen for a client made by Bill Garvey and his team some years ago. Amazing coincidence I'm now locating my studio and showroom just down the road from his. I'm not stalking you Bill. 

And below a very bad snap of the dressing room, with James Emerson's fabulous wardrobes. On seeing such smoothness I think we'll retain the look and fit push catches instead of handles.

 

And Bruce the painter is doing very well with my 50+ colour (Dulux of course!) paint schedule, though apparently the boys are not sure about the paprika in the study. In my experience this is usually a good sign.

Trust me. I'm a designer.

Comments

[Hot Paprika]

N
Your blog and your house are both coming along at breakneck speed.
Although clearly you feel differently after those roofing issues!
For me - in this post - your project is at the really interesting stage as i can start to see tantalising glimpses of what is yet to come and it is firing my imagination on all cylinders.
I would love to know more sometime about your vision for the colour scheme that you are implementing.
50+ colours which i'm sure have all been chosen to create specific moods, moments of drama or contrasting points of relaxation. It would be great if at some point you could share with us how you start to do that for a room? as a designer how do you get from inspiration to making great confident decisions.
I have noticed myself that often the best but also the worst colour choices are indeed those unusual ones that casual observers are unsure of - but how do you stick to the former and avoid the latter?
regards
F

[Michelle]

Hi Naomi,
I'm really enjoying hearing about your new home. Your studio looks impressive with all the glazing. I'm enjoying your sense of humour too! Good luck 'til next time.
Michelle

[naomi cleaver]

Hi Michelle. Thanks so much. Sense of humour an essential ingredient when building! N

[naomi cleaver]

Dear Hot Paprika. This is a great question. First I start with what I love. The colours in the master bed are inspired by a flint I found on a walk close by - wedgewood blue, with stone and cholately brown. The hallway is dark anyhow, now we've removed the skylight, so I decided to embrace the darkness here and went for a tropical very dark green. Here I'll be applying a wallpaper I have yet to design inspired by my sojourn in the Caribbean. My studio is white - an entirely neutral visual palette; white walls and white cork flooring. With the 2 shower rooms I started with wall tiles first and what was available to me within budget. So I loved a deep brick red one and which looked amazing with my mod gold taps so have chosen a dirty (and love dirty, off colours) yellow-y, brown - which probably sounds like baby poo - but balanced with a grey stone floor and v pale grey ceiling works. In the other shower room a grey tile selected and a grey floor tile so some fun required here - and a dirty mustard yellow chosen for remaining untiled wall AND ceiling. Never forget the ceiling.

In the master bath again I began with the tiles but here only floor tiles being used. But also looked at the marble I'm using for the counter top and the teak in the bath and have chosen a v dirty green (which the boys say they love, interestingly) and a chocolate coloured towel rad.

Guests beds were simply exercises in colour fun. Have always wanted to pink room so one will be sweetly country pink and green, thick chintz but with mod edge and the other, where lots of mid century golden timber panelling has rather extraordinary deep turquoise which as we know from Mad Men, is a winning combination.

The living room is quite high ceilinged with lots of light and big window openings. We also have 2 pale green velvet armchairs and a tan leather recliner for here so felt green would work best here and a fave colour. Then realised that removing flooring that had been applied to wall would take me over budget so decided to cover with wallpaper and inuited seagrass - so colour selected has been based on all of this.

Initially selected an off yellow/green but husband has forced me down the colour card from rich to almost beige, which breaks my only rule of "never use beige". But rules are there to be broken and I'm only kidding really - beige has its uses. So have relented and hoping contents will energise the space.

Almost finally, Mr Hot Paprika, we have selected er....hot paprika for library - a fairly large, basement space, that has windows but is otherwise quite shaded. Husband cleverly persuaded me that we should choose quite bright instead of my tendency for dark and moody shade as limited daylight here and it works. Decorators quite worried but we have acres of matt black book cases going in here so will look fab, she said confidently!

Finally, dining room. Chose terracotta tiles for floor. Loving all these "on trend" earthy reds and terracotta's cheap too! Huge picture window here so chose neutral white for walls but deep, bright blue for ceiling as nothing quite so dull as a white room, unless it's my studio.

So there is a kind of logic there - where whatever tickles your fancy is combined with utility - finish choices, room function, possessions - to create perfect palettes.

And if you want to find out more do come to my talks at Grand Designs Live. Doing 2 more today - Sunday 8th May - Excel London. WLTM.

What colours do you have in your home?

[Paul Claridge]

Hello Naomi
Firstly thanks for the input on bifold's vs sliders in an early comment as we did go sliders in the end for what is a 7.5m 'opening corner' to the extension that i'm in the middle of building. Just wondered if I could pick your brains for a good supplier for something kitchen related. The extension essentially will be a family room/ kitchen/ dining room totalling about 8m by 8m and it surprising how small that space becomes as you include all the above functions. To combat this we have decided on a '" wall kitchen" as it seems you can get a good look without to much cost and is space effective. What Im trying to source and to introduce a bit of glitz is a really iconic statement island to complement the 'wall'. Ive seen plenty of visuals but no luck pinning down a supplier. Really into glass worktops and possibly the odd curve to compliment a curved wall to the utility which makes up part of the extension. Any ideas or contacts who cater in the unusual ? many thanks paul

[naomi cleaver]

Hi Paul. How about something like this - http://www.solidity.co.uk/kitchens/Kitchen_gallery/naomi_cleaver_corian_seagrass_worktop/naomi_cleaver_corian_seagrass_worktop.htm

The curves are great in a family room - no sharp corners - and a sensual juxtaposition with what is inevitably an angular "wall kitchen".

Good call on the sliders.

Do send pics!

[Paul Claridge]

http://www.solidity.co.uk/kitchens/Kitchen_gallery/naomi_cleaver_corian_seagrass_worktop/naomi_cleaver_corian_seagrass_worktop.htm

wow.. opened the link and you've nailed it in one ..love this... fantastic..looks like I might have to look at my budget...perhaps an economic "wall" and the rest of the budget for the island...thanks again and will send the odd pic when the dust has settled abit!