Since ripping out our kitchen about a year ago, I've missed many things. Padding down in a morning to make a juice, or him a brew... being able to wash up in a normal sink with hot water - oh the luxury!... scrambling eggs... pan-frying a chicken breast... and something as simple as being able... Continue Reading →
Video: Zoning Flooring & Glamorising Your Grout
I had great fun filming with Bath Empire recently during their shoot for two new tv ads. First of all I designed two bathroom sets for them, using their chosen suite and specifying gorgeous flooring from one of my favourite flooring companies Harvey Maria. I dressed the rooms in vibrant pistachio and coral, lots of... Continue Reading →
Do Up Diary #64 Forming a ‘frame’ around exposed bricks using plasterboard
I thought it'd be interesting to do something a bit different with the exposed bricks in the hallway - after we'd worked so very hard cleaning them up! - and came up with the idea of framing the areas with a 200mm edge of plasterboard. I haven't seen this done anywhere else and am very excited... Continue Reading →
Do Up Diary #63 How to expose old brickwork for that bare brick effect
So you saw our exposed brick where and why last week and now I can show you some of the hows too! We're well underway creating the bare brick feature walls in the hallway and landings at Moregeous Mansions and it's been a very dusty, dirty couple of weeks. Not only did we need to remove three... Continue Reading →
Do Up Diary #61: Beautiful exposed brickwork in my renovation – where and why?
I'm extremely fond of bricks. Big ones, olds ones, fat ones, thin ones, even the huge bulbous huge-at-only-one-end ones which Brian the Brickie nearly threw at me whilst building our box wall to the workshop. Thinking back to previous renovations I remember asking our plasterer to leave a huge curved section of bare brick out... Continue Reading →
Do Up Diary #59 How to rescue original wallpaper from old, blown plaster
We're lucky to have lots of original period features here at Moregeous Mansions because the house, unlike many in this area of Manchester, hasn't been butchered by an HMO landlord. Coving and cornice, picture rail, fireplaces and corbels have all survived the decades as has the first floor and landing hallway wallpaper in the main... Continue Reading →
Do Up Diary #51 My gorgeous garage wall complete with inset brick boxes
Way back last summer, all those months ago, a germ of an idea wriggled it's way into my head that I didn't want a boring brick wall on the side of the garage/workshop at the all new Moregeous Mansions. Not that the wall would have been boring mind, constructed with beautiful, character filled reclaimed red... Continue Reading →