Cowboy Song

Today’s state the obvious pearl of wisdom I have to share is the overwhelming importance of working with tradesmen, sorry trades people, you trust. This, I realize, is not a groundbreaking revelation but it was a lesson that was hit home to me this week, when I say hit, I mean literally smacked square on the jaw.

I shall spare you the, somewhat dull, details but needless to say, the making or breaking or a project (and your sanity) can live or die through working with skilled, experienced, trustworthy and most importantly RELIABLE builders, plumbers, electricians etc. These people will basically live in your home for lengthy periods of time. Not only will they help themselves to your milk (all your milk) and use your loo (best not to think about that one too much), they literally hold the project, your baby, in the palm of their hands. Now you wouldn’t let just any old fool near your baby now do you?

So ask for recommendations, do your research well, if in doubt do not, I repeat do NOT take a gamble, it isn’t worth the pain of ‘ When good builders go bad’. Because they can, they do, and God forbid you find yourself wanting to be on that TV show with that irritating bald presenter. When you do find that special someone, the one that ticks all the boxes - you know, turns up when they say they will, doesn’t rip you off, knows how to use a hammer; hang on to them, treat them well, cherish them. These, my friends, are the people that hold the key to your renovation happiness and they are worth their weight in coffee.

In other news, all is progressing well with project loft space. Destruction phase complete we are now moving into build with the stud walling going up to create the new bedroom and the old kitchen space being patched up and plastered.

This project offers a fantastic example of how good interior design must by sympathetic to the building in which it is housed. The scheme for this space was all about minimal, simple, industrial. I can’t lie, even I, a big fan of industrial, had my reservations, about the level of austerity, but I was wrong.

The simple act of applying a coat of paint is really bringing the place to life, that paint is white, pure, brilliant white, you can’t get much more simple than that. But oh how it works, and the reason it works? The light. With double height ceilings and huge windows, even on a grey autumn day, there is an abundance of natural light flooding the space and bouncing off the walls. For white to really work, this is what it needs, light… lots of beautiful natural light. If you live in a dark space, no amount of white paint is going to change that fact; the white will simply look full and washed out. If you live in a bright, open space… the whiteness will shine.

There is nothing more satisfying than watching a project start to take shape, the old space being injected with a new lease of life and emerging as it’s new improved self. As we move from first fit into kitchen installation phase we can really start to see what the loft is going to become and by jingo it’s exciting (well it is to me!).