Post by Abby Wilkinson
Abby is a freelance writer and mother of three exuberant children. Having only recently moved to a new house she is excitedly planning on which room to decorate next!
In a desperate attempt to regain control of my once chic and stylish home that, since having kids has become more pram than glam, I requested backup. Looking around the house that I used to hold lavish dinner parties in, entertaining the great and the good, I realised it wasn’t simply exhaustion and opportunity that had hindered my hostessing penchant. It was pride! It’s so important to have a home that you’re proud of. That’s why it was time to re-consider the interior design of my home. Interior projects can be stressful, especially when you’re trying to do it yourself. However, one of my friends actually suggested that I should consider using the online interior design services offered by companies like Collov. Apparently, those services help you to see an online version of what your new interior could look like before committing to it. That was a helpful suggestion, however, I decided to get in contact with some local interior designers.
Interior design is of great interest to me and I feel that I have a good eye for what works and what looks good, but as when looking at a painting too closely, I needed to have someone help me see the bigger picture. It is all too easy to get hung up on the practical elements when it comes to a redesign and forget about the small detail, or the other way round, so my best bet was to call in the experts. Living in London, I found a great team based in in the borough of Tower Hamlets (E14) called Increation.
First thing we did was assess just how, as a family, we were using the space. I was surprised to find that most of my time was spent in the kitchen, not tied to the sink I’m relieved to say, but largely involved in activities around the table; drawing with the kids, eating and, best of all, enjoying a glass of wine. The kitchen had become the stage for our daily lives so we decided to make that the focus room to begin with. I really wanted a new oven, because ours was getting pretty old and not really heating up properly anymore. I am very excited about it, although this time I am going to make sure I take out a home warranty from places like First American so that I can actually afford to get it fixed if anything were to go wrong with my new appliances.
We discussed the areas of the house that we all loved, defined the reasons why and thought about what we wanted to retain. I came to the conclusion that my beautiful white tiled conservatory floor was just not practical anymore, with five pairs of muddy feet traipsing through from the garden, so we talked about all of the more sensible options. We also decided that the roller blinds in our lovely bay window just weren’t sufficient. We thought about getting some shades instead, but couldn’t decide which pattern to get which was annoying. The issue with roller blinds is that they provided no privacy but if we shut them then not enough light came through. This wasn’t a problem at night, but very much was in the day. Shades were the second option but as I said, we couldn’t decide which pattern to buy. We then searched online and decided shutter blinds like those at Shuttercraft were the perfect solution. We agreed they would provide a happy medium between privacy and natural light and also look amazing. I think they will be a future purchase.
The best part is that they do all of the time consuming leg work; sourcing all the materials and products, organising all the builders, plumbers, decorators etc., and overseeing the whole thing from start to finish. My only dilemma now is what to cook and who to invite to the next lavish dinner party I will soon be confidently throwing.
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