Come Behind the Scenes on a Customer Project

Today’s blog is one I’ve absolutely loved writing. Why? Well, because I’ve been reflecting on an incredible Interior Design Project from my archives. 

I want to take you behind the scenes on this customer project. I’ll take you from the moment a slightly mystified Julia walked into the shop here in Pocklington, Yorkshire, right through to putting the finishing touches on the walls.

If you fancy teaming up to transform your house into a home or breathe some new life into that tired living room, I’d love to work with you! Whilst the experience is looking a little different to keep everyone as safe as possible, I’ve been thrilled to work on such amazing projects this year. Just get in touch to get started.

So, let’s rewind a couple of years... I first met my client in my shop when she came in with a desperate plea in her voice for someone to help her with the whole house. You see, every room was being renovated and was a complete blank canvas. She explained the situation and just didn’t know where to begin. It can be overwhelming! 

She’d had a go at a few ideas but ended up going round in circles with ideas and colours. She ended up becoming completely bamboozled with choice and colours. We’ve all been there!

She was a full time working mum with young children at school and husband who worked away. Throw in the overwhelming major house project and it all became a daunting prospect.

House visit

The first step was to visit their home and work out the floor space that I was to be working with. This was the time to get all of the measurements and a feel for the natural light in the space. 

Mood Board

Then we worked on ideas for wall paint colours, wall art and fabric mixes to really pull together a consistent theme throughout the home. We also introduced new furniture requirements that matched the existing furniture pieces. A mood board was constructed for each area to demonstrate colour schemes, window treatments, furniture, accessories, and art. 

The Kitchen

The new kitchen had been installed so to compliment the units we introduced texture with a pair of rattan bar stools for the breakfast bar area. Shop a pair for yourself here. The team at Grandad’s Shed handmade cushions with tie bows for these to match another of our pieces, the window seat cushion. A pretty roman blind was made to compliment the bench seat fabric. We finished off the space by adding 2 x island metal grey bistro pendant lights.

Children’s Rooms

The children’s bedrooms had been built into the roof area so there were a few awkward nooks and crannies to fill. Since storage was an absolute requirement for toys and clothes, we designed and built in a wardrobe against the slanted ceiling for the little boy. 

He loves dinosaurs and space so we choose a fantastic 3D pendant light that reflects stars onto the ceiling. A little boy's dream!

The little girls bedroom had a large alcove leading to a small window. We designed a wonderful window seat with plenty of drawer storage underneath and bookshelves at each side of the window. This was finished off with a wonderful thick cushion and pretty blind all working together.  We added crystal knobs and matching crystal lights as it was befitting for a little girls bedroom.

I sourced a cute dressing table, mirror and matching stool that fitted into the other alcove and painted all the remaining units to match the colour. I’ve been told that all her friends want their own window seat as they feel it is very ‘grown up’. The power of good design, hey?!

Finishing Touches

I helped design most of the rooms with my client adding the finishing touches or the practical pieces to help make the rooms work to their best potential.  It was a brilliant project to work on and an absolute pleasure to help this wonderful family love their new home.  

I helped manage every stage dealing with the contractors and installation of the furniture, lighting and finishing touches. This meant Julia could spend her time looking after her children and working the day job, knowing her house was being transformed into her dream home all the while.

Julia’s Thoughts 

"When our house was totally renovated it was a complete blank canvas. Decorating and furnishing it from top to bottom was a very daunting prospect and as a working mother, I just didn’t have time to pull it all together. Vicki was just what I needed. She has so much artistic flair and vision and knowledge of colours and fabrics. She pulled together plans for each room in the house with curtains, wall art, furniture - colours and fabrics that I would never have thought of putting together but just worked perfectly. Vicki also supplied us with some fabulous wood furniture - fitted wardrobes in my son’s room and a gorgeous window seat with an incorporated bookcase for my daughter’s bedroom. Such great quality and completely bespoke. Vicki’s a joy to work with. She has an infectious passion for her work. Her knowledge of products and where to buy them saved us so much time and money. We are absolutely delighted with our house and couldn’t recommend Vicki enough.” 

Let’s Work Together

Creativity, imagination and artistic flair are great traits for anyone working as an interior designer. So too is an eye for detail and listening skills. It’s also essential to be aware of the latest interior trends and be good at solving problems.