Reader's home of the month
This month's £150 Habitat giftcard goes to Griffo's 'minimal rental flat'...
Got a DIY question? Ask a designer
Mark Garside answers your most frequently asked decorating questions
Livingetc's design guru Mark Garside runs top design company Crystallise. As well as designing bespoke furniture for media companies and exhibitions, including the Royal College of Art and the South Bank Festival, he is a design trends consultant for Wella's salon division, Welonda. He also collaborates with his author wife, Kate Lennard, on children's books.
Can't see the answer to your decorating dilemma? Email your question to livingetc@ipcmedia.com.
Vibrant wallpaper for a hallway
How to support a floating desk
How to make a lamp from crockery and china
Inexpensive plain floor-to-ceiling doors
On the hunt for an amazing children's playhouse
Painting kitchen floor tiles
Can you recommend a stylish black laundry basket?
CHILDREN'S ROOMS
Read more...
STORAGE
Read more...
GARDENING
Read more...
FURNITURE
Read more...
KITCHENS
Read more...
LIGHTING
Read more...
BATHROOMS
Read more...
FLOORING
Read more...
DIY ADVICE
Read more...
DECORATING
Read more...
I've been looking for really vibrant wallpaper for my hallway without much luck. I wanted something floral, but nothing that looks dated. Do you have any inspirational ideas?
The wildest designs to catch my eye recently are by a new designer called Ayme Fitzgerald. The collection, featuring a riot of colourful designs, including Floral Floral Yellow, are printed to order and cost from £150 per 10m roll. Use any of them and your hallway will be pure carnival.
Back to hot topics menu
We'd like to recreate a green floating desk made from CaesarStone that we saw in Livingetc, but aren't sure how to support it. Can you help?
A desk like this is fairly easy to create from CaesarStone or Corian, which has a greater colour choice. A thin layer of the material is bonded onto a plywood backing that drops down a few inches at the front to create the illusion of thickness. The desk can then be fitted to battens along the walls, which will be hidden by the front edge. Thin or extra- long surfaces need a strengthening steel sub-frame, or it may be easier and cheaper to plant simple posts as legs.
Back to hot topics menu
I recently saw a lamp made from old crockery and wondered whether it's feasible to make one from a china bowl I've found. I'd like to make a hole in the side to attach the light fitting. Is this possible and, if so, where can I have it done?
If you've seen one of Committee's Kebab lamps (gallop.co.uk), you'll know how simple and effective it can be to use found objects in this way. But you need to be careful not to use materials near the fitting that pose a fire risk. It sounds as if your bowl would be ok, but I'd use a low-energy bulb to reduce heat. As for the hole, you may need to do a DIY job with a diamond-tipped hole cutter as professionals tend to avoid these jobs due to the chance of breakages. If making it yourself seems too much of a risk, have a look at the fabulous and affordable lamps in the Tea range by Original BTC.
Back to hot topics menu
I am trying to find the cheapest plain floor-to-ceiling doors on the market. I need eight and the ceiling height is 7ft 5in. Does anyone supply plain doors like this, or would I have to have them made bespoke?
Anything that measures beyond a standard size will need to be made bespoke. A door can be produced from a simple timber frame, with a cardboard honeycomb filler, and faced in MDF, 3mm ply, or any other materials – even metals and plastics (unless they need to be fire doors, which require a heavier construction with a solid-material core). Any local architectural joinery company would easily be able make these up and install them for you.
Back to hot topics menu
Have you seen any amazing new children's playhouses? We have a very active three year old who'd like to move in as soon as possible, please.
The brilliant designer Javier Mariscal recently produced a great black and white cardboard house for Magis called Villa Julia. At £147, it's pricey, but offers good inspiration for having fun as a family and building your own cardboard-box version.
Back to hot topics menu
We are moving into a house that needs lots of TLC and, as a short- term solution, I want to paint the large terracotta-coloured kitchen floor tiles white. All the tile paint I've seen says 'not suitable for floors', though.
All paint is going to wear underfoot, but as a short-term fix (or even long term, if you repaint it every six months), it's worth trying. Give the tiles a deep clean to remove grease and dirt, then use a primer like Johnstone's water-based Multi Surface Primer (johnstonestrade.com). For the top coats, Watco has hardwearing solvent-free epoxy floor paints, or Ecos floor paint for concrete and timber could also work on ceramics.
Back to hot topics menu
I still use the cheap Ikea laundry basket I bought five years ago (it was the only black one I could find at the time). Enough is enough – please can you suggest a replacement?
We all have cheap utility items like this. If you still want something dark, take a look at The Holding Company's excellent containers. It has stylish leather and wicker pieces, but I almost prefer the woven strapping designs, which cost as little as £19.
Back to hot topics menu
Can't see the answer to your decorating dilemma? Email your question to livingetc@ipcmedia.com.
January's hot topics
Popular sections
Read more...
Read more...
Read more...
Read more...
Read more...
Read more...
Read more...
Read more...
Read more...
Read more...
Vibrant wallpaper for a hallway
I've been looking for really vibrant wallpaper for my hallway without much luck. I wanted something floral, but nothing that looks dated. Do you have any inspirational ideas?
The wildest designs to catch my eye recently are by a new designer called Ayme Fitzgerald. The collection, featuring a riot of colourful designs, including Floral Floral Yellow, are printed to order and cost from £150 per 10m roll. Use any of them and your hallway will be pure carnival.
Back to hot topics menu
How to support a floating desk
We'd like to recreate a green floating desk made from CaesarStone that we saw in Livingetc, but aren't sure how to support it. Can you help?
A desk like this is fairly easy to create from CaesarStone or Corian, which has a greater colour choice. A thin layer of the material is bonded onto a plywood backing that drops down a few inches at the front to create the illusion of thickness. The desk can then be fitted to battens along the walls, which will be hidden by the front edge. Thin or extra- long surfaces need a strengthening steel sub-frame, or it may be easier and cheaper to plant simple posts as legs.
Back to hot topics menu
How to make a lamp from crockery and china
I recently saw a lamp made from old crockery and wondered whether it's feasible to make one from a china bowl I've found. I'd like to make a hole in the side to attach the light fitting. Is this possible and, if so, where can I have it done?
If you've seen one of Committee's Kebab lamps (gallop.co.uk), you'll know how simple and effective it can be to use found objects in this way. But you need to be careful not to use materials near the fitting that pose a fire risk. It sounds as if your bowl would be ok, but I'd use a low-energy bulb to reduce heat. As for the hole, you may need to do a DIY job with a diamond-tipped hole cutter as professionals tend to avoid these jobs due to the chance of breakages. If making it yourself seems too much of a risk, have a look at the fabulous and affordable lamps in the Tea range by Original BTC.
Back to hot topics menu
Inexpensive plain floor-to-ceiling doors
I am trying to find the cheapest plain floor-to-ceiling doors on the market. I need eight and the ceiling height is 7ft 5in. Does anyone supply plain doors like this, or would I have to have them made bespoke?
Anything that measures beyond a standard size will need to be made bespoke. A door can be produced from a simple timber frame, with a cardboard honeycomb filler, and faced in MDF, 3mm ply, or any other materials – even metals and plastics (unless they need to be fire doors, which require a heavier construction with a solid-material core). Any local architectural joinery company would easily be able make these up and install them for you.
Back to hot topics menu
On the hunt for an amazing children's playhouse
Have you seen any amazing new children's playhouses? We have a very active three year old who'd like to move in as soon as possible, please.
The brilliant designer Javier Mariscal recently produced a great black and white cardboard house for Magis called Villa Julia. At £147, it's pricey, but offers good inspiration for having fun as a family and building your own cardboard-box version.
Back to hot topics menu
Painting kitchen floor tiles
We are moving into a house that needs lots of TLC and, as a short- term solution, I want to paint the large terracotta-coloured kitchen floor tiles white. All the tile paint I've seen says 'not suitable for floors', though.
All paint is going to wear underfoot, but as a short-term fix (or even long term, if you repaint it every six months), it's worth trying. Give the tiles a deep clean to remove grease and dirt, then use a primer like Johnstone's water-based Multi Surface Primer (johnstonestrade.com). For the top coats, Watco has hardwearing solvent-free epoxy floor paints, or Ecos floor paint for concrete and timber could also work on ceramics.
Back to hot topics menu
Can you recommend a stylish black laundry basket?
I still use the cheap Ikea laundry basket I bought five years ago (it was the only black one I could find at the time). Enough is enough – please can you suggest a replacement?
We all have cheap utility items like this. If you still want something dark, take a look at The Holding Company's excellent containers. It has stylish leather and wicker pieces, but I almost prefer the woven strapping designs, which cost as little as £19.
Back to hot topics menu