Maureen Whitemore
Something old, something new… our interiors expert suggests
Spring is a good time to make a few changes and refresh your home. Whether it’s a new lampshade, recovering a worn
chair or a paint job on a battered piece of wooden furniture, there are lots of simple ways to update your space.
Cumbria is home to great suppliers and tradespeople – as well as plenty of people willing to share their skills to enable you to have a go yourself.
You’ll find many of them at the Cumbria Life Home & Garden Show later this month (Fri, March 16 to Sun, March 18). As one of the show’s curators, finding people to give talks and run masterclasses is one of the highlights of my year. It seems visitors also love this aspect of the event because places on the masterclasses have been booking up fast in recent weeks. If you want to try a new skill and perhaps can’t make it to the show at Rheged, Cumbria is a great place to learn.
From cabinet making
with Waters & Acland at Staveley and upholstery
with Judi Egerton of On the Couch to lampshade making, mosaic design, weaving,
paint techniques and soft furnishings tuition, there’s plenty to choose from.
You might have come across courses at Higham Hall near
Painting can transform an old piece of furniture
learning a new skill to update your home
Problem solved
Small or en-suite bathrooms bring their own design challenges because space is always at a premium. A good solution is to lift the toilet and washbasin stand off the floor and hide the pipework. The support frame for the toilet is combined with the cistern – you just need to work with your plumber and joiner from the outset and use one of the commercially available frames. To complete the look, you can hide everything away using tongue and groove, sealed wooden panels and I’ve even seen panels tiled to match the other walls of the room. Your room will immediately feel more spacious – and you’ve created a useful shelf for your toiletries and treasures in the process.
You can buy stunning fabric lampshades or have a go yourself
Try making your own cushions or mix two chalk paint colours to breathe new life into a chest of drawers
Bassenthwaite or the Quirky Workshops at Greystoke Cycle Café. It’s also worth having a look at websites for the Eden Workshop at Plumpton, Ashlea Ginesi Fine Furnishings at Stainton, near Penrith, and Kate Anderson Mosaics at Kirkcud- bright across the border.
All of these places offer opportunities to spend a day or half a day learning directly from an expert and making something unique to you and your home. You’ll discover the tools and materials you’ll need, there’s someone on hand to help with any tricky parts, and you can share ideas with the tutors and the rest of the group who’ll have the same enthusiasm and interest – what could be better? Many places offer gift vouchers so it might be worth dropping some unsubtle hints ahead of a
birthday or Mother’s Day if you’ve got a project in mind.
I’m a big advocate of celebrating the treasures in your home whether they are heirlooms or just comfortable favourites. Bringing them up-to-date or into a new room scheme can be incredibly satisfying and I’d recommend having a go at a project, however small.
Maureen Whitemore owns Whitemore & Thwaytes interiors in Penrith. She has been in the interiors design trade for nearly 50 years and is on the Board of the Association of Master Upholsterers and Soft Furnishers. Maureen’s website is at www.whitemoreand thwaytes.co.uk. For more about the Cumbria Life Home & Garden Show see page 69.
CUMBRIA LIFE / MARCH 2018 / 89
ANNIE SLOANE
MARGO SELBY
ANNIE SLOANE/WHITE & GREEN HILL HOUSE DESIGN