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Mad About YOUR House

Mad About YOUR House by Kate Watson-Smyth

STYLE YOUR HOME

So you’ve moved in to your new home. It doesn’t matter if it’s rented or mortgaged, or if your budget is large or small. It’s about finding a personal style, and really making it your own space.

Gone are the days when we decorated with half an eye to selling a few years later. Now we’re staying put longer, and our homes have to tell our story. A successful design scheme should add up to a biography of the people who live there.

But we’re so bombarded with images from magazines, the web and social media that it can be hard to work out what we like. Is that just a pretty picture, or is it actually something you want to live with? Do you really like that piece of furniture, or is it just the way it has been photographed?

Mad About Your House can help you find your own style, which is the first step on the way to finding out how you want your home to look.

Mad About The House Living Room

My house, which I completely renovated (turning it from two dingy rental flats into a light and bright family home) has been featured in both Living Etc and Heart Home magazine, as well product shoots for homewares and fashion.

When I set up my blog, I quickly found that in addition to enjoying the images and inspiration, readers were constantly asking me for advice on their own homes. Sometimes they needed styling tips, often they simply wanted to know where to source particular products.

After all, more than 10 years since I began compiling The Independent’s weekly “50 Best” column, it’s fair to say that I got to know a huge number of designers, manufacturers, trade suppliers, retailers and e-tailers.

That’s why I can tell you where to find the best lights and lamps, chairs, furniture shops, sofas, tables, and bargain homewares. I’ve tried and tested literally everything for the home – from kitchen gadgets and bathroom fittings, to flooring and soft furnishings. Not forgetting beds, shelves, stools, bookcases, doorknobs, light-switches, fabrics, finishing touches paints, tiles, radiators… and much, much more.

Contact me for more details or, if you know what you want but don’t know where to find it, I can help source your products…

Mad About The House Dining

SOURCE YOUR PRODUCTS

Once you’ve styled your house it’s time to find out where you are going to buy everything to go inside it.

I can help with this, too. As an interiors journalist and blogger I receive advance details of pieces that are going to be in the shops in the coming seasons. I am constantly researching new products at every price point and know literally hundreds of shops, sites, and suppliers where you can find the things you want. Not only that, but I am always able to suggest several alternatives at different price points that fit with what you are trying to find.

Contact me for more details

TESTIMONIALS

“We bought a dump of a house last year and, as I adore anything related to home decor, I was really looking forward to converting the dump into a unique, lovely and warm family home. But the reality was that I felt extremely overwhelmed by the sheer volume of “ stuff” out of there – would it look good or was it all a terrible mistake?
And then I stumbled upon Kate’s lovely blog and asked her to help me out a bit… and so she did!
Kate has an instinctive sense of style and what goes with what. This proved invaluable to me because I was at the confused stage. Everything looked wonderful – design magazines, Pinterest etc but I still struggled to unearth my style was and what was truly “ me”. Kate looked at my inspiration photos and was able to pull out a common theme for me – colours, patterns, furniture and deliver a look book for me. This has become home style bible and makes shopping so much easier. Even my husband appreciates that there is logic to our choices, and prevents hours of second guessing!
Once we had a style established, Kate was great at suggesting lights, soft furnishings, furniture that fitted the bill. If I was stuck thinking about wall lights, Kate would send me 20 options in my price range, simplifying my life massively.
I can’t recommend Kate enough – she is the stylish friend with an encyclopaedic knowledge that you need to make your home fabulous!”

— Manasi Bhalerao, senior manager, American Express

“Planning any creative interior project large or small within a home can be one of the most daunting tasks to handle, especially as a working mother of two, time is just too precious and inspiration can lack a little when life takes over. I met with Kate to pull together ideas for our main bedroom – her knowledge of products and brands is unparalleled- ask her where to buy a pink stool or a blue velvet sofa and she will instantly suggest five divine options. Inspiration can start with just one small swatch of material, as it did with me, but to then create a room featuring existing furniture and a new scheme needs an encyclopaedic knowledge with where to source everything, which is why Kate is the perfect person. I can’t recommend her highly enough, her years of interior knowledge, passion for beautiful interiors, and her fun and personable approach make her a joy to work with, plus I now have a room I’m so proud of I could burst.”
— Liz Owen, interiors PR and homeowner

“Working in the interiors industry, it’s easy to get jaded by the sheer number of design blogs and magazines. Mad About the House is one of my absolute favourites and indeed, many of Kate’s posts get moved straight into an ‘inspiration for my new flat’ folder, ready to be put into action. From well-thought out posts on the perfect paint colour for a north facing room to an encyclopaedic knowledge of little known boutiques, Kate is a practical and inspirational source for anyone considering doing up their home.”
— Jo Israelson, Jo Israelson, founder of Portrait Communications, interiors pr agency and new homeowner

“Having worked with Kate for years now, I’m constantly impressed by the sheer depth and breadth of her knowledge. She is a relentless interiors networker and what she doesn’t know about the interiors business isn’t worth knowing, quite frankly. She’s highly active on social media, with a large, engaged following, meaning that on the rare occasion she can’t answer your question, she can quickly and easily find someone who can. From finding me an attractive coat hook for my office to helping me pick the perfect shade of grey, Kate has always been my number one port of call for design-sourcing queries.”
— Charlotte Duckworth, Partner, Decorum Media; content marketing agency for the design and interiors industry

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