Essential Kitchen Bathroom Bedroom Magazine February 2019 Back Issue

Change can be an unsettling thing, especially when that change involves a huge renovation project where one wrong decision could have a serious impact on both your home and your bank balance. That’s why it pays to work with professional people and companies who share your vision, and who can also suggest new ideas you may never have thought of in order to make your plans go, well, to plan. With the logistics and planning work in the hands of the pros, it might even give you the confidence to be a touch bolder in your design choices. Our real-life case studies this issue have done exactly that. In Industrial Renovation on page 24, Naomi and Danny Page could have taken the tried and tested ‘pale and interesting’ route when converting their ‘ugly duckling’ barn, but instead they stuck to their design guns by opting for a dramatic matt black and brass kitchen which suits the space perfectly. Another homeowner with an urge to put her own stamp on her hub is Lucy Matthews, who went to the extreme of knocking a whole house down in order to build her dream one from scratch – find out how she started and finished this huge journey in Heart of Oak on page 38. One couple who certainly didn’t rush headlong in is Helen and Peter, who lived in their home for ten years before investing in a major overhaul of their ground floor. Working with a company they connected with made it the kitchen they’d long wished for – flick to page 50 to read All Change. One example of how things can go wrong if you’re not selective in terms of who to work with, is Worth the Wait on page 72. Jim and Jeni Davis had to switch builders a year into their project, but it all turned out well in the end. Of course, it’s not all about the huge decisions – some of the smaller ones can have a real impact on the finished result. One such element in the kitchen is lighting, which you’ll see is a lot more involved than you might think by turning to Let There Be Light on page 90.