leejackdesign - stying & design @leejackdesign - Tumblr Blog

Happy pride folks, virtual hugs and masked kisses ❤️💚💙💛🧡 #pride #gay #lgbt #lgbtq #loveislove #love #lesbian #queer #instagay #gaypride #pridemonth #bisexual #gayboy #trans #transgender #rainbow #lovewins #lgbtpride #pansexual #like #nonbinary #instagood #art #bi #follow #lgbtqia #gaylove https://www.instagram.com/p/CB-Vs9znzW4/?igshid=1mjgkm62wjgz5

Office Storage I love a brain teasing storage solution. In fact, I love a bit of storage generally. Part of this is motivated by my dislike of not being able to find things. With my new office up and running, my mantra was ‘if I can’t find it, there’s no point in owning it’ I came up with the following storage solutions - 1 - Shallow shelving - Great and inexpensive way to fill a wall. I colour blocked behind with Little Green paint in a bright yellow to make the pics ‘pop’. The shelves are also great for propping designs, moodboards, inspirational shots and the like on. 2 - Wall of storage - Simple, raw ply blocks that freely stack to create a whole wall of storage. I made these bespoke to fit standard IKEA perspex boxes. All are labelled and I can find any prop in seconds. 3 - Baskets - Sturdy, wicker log baskets for rolls of fabric, paper etc. 4 - Pen storage - These clip on beakers are from Ikea’s kids dept and are perfect for my groaning pen and pencil collection 5 - Clipboard shelf - Timber clipboards with tear sheets and details of each job on the go. 6 - Office file tool storage - Ply office box files each labelled, one for each different type of tool. 7 - Hanging rail - Houses a crazy amount of stuff on ‘S’ hooks. ✏️ ✏️ ✏️ #office #work #design #business #interiordesign #home #architecture #interior #officedesign #furniture #officespace #officedecor #firedamage #homeoffice #instagood #workspace #storage #leejackdesign #homedecor #job #working #love #life #instagram #style #officelife #workplacedesign https://www.instagram.com/p/CBFgf-LHQEF/?igshid=17bhip644r71d

Lounge makeover For no particular reason, I’ve been spending quality time at home. As I say, no reason at all, just fancied shutting the door and living off pesto for a few weeks. No biggie. Remember the 80s when we left home and in our first gaff we painted everything white and exposed the floorboards? I don’t know if folk think of this as a lazy design now but a white wall/ floorboard combo can look delicious & objects can draw more attention than Ms Campbell at an airport during a health crisis. My living room has ‘Light & Space’ by Dulux with LumiTec particles that bounce light about (I sound like a Laboratoire Garnier ad). I don’t know if it’s a bit ‘Emperors New Clothes’ but it does glow more than other emulsions. I then, like in the 80s, added ‘things’ exchanging my Keanu poster, transparent phone (heading to eBay now) & Yucca plants with mid century travel posters, John Lewis throws and a big telly. Interiors can be like fashion: style vs comfort but I am obsessed with comfort. My comfy top tips: - I have the Hive to control my central heating, being able to control the temperature with such detail & ease makes for a relaxing atmos. - If a chair looks stylist but is like sitting on a medieval torture prop, it goes. The same for hipster, beaten up seating that could collapse at any mo. - Be in arms reach of a blanket at all times. They soften & add colour to a big, blockish sofa. - A range of lights. I love the soft, colourful glow of a lit vintage globe and wire LED fairy-lights - My father-in-law has a perfect square of comfy seating with a massive coffee table in the centre which is a great solution for socialising. I love this arrangement but have incorp a telly on one side. I like: dogs, telly and people in that order. - Footstools that double as footrests & occasional tables - Live in harmony with some lovely plants. #interiordesign #design #interior #homedecor #leejackdesign #home #decor #interiors #homedesign #furniture #art #decoration #luxury #designer #interiorstyling #interiordecor #inspiration #handmade #furnituredesign #livingroom #instagood #style #vintage #interiordecorating https://www.instagram.com/p/B9_SEWmHQd5/?igshid=14ubp9roc12vw

The Downstairs Loo Makeover I have rarely lived in a house with more than one loo and now I have three. I am the Imelda Marcos of lavs. It does mean you can go for months without using one of the three and when not in use I squirt Ecover and put the loo brush in the pan to keep things all sparkly. We ordered a chair online & feared after 2 months we would never see it. One random morning a courier called saying he had my chair but was going to be late (2 mths!) because he couldn’t find a loo. I was delighted the chair was finally here & said he could use mine. I saw him pull up so I opened the door & pointed to the loo as he was obviously pretty keen. 2 seconds later I hear an almighty, wounded scream & I immediately knew what had happened. He had sat on the brush! He emerged a few mins later all limpy and twitchy saying ‘someone left a brush in the pan’ After he left I sat at the bottom of the stairs & roared laughing. This makeover took a surprisingly long time. I used YouTube tutorials to learn how to plumb and unplumb (disemplumb?) the loo. The biggest shocker was removing the pan & discovering the waste does not head down, into the floor. I literally removed all & thought ‘where’s the hole?’ The reason it took so long was chipping off the old tiles which some bugger had set in cement. I used geometric tiles randomly (not as easy as you would think as I kept seeing patterns forming) on the floor, wall and to cover the skirting board; hiding the raw edge with a chrome trim. As this is a room you don’t spend hours in (especially if you are a certain courier) I painted the walls with chalkboard paint and have a bucket of chalks to doodle/compose. The final touch was creating a loo roll holder & a mirror frame out of the timber pallet the tiles were delivered on. #bathroomrenovation #bathroomdesign #bathroom #bathroomremodel #bathroomdecor #interiordesign #renovation #homedecor #cloakroom #bathroomideas #bathroominspo #bathroomgoals #tiles #bathrooms #o #homerenovation #home #bathroomsofinstagram #plumbing #bathroominspiration #downstairsloo #bathroomreno #plumber #downstairsloo #chalkboardwall #plumbinglife #design #leejackdesign https://www.instagram.com/p/B9tSygnhCAt/?igshid=1d4jt99twl0ul

Bathroom makeover I decided to complete my second bathroom singlehandedly but soon realised: you can’t mess with water. Removing the tiles was easy, as I discovered they had been placed on raw plaster and came off with a mere tap of the crowbar. The room had few features so I wanted to add a bit of character with faux brick. They are super simple to add but I did paint a scored wall (scratching lines with a blunt blade will help the tiles stick) with a waterproof membrane and put a sealant in a spray bottle to seal the porous brick afterward. The membrane is expensive but adds extra security. The materials were all sourced from eBay: a mini bath I schlepped to Tunbridge Wells to collect, tiles from a seconds factory (order 10% more than you need). I trawled though hundreds of mixer taps and completed all with: a small feature wall, a shower rail from Screwfix (love that place) shower curtains from Sainsbury’s, a wee towel grab in John Lewis and my fave item, parcel shelves from the London Transport shop. A few money saving tips for your bathroom. - Keep your eyes peeled for discount codes, I managed to save 40% on the shelves - Do the horrible prep yourself and ask your plumber if there is anything easy you can do to save their time. - Check eBay or similar for any materials. I saved £90 on a bath that was brand new and bought by mistake by a seller. - Keep the blank room adaptable for a facelift later on. Add colour with towels, shower curtains etc, - A chrome bucket makes a cool loo roll holder. - An Annie Sloane tester pot will be enough to transform a mirror frame, a small cabinet and a few pic frames. - Transform dull silver pipes, rads etc with Autosol, it’s made for cleaning car bumpers and is a miracle. 🛀 🛁 🛁 #bathroomrenovation #bathroomdesign #bathroom #bathroomremodel #bathroomdecor #interiordesign #renovation #homedecor #bathtub #bathroomideas #bathroominspo #bathroomgoals #tiles #bathrooms #o #homerenovation #home #bathroomsofinstagram #plumbing #bathroominspiration #downstairsloo #bathroomreno #plumber #modernbathroom #ba #plumbinglife #design #leejackdesign https://www.instagram.com/p/B9lgbgchsNS/?igshid=xbw2jpupor8o

Spare bedroom makeover. For reasons I won’t bore you with, we selected the tiniest bedroom to sleep in and the biggest for guests (soz, I’m wording this like there are hundreds to choose from, there are 3). My main challenge was storing all our clothes (men’s clothes are pretty bulky on mass) in a tidy way. I did something a tad insane but actually worked really well. Losing things makes me borderline psychotic so I devised a clothing storage plan where nothing would ever get lost again. I separated all items into groups (jackets, shirts..) placed them on a rail & measured the width of how much space they took up, plus the drop length. (I won’t be judged) I then used the handy CAD style online thingie on the IKEA website to do a specific scale wardrobe arrangement using PAX units and I purchased 200 matching hangers from a retail wholesaler. The mirrored doors look good and if you push a rug right up next to them this creates a massive rug look with the reflection and opens the room. I can say, a few years later, I have never lost a single item and everything has a place, just call me Lee Kondo. It was also a good opportunity to have a clear out with the mantra ‘God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot wear, courage to wear the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference’. Other features in the room included Farrow & Ball’s ‘Parma Gray’ paint in ‘intelligent emulsion’ (sheer quality) a blind/ curtain combo, tiling the concrete balcony and the step inside to create a bit of ‘indoors/ outside’ and a bed dressing: the recreation of which leaves guests with a ‘Krypton Factor’ puzzle style challenge (if they don’t have the good sense to do what I do first thing, at a location house on a shoot and take a snap of the space as a reference to recreate on leaving, I can’t help them) 💙💙💙 #homemakeover #homedecor #interiordesign #diy #interior #home #mydubai #homerenovation #homedesign #interiors #furniture #decor #design #livingroom #patterns #uaelifestyleblogger #stylishhomes #onlinehomedecor #myuae #dubailife #dubailifestyleblogger #homemakers #picturepod #homeremodel #uaehomedecorideas #uaehomes #dubaihomes #leejackdesign https://www.instagram.com/p/B9Tb6NihsqR/?igshid=kgc8lkaijzrn

My Hall Makeover A magazine asked me recently ‘where do you get your inspiration from?’ I said you need to have the ‘inspiration antenna’ on always as it can come from anywhere. I have this hall which has very high ceilings, a huge amount of light & an adjoining gloomy corridor (my lovely pal Lenka once refereed to it as such & 6 years later we still call it the ‘gloomy corridor’) The issue with high ceilings is trying to find something that sits well decoratively & at an appropriate scale. Also, how to get some of the light from the main space into the darker, smaller space. Cut to a wee while later & I’m watching Grace & Frankie on Netflix and I noticed in Jane Fonda’s daughters office she had a series of very shallow painted box shelf’s filling a whole wall and this set my inspiration antenna off. I thought if I could create similar, I could dress & place an assortment of objects which I already owned: pics, records, books... It’s basically a painted MDF jigsaw, cut by a local wood merchant and constructed with glue, screws and dowels. (I’m no carpenter but it was easy) The light issue was addressed by creating what architects call ‘borrowed light’ with a slim aperture cut into the wall. I discovered this wall was made of breeze block so it took a local guy a day to complete and was a fraction of the cost of a skylight or sun tunnel. My tip here is to photograph the wall and draw versions of the gap so you can select the best option. Also, to loosely reflect the sky I painted this sections ceiling blue. To increase the feeling of light I used Dulux ‘light and space’ paint (It sort of glows), I added a blue/ grey carpet from Tapi and a splash of yellow woodwork (Mister David, Little Greene) Now it’s finished you will often find me lying on the top landing watching rain bouncing off the skylights. #renovation #interiordesign #construction #design #architecture #home #realestate #interior #homedecor #remodel #homerenovation #diy #homeimprovement #contractor #homedesign #hallmakeover #building #interiors #kitchen #renovationproject #house #decor #homesweethome #kitchendesign #carpentry #property #newhome #remodeling #leejackdesign https://www.instagram.com/p/B9GkCxpB1tm/?igshid=1p9dcx5doat8o

I’m going to do a series of my own home makeovers starting with the laundry room. Pics: after - inspiration- before I did a bit of ‘Pinteresting’ to get inspiration & it struck me that internationally every laundry room looks the same: grey, white, glass jars, chalkboard with ‘hilarious’ quote ‘mum would rather be drinking wine than doing laundry’. My inspiration was a Scandi,1970s primary school, craft area vibe. I, basically, wanted to create a bit of joy in a room that has a pretty dull purpose. My first job was the search to find a suitable wallpaper. I saw a stunning 1970s original wall mural but 3 rolls were coming in at £600 plus shipping from the US which I felt a tad twitchy about so I trolled through 1700 vintage wallpapers on EBay (I kid not) and found this epic floral design which reminded me of the cartoon ‘Mary, Mungo & Midge’. The tiles were the standard Metro, £11 sq mt, Homebase jobs but I gave them a bit of a flourish with a single stripe of yellow metro tiles at the bottom. I asked the tile supplier if I could buy 20 samples to save the expense of a full sq mt. Then IKEA for cheapy worktops & I used the offcuts to create a solid drop to the counter edge (love this, it makes the counter look premium & chunky) & I blocked the piping under the boiler with an off cut box. The floor was some sticky vinyl planks, a dream to lay (my star item) I set them on the diagonal to make them a little special. Top tip here is scrub the buggery out of the floor and rinse well before laying. I painted the units an amazing yellow ‘Mister David’ from Little Green (my fave paint brand) and completed all with shelf’s, IKEA storage boxes for towels, etc, drying rail and a few hooks. I spent the bargain price of £250 & I’m so pleased with the result I’ve removed the door so folk visiting get greeted with this splash of colour. #laundry #laundryroom #laundryday #laundrykiloan #cleaning #dryclean #drycleaning #laundrymurah #laundryservice #interiors #laundrysepatu #cucisepatu #lavanderia #clean #home #washing #parfumlaundry #makeover #delivery #follow #laundryjakarta #like #laundrytime #f #cucisepatumurah #ironing #laundrytips #laundrykarpet #leejackdesign https://www.instagram.com/p/B83eQU6hX0G/?igshid=1c8nxz4xr9ost

At some stage, I let the colour yellow loose in my hoose! I bought a retro yellow phone a while back to add a pop of colour to the coffee table (I find there is still something joyfully cool about a phone with a massively long wire you can walk about with, I blame this love on 1980s ‘brat pack’ movies) Since then ‘yellow’ has crept into most rooms, most prominently in my newly painted office and hall staircase which have been ‘kissed’ by ‘Mister David’ from @littlegreenepaintcompany, a perfectly intense tone that screams joy and optimism. I think this comes as a clear antidote to the chaos outside my home, i.e the entire world, which I would happily drench in ‘Mister David’ right now. Some years ago, I did a pretty long meditation retreat which was completely silent. Anyone that knows me will know me not speaking is nothing short of miraculous but for a few weeks I kept my chatty gob shut (and actually very much enjoyed it). Without verbal communication you tend to look down and not bother with eye contact which results in folk walking about a little zombie like. Also, not knowing anyone’s name or what their voice sounds like you tend to give people a mental nickname based on their physical appearance or an action (‘uses too much paper towel’ being an example that comes to mind) After ‘noble silence’ ended I learnt a handful of folk had independently named me ‘yellow trainers’ because... well, you can guess. I like to think of this as my American Indian style name. Yours, Yellow Trainers 💛 #yellow #blue #green #red #photography #love #art #nature #pink #black #orange #flowers #mellowyellow #white #yellowinteriors #instagram #photooftheday #beautiful #instagood #misterdavid #photo #interiors #yellowtrainers #color #littlegreenepaint #colors #flower #design #beauty #leejackdesign https://www.instagram.com/p/B8bTUFpB3K_/?igshid=th6q5wzi0dj3

The nice folk at @homestylemaguk asked to do a little feature on me. It’s strange because I rarely talk about my job and a conversation about what I do as it’s sometimes tricky to explain exactly what it is. A conversation normally goes something like this: ‘What do you do?’ ‘I’m a stylist’ ‘Oo, can I ask you if you think a choppy bob would suit me?’ ‘Oh, no...I’m...err, a sort of designer, I style things’ ‘Fashion?’ ‘No, I’m don’t do clothes. I do interiors & food mainly and events’ ‘Oh! You are a wedding planner’ (Shudder) ‘No! I do launches of new products and exhibition stands and also I style lots of photography’ ‘What sort of events?’ ‘Could be anything, last week it was a dairy-free yogurt’ ‘They would have an event to launch that?!’ (Wave of reality washes over me) ‘yes’ ‘And you take pictures?’ ‘No, I style the pictures, you know, set them up’ (Looks perplexed) ‘doesn’t the photographer do that?’ ‘Err, most definitely not’ ‘Where do you get your work’ ‘Word of mouth mainly’ ‘And this is a real job?’ ‘Yes’ ‘Like, full-time’ ‘Yip’ ‘Oh’ (Silence) ‘So, do you think a choppy bob would suit me?’ 😁 #interiordesign #design #interior #homedecor #architecture #home #decor #interiors #homedesign #furniture #art #interiordesigner #decoration #luxury #designer #inspiration #homesweethome #interiorstyling #interiordecor #homestylemaguk #livingroom #furnituredesign #realestate #style #kitchendesign #instagood #kitchen #vintage #renovation #leejackdesign https://www.instagram.com/p/B8OCA64hZA9/?igshid=111sw6pz4dz9x

A lot of you have been asking about my house cleaning regime (it cracks me up when folk say this on Insta as literally no one asked and fewer care) So, in light of hundreds of fictitious requests begging for inf, I thought I would share my cleaning must haves. 1 - The Oxford Brush Co brushes. I own one for every crevice in my house and they look beautiful. I near hyperventilated in their shop once. 2 - Baking soda and vinegar. My fave combo, particularly for the inside of the oven 3 - Ecover washing up liquid. I clean the entire house with this: bath, fridge, kitchen table... 4 - Flannels. Colour coded for different rooms. Use once, chuck in wash, last forever. 5 - Dettol lavender and orange disinfectant. Smells divide, pour a cup in all cleaning waters great for keeping my beloved Oxford brushes squeaky clean. 6 - Bar Keepers Friend. Despite its slightly arrogant strap line ‘once tried, always used’ is amazing on stainless steel oven hoods. Creates a mirror like shine. 7 - Rock salt and dough cutter. Rock salt is great for creating abrasion and the cutter is a great scraping tool, particularly for the breadboard 8 - Lavender oil. Smeared on radiators, dotted on worktops, dabbed behind ears, etc. Happy scrubbing! #cleaning #clean #cleaningservice #cleaningtips #home #housecleaning #cleaninghacks #cleaningservices #homecleaning #laundry #officecleaning #pressurewashing #cleaningmotivation #cleanhome #cleaningproducts #carpetcleaning #cleaningcompany #deepcleaning #mrshinch #windowcleaning #housekeeping #cleaner #hincharmy #commercialcleaning #hinching #residentialcleaning #washing #cleanhouse #love #leejackdesign https://www.instagram.com/p/B7ftdYOBg4T/?igshid=172asqefm7nz6

Goodbye 2019. Thank you for being kind even though this country is, clearly, insane. “THREE THINGS IN HUMAN LIFE ARE IMPORTANT. THE FIRST IS TO BE KIND. THE SECOND IS TO BE KIND. AND THE THIRD IS TO BE KIND.” —Henry James #newyearseve #nye #newyear #christmas #newyears #party #happynewyear #celebration #love #newyearsparty #celebrate #newyearseveparty #instagood #newyearsday #hiphop #newyearsresolution #nyc #dec #music #kind #jan #photooftheday #travel #fireworks #holiday #fun #nyeparty #newyearscelebration #leejackdesign https://www.instagram.com/p/B6u83GohIdp/?igshid=199d5eqszc7gq

If you have folk around you that you love today, take a wee moment to be thankful, appreciate your luck and be very grateful. (Failing that, play my ‘which of my ET toys sums up your mood this season?’) Happy holidays! 💚💚💚💚💚🎄🎄🎄🎄 #christmas #xmas #christmastree #christmasdecor #handmade #love #merrychristmas #santa #winter #christmastime #gift #christmasgifts #holidays #holiday #gifts #smallpleasures #christmasdecorations #santaclaus #snow #leejackdesign #christmasgift #like #extraterrestrial #art #et #christmaslights #family https://www.instagram.com/p/B6fN7srhUgI/?igshid=1ber1qrzglrwg

Time to get toasty 🎄🎄🎄🎄 #christmas #xmas #christmastree #christmasdecor #handmade #love #merrychristmas #santa #winter #christmastime #gift #christmasgifts #holidays #holiday #gifts #smallpleasures #christmasdecorations #santaclaus #snow #leejackdesign #christmasgift #like #noel #art #instagood #christmaslights #family https://www.instagram.com/p/B6c2tyChnV3/?igshid=1148t8ycxblpk

Good tidings. 🎄🎄🎄🎄 #christmas #xmas #christmastree #christmasdecor #handmade #love #merrychristmas #santa #winter #christmastime #gift #christmasgifts #holidays #holiday #gifts #smallpleasures #christmasdecorations #santaclaus #snow #leejackdesign #christmasgift #like #noel #art #instagood #christmaslights #family https://www.instagram.com/p/B6aH1y3B73P/?igshid=1kxjdid1r3ldx

What exactly are ‘easy peelers’ and why are they no longer called satsumas? 🎅🏽🎅🏽🎅🏽🎅🏽🎅🏽🎅🏽🎅🏽 #christmas #xmas #christmastree #christmasdecor #handmade #love #merrychristmas #santa #winter #christmastime #gift #christmasgifts #holidays #holiday #gifts #smallpleasures #christmasdecorations #santaclaus #snow #leejackdesign #christmasgift #like #noel #art #instagood #christmaslights #family https://www.instagram.com/p/B6XqOi1hTow/?igshid=gyrrokz9rqmc

A few years ago, my partner and I decided to catch a bit of winter sun and headed to Miami. We hired a car (there is not a part of my brain that retains car names) which was some sort of groovy convertible. We were warned not to put the roof down in Miami (we did) because of carjacking and theft causing my partner to burst into a reworking of ‘Star Trekkin’ - ‘Carjacking across the universe ...’ While travelling through exotic sounding places like ‘Key Largo’ (fantastically unexotic as it happens, one of its few dining options boasted ‘the home of the $5 steak and the topless waitress’) we (because the car didn’t have a usb) listened to the radio. It was hard to find any station that didn’t play Christmas music and our attention was alerted when a very sincere DJ announced solemnly, he was going to play a song that only a person ‘made of steel’ would not cry when they heard it. Intrigued, we cranked up the volume and braced ourselves for the floodgates to open. The song was called ‘The Christmas Shoes’ and is about a Tiny Tim type of urchin who wants to buy his ill ‘mama’ some new shoes so she looks beautiful when ‘she meets Jesus tonight’ I mean Lordie, talk about mawkish! So, while driving at the required USA snails pace we drove over the 7 mile bridge, past dozens of ‘beer and bait’ shops reading ‘hilarious’ bikers T-shirt slogans of the overtaking motorcycles (‘got a great new bike for my girlfriend, best trade I ever made’ and others so offensive I can’t include them here) with the sun beating down on us, snaking on Hot Tamales and the mad juxtaposition to all this, soppy seasonal songs. Happy times. All together now ‘carjacking across the universe, across the universe....’ 🎅🏽👠🏝🚗❤️☀️🎄 #christmas #xmas #christmastree #christmasdecor #handmade #love #merrychristmas #santa #winter #christmastime #gift #christmasgifts #holidays #holiday #gifts #smallpleasures #christmasdecorations #santaclaus #snow #leejackdesign #christmasgift #like #noel #art #instagood #christmaslights #family https://www.instagram.com/p/B6VAMpqBZ9Z/?igshid=1dva2tftwy172

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