Haven Creative is a collection of artistic and expressive outlets that reflects a range of skills that Lou is developing across a number of disciplines.
Design inspiration found in the detail and beauty of nature....
A recent journey has been to re-explore her artistic expressions using a range of mixed media, particularly inspired by nature and botanicals, which feature as the main subject.
Lou continues her professional development alongside completing a handful of interior projects which have included a variety of furniture commissions (for these see below).
Giving life to ‘old pieces’ of furniture and other ‘unwanted’ items is a passion (like the ladder below!) along with some bespoke home crafts…
‘Plant Theatre’
Couldn’t let this ‘retro’ ladder be thrown out!
A new look…
using Frenchic and Colour Courage paint, natural hemp rope and paintwork sealed for longevity!
instagram @havencreative_
a journey of constant discovery!
‘what you surround yourself with affects your well-being’!
interior design examples
‘kitchen inspired by vintage buses’
'Andy & Lou mentioned during the highly successful transformation of my front garden that she had a passion for interior design and she was keen to embrace an enhancement project for the kitchen, which would keep the best items and create a bespoke themed area continuing from the garden. The painstaking research and presentation has resulted in an attractive, functional, personal finished design, which is in keeping with a victorian town house'.
(Ian Gray - Parkstone Poole)
the concept…
Dresser sourced for client & given it’s new look to suit the design…
kitchen/garden room
‘I must confess that when I originally agreed for Lou to use her talents on my kitchen extension and garden room I had very little expectations. I had already made some major choices on the style & colour of the kitchen units. I had some ideas about colour, but the kitchen was only a plan on a page; the extension had not yet been built so I could not really visualise it? I was a bit worried that it might be a bit neutral and bland. Being involved with Lou and Andy on my garden design Lou exampled how this could be linked with the new room. I was so excited by the garden design that I thought why not see what Lou might suggest for the kitchen/garden room, after all I could ignore it. Lou spent time with me, checking out things I had in my home that I liked and she suggested how these could be incorporated. When she came to see me with the first board there were new ideas, new colours and a mural for the wall that I could visualise! Lou had everything right, she is very talented and she knew what I wanted before I did! I now feel very excited about the design for the kitchen and 90% of the result will be due to Lou!’
(Tina Chambers - Ringwood)
‘Conceptual Sample Board’
Excerpt of Board: The dramatic mural in the very open space of the design that will sit next to the bi-fold doors will bring the outdoors in. The colours & textures of materials also reminiscent to those outside that we chose for the hard landscaping will really compliment this scheme. Particularly the unusual tiles, which have similar qualities to sandstone, but also reflect other elements in Tina’s home, such as Poole Pottery items, and the rust colours that are mirrored in some lovely Australian prints in the adjoining lounge area. The leaf shapes in the curtain fabric similar to that of the ‘Liquidamber’ espalier we chose for the back wall and the same style lighting…
kitchen/Garden room
to accompany the anglo italian garden design & build
‘sample board with Furniture/soft furnishings booklet’
The paint choices changed due to brands discontinuing, but Lou has now sourced new trusted quality paints with wonderful tones within each colour!
The board showing off the textures enabling Tina to get a real feel for the space…
Leaving the tile sample board with Tina for a week enabled her to live with them & see how the colours & textures show in varying lights, and how they both contrast & tone with other materials chosen for the space…
A multiple page document that outlines specified products & finishes…
The tiles provide a real talking point, so unusual (a long search for these!) They also reflect the textures and colours of the sandstone paving outside…
A dresser is being made for this wall in a ‘dark teal’ colour (similar to that in the concept - see below).
A glimpse of the toning shed colour chosen to compliment the interior colours…
Tina still in search for the right terracotta colour sofa (see Concept Board below) that suits the whole family in terms of comfort. Hopefully still one with an open bottom and legs to create the feeling of space…
Spacious seating which can be moved along if desired due to the amount of space this room allows…
Tina’s existing table and chairs now look at home…
Tina’s view when she is cooking!
Lighting again to compliment that chosen outside, but these have a beautiful teal blue tint, again with the antiqued brass fixings to tone with the spot lights and colour of the birch trees in the mural…
A view of the bistro area and water feature, which you can hear from inside when the doors are open…. lovely on those cooler days if you want to sit inside…
In door and out door colours to provide that seamless feel…
One of the many views from inside…the garden that Haven Spaces both designed and built, which you can find in the Project Gallery.
a visit back to the project to see the finishing touches…….
The curtains now made and up along with the new dresser, originally a ‘larder’ was chosen for the design, but Tina preferred to have a dresser; still in a similar colour to tone with the other elements…
‘My first concern was ‘is it going to be bland’, that was before I got Lou involved. I would never have thought about a feature wall, any of the colours that she chose and all the other additional elements. It’s fantastic! It is much more ‘WOW’ than it would have been otherwise! I would never have been bold enough to do it, I would have never looked at those colours! It would have never occurred to me to use so many colours, but it works! And an ex interior designer friend of my husband visited recently and was so impressed; she said Lou has a real talent and commented on the great detail and quality of the boards Lou also created. The rooms are now so connected to each other, I love it!’ (Tina Chambers - Ringwood)
furniture renovation
new look for tall boy storage
Make-over from years ago; not happy with the wear of an earlier paint brand tried & colour combo was never suited to the look in mind…
A lot of prep to get the old paint off. Tricky due to the ‘reclaimed’ wood nature of this piece…
Having to be decisive with what colours to put where, and these decisions changed a few times!
furniture renovation
a retro tiled teak coffee table
Keeping much of the wood unpainted to show off it’s grain and adding a natural colour chalk paint to compliment the colours in the tiles. It also compliments another earlier piece of furniture below from the same era.
The ends were also chalk painted to balance the amount of wood revealed and you get glimpses of the colour from a distance.
The wood was sanded numerous times with various grades of sandpaper to achieve the best smooth finish before being satin varnished for protection and durability.
The tiles now grouted with a complimentary terracotta colour to match in with the background colours, which will now prevent any bits collecting in the gaps.
The table can extend to a 3rd piece that now glides up and slots into place with ease!
bespoke photo feature wall
‘The photo wall is fabulous and sits beautifully in the room. It’s lovely to see Emily and Jonny playing the piano daily and being surrounded by photo’s of their family’ (Jane Lucas - Boscombe)
This project involved 30 individual photo frames with various finishes, Nnot all for this wall - the remaining frames will be collaged in another part of the house. Additionally 5 multi-aperture frames were completed, which were carefully sourced and selected to suit the period style of the house.
The concept below reflects the family’s interests and hobbies. A conceptual working sketch below combining both gymnastics and music! Showing that it is possible to take an individuals interests and turn them into a workable design concept and translate it into reality!
The dowels that represent a gymnasium climbing frame provide the structure for hanging the picture frames. Due to the age of the walls and nothing being exactly flat & straight, there was a lot of problem solving to get the frame in!
lounge
(Also see Project Gallery for Garden Design on this theme for the same client)
‘I approached Lou from Haven Spaces after viewing the transformation of a music/lounge in a nearby property. Lou took time to discuss the ideas for my lounge at length. She has a wonderful eye for colour and seeing the multiple needs of a space she carefully considered how we would both enjoy it as a quiet and comfy room as well as a stylish and social space.’
(Jane Lucas - Boscombe)
A beautiful detached house built in 1925 that was the home to the previous family to my client for 40 years. You could certainly see the amount of love, thought and attention to detail both inside and out invested in this character property over the years. The previous owners had called the house ‘The Secret Garden’ due to its unusual not seen from the road location. When finding the address, you walk through a lovely grey green wrought iron gate, with no view of the house at this point until you walk through a solid gate. At this entrance a long path with a lovely long side planted rose bed that draws you through a tired pergola, with a beach style summer house to the right. The period style house with its modern double glazed sash style windows and porch all in keeping with the era when this home was originally built.
Long view back to the road…
View to the house…
design concept for lounge
Very unique to each client the initial abstract part of the design can often reflect personality, aspects of a client’s personal story and particularly captures the atmosphere in a space, colours, textures and shapes. The Initial Consultation and Client Questionnaire provides a great tool as part of this process.
This design was also inspired by a ‘Secret Garden’…
sample board and scale plan
Lots of detail in this design as the client was keen to have all of the soft furnishings including art work chosen to suit the scheme and theme for this room. They were also open for secondhand furniture to be sourced. Some existing items would stay, so careful consideration of sourcing for the design to ensure that every item would work well together in the room. Although being mindful of cost and being able to source much locally, the fabric and wallpaper would be an investment and the quality could not be compromised!
Some materials chosen were quite literal and reminiscent of the ‘Secret Garden’, such as the robin and other garden birds for the curtain and window seat fabric, along with the meadow wall paper hugging round the whole bottom of the wall under the dado rail, which will create a sense of being outside. The richness and colours in nature are reflected throughout this scheme…
Being a fan of mid-century furniture it was a delight to find some key pieces for this design. The double layered reflective lighting will also add to the relaxing mood in the room…
A detailed scaled plan surrounded with the various cushion textures reflecting the rich colours in the rug. Additional paint colours chosen for the existing dresser in a teal tone (so it picks up on the existing Ercol chair), and a lovely acid yellow tone for the front of the window seat and side table that compliments other colours in the room…
The richness of the rug & other furnishings will add warmth & depth to this room…
Couldn’t resist including a picture of the ‘handmade’ glass in the doors of this home; an added sense of movement and texture in the space…
The painted detail and real to life images in the curtain fabric are stunning and the natural linen texture will compliment the almost ‘lino print’ image feel of the grasses in the wallpaper…
The paint colours from left to right; for the ceiling, wall, dado rail, wall and the skirting will be the same as the dado rail; a lovely putty tone, which will frame the meadow grass wallpaper beautifully!
A five page document which the client can refer to in order to purchase every item for this design…
bespoke photo feature wall
(As part of the Lounge/Music Room Design - see below)
Having designed this feature wall as part of the Lounge/Music room it was a real joy & privilege to be the one creating it! Sourcing all the materials for picture framing, paint, wax/copper effect to some of the frames, and personally shop to select pots and plants to suit the scheme! Additionally finding multiple aperture photo frames to again compliment this wall for the remaining small photos to display in other parts of the space.
The copper pendant lights will really set this feature wall off once installed!
A wonderful long view of the wall…
Beautiful succulents…
Rustic multi-aperture frames that suit this space…
Floorboard wall installed…
Spider plants that will soon be trailing!
Copper effect applied to some of the frames in this space…
lounge/music room
‘Wow! Blown away! Absolutely incredible. The wall system was a stroke of genius! The boards are so helpful and will make the next steps easier, to see how it all ties together. We don’t have the vision Lou has, so having it all laid out like this is so helpful. Lou has captured Stephen’s obsessions, but made it realistic! I love it!’
(Beccy Pullan - Bournemouth)
The most detailed interior design to date capturing all of the elements i’m passionate about; using existing furniture/furnishings (nothing is wasted!), although directed by colour due to the client’s rug/curtains; it gave me a focus. Although one wouldn’t normally mix different styles e.g. chinese style rug with a designer 1960’s wall system, it works! Sourcing complimentary secondhand furniture in Germany & The Netherlands is a dream! I get much of my inspiration from Holland having visited there numerous times. Other furniture chosen is also made from reclaimed materials. The paint colours (eco; healthier to live with) are bold, yet sympathetic to what will sit against them, providing a vibrant canvas to set them off. A mixture of tactile, luxurious and shimmering fabrics soften the mixture of woods chosen in the furniture… and a nod to South African family heritage in the protea cushion!
Many elements in this design are personalised reflecting family and their leisure activities, providing vinyl storage, space for a new piano and making a feature of what was a kitchen window and including a creative wall space for special photographic memories - see above article!
The room stripped and paint being sampled…
The Danish Wall System installed looking great against the new wall colour… (great to see my client referring to the Sample Board!)
A great view through prior to the record storage showing the colours contrasting with each other and the copper lights that will pick up on the copper photo wall grid…
A professional carpentry job of the record storage, which I finished off with dark wax that matches in with the photo feature wall…
Records finally being categorised and stored for easy access…
furniture commission - 7 dining chairs:
‘Our new chairs just lift my mood! They are now very comfortable and we enjoy using them as a whole family!’
(Beccy Pullan - Bournemouth)
A lot of prep involved with this project due to the age of the chairs and the amount of stripping required! Traditional methods used with good quality jute tarpaulin and herringbone webbing with the added plumpness of the foam & wrap and luxurious fabric. I gave my clients a choice of a few upholstery fabrics that toned with the dresser I previously renovated to pick out the dusky pink tone.
before
after
Kitchen dresser:
‘I love the dresser and am impressed with Lou’s work ethic and skills, every time I walk in the room I love it even more! Cannot wait for all the family to come over and see it! So excited about the next stages of the design that Lou is doing!’
(Beccy Pullan - Bournemouth)
