Hannah’s home office makeover
Found yourself looking at that smaller room and have no idea where to start? Don't worry, we've all been there. It really is difficult to renovate a smaller space and strike a balance between cluttered and overly-simplistic. This is where Hannah (@little_edwardian_semi) steps in. 
Hannah’s (@little_edwardian_semi) show-stopping office desk, featuring our SEARLE Handles.
As her first-ever renovation project, Hannah takes on the challenge of completely transforming her small home office. Working with her husband to polish up her Edwardian home has taught her plenty of valuable lessons, and luckily for us, she's more than happy to share them with us! We couldn't help but dig deep and learn all about her first reno' journey, as well as her interior style and sources of inspiration.Mono’ meets bold
“My decorating style has definitely evolved over the years as I’ve grown in confidence and enjoyed being more bold with my interiors. I focus on what I like, rather than what I think others will approve of on Instagram, and I hope this makes my style more authentic. Once I started painting with colour I realised how much I liked the look and feel it brought to my home. I mix monochrome with bold colours where the rooms can take it, and I would define my decorating style as modern and creative, while also celebrating the traditional period features in my Edwardian home.”The home office
"I wasn’t too sure where to start with my home office as it’s a small space, so I kept putting it off and focusing on other rooms. Now that I’ve redecorated it, it’s become one of my favourite rooms in the house and I only wish I’d updated it sooner! I’ll be continuing to work from home for at least half my week, so it will be a well-used space. For my two adjourning feature walls, I chose a monochrome Banana Leaf wallpaper from ilovewallpaper to echo the monochrome theme I have in the rest of the house. Then because the room is south-facing so gets a lot of light, I knew I could be really bold with the colour and painted everything else in a rich green colour, including the ceiling, all the woodwork, the remaining walls and the radiator. It’s the first time I’ve painted a ceiling with colour and I love it!"Glowed-up office desk
"I wanted to create a functional and productive space and so it made sense to keep my office desk as a key piece of furniture — but it did look old and tired after being used for several years. This is when I began my first furniture glow-up and I was truly surprised at how easy it was. An upcycle can look really professional with the right hardware and finishing touches. I’ve been a huge fan of PLANK's handles for a long time, as I’ve seen them used by accounts I follow on social media and always thought they had the wow factor. I knew that whatever I did to the desk, I wanted some PLANK hardware!I was drawn to the new SWIRLED Collection because of the beautiful, machine-knurled swirling texture, and I knew that the SEARLE Handles would look really luxe on the desk drawers. Brass was the obvious choice of metal to complement the room's brass fittings and electrical sockets. Brass also looks beautiful against the black painted wood on the desk."
Stickers on & brushes out
"Once I chose the handles, I knew I wanted to apply a self-adhesive, wood-effect vinyl onto the top of the desk, which would disguise its grey colour and scratches. Applying the vinyl took me back to when I was at high school and had to cover my books with sticky-back plastic very carefully so that they didn’t have any air bubbles! It was quite satisfying to do and instantly made the desk look loads better.Then I sanded the wooden legs and drawers and painted them black — I think everything looks better painted black! Finally, I drilled holes in the drawers and then screwed in the SEARLE Handles. When I first received the handles in the post, I was blown away with the quality and how weighty they felt. They look absolutely amazing on my desk, I love them."
Small rooms, big plans
"When renovating small rooms, it's important to consider how you want to use the room and the amount of functionality and storage you'll need to make it practical, as well as beautiful. We’ve completely renovated two really small rooms in our house now (our home office and bathroom), and I’ve learnt that small rooms can still have a real wow-factor if you are bold with your design choices.No doubt you will find someone on Instagram or Pinterest who has come up with a great idea on how to maximise a small space which you can use in your own home. For example, we have high ceilings so we added shelves above the door in our tiny bathroom to store cleaning products and towels. We also took the radiator off our bathroom wall and replaced it with a heated towel rail above the bath, along with improved wall insulation, to maximise our space in a really small room.Top tip: Don't over-clutter small rooms. In fact, don’t over-clutter a room full stop! Especially an office space where you want it to be somewhere you can think productively and find what you need easily!"Creative, cost-effective DIYs
"It felt really wasteful for me to get rid of my office desk when it was the perfect size for the space I had and there was nothing wrong with it, other than it looking a bit tired. I was also conscious of the cost of buying a new desk when I was also fully updating the rest of the room with items I did need to buy new. My glow up used left-over black paint from our stairs, a sheet of self-adhesive wood effect vinyl that only cost £9 and then the two SEARLE Handles from PLANK which are really high quality, but at a fair price. Overall, it was a lot cheaper for me to upcycle than buy new. I do see DIY'ing as a creative outlet where I can make something unique for my room. My husband does all the fiddly DIY jobs in our house like plumbing and plastering. This was my opportunity to do the painting and drilling and I’m really proud of what I achieved. Before I did the upcycle my husband joked that it was going to look like a Blue Peter project, but in the end he admitted to me that the final desk looked really good, especially with my Plank handles that have provided the perfect finishing touch to the glow-up."
Carbs, coffee & tea rotation
"I have two young children, one of whom is a very early riser, so my first drink of the day has to be a large strong coffee! But then during the day I’m definitely a tea drinker and I like it really milky.My go-to pick-me-up snacks when DIY'ing include all my savoury favourites like nuts, crackers, crisps and cheeses. I’d love to say I eat lots of fruit as well but I am definitely a carbs girl when I’m DIY'ing!"Insta-nt inspo
"I use Pinterest, Facebook and YouTube but my absolute favourite for home decor and DIY inspiration is Instagram. The interiors community is so friendly and helpful, and I have often saved a post and then contacted the creator of it to ask for some additional advice. I’m always chuffed when someone contacts me for advice too and try to help however I can.My top 3 Instagram accounts are:Jen at @crack_the_shutters — Jen is such a DIY / hack queen! She’s also really lovely and funny!Katherine at @edwardian_vignette — Katherine’s home is a huge inspiration to me as it’s also Edwardian, plus she’s really into renovating and using bold colours. She’s also super lovely and someone I go to and discuss interior ideas with all the time!Laura at @houseproject_36 — Every room in Laura’s home is beautiful and inspires me. She’s also done some amazing DIY glow-ups too."
Pop & parenting podcasts
“This is probably a bit sad but I’m going through a phase of listening to parenting audios at the moment! My favourite parenting author is Sarah Ockwell-Smith and I listened to “How to be a Calm Parent” on audio when decorating my home office. I also love a good Ted Talk podcast.Music wise, I enjoy listening to Dua Lipa when I’m decorating. Love a bit of pop you can dance to while painting!”See our post on how to plan a home renovation.A huge thanks to Hannah for joining us for a TEA BREAK. Why not follow her renovation journey at @little_edwardian_semi?
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