
I think that every house has one difficult room that owners don't pay much attention too. It could be that spare bedroom that ends up being something between a utility room/ walk in wardrobe; the kitchen; a bathroom. For us, weirdly enough, the room that is getting the least love so far is the living room! There are many reasons for this, but the good news is that I am planning to tackle the room finally. Well, actually, someone is helping me tackle it! Read on to find out who!
Our living room is a long room (rectangular) with a gas fire place bang in the middle splitting the room in two. It is dual aspect; the front window is South-East facing and the North-West facing patio doors lead onto a decked area and then into the garden. It has a theme wall in Farrow & Ball's Mole's Breath and the remaining walls are painted in Cornforth White. The main elements of the room are:
A DFS Gower sofa with a purple stripe that we've had since 2011. It's lovely and in good condition but it was bought for a different styled house. It is a very typical sofa of this style and very comfortable but after so many years I am just. Tired. Plumping. The cushions.

Grandma's inlay and cherrywood (?) settee and armchairs which we brought all the way from Greece. These have been upholstered more than a decade ago and while the fabric and springs are in great condition, the fabric is very old fashioned. If I send them back I will be disowned; If I put them in the garage I will be disowned. So I have to recover them them in something that looks like it's 2017.

Another antique we brought from Greece, this French style credenza has beautiful detail and we use it as a bar. It has a beautiful dark green marble top and lots of space in it. The rugs are wedding gifts and are from well known vintage and antique carpet store AION in Greece. they are roughly £1k each so there's no chance I can just place them in the garage. In the previous home they were in different rooms and as such did not clash.

The media unit is nothing more than an IKEA Hemnes that is also 6y old and can go. The huge TV unfortunately takes too much space and is too high up. The Hemnes is roughly 80cm high, and I think that the TV should places at around 45-50cm high max. It is also too far to the right and not completely aligned with the sofa. If the unit is was on was shorter and smaller, maybe we could move the armchair to the right of the TV.

This brass/copper coloured mirror was an Ebay find but both the husband and I love it. This will have to stay.

The views from the living room into the garden are so beautiful (the photo below are from June though!) and our 3-meter natural fence that goes all around the back offers privacy from neighbouring properties, so that we never felt the need to put curtains on.

Getting some much needed help
Now, remember I said that I will be getting some help with the living room? Queue Homewings, a new online service that makes professional interior design convenient, fun and affordable. On time. Online. On budget.
Homewings is all about making great interior design accessible to the wider market. You don’t have to be well off to have interior design needs. In fact, there’s a huge element of well-being that comes with having spaces in your home that really work well for you, no matter what your lifestyle and budget. It’s not about buying expensive decor – it’s about making a difference in your day-to-day life.
With Homewings, you launch your project and define a budget as well as your style and you will be matched with the perfect designer for you based on your style, budget, and design needs; or you choose a designer you love. You then collaborate online with your designer over 2 weeks. Provide feedback, select options, and watch your design come to life. Finally, you receive your final package incl. concept and 2D room visualisation, a shopping list, set-up tips and free personal shopping service to make it as easy as can be.
I was really inspired by their before and after projects (see below some examples!) and the variety of designers that work with them as well as the flat rates per room, so you know exactly how much you will pay for your visualisation and shopping list - starting at just £149 per room and going up to £349 when engaging one of their premium designers.



Photos courtesy of Homewings
Cornelia de Ruiter, founder of Homewings, and a designer herself, spoke to me about the online design concept. "Online design is more common in the US and we want to introduce it to a wider audience in the UK; our designers are based not just in London, they are spread across the UK and even outside it. They can take on the design of a single room to a whole country house".

Cornelia de Ruiter; Photo courtesy of Homewings
Being short of time I realised that online design could be the answer to my problem room. With that in mind I have just signed up and will shortly be launching my first project with Homewings. Stay tuned as I record my new design adventure and the step by step process from concept to completion!
Now something exciting: first, Homewings have a very special competition where one lucky winner will go away with £2,500 worth of products and services; you can find more about this competition here. Included are a Premium Homewings interior design package worth £349 to transform your home, £200 worth of vintage, one-of-a-kind furniture from Layer, £300 worth of fabulous furnishings from Iqrup+Ritz, £300 worth of home & fashion accessories from Wolf & Badger and much more.
Also, if you want to launch your own project on Homewings, use this promo code: seasons20 for 20% discount on your package.
Now, have a look at their website and let me know what your thoughts are on online interior design. Would you try it? And if this is not something you're sure of yet, what is stopping you from giving it a go?