Made to Measure
Bespoke interiors were once an expensive luxury. Not any more, reports Holly Thomas
toDaY, we can all have a piece of the bespoke action and let our design whims run wild. There are plenty of ways you can tailor-make High street products to suit your taste and your budget. . . LIGHT FANTASTIC LIgHTIng specialist Vita’s silvia Create range allows you to customise your lampshade. The shade is made up of individual leaves of white watercolour paper, which means you can draw, paint or print on your favourite pattern.
Different painting materials can be used including acrylic paint, water-based markers and spray paint. If you’re lacking in inspiration, ready-made templates can be downloaded and printed directly onto the lamp’s leaves.
If and when you want to change the design, you can buy new leaves and start again.
n Prices from £39, burtonblake. co.uk. BESPOKE BASE Rosanna Lonsdale offers a bespoke service where you can include a name, initials, an important date (such as a wedding or birth), or even pictures on a lamp base.
Founder Rosanna says: ‘We’ve had customers celebrate their wedding with a pair of matching lamp bases with their initials and wedding date, and some have even had pictures of their pets incorporated into the design.’
n Prices from £ 295, rosanna lonsdale.com MIX AND MATCH MoDuLaR furniture allows you to mix and match to make sofas your own. British designer Tom Dixon incorporated modular thinking in his Delaktig range for Ikea. It starts with an aluminium platform that’s customisable, with sturdy cushions to make it into either a sofa or chaise longue.
There are grooves built into the underside of the frame to attach a side table, light or bed headboard. It’s like Lego for grown-ups.
n Prices start from £55 for an armrest to £405 for a three-seater ‘platform’, ikea.com. THE CHOICE IS YOURS a gRoWIng number of retailers offer the chance for the customer to call the shots on their furniture. The Designed By You range at Heal’s allows you to choose the fabric, filling and feet of sofas. You can pick your shades and bases in lighting, and even specify the size, shape and finish of dining tables.
at sofa Workshop, you can choose from 8,400 different fabrics, six cushion fillings, and select the depth of the seat, leg colour and style, and arm height. IKEA UPGRADE Take inspiration from Ikea
hackers.net where people from around the world share their improvements to Ikea pieces.
Through adding new elements or simply changing the colour or upholstery, you can turn an affordable piece of furniture into something special. scandinavian company superfront, which ships to the uk, offers pieces that allow you to adapt an Ikea kitchen, bedroom and bathroom pieces. Its products include cupboard fronts, sideboards, furniture legs, cabinet handles and stone tops. n superfront.com/uk