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The Great Indoors Podcast S2 Episode 1 show notes

Hello and welcome to series 2 of The Great Indoors podcast! Thanks to our smashing sponsor Dfs we are able to bring you a professionally produced 40 minutes of interior design inspiration and information, straight into your earlobes. Kate and I are thrilled to be back and will continue to bring you the latest views on the interiors trends as well as great advice on how to improve your own home and make it awesome.

So here are my podcast notes for the first episode of series 2. If you haven’t subscribed by now, you can hop onto my podcast page here and follow one of the links to take you to your preferred podcast platform- we are on them all! While you are there, please make sure you give us a rate and review- we read each and everyone and it really helps to boost us in the podcast charts, reaching more lovely listeners!

Reveal of my hallway

Just before Christmas, we did a big push on the hallway and it was a great opportunity to give Kate the first look, as she came around mine to record the first podcast in our new series. You can follow more of my home renovations in real time over on my Instagram Stories.

Walls painted in Lazuli by Zoffany. Floor in Bauta Havanna cement tiles by Claybrook studio. Hadley stair runner in bright rose by Roger Oates. Front door painted in Rose Ash Lt by Sanderson.

Decluttering your home

Kate and I talked about the importance of decluttering your home. Not just for your own mental clarity but to help it look its best. After Christmas feels like a cathartic time of year to tackle it although Kate – who is always ahead of the curve, likes to do it before

key points:

• Marie Kondo’s book is called  Life changing magic of tidying up. She also has a new series out on Netflix
• If you have kitchen gadgets hidden in a cupboard, chances are you won’t use them. Kate is already committed to throwing out her juicer
• If you have a hoarding issue or are moving house – think about employing a decluttering expert to help you move through the process. I have no personal experience of this organisation but the APDO Association of professional declutters and organisers might be a good place to start.
• Create three piles – one to place things that you can get rid of straight away, a second pile for things that need more consideration and a third pile for things to keep. Work through everything quickly and then give the second pile more attention.
• Store out of season clothes in suitcases to free room up in your wardrobe
• Have a yard sale or host a clothes swap party. We mentioned fashion reboot clothes sales which can be found here on Instagram @fash_reboot
• Contact your local council for charities who will come and collect unwanted furniture
• After you have decluttered make sure you plan sufficient storage to host all the things you need to keep.
• Be realistic about your space available and what you own.
• Have systems in place – shelves for books and storage cupboards so everything has its place and eliminate those dumping grounds!
• Consider giving to charity or worthwhile causes, knowing your once loved pieces will be of use to someone else can be rewarding.
• Use websites like eBay, Preloved, Gumtree, Freecycle, to get rid of your unwanted stuff
• Once you have decluttered you’ll find you’re living space will feel like it flows much better
• Keep on top of it, don’t leave it another two years and start all over again!

Ektorp sofa in Lingbo multicolour £325, Ikea

Chintz is back!

I declare that chintz is back and has become a hot new trend in interiors. Kate has other views but is prepared to have a cushion!

• Ikea’s campaign to ‘Chuck out your chintz’ was in 1996. This is when the Scandi mafia began to take hold of British interiors This is a great article for further reading at Dezeen
• The new IKEA sofa in very chintzy, launched in October 2018 proves that chintz is being embraced again! Ektorp sofa in Lingbo multicolour £325.

• Fashion house H&M have embraced the chintz range. Their sell-out collaboration with GP & J Baker saw many of the archive designs on the catwalk.
• Chintz is a traditional fabric, emerging in the seventeenth century. It was massively cool in the 80’s complete with swags and pelmets. Today the key is to make chintz feel modern by being subversive with it.
• Avoid the traditional glazed cotton and go for modern velvets instead
• To make it modern go for a maximalist approach as in the style of House of Hackney or pick chintz print fabrics in modern colour ways like neon or petrol blues

House of Hackney

Planning a home office

The thrust of creating a successful home office is that it suits your needs as an office yet also works within your home as a whole

• Go paperless. Scan your paperwork and only keep the bare necessities. I use Scanner Pro on my smartphone
• Don’t automatically choose the smallest room in the house for your home office. If it’s something you use every day then you need the room to be fit for purpose
• Consider covering the office chair to make it blend in with your domestic interior

• Consider your home office being multi-purpose. For example, I’m designing my home office in such a way that it can switch back to being a dining room on the occasions we need one. (Most of the time it’s around the kitchen table)
• The HP printer that Kate refers to can be seen here:

The very discreet Tango X printer by HP

• Have a large drawer under your desk, so that the day’s paperwork can be easily swept away. This works well in spaces where the home office is in the kitchen or living room for example

Kate Watson-Smyth’s very organised and chic home office, complete with his and her chairs.

You can find out where to listen to the Great Indoors here. Thanks so much to Dfs for sponsoring the series and to Kate Taylor our producer. Make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss out.