Bury
14/04/2008
This is what happened when the 60 Minute Makeover team surprised Debra Williams. She'd had a really tough year and was put forward for the surprise by her big sister, Pauline.
Debra’s father died last year and recently her youngest son Eric was diagnosed with Stargardt's Macular Dystrophy – a rare condition which affects only 1 in 20,000 and will result in serious loss of sight. Eric is only 12 years old but his eyesight is already deteriorating.
Throughout difficult times Debra has stayed strong. Pauline says she’s never had much luck throughout life - all that was about to change.
The Designer: Richard Randall
Richard wanted to reinvigorate the house and create a home Debra will be proud of. An injection of colour and style seemed a good place to start.
Living room
This room was the hub of the house, where the boys would watch TV and play computer games. It was also the area the family would come and sit together. The furniture was dated and the fireplace was oversized and old-fashioned - it certainly didn’t seem to reflect Debra’s fun personality.
Richard felt that this space was empty and cold. The furniture layout left the room feeling detached and the old-fashioned wallpaper and paint made the room feel dated and boring. Richard decided to keep the existing practical wooden flooring but injected colour and style with a palm leaf-print wallpaper from Cole and Sons and Button paint from The Little Greene Paint Company.
The new furniture was provided by Freemans and consisted of the Zebrano line of coffee table, console table and table lamps.
In order to add more texture, Richard used a deep pile rug and created ambient lighting by adding window blinds from Elite Blinds UK.
To finish off the living room, the old dominant fireplace simply had to go. In its place came the slick and modern gas wall-hanging fireplace from Hotprice.co.uk
Chris Sharp Cabinets is dedicated to designing and making exclusive British walnut and oak furniture. They supplied a hand crafted solid wood sideboard designed and built at their Lincolnshire workshop. Richard is always thinking about the environment when designing his makeovers and Chris Sharp Cabinets ensure clients minimise their carbon footprint by using materials supplied from sustainable resources in Europe and the US. Their latest innovation is to include re-useable packing bags, so they don't even leave you with packaging to dispose.
Kitchen
Debra had grown tired of her old kitchen. No wonder - some of the existing wooden doors were hanging off and others had handles missing. The front part of the room was an empty space being occupied by an old washing machine and stand alone freezer. The family used the small breakfast bar for eating but a dining table would have been much more useful.
Richard wanted to again inject new life into the kitchen and dining area. He decided to create an eating space for all the family to enjoy meal times together by introducing a new large glass dining table from Freemans. His plan was also to make the room more inviting by replacing all the old kitchen doors and worktops.
Atkinson Kitchens replaced the old kitchen doors with new white shaker ones and the old black worktops with fresh new oak worktops. Richard selected painted doors because he wanted to keep the practical wood floor in the room. The old kitchen had cracked tiles on the wall so these needed to be covered. The work area was finished off with new stainless steel electrical appliances from AuctionAssist.com and The Appliance Warehouse.
A dramatic green-coloured paint named Boxington from The Little Greene Paint Company to add a touch of zesty freshness.
The staircase to upstairs dominated one side of the kitchen and the old orange coloured spindles were not suited to Richards clean and fresh design, therefore he opted to paint the spindles and staircase with a white primer to complete the look.
Main bedroom
The main bedroom was far from relaxing. The walls were bland and the room felt unloved. The furniture was mismatched and the old carpet was worn. Debra had put the children’s rooms before her own when it came to decorating.
The aim was to create a relaxing haven for Debra to feel pampered and cosy. Richard decided to turn the room into a collection of colours and textures, introducing French-style white bedroom furniture to create the illusion of space but also add a sense of style.
The two large wardrobes were replaced with one distressed white reproduction Armoire by Ambrose Interiors. Sylvester of Oxford provided two white painted pot cupboards, a mirrored chest of drawers and one glass dressing table with triple mirror and stool.
A new cream carpet (Ulster Carpet) and soft pink rug (The Rug Seller) made the floor feel more luxurious and cosy on the feet.
In order to maximise lighting, a glamorous chandelier was installed along with two decorative bedside lights from Yourlightsource.co.uk.
Eric and Matthew's bedroom
The boys' room was a typical teenager’s bedroom. The walls were painted a heavy blue and the vinyl floor was torn from everyday wear and tear. The boys shared a bunk bed and the other furniture in the room was old and tired. Being an unusual shape that wouldn’t allow much space for new furniture, this room was going to be a challenge for Richard.
The idea was to create a fun space for the boys, without it being something that would date quickly and they would outgrow. Therefore Richard opted for a city skyline mural - an image that never dates. The mural was supplied by The Dream Scene and covered a whole wall. He wanted the room to be funky so he hired graffiti artist Rick Shipley to spray-paint the bedroom furniture.
Richard introduced brand new silver tread-plate effect vinyl by United Carpets and Beds; this vinyl was thicker than the existing one, making it more durable for a boy’s bedroom. Lighting was also vital in this room due to Eric’s condition so Richard incorporated fiber optic lighting and light gadgets from Star Ceiling and Glow Gadgets.
There was no space for two separate beds in the room so Richard replaced the old bunk bed with a new white bunk bed from Limelight Direct.
