Revolution To Bring Power To The Purple

Jul 6 2008 Justin And Colin

Get The Look

A white-panelled wardrobe is a classic and timeless piece of bedroom furniture that can be used to lighten up a room or provide contrast in a dramatically coloured room. But which one gets your vote?

SCRIMP

Hemnes wardrobe

£289 from IKEA, www.ikea.com

This smart wardrobe boasts smooth-running drawers with pull-out stop. Adjustable feet provide high stability and an internal shelf is adjustable to four different positions. The satin white finish is smooth and you can wipe it clean.

Width: 110 cm.

Depth: 61 cm.

Height: 198 cm.

SPEND

Poppy two-door/two-drawer wardrobe

£299 from Argos, www.argos.co.uk

This one has a moulded top and a plinth that adds extra detailing - good news or bad depending on taste. It comes in a white painted finish with solid birch handles. It also features a hanging rail, adjustable and fixed base shelf and drawers with metal runners.

W: 108.6cm.

D: 53.5cm.

H: 187.5cm.

SPLURGE

Marlow wardrobe

£399 from Marks & Spencer, www.marksandspencer.com

Crafted mainly from solid pine and fibreboard, this wardrobe offers one hanging rail, one shelf and three drawers to house all your bits and pieces. The overall design is classically simple and strong and offers M&S quality for a great price.

W: 94cm.

D: 52cm.

H: 182cm.

SOFA, SO GOOD

The great news about sofa shopping is that stores now offer so many colour options, you can really make it your own. Sofa Workshop (www.sofaworkshop.com) offer 2200 fabric choices.

Or you could just buy an off-the-shelf sofa from John Lewis (www.johnlewis.com) and match your paint. Top tip: it's easier to match paint with fabric than vice versa.

WHAT'S IN STORE?

Clutter is caused by poor storage and laziness. Put together, you'll end up with a room like this. So we pared back and added a double wall unit with display and discreet storage, upper levels for pictures and accessories and two doored sections to hide everything else. IKEA (www.ikea.com) have great storage solutions and smart ways to recycle and have a more efficient home. It's like your house dieting and going from fat to fab overnight.

TRUE COLOURS

We used a punchy colour to strengthen our feature wall and draw the eye to our TV and fireplace. Further straps of 2in x 2in timber were used as a 3D stripe to match the characteristics of the stairs and break up the impact of the lilac. We used Lilac Spring 1 (www.dulux.co.uk) as our mainstay and toned up and down with the sofa and accessories. Choose shades either side of your main one to add darker and lighter elements.

EXTRAS IMPACT

To complete your look, try using accessories in lighter and darker tones of your main colour. Pick up hints of your colour in artwork or in your choice of flowers. The accessories all contribute to the overall impact and you'll find these small details make a real difference. Cargo Home Shop have wonderful purple glassware starting at £8 for four Rondo tumblers - www.cargohomeshop.com

STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

The half-hearted open-plan staircase was dangerous and had no safety banister.

We were inspired by modernist architecture to create a simple "cage" to house the stairs using lengths of 2in x 2in timber, painted white. Spacing them out this way still allows light to pass through from the rear of the property. It's an example of our age-old maxim: find a fault, make a feature.

MAKE MORE ROOM

To make this space feel much larger, we wall-mounted the TV and fireplace and used glass for the coffee and occasional tables. For a huge selection of glass tables, visit Dwell, Princes Square, Glasgow, or online at www.dwell.co.uk