Why hellooo 2017!

The Laura Thomas Interior Design Blog is now in its 5th year. One chilly night back in New Zealand in June 2012 I couldn’t sleep. While lying in the darkness listening to some Possums scratching around on the tin roof, I got up and thought “right I’m going to start a blog” and did.

LTID has taken me to places I would never have discovered, advanced my creative side, allowed me to have experiences that aren’t everyday (I got a press pass for New Zealand Fashion Week and it was an epic few days of fashion), found brands I never knew would inspire me, met other amazing bloggers such as Karine Kong (Bodie + Fou Design), Katie Treggiden (Confessions of a Design Geek) and Emily Quinton (Makelight), have been nominated for the past 3 years for Best Luxury Blog in the Amara Interior Blog Awards hosted by Sophie Robinson (BBC 2’s The Great Interior Design Challenge) and worked with large household brands such as Dulux, House of Fraser and Brabantia, to name a few. This blog has been one long creative journey and I’m very grateful for the inspiration and confidence it has given me.

LTID was set up to run along side Laura Thomas Linens. The blog started as a separate entity of its own and then merged into this site for SEO and google ranking purposes in 2016. The aim was to inspire readers to discover their own creative style by showcasing projects, brands and interior images. LTID’s biggest aim however was to inspire women to tackle more DIY. The blog is now following my 3rd renovation and in each of the three properties since 2012 I have done much of the work myself, blogging my way through stripping wallpaper, interior and exterior painting, upcycling furniture, window restoration and more.

So what’s been happening recently with my renovations you ask? After moving into an Old Doctors Surgery (now 15 months ago) and initially installing a Kitchen, Bathroom and Outside Shower which took 3 months, I’ve been focusing on Laura Thomas Linens and putting funds away for the next project.

That next project is happening NOW and I can’t contain my excitement. I’m currently putting in a Holiday Home into the building and have given myself until the end of March as a completion deadline. That’s only 8 weeks away!

Holiday Home Renovation

The old surgery building is long and skinny and I have now divided it into two areas. We live in two-thirds, with one-third to be rented out to holiday goers who come to East Lothian for the amazing golf courses and beaches.

This area was originally an office with a staff Kitchen and Loo. The space was open plan with desks all around the outer walls and has its own entrance.

A total rewire has happened in the last few months. All commercial strip lighting was removed as well as all the plug points that were mid way up the wall. Then all the new wiring went in to the ceiling and new stud walls for the bedroom and living spaces.

I’ve been working alongside the builder plastering the stud walls (which were professionally installed) as he puts in the bathroom and I’ve just started painting this week. Plastering is no easy job but I was determined to do it. I’m happy so far with the results and with this area now at painting stage this holiday home will move forward quite quickly.

Check out the progress so far. The style will be monochrome and minimalist. The most exciting part is that all the bedding, towels and scents in the holiday home will be my own Laura Thomas Linens homewares and will also be for sale.

I’m aiming to hit the season running and be ready to roll by the last weekend of March. In the meantime my days are full on juggling Laura Thomas Linens, renovating and oh yeah… being a full-time solo parent. I wish there were more hours in the day!

I’ll post more soon, Laura x