Very good tutorial from a professional garden...
I have subscribed to access all the courses so have watched one on interior design and this one with Butter Wakefield who specialises in small garden design. She ...
Louise Brown
Apr 10, 2026
How To Be Mad About Your House
with KATE WATSON-SMYTH — Design expert, journalist, best-selling author. Creator of UK's #1 interiors blog and podcast.
Lesson 28 of 29
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It is never fun to argue with your partner and kids about your decorating plans. Kate offers insights into how you can have a discussion with your family to figure out what they want from a home and to make a space that everyone will love.
Whenever someone shows strong feelings against a colour, you should investigate whether it is an emotional reaction or a cultural reaction. There is no such thing as the wrong colour, only the wrong shade. It is crucial to understand why someone dislikes something, to talk to them about it, and to see if there is a way to reach a compromise along the colour spectrum. Interior design is a long game. Often, people will accept designs.
You can let your children have what they want in their bedroom. They need to have ownership over their space. You should try and guide them, give them an edited choices and let them chose from that.
You can make a feature of cornicing or plasterwork. Picking a colour out from your room to tie the space.
Kate added panelling to one wall adding further character to the space. The wall behind was painted first and the battens were then glued on below. They put bi-fold doors onto the back of the kitchen. Rather than critcutter doors they used black electrical tape, more important with the period property. Having a dark window frame draws your eye to outside. Kate added a woodburning stove and character by making a much bigger chimney than is needed, using old chimney bricks.
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437 reviews
Read moreI have subscribed to access all the courses so have watched one on interior design and this one with Butter Wakefield who specialises in small garden design. She ...
Louise Brown
Apr 10, 2026
I love CreateAcademy. I came in for the gardening and floristry courses, but am also watching an interior design one at present. And the photography course is an ...
Wellesley
Apr 1, 2026
What a great investment, I have learned such a lot from the first three courses. My evenings have gone from not being able to find anything that captured my imagi...
sojojo
Mar 30, 2026
I loved this course with Amanda Lindroth! Her approach to decorating is so relaxed and she makes it feel attainable. She explains the reasons behind her decisions...
Elizabeth
Mar 27, 2026
I have subscribed to access all the courses so have watched one on interior design and this one with Butter Wakefield who specialises in small garden design. She has a lovely personality and comes across as ...
Louise Brown
Apr 10, 2026
I love CreateAcademy. I came in for the gardening and floristry courses, but am also watching an interior design one at present. And the photography course is an absolute must, best I've ever done.
Wellesley
Apr 1, 2026
What a great investment, I have learned such a lot from the first three courses. My evenings have gone from not being able to find anything that captured my imagination on TV to learning and expanding my kno...
sojojo
Mar 30, 2026
Your Instructor
Design expert, journalist, best-selling author. Creator of UK's #1 interiors blog and podcast.
Kate Watson-Smyth is an award-winning design journalist and author of the best-selling Mad About The House book series. She has spent the last 20 years writing extensively on interiors and design for publications including the Financial Times, The Independent and The Sunday Telegraph. Her home has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Elle Decoration and Livingetc, and her acclaimed website, MadAboutTheHouse.com, is officially voted the UK’s No1 interiors blog.
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