We catch up with social influencer Elaine from Elaine's Roves n' Troves who has a fabulous eye for design and undertook the interior makeover of her sisters stunning Country Tyrone kitchen and living space which features new lighting by Castle Lighting Omagh.

The family behind this beautiful home:

This stunning stone built home with gothic influence is located just outside Omagh, County Tyrone and is lived in by a family of four, mum and dad and their two children.

Elaine explained that the house was built just over 10 years ago with the family wanting a complete decor and interior overhaul to their kitchen, living and dining space to replace the traditional country feel it previously had.

This in essence meant the family had to commit to refreshing absolutely everything from tiles and furnishings to wallpaper and furniture. Whilst the general layout of the spaces remained untouched, the project incorporated some structural changes to allow for more light to the space. Elaine also commented how this involved replacing two smaller Gothic style windows with one large window.

The interior design was passionately undertaken by Elaine herself who is a relation of the family. The overall project was created in line with Elaine's of the moment style as seen on her Elaine’s Roves ‘N Troves blog and social media accounts.

The living space and kitchen before the makeover

The design brief:

The brief given to Elaine was to make the rooms bright and uplifting yet cosy and homely.

Ultimately the vision was to achieve three unique spaces, whilst still having them complementary to one another due to the flow of the spaces.

The family wanted rooms that were distinctive in style and décor. Elaine explained how she achieved this with a mix of textiles, delicate designs and a distinguished colour palette.

Creating the new look Kitchen:

Elaine detailed how they initially looked at lots of styles and themes together so that they could get a better understanding of what they liked and didn’t like.

Following that process Elaine then presented a range of different options for the kitchen, from which they made their final design and interior choices.

Based on the choices, Elaine then took care of sourcing everything from tiles to light fittings, paint to furniture, not forgetting the soft furnishings and all the finishing touches that make a house a home.

The kitchen makeover:

Fortunately for the family the existing units within the kitchen were in excellent condition so rather than completely replacing the kitchen Elaine and the family decided to keep the units and give them a completely new look by repainting them and adding new handles.

When it came to the kitchen island they did agree under Elaine's guidance to replace the island, as the position of the older one was not aiding the flow of the space and it was quite small. It also had a wooden beam feature that was blocking light, so Elaine reinforced that it had to go and be replaced with a completely new island.

The kitchen was painted in a striking black colour and teamed with gold handles, which give it a completely new and vibrant look. The new tiles, a grey wooden effect style, were much lighter than the previous ones and this made the kitchen feel much brighter and open.

The new island is much more practical and functional not to mention a treat for the eye. Elaine opted for a white granite 40mm waterfall worktop on the island to contrast with the black on the main kitchen units, which works really well and makes both distinctive. Elaine explained that when designing the island they focused on function and the space in mind around the existing kitchen.  The island therefore incorporates lots of drawers and cupboards, adding more storage with space for four stools for the family, as this was typically a space they enjoyed breakfast together.

Elaine framed the island with 3 large pendant lights to create a stunning focal point. The gold in the inside also compliments the gold handles on the kitchen.

Planning and choosing the lighting:

Lighting was a very important factor in the entire process and it was going to have a huge impact in the final look and feel. So a lot of consideration was given to it by Elaine and the family.

Whilst the space is relatively open plan, they wanted to have different styled light fittings in the various spaces but complementary of one another. The décor style they went for is chic, industrial, glamour style which Elaine expertly achieved.

The kitchen and wider space has a mix of different kinds of lighting to include wall lights, pendants, ceiling fitted style pendants, spotlights, lots of side lamps and kitchen unit under-lights, which all adds to the character, look and feel of the space.

The new island was a real focal point as noted and they achieved this with the three large white pendants featuring gold on the inside.

Elaine's top lighting tips for other home owners updating their home:

Elaine is an advocate for investing in lighting and explained "Lighting is such a major part of the overall home interior, it's look, feel and aesthetics. I feel it's so important to consider your lighting very early on in the project, right at the home design stage."

Elaine passionately explained the importance of visualising each room and knowing its purpose and overall mood. "If you take time to consider your lighting plan very early on it will help you determine where the windows and doors will go, where the furniture will sit, and the more you have this plan on paper then the better you can achieve your desired lighting outcomes."

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Another recommendation from Elaine is to have different lighting sources in the same room. She explained "having different sources of light in the same room allows you to change the mood of the space depending on what you are doing in the space. Think about spotlights, side lamps, pendants, wall lights etc, under unit lights etc."

One last tip is not to rush the selection process of your lighting "the style of lighting you select also forms a major part of the overall look and feel of the styling and décor you want to create, so don’t rush picking your fittings."

Elaine's sources of inspiration:

Elaine's main source of inspiration comes from a mixture of Instagram, Pinterest, interior magazines combined with her own flair for interior design.

Suppliers:

Units – Paint Jet Black 119 by Crown

Ceiling & Wall Lights â€“  Castle Lighting, Omagh

Wall Colour – ‘Bright White’, Pantone Range by Fleetwood

Elaine’s Roves ‘n Troves Links:

Instagram: www.instagram.com/elainesrovesntroves

Facebook: www.facebook.com/elainesrovesntroves

Website: www.elainesrovesntroves.com

So there you have it, a sneak peak into one of Omagh's newly renovated homes with top advice from Elaine at Elaine's Roves n' Troves! Be sure to give Elaine a follow on social media and follow her stunning array of inspiration and top interior tips.