Sian Astley

sianastley.com channelm.co.uk  
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  • About Sian Astley

    Serial property renovator, interior designer, presenter, landlord; starting BA in Design combining recycled and cutting edge materials
    Current project - Heaven Spa @ Manchester Hilton
    Room photos:
    Marked Sian - my interior projects, client contracts or my rentals
    Marked Show - show home interiors we film weekly, some great, some not so great, you choose which, I have to be diplomatic!

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Sian Astley has 29 blog posts

Working in property & interiors 24/7

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  • Week 33; spa and 1930s semi

    Last modified 19th August
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    Delighted with the Graham & Brown paper in the spa; great to put up, easy to work with, & I am no expert hanger. The teal colour looked lush with Dulux Teal Tension; Natural Taupe 4 was a cool colour for the ceilings; with Natural Taupe 1 on the walls, toning in with the paper fabulously. The rooms suddenly felt magical, enchanted, even without any dressings. Found a great bedspread in Dwell which will be split into 3 strips & edged in crystals as runners for the treatment beds, & now sourcing a 4 drop blind for the huge window in the blue room. & on top of that, busy designing & spec'ing 3 bathrooms for the 1930's semi, change of plan as client no longer wants glass wall to ensuite, so first fix has to be altered. Kitchen design agreed now, did lighting layout yesterday; Harry's busy plastering. Has to be finished for end Sept. Filmed at a property part of New East Mcr regeneration scheme. Lynn, utterly delighted with her new kitchen! Nice change from characterless new builds.

    SylviaAst
    SylviaAst

      so what did you do with the one and a half hours you had left in the week? Isn't it great to be ...  

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  • New Design Centre in Manchester

    Last modified 14th August
    Tags| is-interiors, new, design, Manchester, centre

    So its been talked about for ages, and is finally becoming a reality this Autumn, a new design centre in the Great Northern Warehouse on Deansgate, Manchester city centre. www.is-interiors.com open their doors soon and there will be apparently, lots of fabulous companies in 9000 sqft showing their wares and helping you through those difficult interior design decisions! An artist photographer friend of mine has taken wall space, so I'll be asking him all about it later today. I will post details of openings etc when I get them FYI, as hopefully we'll be filming the opening. I hope its wonderful, and they get it spot on, cause in these tough times, with interiors shops closing all around the city, it will need to be special.

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  • Urgent-Interior Designer w. Cool Project Required!

    Last modified 14th August
    Tags| PR, magazine, journalist, feature

    I was contacted by a PR friend re this request, but featured in RED magazine in Feb this year so can't do it! Thought I'd pass on the opportunity to a fellow mydeco-er. Journalist looking for - A house with lots of interesting design ideas that will inspire the reader. Style wise - it needs to look fresh, lived in and ever so stylish. The overall project can be on a grand scale (not a mansion though) but each interior design idea within the house shouldn't cost more than £10,000 each - so I need a house with lots of clever ideas, like wooden cladding on walls, patchwork wallpapering, reclaimed furniture, mirrored tiles, re-painting furniture etc or any 'clever' tricks like putting in a spiral staircase in a small property, hiddden built-in storage, unusual tiles etc. Its got to be a house that has stylish but not too expensive ideas? The homeowners have to be happy to have their house photographed for the magazine). Contact me for details xx

    Sian Astley
    Sian Astley

      The journalist / stylist is searching for a house to feature; she may have one lined up, but others ...  

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  • Buying accessories - more individuality required!

    Last modified 10th August
    Tags| high, boring, individuality, street

    Spent the day today, a rainy Manchester Sunday checking out the high street accessories for the spa contract: found myself terminally bored by most offerings. Did every store in the Barton Square, Trafford Centre: M&S; (best things were the totally Paris Hilton diamante bedding and some well priced glassware) , Next (dull), BHS (god, what happened there? they started getting a bit stylish with Kelly Hoppen & some interesting lighting & seem to have dumped all that to cater for the blue rinse brigade again), Habitat (need to pull their finger out, same old same old) & Dwell (lovely bedding section just what I was looking, didn't really check out the rest!). Now I know that the hight street has gotten about a zillion times better than it ever was, but with so much design talent around, how come it looks like it was all produced from the same style sheet in the same factory??!! I'm getting back online to resource new stuff, & look forward to 100% Design & finding new ideas and talent..

    Sian Astley
    Sian Astley

      Oooo Dweezil, you out and out snob! The masses, as you call them, are just normal people who ...  

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  • NW Designer makers - advice?

    Last modified 8th August
    Tags| plans, business

    Further to a Help Plea! from a fellow MyDeco member, I hope this info is useful. When I had to put together a business plan, I went on a short free course and received help from the local Manchester Business Link which was a free help providing organisation funded by the council. They were a great help, speak to Manchester City Council on 0161 234 5000 and ask what help is available to you. Or try this link: www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/home?domain=www.businesslink.gov.uk⌖=http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/ Other town councils run the same courses / orgs. Also in the North West is Design Initiative - their details are at www.designbank.org.uk. They have a tonne of info and help for young designer makers.

    KettDesign
    KettDesign

      Thank you! xxx  

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  • Dulux Ecosure - why launch when you can't provide?

    Last modified 8th August
    Tags| eco, paint, green, dulux

    Shame on you Dulux! I wanted to use the new environmentally friendlier paint, just launched by Dulux at their trade centres, at the Hilton spa, and organised this with the client etc. The paint is being pushed through the media to trade at the moment, and is all over the internet. Specified all the paint colours, went down to the trade centre in Salford..... big problem. No paint. Not a drop. None to mix with, none due in. My question. What's the bloomin point of pushing a paint which you haven't put into stores yet!! So we had to go for the Diamond Matt, which is a fabulous paint, superb coverage, but without the eco credentials. Ah well, I tried!! And the colours Teal Tension and Natural Taupe 1 for the walls, and Natural Taupe 4 for the ceilings look ravishing :-)

    Sian Astley
    Sian Astley

      I know there are other eco paints out there, but we had an arrangement to deal with Dulux, so hence ...  

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  • Heaven Spa at the Hilton Manchester

    Last modified 6th August
    No tags

    So, it the night before we start on the redesign of the spa at the Hilton, that huge glass shard that now towers over Manchester. The concept board has proved an invaluable guiding tool, they really do keep you on the path of the original vision, and stop you from straying into other tempting ideas. I've chosen a base palette of taupe and teal, with Dulux providing the richly coloured and environmentally friendly Ecosure paint, and some gorgeous papers from Graham & Brown which capture the enchanted glade theme perfectly. We have to get the base coats on tomorrow and Friday, then start layering the rooms with furniture, fabric and accessories. Lots of amber and turquoise and gem like delights. Oooooo such fun, can't wait!

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  • Save the Urban Fox!

    Last modified 30th July
    Tags| urban, wildlife, fox, garden, exterior

    Had a wildlife trauma, & this info may be of help to u if u have the same problem. I feel this is relevant to this site, we enjoy our interiors, but our gardens & environments frame our lives & are so important, & often neglected. We have a fox & cub which come thru our garden every night at 10pm, so we leave bones etc 4 them, & water. About a month ago I noticed the young one was limping & had lost all his tail fur. Spoke to the RSPCA who said they would come out & treat him, or take him away, treat then bring him back. 4 weeks later, no joy, fox is worse, more hair loss & now open sore on his back. I trawled the internet. www.nfws.org.uk: National Fox Welfare Society, spoke to Martin - fantastic. Sending out free homeopathic trmt to put on jam sandwiches 4 this sarcoptic mange which can leave the fox dying a terrible death if not treated. So simple, & I could've done it 4 weeks ago, v angry with RSPCA. So keep an eye out for your urban fox, & if u see hair loss etc, help him out x

    Sian Astley
    Sian Astley

      Oh I am so jealous you have hedgehogs, its too busy where we are, and a woodpecker, wow. Got a ...  

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  • Sky 203 1930's semi

    Last modified 25th July
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    The 'befores' of the new project I am working on is on Homesearch on Sky 203 Virgin 878 tonight, any comments / suggestions and constructive criticism welcome!! Its late on in the show, around 8.45 x

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  • Post holiday blues

    Last modified 23rd July
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    So I come back off holiday, its raining, ILVA is closing down, my house has subsidence and after two weeks in Canada with no migraines, they are back with a vengeance. Deep joy. At least at the 1903s semi, the builders have been beavering away in my absence. The steel rsjs are in and have been approved by the building notice inspector, just a few bits of brickwork to finish, the roof work is commencing at a pace, and the new knock through kitchen to dining room is finished and looks fab. The client has fallen in love with an oak kitchen with rounded chunky end panels which look very cool, but are quite £££, have to see if I can source any cheaper. Lots still to do, and client wants to move in on 11th September, which may be a tad early as I am working to the beginning of October deadline suggested.

    maggs
    maggs

      Welcome back. Glad you had a nice holiday, now back to it! Jan  

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