Free next working day* delivery for orders over £60.00 placed by 12.30pm
* 2-3 days to islands and highlands
Sponsoring TV Carpenter
Thorndown Sponsor Wayne Perrey’s TV Carpenter Podcast
DIY can seem like a mystic art sometimes and what appears to be a simple job can tie you in knots. Wayne Perrey’s DIY podcast series “TV Carpenter“ is set to demystify many tasks with a catalogue of brilliantly simple advice and great tips from the trade.
He also inspires and entertains with interviews including some of the biggest names in Interior Design and Garden Design, where you can pick up some brilliant tips and tricks. Listen to this weekly podcast series at http://tvcarpenter.buzzsprout.com
To celebrate this great podcast series we are offering a 15% discount for Wayne Perrey TV Carpenter Podcast listeners. Enter code TVCarpenter into the Apply Code section in your basket when shopping on our website.
SEASON 9
Wayne Perrey, the TV Carpenter was back presenting on the main stage at the 2024 Ideal Home Show in London, where he recorded interviews with more fabulous guests from the homes and interiors worlds for his ‘TV Carpenter’ podcast (sponsored by yours truly!) in front of a live audience.
Emily Wheeler ‘Furnishing Futures’
His first interview was with Emily Wheeler, CEO and charity founder of ‘Furnishing Futures’. This inspirational and much needed charity furnishes homes for women and families escaping domestic abuse.
When survivors are rehomed to social housing, these spaces are totally empty with no flooring, furniture, white goods or even crockery and cutlery. People with no money who cannot afford to furnish an empty home have no beds to sleep on or means of cooking or washing clothes. So Emily, with a background in social care, interior design, and interiors journalism and styling, works with brands who donate their ex-showroom, seconds and returned goods which are then used to furnish homes or sold to generate money to support the charity and their work.
This is a fascinating and inspirational interview highlighting a huge problem in the care system, and explains how they create safe spaces for people to live in with interiors designed to be free of traumatising triggers.
You can follow them on Instagram and Facebook or visit their website to find out more and see how you can help.
Rob Nezard from UK Radiators
Who knew that radiators could be so interesting? Rob from UK Radiators brilliantly explains the essentials you need to know when changing radiators, planning instals, or changing your heating system, especially from a gas boiler to heat exchange pump which work at a far lower temperature.
He gives away some great tips on how to save money and make your heating system work more efficiently from simple home jobs like bleeding radiators, to balancing a system that can often require a trained heating engineer to get it right. If you have an A rated gas boiler then he recommends installing a weather compensation control that can save up to 40% annually!
Karen Haller, Colour Expert
Karen returns to The TV Carpenter for another fascinating chat about colour and how it influences how we think, feel and behave. Her book ‘The Little Book of Colour’ is a must have and is full of incredible facts from the science of colour and how and why we see colour to why and how colours can make us feel a certain way, culminating in a guide to how to use colours within your home.
She explains how the 3 cones in our eyes are separated into R, G and B, creating colour through wavelengths of light. We all see colours slightly differently depending on how our 3 cones work and how light is behaving at that specific time.
You can find out about the wonderful world of colour, her courses and book by visiting her Behavioural Design Consultancy website.
LIZZIE WILKINSON FROM IDEAL HEATING
During Wayne’s house renovations he worked with UK heating systems manufacturer, Ideal Heating. Known for making gas boilers and heating cylinders, they also now make air source heat pumps and it was this that Wayne their expertise with as he changed his heating system over.
Lizzie was full of great advice from how to prepare your home for the move to an air source heat pump heating system in order to get the most out of it, to the fact that you may need larger radiators and even supply pipes as the system works at lower temperatures.
ROISIN QUINN, INTERIOR DESIGNER & WINNER OF BBC INTERIOR DESIGN MASTERS 2024
It was lovely to hear the bubbly voice of Roisin again and re-live with her the amazing journey from her start in the hit BBC series to winning it!
The prize for winning the series was to work with La Redoute on creating a homeware range, designing cushions, wallpapers, prints and candles, in what turned out to be their most successful collaboration to date. In fact, the range was so popular it sold out and had to be restocked. Her natural talent and eye for design has taken her into a great new career as an Interior Designer.
CHRIS BUCKLER, INDEPENDENT ESTATE AGENT
Chris was driven to set-up his own estate agency to offer a bespoke service to clients after experiencing an often lack lustre and disappointing industry as a customer. With years of experience as a management consultant, property developer, and having trained with some of the top real estate agents in the USA, he delivers an intelligent, strategic and pro-active service through his company.
He offers great tips on how best to market your property, the importance of a promotional video, how to select an estate agent, and how the new Labour government may affect the housing market.
ALLY DOWSING-REYNOLDS, CO-FOUNDER OF DOWSING & REYNOLDS
A lovely chat with Ally, co-founder of homeware brand Dowsing & Reynolds, that goes into how and why the company was founded and their approach to being a stand-out interiors brand.
Their unique range of lighting, switches, handles, taps and bathroom accessories are loved by and used by top interior designers and influencers!
CAMILLA BASSETT-SMITH, HORTICULTURALIST & PRESENTER
Camilla and Wayne chat about her presenting career from radio to appearing as the horticultural presenter on ITV’s Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh. Her horticultural training also comes into force as a garden producer for the BBC’s coverage of Chelsea Flower Show each year where she is involved in planning who and what will feature in filming and live interviews from exhibitors in the pavilion and floristry displays.
She is also the editor of the Daffodil Society formed in the late 1800s for people who love daffs! In this lovely interview she also gives some great tips on how to get all year round interest in your garden.
MIKE TOULSON, ELECTRICIAN & LIGHTING DESIGNER
In this episode Wayne interviews another person who played an essential role in the refurbishment of his home. Mike’s love of electrics and engineering and experience in this world sees him at the top of his industry, planning and delivering electrical installations on large complex commercial projects to domestic jobs.
His knowledge is used in the complex creation of electrical plans through to designing lighting zones and advising on and sourcing quality fixtures and fittings that will work!
MANOJ MALDE, GARDEN DESIGNER, RHS JUDGE & AMBASSADOR, PRESENTER AND AUTHOR
Wayne and the delightful Manoj chat about his past career in fashion to his sensational career as a garden designer that now sees him as a designer, TV presenter, RHS judge and Ambassador for Inclusion & Diversity, and an author.
We had the pleasure of working with and meeting Manoj when he designed the RHS & Eastern Eye Chelsea garden in 2023. His garden was full of delightful colour and we worked with him to create bespoke Wood Paint colours for his fencing, posts and pergola in a stunning palette inspired by his Indian heritage and mum’s marital sari. He very kindly says “Thorndown were amazing” and “helped so much” 😁
The garden was a huge success and is featured on the cover of his book “Your Outdoor Room – How to Design a Garden You Can Live With” showing some of the beautiful features from the colours of his planting to wood paint colours on the fence. It’s a great listen so pour yourself a big pink gin, sit back and enjoy!
KIRSTY BARTON, ALTERNATIVE FLOORING
Alternative Flooring are experts in manufacturing and designing rugs and carpets made from plant fibres, wool and a new range of recycled plastic. They have great eco credentials, manufacturing and sourcing materials as sustainably as possible in beautiful designs and ranges .
Their Ca-rPET range is made from 100% recycled PET (post-consumer plastic) and being made of plastic makes it perfect for kitchens, bathrooms, porches and hallways, and outdoors.
CURTIS HOLDER, WINNER OF PORTRAIT OF THE YEAR
What a way to end the season!! This interview is utterly delightful as Wayne chats to the warm, humble, engaging and totally loveable Curtis Holder where he shares how a life-changing diagnosis made him re-evaluate his life, questioning and redefining what was important to him and leading him to spend more of his time doing what he loved – drawing and being immersed in the world of art.
This shift saw him winning Portrait of the Year filmed during the Covid-19 pandemic after lockdown, and onto a hugely successful career.
SEASON 8
The TV Carpenter Podcast returned for Season 8 on Friday 10th March 2023 with many more episodes to entertain and educate.
Wayne Perrey appeared again as a trade on the hit BBC1 series ‘Interior Design Masters’ so shared behind the scenes stories, along with interviews with some amazing guests as detailed below.
In celebration of the ‘Interior Design Masters’ the first episode of season 8 was a repeat of his interview with the legend that is Jonathan Adler, guest judge on the first episode of the TV series.
The second episode featured Instagram sensations Dean and Borja from my Tiny Estate and stars of the TV series “Saving the Manor”.
Wayne also recorded live interviews at the Ideal Home Show in London, beginning with the inspirational architect James Furzer of JFD Architecture, then TV presenters and property experts Scarlette & Stuart Douglas, Karen Walker, Editor of Good Homes Magazine, Architect and Feng Shui expert Cliff Tan, Interior Designers Fran Lee and Amy Davies, runners up on series 3 of Interior Design Masters TV show, and Stylist, Interiors Expert, and author of “Interior Design Masters” book, Joanna Thornhill. Garden Designer, Presenter and Horticulturalist, Mark Lane, joined Wayne for a fascinating chat about his journey from editor to garden designer and TV presenter. Lanzarote Interior Designer Sophie Brown shared her story from star academic to home stylist and interior designer, to the specific challenges faced by life on an island where pretty much everything has to be imported.
Throughout the season Wayne asked guests for their favourite colour from the Thorndown Wood Paint colour chart. Last season the guests came out with fascinating reasons as to why they chose their colour, some of whom couldn’t pick just one, and this season was the same!
You can keep up to date on everything TV Carpenter related on Wayne Perrey’s Facebook and Instagram accounts and follow Thorndown’s Facebook and Instagram so you’ll never miss our news. For more detailed reviews of each episode and the colours the guests chose, visit our Blog on Season 8 and you can listen to missed episodes by clicking on the guests links.
SEASON 7
Season 7, began in March 2022, along with the return of BBC1’s hit series “Interior Design Masters” which started on Wednesday 9th March with Michelle Ogundehin and Alan Carr. As with previous series Wayne interviewed contestants and judges in this brilliant show, and also recorded live podcast interviews on stage at the Ideal Home Show in London’s Olympia from 11th – 27th March.
The first episode featured Biophillic Interior Designer, Oliver Heath, discussing how to make a space good for mental health and look great.
Throughout the season Wayne is asking guests to select the colour(s) from the Thorndown Wood Paint colour chart that they are drawn to, which has provoked some fascinating discussion and interesting choices.
In the second episode to go out, Wayne spoke to the gorgeous and very talented Jacqui Joseph, queen of daytime makeover shows and presenter on “BBC Morning Live”, “Homes Under the Hammer” and “Money For Nothing”.
Jacqui chose Cavepool Grey as she is drawn to mid-century heritage colours, saying she loved it and it “looks like luxury”.
Episode 3 starred the rather epic interior designer Guy Oliver who has designed staterooms in No 10 Downing Street, private homes, planes and yachts, luxury hotels, and was recently a guest judge in the hotels episode of “Interior Design Masters”. In his spare time he is also a philanthropist, helping to support and preserve heritage trades and arts globally. A fascinating interview that Wayne recorded live at The Ideal Home Show.
Guy chose Reed Green, Greylake, Rock Rose and Dulcote Stone from the Wood Paint colour chart as they look “timeless”.
Interior Designer Oliver Thornton was the live guest for episode 4, sharing his journey from drama to design as he moved from a successful acting career in the UK to setting up a design practice in New York. I loved this interview and felt enriched listening to it. His passion for heritage design led him to choose Bishop Blue and Yew Green as his favourite Thorndown Wood Paint colours.
He described Bishop Blue as a ‘classic heritage colour’ and Yew Green as a ‘very handsome colour’, saying they had “the feeling of the country house but in a contemporary setting”.
TV presenter and paediatric A&E doctor, Dr Ranj, joined Wayne live on stage at The Ideal Home Show, for a fascinating and fun interview with one of the sunniest and warmest people on-screen.
When chatting about Thorndown paint colours Dr Ranj said he was going through a neutrals and warm grey phase, so he selected Dormouse Grey, saying it was a “neutral without being magnolia”, and a “bit more slick, cool and urban”. He coupled it with Cavepool Grey as a contrast colour for furniture saying he would add gold handles and features, and that it was “beautiful, absolutely stunning”, “warm but neutral and very modern”.
The very entertaining Michael Perry, known as Mr Plant Geek, joined Wayne for another live interview at the Ideal Home Show. He chatted about his career and how he inadvertently became the TV spokesperson for Thompson & Morgan when media attention grew due to their innovative grafting of plants, creating ‘egg & chips’ plant from an aubergine and potato. He is now a well known TV presenter, podcaster, and supplier of plants, naked calendars and naughty t-shirts!
When considering his favourite Thorndown Wood Paint colours, Michael had an area of his garden and garage in mind, choosing Foxwhelp Red and Squirrel Blue.
Sustainable Interior Designer Lynne Lambourne, joined Wayne for a live interview on stage at the Ideal Home Show, talking about her love for the environment and design. Lynne is an inspirational woman who is passionate about the environment, up cycling, recycling, re-using and re-purposing. She is a sustainability ambassador for brands and recently went back as a mature student to get a degree in Sustainability from Cambridge University.
Lynne ended up picking four colours from the Thorndown Wood Paint Colour chart, firstly selecting Yew Green saying, “green in interiors is really big now” and that it connected with “back to nature, so love that green”. She also chose Blackdown as she loves black for furniture, but then also picked Cavepool Grey and Bishop Blue. We’re delighted that someone who shares our passion for the environment connected so well with our colours!
