This home came together seamlessly as I received a container of beautiful furniture and accessories to create a primary residence for a returning resident. Applying my expertise to select and hang wallpapers, select paint colours, create the best placement of furniture, accessories and art and a brand-new remodelled kitchen, the space was well on its way.

When it came to the home office, an extended room off the master suite, it had to be furnished with remaining pieces, not used in the general space. We had two existing chairs that were black and white, and hardly complemented the new colour scheme of rich dark aubergine walls, contrasted with crisp and creamy whites in the wooden architrave, floating shelves and plush shag rug, so I reupholstered the existing chairs in a soft ivory, created a tufted button detail on the inside back of the chair, to match the existing leather desk chair, and to really add that glamorous drama that the client and I so love, I added embroidered flower decals.

I have had these pieces for years, just waiting for the perfect piece to enhance, and this was it. By pure chance, the bedroom area rug had all the colours in the embroidery, and added that perfect touch, to the backs of the chairs to complete the look.

So, chairs that were headed for storage got an ASHUp (Angelie Spencer Home Upholstery).

The chairs weren’t the only pieces to get a rebirth, the desk in front of which they now sit also underwent a huge transformation from dark mahogany to a modern matte white. They got an even further update when I traded in the old pulls for some new modern glam gold pulls, and also added the gold detailing on the front and side panels of the desk.

The trick to successfully achieving a good transformation from a dark stain to white:

• Is to first sand the wood to remove the lacquer finish.

• Next, cover the wooden piece with a primer. This will prevent any of the wood stain or grain from seeping through to the white colour.

• Make sure that you have a smooth surface before applying the white as all imperfections will show through.

This application is great for so many older, dated pieces of furniture, to give them a modern update.

What was a very handsome, but quite dated 20-year-old desk underwent a fabulous transformation and rebirth to a feminine, modern glam finish and found itself a new home.