Interiors

The Lifestyle Wall by Rooms Made For You

September 21, 2015March 18, 2016

Last week I was lucky enough to spend an afternoon hanging out with TV architect George Clarke (of Amazing Spaces and Restoration Man fame) and a lovely bunch of fellow bloggers over bubbly and nibbles. The occasion: the launch of a new plasterboard called the Lifestyle Wall from British Gypsum’s Rooms Made For You range.

I know, plasterboard doesn’t sound that exciting, but the Lifestyle Wall is pretty innovative stuff. It’s the same thickness as normal plasterboard but has been engineered to be much more durable, meaning all sorts of fixtures and fittings – heavy mirrors, shelves, cabinets – can be screwed straight into it using normal woodscrews (no more drills, RAW plugs or mess!). We had the chance to test it out for ourselves, suspending 15kg weights from a single screw and dividing into teams to create picture galleries, and it really is seriously strong.

I can think of so many situations where I could have done with the Lifestyle Wall in my own home – the hooks which peeled off the wall under the weight of coats, the pictures which had to be positioned to cover up the holes I made trying to create a gallery wall, the kitchen shelves (above) which caused the plaster behind to crumble away (I patched up the damage, but to this day I daren’t place anything heavy on them…). I live in a period property, but the plasterboard can be retro-fitted during renovation so it’s by no means confined to new builds and extensions.

George described the Lifestyle Wall as a ‘game-changer’, and I don’t think that’s an exaggeration. It opens up all sorts of possibilities, and I came away brimming with ideas about how it could be used to create flexible, personalised spaces: ceramic planters, wall-mounted lighting, display boxes filled with interesting collections. I’d start by installing a hook so that my boyfriend could store his bike on the wall (it’s currently a major trip hazard in the hallway). And I could finally hang the large picture which I’d like to display above our bed, without any fear of it falling on our heads in the middle of the night!