NHS Heroes Competition Winner

27th of April 2020

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The competition was created to help our social media audience show a small gesture of appreciation to their NHS HEROES and nominate a key-worker to win our beautifully curated Care Package. The goal of the competition was to shine a light on all our NHS workers on the front line during this global pandemic, and our Care Package will hopefully help bring a little bit of comfort and self-care to the winner. ​

We received lots of touching nominations throughout the course of the two week competition with incredible comments on all those who were entered. We announced the winner on Friday the 17th of April and the Care Package was sent out to them first class. 

The comments we have received when announcing our winner Rachel, a ITU nurse at St. Peters Hospital, are testimony to how much she is valued by her colleagues, family and friends. We've selected a few of the comments below:

"Yesssssss ???? she deserves it more than you know ⭐️⭐️⭐️"
"She is one of the kindest humans I've ever met..."
"Working days and nights, scrubbed up to save lives, selflessly!"
"Absolute hero, and at 29 years young..."
"Such a kind natured girl, it honestly doesn't surprise me that she opted to work for the NHS... I really do believe she deserves it! X"....

...and so do we!! What a hero!

After seeing the incredible response to our NHS Heroes competition, we wanted to continue with our support. The kind-hearted comments about Rachel has inspired us to continue supporting the NHS. 

We are going to do this by donating 5% of all our online and in-store profits to NHS Charities Together. You can learn more about this on our Charities Page.

But for now you can read a personalised Q&A Toby conducted for Rachel, below.

Q & A with Rachel

We asked Rachel if she would like some complimentary advice, tips or tricks we could offer for her own home....

Q1. At the moment we have a grey theme to our lounge. We have taken off some of the thick curtains around the patio door - which does make it feel more like summer! Are there any tips you could give up to brighten up our lounge to make it feel more like summer? Is it a whole new colour change? Our sofa is grey with a grey blanket covering it. 

A.1 Grey is a great tonal base to work on - with Spring upon us and Summer just around the corner there are lots of ways to bring warmth inside. You can balance the greys with warm colours and textures like wood or brass and natural textures. Tan leather furniture can also help balance a grey room, for example an ottoman would lend itself well. 

If you are feeling adventurous you could add a hint of yellow in your soft furnishings and balance that with some blue home accessories.  For example a blue vase with some yellow flowers. It's great to bring floristry inside at this time of year so that would be a great way of achieving that.

Adding some contrast by using artwork with black frames on black shelves can also add some interest. Alternatively you can soften the room using pastel pinks and blues. Here is some imagery below for inspiration ;)

Q.2 In our kitchen - we have open plan cupboards at head height - with wine crate boxes to store things in. The cupboards are painted white with grey tiles. Any ideas on how to make this room appear lighter? We love indoor hanging plants in the kitchen! So would love the idea of having lots on top of the cupboard.

A.2 I love the sound of your kitchen! Lighting is key in the kitchen, not just aesthetically but it needs to be functional too. Following on from the previous question, some industrial lighting with black thin frames and clear glass above an island unit would be great (if you have an island unit?) This will help provide contrast and make the lighter tones, lighter! Also, I’m not sure what type of metal you have used on your handles and taps, but going for a light brass can really help. I love the idea of plants on top of the cupboards, that’s a great idea. You could also consider a ‘Herb Wall’ - especially if you like to cook :)

Q.3 And our bedroom. We have wooden floors and have contemplated with the idea of rugs... not sure if it’s a more winter thing... how could we make the bedroom more cosy looking without making it look like winter?

A.3 This is a great question. I would advise using using runners either side of the bed to keep the floor coverings less heavy. Try to keep it fairly neutral in the bedroom as this is your calming sanctuary space. The runners won’t feel or look as heavy as a rug, but would definitely help give you that cozy feel.

Here’s a couple of options I found on Wayfair below :-) 

Thank you to everyone who nominated their NHS Hero - all of the nominees are winners and we will always be grateful for your heroic effort.  

With love from the Team at Tobias Oliver Interiors xXx