Discover the joy of interior design with TV's Naomi Cleaver

With more people deciding to improve rather than move as a result of the stagnant property market and the costs involved, interior designer, writer and television presenter Naomi Cleaver has added two brand new courses to her popular interior design masterclasses to help people make the most of their homes.

Entitled ‘Clever Kitchens & Beautiful Bathrooms’ and ‘Cracking Colour & Fabulous Fabrics’, the new half-day courses will be held at Combe House Hotel in Gittisham, East Devon, on Saturday 11 May and Saturday 6 July respectively and will complement Naomi’s existing ‘Be Your Own Designer in a Day’ course, also held at the beautiful country hotel on Saturday 8 June.

“Whether it’s to enhance an existing area or to create more space, it can seem a daunting task – from coming up with good ideas to having the confidence to execute them. The new courses aim to give homeowners greater confidence in their interior design choices, and dedicating half a day to specific subjects, full of my “top tips”, means participants will gain that extra design edge when it comes to creating their perfect home,” says Naomi.

Naomi, best known for her work as a presenter on popular shows such as Grand Designs: Trade Secrets, Honey, I Ruined the House and Other People's Houses, Naomi also recently joined Kevin McCloud to help judge the annual Grand Designs Awards and has just finished filming for ITV’s brand new prime time series, Britain’s Secret Homes.

"I am a bit obsessed with design and I love holding the courses and helping people with the design challenges they face. It’s such a thrill to see everyone’s confidence build in their own ability. Designing or improving your home can feel like an overwhelming task, especially when there are so many decisions to make and when every decision costs money. And yet we're all designers with our own unique "creative DNA" and I love showing people how to create a home that is individual without making expensive mistakes."

The ‘Clever Kitchens and Beautiful Bathrooms’ course is sponsored by Exeter’s luxury kitchen and bathroom supplier, Sapphire Living Space. The course on Saturday 11 May officially kick-starts Naomi’s series of workshops in 2013. The acclaimed interior designer is said to be pleased to be starting with kitchens and bathrooms as ‘they are the areas people agonise over the most’.

"Common sense is essential in design," she says. "And bathroom and kitchen design are often two of the most daunting and expensive areas when renovating or improving a home. This course will help people avoid expensive mistakes to create the home of their dreams,” Naomi adds.

Mark Newbery, co-owner and director of Sapphire Living Space, comments: “We are thrilled to be working with Naomi again, especially as this course focuses specifically on our areas of expertise, kitchens and bathrooms, which are the hardest working areas of the home. We look forward to sharing our trade secrets and top tips as well as chatting to people about their specific projects and working with them to explore unique design solutions.”

During the short course, Naomi will help students prepare a design brief, develop successful individual design concepts and ideas and participants will also be given handy hints on how to deal with tradespeople and retailers.

“The cost of improving a home is expensive enough without homeowners being pressurised into expensive and unnecessary additions to their design brief. And creating a comprehensive brief is probably the single most important document anyone renovating or embarking on home improvement can create - it provides a valuable reference point to use when you are starting out or in the full swing of the renovation and will help you keep the project on track.”

Naomi’s half-day colour and fabric workshop will demonstrate how to make imaginative but fail-safe choices, liberating the inner designer, while the full-day course reveals the “360 degree” experience of designing your own home.

The half-day (10am-1pm) courses are priced at £75 and spaces are limited to just 30. Tea, coffee and delicious home-made biscuits are provided. The one-day course, priced at £175, is intimate with only 15 places and includes lunch. Course participants, on both the half and full day courses, are provided with all course materials and given a signed and dedicated copy of Naomi's much-loved book, The Joy of Home.

For further information on Naomi Cleaver’s courses, and to book, please click here.