DIY SOS Big Build Leeds – My Experience
In September 2022, I had the incredible opportunity to assist the design team on DIY SOS Big Build in Leeds. Together with hundreds of volunteers, we created a purpose-built facility for Getaway Girls, a charity supporting vulnerable girls and young women across the city.
The programme aired in November 2022 and was a huge success. You won’t see much of me on screen (unless you’re handy with the pause button), but you will see plenty of the work I contributed to - and more importantly, the transformation this project brought to the charity.
The Challenge
DIY SOS aimed to deliver a building that was not just functional but uplifting - a safe, welcoming environment that would truly support the girls who use the service. With so many donated and end-of-line products making up the fixtures and finishes, the challenge was to pull everything together into a cohesive, people-first design on a very tight deadline.
My Role
I originally volunteered to help with styling on the day before the reveal. But when the schedule changed, I quickly found myself assisting the design team with much more:
Supporting design decisions (lighting placement, tile layouts, furniture positioning).
Compiling and tracking to-do lists to keep each space on schedule.
Coordinating with trades and volunteers to solve problems on site.
Assembling and arranging furniture according to floor plans.
Sourcing finishing touches and assisting with styling late into the night before the reveal.
What began as flat-pack building grew into a hands-on role supporting the designers across multiple spaces.
What began as volunteering to assist with assembling furniture evolved into much more.
Transferable Skills Recognised
One of the most valuable parts of the experience was the encouragement I received from the design team. They recognised that my background in nursing gave me something unique:
A deep understanding of how our surroundings affect health and wellbeing.
Attention to detail and problem-solving under pressure.
Empathy, communication, and teamwork - all vital on a busy site.
Hearing seasoned designers say how valuable those skills were gave me a huge confidence boost. It made me realise that I had a lot to bring to the profession - not despite my former career, but because of it.
I’m pictured here with head designer Jo Love, and former Getaway Girl Lana, who is now a qualified Architect.
The Results
The completed building delivered so many thoughtful details that didn’t all make it to air:
Beautiful counselling rooms designed to feel calm, private, and restorative.
A “corridor of light” with reflective lighting features to symbolically lift the weight off visitors leaving a session.
Social, unapologetically beautiful toilets designed around the way girls naturally use them as places to connect and confide.
Practical touches like a large crèche and indoor pram stores, ensuring young mums could attend without barriers.
The charity staff’s reaction at the reveal was unforgettable. Seeing them use the spaces as we’d intended - talking, laughing, and imagining the future of their work there - was the most rewarding part.
Looking Back Three Years On
Now, three years later, as the founder of Nest and Flourish Interiors, I can clearly see how this project shaped my career path.
DIY SOS wasn’t where I first discovered the connection between design and wellbeing - I already carried that from my nursing background. But it was where I first saw how much others in the design world valued that perspective, and where I gained the confidence to specialise in it.
Today, I design inclusive and accessible interiors that support health, wellbeing, and quality of life. That focus - combining design training with healthcare experience - has become the foundation of my practice.
I’ve kept in touch with Jo and Lana and am delighted to say plans are underway for us to collaborate again on another project for Getaway Girls, as they expand their services into other areas of the city.
I’ll always be grateful to DIY SOS for giving me the chance to contribute, to learn, and to take my first confident steps into a career I love.
Nest and Flourish Interiors, founded by interior designer and former nurse Kim Heslip, specialises in creating beautiful, accessible, and inclusive spaces that promote dignity, independence, and wellbeing.
With 20 years of nursing experience, Kim understands the transformative power of supportive environments and designs homes and workspaces that promote long term health and wellbeing, and cater to health needs, disabilities, and different neurotypes.
Based in Yorkshire, Nest and Flourish Interiors provides tailored, one-to-one design services across Leeds, York, Harrogate, and beyond.
Contact Kim to discover how she can help you create a thoughtfully designed space that works for everyone who uses it.