Once it was a dark and dingy lounge. Then Adver reader Kim Harz won our £10,000 makeover. SHIRLEY MATHIAS asked what she thought of the new look.

A COMPETITION win worth £10,000 has left part-time teacher Kim Harz and her two-year-old son Orion with a bright new lounge.

The make-over by celebrity interior designer Linda Barker was the prize in a contest run by the Evening Advertiser and Green-bridge Retail Park.

Our readers judged her lounge to be Swindon's ugliest room. She had put up with it since moving to the house in June.

But now Linda, star of the BBC1 programme Changing Rooms, has turned it into a dream scheme.

Gone are the dark blue carpet and orange walls which 30-year-old Kim hated.

They have been replaced by wood laminate flooring and sunny lavender and cream.

Workmen have also ripped out the cupboard under the stairs and replaced it with a made to measure work station.

Champagne voile and cream cotton drapes have brightened the windows and Kim's old furniture has been replaced with a beech dining table and sofa and armchairs upholstered in aubergine and sand.

Kim said: "I have got wonderful new lighting, a new TV and stereo and a flat screen computer monitor.

"It all looks wonderful."

Linda incorporated Kim's suggestions in the design scheme, and the two then went on a shopping spree at the Greenbridge Retail Park.

"We did the shopping in about an hour and a half," said Kim.

"We knew just what we were looking for and it was really exciting."

Before they set out, Linda said she could see quickly what needed to be done, but the design should be personality driven.

She explained: "It's not going to work if other people force Kim into doing something she doesn't want to do."

The transformation took less than a week. As the last of the workmen prepared to move out, Kim said: "I want to thank everyone who has been involved in this.

"They have all been great, and I'm thrilled with the result. Orion approves too!"