Dom Wood: 'I have DJ decks in my kitchen'
As part of our interview series, My Happy Home, Dom Wood, one half of the iconic duo Dick & Dom, tells us about DJing in the kitchen, his love of vegan cooking and where he keeps his magic tricks.
Originally a magician, Dom rose to fame in the late 1990s as one half of kids' TV presenting duo Dick & Dom, along with Richard 'Dick' McCourt. Their hit CBBC show Dick & Dom in da Bungalow ran from 2002-2006 and won two Baftas, but was perhaps best known for its irreverent games like 'Bogies'.
Dom – who has partnered with Sky Protect smart home insurance to make a 'Home MOT Checklist' of important and often overlooked home maintenance jobs – has a successful home renovation Instagram account where he shares DIY tips, along with showcasing impressive transformations from his own home where he lives with his wife, children, dog and two cats.
What makes you happiest at home?
DW: When everywhere is really tidy. I wouldn’t say I’m a clean freak, but I’ve got quite a scatty mind so when everywhere is clean and tidy I can really relax.
Tell us about your childhood home
DW: I was so lucky to have been brought up in a wonderful big family home. It was full of laughter, fun, music and noise, because it was four boys there with my mum and dad and loads of pets. We lived down in Devon and we just had the run of the house – it was fantastic!
We had a basement, which was great – that’s where we did band practices and had all our friends over. There was also a workshop down there, and I spent most of my childhood in there making things. Dad used to have bits of scrap wood and scrap metal everywhere. Childhood was very, very happy.
It was an old Georgian house and it had period features everywhere, so I’ve always been a sucker for details like that, which is weird because now I live in a 1930s house. Most 1930s houses are devoid of any period features, unlike Victorian and Georgian houses that have so many intricate little details, so in this house I’ve been trying to put as much back in as possible by changing the coving and panelling.
When you get home, what is the first thing you like to do?
DW: It depends if it’s house full or house empty… If it’s full, l love to go and see my wife and kids to say hi and catch up. But if I’m on my own, tea straightaway. I’m literally the biggest tea tank in the world! I've recently gone vegan though, so now I have plant-based milk in it.
I like sitting down with a cup of tea, but I’m also not good at sitting down for long periods of time. I usually sit down, think about something to do, stand up straight away and do other things. I’m not very good at chilling and sometimes watch TV standing up – my wife is always telling me to sit down!
Which room do you spend most of your time in? How did you decorate this space?
DW: I guess it would be the kitchen. We’re massively into food as a family and cooking healthy dishes. We’ve got a mixture of vegetarians, vegans and all sorts, which I think pushes you to make creative and tasty dishes, so we’re always in the kitchen doing that.
We love having people over as well; everyone’s always around the kitchen island and it’s great fun. I’ve got decks and a drum kit in the room connected to the kitchen, so I DJ a lot. There’s always music, food and friends – it’s definitely where everything happens.
Describe the view outside your bedroom window
DW: You can see the whole garden. We’ve got four massive trees right at the very end of the garden, so when you look out you just see a wall of green.
When we got this house it was very dated – it was clearly a very much loved family home, but it had been quite a long time since anything had been done to it – but luckily the garden was really well planted and had loads of trees and shrubs and a nice border to it. It’s the first thing you see when you open the windows and it’s lovely.
What would we find in your bedside table?
DW: Oh my god, everything – I don’t think I can even open it! All manner of crap: coins, belts, cufflinks, photos, postcards, tools, drill bits, just random stuff and all sorts of nonsense. One day I’ll empty it! I don't have any magic tricks in there though – I keep them in the attic.
What's the best decorating advice you have ever received?
DW: My best DIY advice is 'measure twice, cut once'. Once you’ve made that cut you can’t go back, so if you’ve got the wrong measurements you’re going to end up in a whole heap of trouble.
I also think it’s really important to focus on the unrewarding jobs that you don’t see or get instant gratification from, but need to be done, otherwise you will get much bigger problems further down the line.
For example, we recently had to repair our gutters because the downpipe was causing water to go into the brickwork which was creating damp and mould in the wall. The problem is, if you’ve got cash saved away you’d rather have a new sofa, wouldn’t you? But there’s no point having a new sofa if you’ve got bubbly walls with mould.
What’s the best home bargain you’ve ever snapped up?
DW: My kitchen table, without a shadow of a doubt, which I got on a secondhand site. My wife spotted it because we were after one of those restored country tables, which you would usually pay thousands for – we got this for £100.
The problem is, it wouldn’t fit through the front door or the side return of the house and you can’t remove the legs, so I had to cut through the door frame of the side return to try and get it through, and then put in a whole new door frame. It was a much bigger project than it should have been, but we got it in – I have no idea how we’re going to get it out again!
What is your most treasured possession at home? Why is it so special?
DW: The most treasured possession in the house is the log burner. It is the heart of the home and the centre of everything. It’s an eco-stove, and you can get all sorts of wood alternatives now that are kinder on the environment. I grew up with open fires: log baskets and chopping logs was my childhood and we loved it. But then we had a log burner in a rental for a few months and it was amazing because it really retains the heat and kicks it out.
We all sit in front of the log burner as a family in the evenings, and then all the animals suddenly appear out of nowhere. Suddenly you’ve got two cats and a dog laid out on the floor, and my boys and my wife and me sit and watch a movie and it’s wonderful.
What would top your list for the worst décor trend?
DW: We added panelling when we first moved in here, but everyone’s doing it now and it’s all over Instagram, so I’m close to stripping it all off and just having plain walls. It’s just been so popular that it feels a bit oversaturated now – everyone has that moulding and squares going up the stairs. I fitted it here before I had any power tools – I did it with a school protractor and a hand-held mitre saw. It looks nice, but I’m just wondering if that trend’s coming to an end soon.
Are you green fingered?
DW: Very much so. I haven’t got round to actually doing the plants side of things yet because I’ve been so busy landscaping, which has been incredibly hard work – full credit to all landscapers out there, because it's difficult.
I have built two raised planters out of breeze blocks, which are planted up and ready to go with some salvia, small fig trees and white lavender. I’ve also got sleepers, built raised beds at the back of the garden and dug in built-in trampolines, I just haven’t got round to doing the actual plants yet – but I will!
If you could have a snoop around anyone's house, whose would it be and why?
DW: That’s a really good question. I don't think there is anyone. I’m not really a snoopy person; I’m so busy with my own gaff that I haven’t got time to think about anyone else’s. I’m not one of those people who is permanently on Rightmove and Zoopla looking at other people’s homes.
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