A home with room to spare in the van

Jul 26 2007 by Debbie Johnson, Liverpool Daily Post

Debbie Johnson visits a motor-mad brand consultant in his apartment in the heart of city centre bohemia

TIM Good lives in a stylish one-bedroomed apartment in bohemian Bedford Street South – but when he needs a bit of extra room, he always has his trusty VW camper van to fall back on.

Motor-mad Tim says his 1983 red-and-white van is like having a spare lounge, which comes in handy as he freely admits to having “way too much stuff”.

The camper van lives outside his building, and he also drives a Mercedes 300 SL convertible.

Until recently he also owned a Marcos sports car, but reluctantly decided to sell it when he realised that he didn’t really need three vehicles living near Liverpool city centre.

Tim is a graduate of the University of Liverpool, and decided to launch his brand consultancy business – www.online48.co.uk – straight after finishing his degree.

He says: “Liverpool is a great place to start your business, which I always knew was what I wanted to do.

“There are good transport connections, the quality of living is good and people are receptive to new ideas.”

The business, which started with web design but now provides a full range of brand and identity design, has developed – with clients as varied as Tsingtao beer, legal firms, estate agents, artists and the UK’s first private school set to be an Academy.

Tim has been in his flat for the last three years.

He says: “Living here in this area is fantastic – it’s like Liverpool’s version of Notting Hill; close to town but not too suburban, and with these beautiful buildings all around.”

Tim’s apartment is on the top floor of a Georgian terraced house, with views to the rear of the University and pleasant gardens.

The location is one of its biggest selling points for Tim.

He says: “I can wander in to Liverpool, and it’s not too far from our offices in Seymour Street, but on the other hand it is quite quiet as well; the best of both worlds really.”

The living room area is painted cream, with cream carpets and two brown suede sofas. There are two computers in the room, both set up in the alcoves. One is used by Tim, and the other by his Coventry-based girlfriend Tori Beaumont, who is a musician.

The main decoration is pictures painted and drawn by Tori of Tim’s cars, past and present.

He says: “I always loved classic cars. They are so individual and a good investment. I was sad to see the Marcos go, and so was Tori – she says when she has a record deal she’ll go to Norway where it now is and get it for me!

“She has painted some pictures and done some pencil drawings, and there are pictures of cars she has done for me in the hallway as well.”

The bedroom is again painted cream, with a large Queen sized bed in black wrought iron, with classic white bed linens.

The colour scheme throughout the apartment is of creams, beiges and browns – apart from “The Stuff”.

Tim says: “I have way too much stuff! This place is actually quite spacious for someone living alone, but I seem to have filled it.

“I am a very active person and enjoy extreme sports, so a lot of the gear does tend to accumulate in the flat.

“I like sky diving, which I do in Lancaster, and scuba diving, which I do in Spain, and I do climbing around Liverpool, and some snowboarding. I used to race the car up at Aintree as well.

“So all this stuff, along with helmets and the like, is in here! I’m also building a five-foot model boat…

“So you can see why the camper van comes in handy as a spare room.”