Would you let eccentric Torsten Baumbach makeover your living room? SCL06H06 The walls are electric orange and lipstick pink, the sink oozes plumes of vibrant red mist and the sofas are awash with a patchwork of luminous fur and leopard-print. After moving into a ward at the vacant Standish Hospital last year as a live-in guardian, Torsten Baumbach was quick to add his personal touch. Reporter James Davis found out what motivates this eccentric German.

WALKING through Torsten's door the unprepared visitor will be dazzled by the multicoloured mishmash of vibrant fabrics, furniture, fixtures and fittings.

The lamps, chairs and even the TV remote controls have been carefully wrapped in either Dalmatian print material, trimmings from a blue bath mat or off-cuts from a floral carpet.

In one corner of the spacious ward, Torsten's floor-level bed is surrounded by pink and white fur-lined walls, while opposite a smoke machine placed in an unused sink silently pumps out red smoke.

Despite the decadence there is a raw edge to Torsten's handiwork, which has an apparent yet deliberate lack of precision.

"It doesn't have to be perfectly done, in fact it's not as good if it's perfect," he says.

He explains that as a young man and budding artist he rebelled against the meticulous and accurate approach his father adopted in his profession as a carpenter.

"I'm the other way," he says, "I just like getting my foot right in, breaking things apart and then putting them back together."

Torsten developed an interest in recycling materials and redeeming that which is unwanted or unused - a principle that inspired his work in the hospital.

"I don't agree with wasting things," he says.

"I had a few bits of cheap old furniture which I decorated to give a new aesthetic effect."

Torsten moved to England six years ago having worked for almost 20 years as a part-time artist in Spain.

And last April the 40-year-old auxiliary nurse moved into the decommissioned hospital as one of around 30 on-site guardians against vandals and trespassers.

And as an artist he was always attracted to less conventional projects - he once decked out his own bar with discarded items found on the streets just 250 yards from the door.

But in his ward the seeming disregard for co-ordination, such as the green and grey floral curtains draped behind his colourfully covered computer, makes it is difficult to see any hint of an overall theme.

Torsten says planning or working to a scheme is too restrictive. "I get an idea which usually comes with a space," he says.

"I just start putting colour on and eventually something comes up."

And although unusual, the finished room works - this potentially eerie place has been transformed into a modern and stylish, yet homely living space.

With his work in the ward complete, Torsten is now looking forward to an exciting new venture.

Having bought a 30ft prison truck he is mid-way through converting it into a party bus cum mobile backstage green room or media centre.

The truck - which he will take to festivals and events - will be fitted out with flashing lights, a bar and DJ area.

"Some people would see it as nasty but I want to show that it can be nice," he says.

"And in a way, the sense of reality links it to the hospital."

*Torsten is currently seeking a business partner for his party truck venture. Contact him at iwillgomadinaminit@yahoo.co.uk for more information.