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Making a house your own

February 8, 2012 By

When you move into a house you naturally want to put your own stamp on it. You can do this in a number of ways, and just putting your own furniture in will change it straightaway.

Sometimes when you take on a house, it can be really nicely decorated and in good order. But to make it feel like yours it’s sometimes better to start again. Decorate one room at a time – this will give you plenty of room to live normally, without being in a state of flux, and you can start and complete each room before moving the paintbrushes and wallpapering table onto the next area.

Something that can be difficult to do is remove old wallpaper, especially if you buy an older house where the paper has been in place for a number of years. Begin tackling it with a wallpaper scraper and if you’re lucky this will do the job. If not, you have to get tough!

Cover the floor with plastic sheeting – as you’re going to get it wet in order to shift the paper. Use a wallpaper scorer or craft knife to score diagonal lines over the old paper. Then use a sponge to apply some soapy hot water all over the paper (the reason for the plastic sheeting). Leave it to soak in for at least fifteen minutes and then try scraping the paper off again. If it doesn’t come off, put some more soapy water on and leave it to soak again. Then try the scraper one more time.

If you’re still having no luck moving the old paper then you may have to go down to the DIY shop and get yourself a steam stripper which will definitely take the paper off. You’ll need to leave the wall to dry out thoroughly before you repaper or paint it.

Take advantage of the downtime to check out some sofa sales and see whether you can find some nice new furniture for your living room. There’s some great cheap furniture available both online and on the high street, so you’ll be spoilt for choice when making your home your own.

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Shower Power

January 30, 2012 By

Choosing a new bathroom is nearly as exciting as picking out a new kitchen. There are less gadgets and appliances to consider however so hopefully it will be a little bit easier. If you are wondering how to pick the best shower for your new bathroom then there are a few things you might like to know. Have a read of this checklist for a few handy pointers…

  1. What kind of shower? Make sure you know who will be using it and what their requirements are. Are there mobility issues to consider in which case you will need to look at mobility showers, or is your choice going to be based around environmental impact?

  2. What do you want to spend? Like anything else your choice as a consumer is limited by your spending power alone. Sort out specific needs with Mobility Plus first and then see what is left in the budget.

  3. How big is your bathroom? Plan carefully to make sure you maximise the space available. And think carefully before removing the bath to make room for a large shower – if you come to sell the house a lack of bath could put some buyers off.

  4. What is your plumbing and boiler like? Know your system or find someone that does – be practical about water pressure and volumes before you make any purchases.

  5. What kind of shower do you dream of? Is it also a steam room with a little seat, an overhead drenching from an oversized shower head or maybe a system which blasts you from all sides?!

  6. Finishing touches. Do you want a shower curtain or a glass screen, shelves for shampoo etc or a space on the windowsill? Is the shower over the bath or in its own cubicle, or even wet room? The choice is yours!

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Abstract Concepts for Interiors

January 29, 2012 By

 

Strong colours are big news this year in interior decorating circles, so brace yourself if everything in your home is cream as you may be in for a shock! Art has long been an inspiration for decorating and never more so than at the moment as abstract paintings are experiencing a rise in popularity due to their appealing colour palette. Bringing an abstract world to life in your house is no simple task but for the ambitious amateur interior designer it is well worth a look for the wow factor you can create.

Abstract art is exactly as it sounds – abstract – which means conceptual rather than literal interpretations of a subject matter. It may be that you can see a face or flower within the imagery but essentially the paintings are about shape, colour and patterns. Translating this into decorating is not the simplest of tasks as most people wouldn’t want a riot of colour across an entire room. Take a leaf out of art galleries books and try plain white walls to display your favourite abstract print to its best advantage. Other furnishings can then reflect key colours from the image: keep an eye out for beds for sale with bright coloured headboards for example and add blankets and cushions which co-ordinate.

Abstract interiors can also be about throwing the senses off balance and creating a not-quite-what-it-seems environment. Distorting mirrors and optical illusions are going to work well here and though a room like this is not your typical home for a http://www.bensonsforbeds.co.uk classic double bed it can actually work with a bit of care and effort. Think about scale, proportion and the experience within the space to get it just right. And do your homework! Research abstract art to fill your head with wonderful ideas which you can put into practice at home.

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Help your children to set up home

January 19, 2012 By

The traditional image of a young couple getting married and buying a first home has changed over recent years. With marriage becoming a rarity before at least having lived together for a while to try it out, and spiralling house prices, many couples tend to live together first in rented accommodation before getting hitched – if they ever do.

What this means is that there often isn’t that watershed moment anymore, when they leave their respective parents’ homes and move in together for the first time to a home that they own. It comes about more slowly, evolving with the relationship rather than happening suddenly.

However, probably more than ever before, young couples will still need help from friends and family to kit out their new home. So, if you’ve just got yourself a new son or daughter ‘in-law’, don’t hesitate to offer to help them furnish their place.  Unless they’re extremely proud, they’re unlikely to say no to such a generous offer.

Often, it’s the extras that people can manage without where you can help most. For example, a coffee table isn’t essential, but it does help to make the living room more useable, and a nice rug on the floor can be just the thing to make the space more homely. Remember not to try to impose your tastes on them though – offer to write the cheque rather than choose the design!

Today’s stores have so much cheap furniture on offer that you can probably afford to pay for a number of items for your son or daughter, but be careful not to be too pushy – or you might find that you’re not invited round so often.  But, if you’re passing a sofa bed sale and see something you think would appeal to them, why not send them a photo of it on your mobile. They’ll probably be arranging to meet you there to look at it in no time at all!

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Budget Bedroom Blitz

December 28, 2011 By

If you are currently thinking ‘New Year, new room’ and looking to get decorating in your home then you might well be worrying about your budget after Christmas. Well never fear, here are some great ideas for decorating your bedroom on a budget:

  1. Start by moving everything out so you are working with a blank canvas. Oh, and give the room a good clean while you are at it – including the windows.

  2. Get rid of that nasty old carpet, it will always make the room look scruffy so rip it up and if you can’t afford a new one then paint the floorboards and add a rug.

  3. Give the walls and the woodwork a lick of paint. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just freshen the place up. Don’t forget the ceiling and the radiator too.

  4. Replace old electric sockets and light switches as yellowing plastic looks awful. New ones are really cheap but will look very smart.

  5. Treat the window right. Fabric remnants are readily available so look out for something you like and get sewing – how hard can it be?! Matching cushion covers are fab too.

  6. Only bring back the furniture which you really need especially if it is a smaller room. Clutter-free is definitely the way forward.

  7. In the bedroom treat your beds to new bedding – there is loads of choice on the market and lots of bargains to be had.

  8. Install new lamp shades or light fittings. You can even make these yourself to save money and add a personal touch.

  9. Brighten the place up with photos, pictures and even children’s artwork. The room will feel more like home too.

  10. Treat yourself to one major purchase for the sake of comfort and head to www.sleepmasters.co.uk for a new mattress. Heaven!

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Renovate your Home Right

December 28, 2011 By

So you did it. You bought the dream home, and it’s a total wreck! Enter months and years of absorbing DIY projects to idle away your weekends and holidays with – oh what joy! Or does the other half want everything doing right now and finished as of yesterday? Home renovation projects whilst the source of great pleasure for their often obsessive owners can also be thorns in the side if the work goes on for too long. Try to plan realistically how long each thing is going to take and then you know what you’re up against. Doing the work in the most sensible order is also very important of course!

One way to make the whole thing less daunting is to engage a contractor to do some of the more disruptive work ahead of you moving in. Things like re-wiring, replacement plumbing and installing central heating systems are all best done in advance especially at this time of year when an absence of heat and hot water would be particularly noticeable. You may also decide to finish a couple of bedrooms quickly which will eventually be spare and then take your time over the master suite. Put the kids in bunk beds for a few weeks – they will love it!

Interior woodwork is another big job and may also be one you can take on yourself. Fitting skirting, architrave and internal doors is perfectly do-able with some basic joinery skills and the appropriate tools. Put your talents to the test and see what you are made of! One tip here is to leave internal doors off whilst large pieces of furniture are delivered – that Super King bed from Sleepmasters might just slide in a bit easier! Enjoy your home renovation project but don’t take on too much – it is not worth losing sleep over.

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Getting the best sofa

December 13, 2011 By

One of the most important pieces of furniture in a family home is undoubtedly the sofa. It gets used for relaxation, entertaining, it’s a place to sit while you make phone calls or browse the web on your laptop.  It can also serve as a dining table, if you’re having a TV dinner!

If you’re lucky enough to have two reception rooms then you can choose to have different style sofas in each of the rooms. One room can be more formal – the kind of room you’d entertain guests in.  People often choose the more traditional sofa shape for their formal reception room.

These come in a range of sizes – two, three or four seaters and in different finishes.  Some fabric sofas can be very smart and elegant-looking and suit this kind of room well.  Leather sofas always look smart and will stand the test of time as they keep their shape, with no need for cushion plumping.

The other room may be more of a den, in which case your choice of sofa might be a bit different. Dens are often the kind of room you have for the family to relax and watch TV together in – or play games.  A corner sofa works well in this kind of room as it allows space for the kids to play on the floor as well.  Recliner sofas are also great for relaxation.  You can get sofas that have two seats that recline, and the middle one that doesn’t or sometimes all three seat spaces have recliner positions.

Depending on the size of your room and the other furniture you have in it, you might look at sofas that have innovative storage solutions within them – either with seats that lift up to reveal space underneath or drawers that pull out without having to move the cushions.

The best way to make your choice is to go and try out different sofas in the showrooms. Make sure you take your room dimensions with you, so that you don’t buy anything that will look too large or too small.

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How to reduce your home’s CO2 emissions

December 6, 2011 By

When looking at how you can reduce your home’s carbon dioxide emissions there are plenty of places to do this.

Obviously, reducing your central heating and hot water temperature will cut down on emissions by your boiler.  Even a degree or two will make a big difference. Insulating your hot water heater will save another 454 kg of CO2 a year.

Put your washing machine’s temperature dial to cold – today’s detergents are designed to work well without heat.  You only really need heat if clothes have grease or really ingrained dirt on them. Using hot water instead of cold can save up to 228kg of CO2 in a year.

Staying with the laundry theme – stop using your tumble dryer unless it’s absolutely necessary. By line drying and making use of ambient heat in the house you can save 318kg of CO2 emissions over 6 months and of course, double that in a year.

Power off any electronic devices when not in use, and make sure not to forget items with ‘invisible’ switches – where plugs are located behind a display cabinet or your sofas.

As well as looking how to actively reduce CO2 emissions from your home, you can help in the absorption of CO2 on the planet by planting trees in your garden. As well as absorbing carbon dioxide they are attractive and provide welcome shade in the summer.

Choose a tree that is native to your area, and you can save a whopping 2,268kg of CO2 a year.  So, the more room you have, the more trees you can plant.  You can encourage friends and family to do the same, and why not offer to donate trees to your kids’ school for the same purpose?

By making these simple gestures, you can make sure your household is doing its part in reducing the earth’s CO2 emissions.

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Space saving ideas for small houses and apartments

December 5, 2011 By

If you live in a small apartment in a city, or a small modern house where the developers have been determined to make it three bedrooms two bathrooms, but should have added “as long as you don’t want to swing a cat”! – you’ll know just how important space can be.

You’re out shopping and see “sofas sale” signs or a beautiful kitchen table at a bargain price, only to get your tape measure out and realise you’re going to have to move house if you’re ever going to be able to house them.

Big furnishings are the main problem. There are ingenious ways around storage problems and various interior design tips to give the illusion of space. But space is what it is. There’s no getting around it.

The types of sofas UK customers seek out, for example, seem to have grown larger just as all the newly-built boxes during the construction boom up to 2007 were getting smaller. But there are furnishings out there for smaller homes – you just have to find them. Interior space limitation is a problem for millions of people and some manufacturers realise this.

Start by working out how to work within the space you have – including the furnishings you have or are intending to buy. Now draw up a floor-plan and pencil in what will fit where and how. You can think of hundreds of ingenious ways to fully use every nook and cranny in your house or apartment and there are some amazing ideas and examples on the web.

They may necessitate building in yourself, or having a carpenter do the work for you as you may need some weird-shaped storage solutions and shelves to use all the space.

Obviously, use your loft space to its full extent. If you’re lucky enough to have a garden shed, then make it damp proof, insulate it, heat it and make it secure and it’s as good as any interior space. A lot of companies specialise in making sheds that work as offices as more people work from home these days.

Good luck.

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Essential flooring accessories

November 30, 2011 By

If you’re trying to fit new flooring in your home, there are some things you definitely need to have to make the task easier for you.

 

Aside from the obvious need for the right tools to fit flooring, you’ll also need to get some underlay, particular if you’re going for wood or laminate materials. There are various different types of underlay, so you’ll be able to choose the one which is best for your flooring choice. There is acoustic underlay – best for under-floor heating, sound-proof underlay, which does exactly what you’d expect it to do, and even underlay which boasts great thermal properties, making sure your room doesn’t lose heat unnecessarily, due to your choice of flooring.

 

Most underlays require you to use specialist adhesives to fit them in place and this is definitely another essential flooring accessory that you need to have to hand. Whether, when you’re choosing your http://flooringanddoors.co.uk, you’re going for matching wood styles or not, you may need accessories to make the fitting process quick and easy.

 

There are so many handy accessories out there, such as flooring fitting kits, which will make life a whole lot easier for you. If you just head to your local DIY store, you should be able to find a kit including spacers – to get an even gap when you’re installing your flooring and probably even a pull bar, to help you ensure your wooden planks are pulled together at the end of every row. Fitting your own flooring can be difficult if you don’t have the right tools and accessories to help you out, so it’s worth doing some research before you get started on the task ahead of you.

 

There’s nothing worse than finding out after the shops have closed on a Sunday afternoon that you’re missing some essential flooring accessories, so be prepared!

 

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