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Spring clean instead of replacing furniture

February 8, 2012 By Jay Marsh

It can be difficult to justify the expense of buying new furniture when the general economic situation is so dire. If you have everything you need to function adequately in your home then the only reason you’re changing things is because you want new things around you, it can be hard to justify this.

So instead of rushing out to Harveys Furniture store to buy yourself a whole new living room suite and a new dining table and chairs, why don’t you do a good old-fashioned spring clean instead?

Trust me, this will do wonders for how you feel about your home, and it won’t cost you anywhere near as much as replacing big items of furniture.

One of the most useful tools you can have to really make your cleaning efforts pay off is a steam cleaner. Steam cleaners work by heating normal tap water to produce really hot dry steam. This dry steam can be used to clean and sanitise almost any area with absolutely minimal effort by the user. Steam cleaners cut through dirt, grime and grease, killing any bacteria and leaving surfaces dry to the touch.

Steam cleaners can be hired from a DIY shop or bought from around £100. You can pay much more than this – it depends on how many features you want on the cleaner. You can get handheld ones or vacuum cleaner sized ones. Whether you buy or hire depends how often you’re going to use it, and whether you have the room to store it.

As well as being great for cleaning carpets, you can use a steam cleaner to bring out the dirt on soft furnishings like curtains and a fabric sofa. While you’re steam cleaning the curtains, it will also iron them.

Of course, some items might never look good, no matter how clean they are. But if you start off by doing some steam cleaning, you may save quite a lot of unnecessary expense on new furniture that you don’t really need.

Filed Under: Decorating Tagged With: , , , , ,

The floors have it

January 31, 2012 By Jay Marsh

By far the most important decorative element in any home is the flooring.

The starting point for any remodeling should always be the floor – we should start at the bottom and work up – literally.

I can never explain exactly why this is – it’s just a fundamental truth.

It’s a little like an old beaten up automobile. For some reason, if you put a new set of wide shiny new wheels and tires on the thing, it suddenly looks great.

If you don’t believe this is true, just try it out. A new floor in the worst room of the house – in a high quality engineered wood surface, for example, will make the room you’re most ashamed of look the best in your whole house; weird but true.

It also raises the quality if you don’t skimp on cost. You don’t need to buy the most expensive, just buy the best you can.

In my own house, I have a fairly cheap dining table and chairs. So I put in a matching real wood engineered floor (not a laminate which always have that cheap plastic feel) and the place looks a million dollars. The table and chairs somehow seem to grow out of the floor and it’s truly a great look.

The cost of doing this piece of work was minimal. But it was something of an experiment. And it encouraged me – and gave me the confidence – to extend the flooring throughout the ground floor. It really is the basis for everything else now.

So I also felt encouraged to get some other bits and pieces online from the Harveys store. These made it look even better – but it’s all down to the flooring. Try it for yourself in one small room as a test – and you’ll soon see what I mean.

 

Filed Under: Flooring Tagged With: , , , , ,

Rugs for Bedrooms and Boudoirs

January 30, 2012 By Jay Marsh

Along with the craze for hardwood flooring comes a surge in popularity for rugs. Anyone who has stepped out of bed on to a wooden floor on a cold winter’s morning will tell you that a rug can be an essential addition to your bedroom floor.

So, a rug is a rug, right? No. Like mattresses, rugs come in various thicknesses for different needs. There are thick, shaggy, high pile rugs for sinking your toes into, and thinner, flat-weave rugs which are easy to keep clean. Once you start looking out for bedroom rugs, you’ll fine a variety of styles, colours and materials, from hand-knotted oriental rugs to sheepskins and cowhides. Your choice of rug will depend on your décor and what you need the rug for.

As well as texture and colour, rugs add comfort, which is ideal for young children who like to play on their bedroom floor. A large rug can act like a carpet but cost much less. Rugs dampen down noise and stop rooms from echoing so much. If you’re creating a bedroom for a child, get some advice from a fantastic retailer like www.sleepmasters.co.uk, as to the most suitable furniture and furnishings like wooden bed frames. Like all soft furnishings, rugs are very easy and affordable to change. You can give a bedroom a mini-makeover with just a new rug. For a romantic touch to a bedroom, sheepskin is the classic choice. And it’s often possible to find soft furnishing collections including rugs, curtains and other textiles for a co-ordinated look.

Whatever style of rug you select, whether geometric, natural materials, shabby chic or Empire, it’s important to make sure it’s held in place. Skidding across the boudoir on a rug is not a good look. So look out for anti-slip under-lays for your new rug, and save flying carpets for Aladdin.

Filed Under: Decorating

Pleasure and Dreaming in a Feng Shui Bedroom

January 30, 2012 By Jay Marsh

Feng Shui may sound like a dish on your local Chinese takeaway menu but it is actually a design concept which promotes harmonious living. Think interior design meets holistic living. You can use the principles of feng shui (pronounced “fung shway”) to create a bedroom which is good for mind, body and soul.

A bedroom created with feng shui in mind, is an inviting and alluring place, a place for excitement and calm. Whatever your age or stage in life, whether you and your partner sleep on adjustable beds or whether you have a single bed to yourself, a good feng shui bedroom is fun and a pleasure to bed in.

To create a good feng shui bedroom, consult a reputable firm such as Sleep Masters, if you are replacing any bedroom furniture, and bear these basic tips in mind:

  1. Keep cupboards and drawers organised. Avoid hiding clutter anywhere, especially under the bed.
  2. Keep electrical equipment (television, computer etc) and exercise equipment out of your bedroom.
  3. Open the windows often or use a good quality air-purifier to keep the air fresh and full of oxygen.
  4. Have several levels of lighting in your bedroom, including candles, or use a dimmer switch to adjust the energy accordingly.
  5. Use soothing colours on the walls, floor, bed linen and furniture – particularly the colours of human skin (from rich chocolate brown to pale white).
  6. Choose the images for your bedroom wisely, as images carry powerful feng shui energy. Choose images that you want to see happening in your life, such as passion and affection.
  7. Keep all the doors closed at night, be it the wardrobe doors, the en-suite bathroom door or the bedroom door.

In a perfect feng shui bedroom, the design keywords are Dreaming and Pleasure, and every item reflects the occupier’s intent for healing, relaxation and love.

Filed Under: Bedroom

Renovating wooden furniture

January 24, 2012 By Jay Marsh

There’s a whole lot of cheap second-hand but essentially excellent quality sold wood furniture around – and it’s quite easy to do it up yourself. It will also last you a lifetime unlike a lot of the flat pack self-assembly stuff you might pick up in a cheap furniture sale.

So unless the piece you’re renovating has big value as an antique – there’s absolutely nothing wrong with having a go yourself.

If an old piece is covered with old crusty wax etc., then make a mix of four parts white spirit to one of linseed oil and give the furniture a good wipe over. This will remove the wax without destroying the underlying surface in any way. Wipe on with one cloth and off with a clean one. If it doesn’t work – try a fine wire wool to apply the solution.

To finish off, polish the piece up with a good beeswax polish.

If you have a few minor scratches to disguise, a little shoe polish of the right colour will do the job. Meanwhile, ring marks can usually be removed with a little colour-cutting slightly abrasive car polish applied gently. Again, re-wax to finish the job off as above.

Another tip for minor dent removal is to place a damp cloth over it then apply a hot iron being careful not to burn the wood. The steam moisture swells the wood just enough to fill the dent if you’re lucky. But you’ll then need to remove any marks using one of the other techniques outlined here.

If there are burn marks, meanwhile, then you’ll need to scrape off the burned area and fill the resulting hole with wood filler – or wax if it’s just a surface scrape.

And tighten any loose joints with good wood glue and clamps – being careful to wipe away excess glue with a slightly dampened cloth as soon as you’ve clamped the sides.

The best thing about renovating wooden furniture is that you’ve put effort into it yourself and it will last a lifetime. Other pieces are better bought new – like sofas in the sofa sales and other soft furnishings. These aren’t usually designed to be permanent anyway – so it makes sense to change them but to keep individual pieces of wooden furniture you’re proud of having done up yourself.

 

Filed Under: Sustainable Furniture Tagged With: , , , ,

New kitchen for your new home

December 27, 2011 By Jay Marsh

If you are moving into a new home then the likelihood is you will have some ideas of what you will change when you move in. It is rare for anyone to purchase a new property and not make any interior décor changes at all. So, whether it’s simply a change in the wallpaper or a full redoing of rooms you’re facing, it’s time to start planning!

 

Let’s focus on the kitchen in your new home. If the previous occupiers have very different tastes in kitchen design from you, then you are more than likely to be considering doing something about it. No one wants to cook in a room that they don’t like every day.

 

For some, changing the kitchen may mean ripping it out completely and having a whole new one fitted. If this is the case for you, fitted kitchens are the ideal solution. You can find fitted kitchens in a range of styles and at very reasonable prices at www.wrenkitchens.com; simply decide on the design that best suits you. Will you go for something contemporary and modern or something traditional and classic? Take the time to do your research and pick a style you are going to be happy living with every day.

 

Perhaps you are not too unhappy about the overall look of the kitchen but would like to make a few small changes. In which case, you will still need to think about the kind of kitchen accessories and kitchen furniture you are going to need. It may be that you can take a lot of the furniture from your current house, and move it into your new home. If you need any new pieces but are struggling for money after all the cost of moving house, a great tip is to mix purchases from second hand shops, flea markets and car boot sales, with sale items from department stores and online stores such as Wren Kitchens.

Filed Under: Decorating Tagged With: , ,

Ideas for a traditional kitchen

December 27, 2011 By Jay Marsh

Looking for inspiration for kitchen design ideas? Traditional kitchens offer the ideal design solution if you want a look that is classic and stylish, as well as being homely and welcoming. The traditional style is easy to create in your kitchen. It’s all about traditional colours and a warm, cosy look. Of course, traditional style can mean more than one thing. You could go for the English country cottage look, or perhaps you would prefer to create a sense of rustic France?

 

An easy way to instantly achieve a traditional look in your kitchen is to purchase a fully fitted kitchen in this style. These days you can find fully fitted kitchens in a range of wonderful design styles at very reasonable prices.

 

Whether you choose to purchase a fully fitted kitchen or not, you will need to have the right appliances, furniture and accessories to really finish off the look and create that authentic traditional style. Wood features heavily in traditional interior design, so look out for oak, pine or wicker kitchen furniture, such as tables and chairs. You could also consider wood style kitchen appliances such as fridge and cupboard doors.

 

The traditional style is all about looking natural and homely, so material such as stone and granite are also great choices to make when it comes to creating this look. Seek out granite or stone kitchen worktops to really achieve that traditional look.

 

If you want to create the traditional look in your kitchen but you are on a limited budget, a good tip is to mix sales items from stores like http://www.wrenkitchens.com with great finds from second hand shops, market stores and even car boot sales. You will soon build up a fabulous collection of traditional style kitchen items to create a truly fabulous traditional kitchen that you won’t be able to get enough of.

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Sleek Modern Bedroom Design

December 27, 2011 By Jay Marsh

When you start to design a new bedroom, and seek to emulate the sophistication of a high class hotel, you need to have storage right at the top of your list of priorities. This may not sound very glamorous but the very essence of a sleek modern bedroom is to hide things away! Clutter has no place in a calm, elegant room so keep ornaments to a minimum and make sure all your belongings are out of sight.

 

One of the ways to do this effectively is to use divan beds as they usually have built-in under-bed storage drawers which are the perfect place to stash spare pillows, duvets, blankets and bed linen. Fitted wardrobes are also a great way to achieve a smooth, polished look to your room and they can conceal everything from your clothes and shoes to a dressing table and even the television. For smaller items such as jewellery or make-up consider decorative boxes, displayed to advantage, and this is a lovely opportunity to introduce personal touches such as a favourite vintage piece.

 

Symmetry and proportion will also be important when you design your look: matching bedside lights on matching bedside tables either side of your new purchase from www.bensonsforbeds.co.uk is a good way to start. Position furniture centrally along walls or in front of the windows and try to maintain a feeling of calm by not over-crowding the room. Muted colours and understated patterns on wall coverings and fabrics should be chosen, and neutral flooring is also ideal.

 

Capturing that luxury haven which a five star hotel does so well is an achievable task in your own home if you plan carefully. Create the perfect tranquil retreat for you and your partner and feel the benefit of the best night’s sleep you ever had!

 

Filed Under: Bedroom Tagged With: , ,

Guide to wood for your bedroom furniture

December 27, 2011 By Jay Marsh

Wood is a fantastic choice when it comes to selecting bedroom furniture, or indeed furniture for any room of the house.

 

When it comes to the bedroom, choose beds, sofa beds, wardrobes and cabinets in wood for a classy and stylish look. You will find a wonderful range of wood bedroom furniture at Bensonsforbeds.co.uk and there are many different styles and designs to choose from.

 

When it comes to choosing the right wood furniture for your bedroom, it all depends on what your tastes are and what type of wooden furniture will look at home in your room. Almost any type of wood can be used in bedroom furniture, but some woods are more durable than others, and of course the appearance will vary, so it is a case of selecting the furniture that will meet all of your requirements.

 

These days, a lot of bedroom furniture is made from pine and ash trees, as they are the most abundant. Often, rarer woods will be combined with the more common woods in pricier bedroom furniture.

 

Just some of the woods you can choose from when selecting bedroom furniture are ash, beech, birch, cedar, elm, mahogany, oak, rosewood, sycamore, teak, hickory, cherry and walnut. And there are plenty more – the list goes on! The appearance, texture and grain of all of the different types of wood vary, and this will be reflected in the furniture made from each type of wood, so take your time to find something that you really like the look and feel of and that will fit well in your home.

 

You don’t have to stick to the same type of furniture throughout your whole house of course. You might decide to go for mahogany in the bedroom, oak in the living room and wicker in the conservatory. Create a different look in each room of your house by choosing beautiful furniture in a variety of quality woods.

Filed Under: Bedroom Tagged With: , , ,

Furnish your home with things you love

December 23, 2011 By Jay Marsh

These days, a lot of furniture is cheap; very cheap. It’s well designed in concept, but has built-in obsolescence. It isn’t designed to last at all – it’s designed to look good for a few years until you get bored with the look and decide to completely re-design everything.

Perhaps this is no bad thing? We all like to redecorate and remodel our interiors from time to time, but when it comes to the main furnishings in a house; less is often more.

Just a few, good quality items, that you’ve thought long and hard about and fallen in love with will help bring you an inner peace and contentment that is as fundamental to human nature as making a home in the first place.

The other side of the coin; buying flimsy things in pretty colours and throwing them out a couple of years later to get the next trendy interior furnishing gadget is a mug’s game. But more to the point, you’re trying to swim against the tide of your fundamental evolutionary human behaviour of taking care of the things you love; furnishings aren’t just part of the interior of a house; they are the very essence of your home.

So getting the basics right and changing the relatively flimsy things around those basic quality items you love is the key to feeling contentment about the space you live in. The sofas, the beds, the tables and chairs, the wardrobes and other objects that you love for no logical reason are truly the fabric of your home. That isn’t to say you need spend a fortune. Instead, scour the sofa sales, for example, for a quality sofa you’ll love for decades, and go to the best sofa bed sale or kitchens sale, or dining furniture sales and buy the pieces you love cost effectively – then sit back and enjoy them for many years to come; that way – they’re part of you, and the fundament of your home – wherever your house is.

 

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