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preparing your home for guests 0

Interiors

Preparing Your Home for Guests

Ever invited someone to stay with you and felt a huge rush of panic the moment you remember the state the spare room is in? When you realise you forgot that several ‘car boot ready’ black bags, a spin bike, ten unopened boxes from the house move and a Christmas tree all obstruct anyone from even getting more than half a foot into the room, let alone staying in it.

What you probably want to do is slap those marigolds on and get waist deep in cleaning and tidying the room right now. But it needn’t be such a panicked affair.

Follow this list of tips to help you calmly and easily get your guest room guest ready

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Gardens

Gazebos – Outdoor Entertaining Spaces for Your Garden

If you are lacking a decent outdoor space for relaxation and entertainment or your garden is looking a little dated then of the most popular up and coming trends in garden design is to erect a wooden gazebo. This is because not only do they provide an excellent focal point to your property they are also really functional and as such prove to be great value for money.

the hassles of moving house 0

Interiors / Property

The Hassles of Moving House

Many reports indicate that moving, just like other major life events such as divorce, illness, or job loss, causes a lot of people to feel stressed and overwhelmed. Even if you plan to hire a mover to take care of the basic moving tasks like packing and transporting your belongings, you still have to go through the hassle of settling down in a new home. Moving doesn’t always have to be troublesome or stressful. In fact, if you plan ahead and follow a few simple but essential tips and tricks, it can be downright easy and stress free. If you want to make sure that your precious wedding china and expensive photo frames do not get damaged during moving, take care to buy the right boxes for your needs and ensure that they are clearly marked “fragile” and “this side up”. If you are interested in more such useful moving precautions, facts, and tips, don’t forget to check out this infographic…

minimal interior - clutter free home 1

home improvement

A Clutter-Free Home is a Stress-Free Home

Many of us live and work in environments full of belongings that we no longer use or need but are reluctant to part with. There are some people who find it easy to clear out unused possessions and live a minimalist lifestyle but the majority of us cling to items for often, long-forgotten, sentimental reasons. We make excuses about how an item might one day come in useful, but, in truth, we just can’t bear to get rid of our “stuff”.

Not only do we want to hang on to old belongings but we are accumulating new things all the time and eventually the storage in our homes just will not cope any more. An important element for people buying new houses these days is how much storage there is. Built-in storage almost always features in new homes of all sizes and a buyer would expect there to be sufficient storage for their possessions, but just how much storage is sufficient? And even though moving home would seem to be an ideal opportunity to clear out all the old junk, this doesn’t always happen.

But can living amongst clutter really add stress to already busy lives and, more importantly, can clearing out that clutter reduce our stress?

self storage units 0

home improvement

Using Self Storage When Renovating a Home

Self storage is very useful, flexible and good value, but it does come with a few rules that benefit everyone involved. Here are a few key do’s and don’ts to get the most from self storage when renovating a home.

Self storage is an amazing investment enabling you to keep your belongings safe when you are having work done on your home, at a minimal cost. However, there are specific do’s and don’t with self storage that should be adhered to, for the benefit of all involved with the storage unit, and the facility itself. Sometimes the do’s and don’ts relate to safety, and should absolutely never be ignored.

Here are some key do’s and don’ts to pay attention to with self storage:

family home 0

Interiors

Creating a sanctuary in a family home

Modern society is characterised by an interconnected world where the “always on” culture has made it increasingly difficult to disconnect from our routine. Escaping the daily grind comes with an added difficulty in households where there are children, since young kids need constant stimulation, and sometimes right when their parents need to wind down and relax. So does this mean that creating a sanctuary in a family home is just not possible? In this article we offer some tips for parents looking for ways to create a small haven of tranquillity in a busy household with kids.

rainbow colours available as wall paint 0

DIY / home improvement

The 5 Types of Wall Paint and How to Pick The Right One

Choosing the ideal colour for your walls is not the only thing you need to consider when deciding what paint to use. With such a wide variety of products out there, it can be confusing and difficult to pick the right one for your project. The type of paint is just as important as the colour and can have a huge impact on the character of the room. To avoid potentially time-consuming and expensive mistakes, read on to find out about each type of paint.

laying wall tiles 0

DIY / Interiors

6 Tips to Use when Laying Bathroom Tiles

A tile floor can make any room look great. Now a person can tile their own bathroom floor with these easy to follow tips. Use Spacers When laying the tiles, it is important to...

double glazed windows in period house 1

home improvement

Installing Double-Glazed Windows – A Guide

First of all, what are double-glazed windows? They are frames for windows that have two panes of glass instead of one. Usually, the glass panes are separated by an air pocket, which increases the window’s insulation, both in terms of temperature and sound.

digital ceramic tile decoration 0

Interiors

Top Twitter Accounts for Home Ideas

Here are the best twitter accounts you can follow to get a little bit of inspiration for when you are redecorating or improving your home. They range from contemporary interior design to traditional so...

wooden flooring 1

DIY / Interiors

5 Indispensable Floor Installation Tips

Maybe you are unhappy with the way your floor looks, or you just want to try out something different for a change. Also, you may be fed up with floor cleaning and require a...

wooden flooring 2

Interiors

Wooden Flooring and Underfloor Heating – The Basics

Wooden flooring is available in many different types of wood and different types of construction. There are solid wooden floors in both softwoods and hardwoods in the form of long, narrow boards or planks, or smaller pieces used in, for example, parquet floors. Solid wooden floors are usually nailed or screwed to the sub-floor. There are also engineered wooden floors that consist of several layers glued together with the top layer only being solid wood. These are most often installed as a floating floor above a series of joists. […]

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Interiors

Popular Styles of Bathroom Design

The bathroom has come along way in the past one hundred years. Once just a basic tub set in front of the living room fire and filled with buckets of water, the bathing experience is now a luxury in almost every western home. Back then, a ‘bathroom’ was something only the wealthy and privileged could afford to have in their house. It was this trend which lead to the mass production of bathroom products.
The Edwardian and Victorian styles of the time are still a popular choice today. They look exquisite in a villa or cottage bathroom, and never loose their appeal in terms of design.
Today, thanks to advanced plumbing and modern technology, the bathroom may well have evolved as far as it can. With luxury steam rooms and hydrotherapy baths, it’s difficult to imagine how bathrooms could get any more sophisticated. That said, the bathroom, like any room in the house, is ever changing in terms of design trends.
Here we look at the five most popular styles of bathroom designs. Traditional, Country, Shabby chic, Contemporary and Fantasy.

Close-up of Wood flooring 0

Interiors

Wooden Floors in Interior Design

There are many challenges to get rooms right when you are creating your new home. Most important of all, is the look and the feel of the place. Wood has been a popular choice of flooring for many years and that is largely because it gives so many options. There are many different styles of wooden floor and just like the choice of colour on the walls, the choice of flooring can set the tone or mood for a room. Getting the floor right in a room is an essential finishing element and this needs the most attention because it is usually the most difficult part of the design to change when in place.

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Interiors

Advances in Tile Manufacturing

Ceramic tiles have been around in one form or another for thousands of years and for much of that time nothing much changed in the manufacturing process. But in recent years there have been huge advances in tile manufacturing technology and this has also led to inspirational new design processes. Tiles can now be produced that are super-thin and light or that are anti-slip or resistant to large temperature variations. There are even anti-bacterial tiles being produced and others with a coating baked onto the surface that purifies the air in the room.

irregular tiles shapes such as hexagons 0

Interiors

Tiles don’t have to be square or flat!

If you really want to add a unique element to your bathroom or kitchen then check out some of these amazing tiles. No longer does a tile have to be square or rectangular or...

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Gardens

Natural Stone Tiles are Eco-Friendly, Naturally

So many of us are conscious of the environmental impact of how we live our lives that it is not surprising that when we are considering decorating or renovating our home that we want to choose environmentally-friendly resources and products. There is also a growing trend to be aware of the eco-credentials of the companies manufacturing the goods we buy. Sustainability is even being taught to 10-year old school children so you know it is an important topic when it has found its way onto the school curriculum. So if you are undertaking a tiling project and want an eco-friendly choice then natural stone tiles are ideal; they are one of the most sustainable building materials around.

Natural stone Pation with Flower pots 1

Gardens

A Natural Stone Patio can Transform a Garden

The snow has only just melted and my garden is looking a bit of a mess but now is the time to start planning the transformation of my outdoor space if I am to enjoy it when the weather improves. After years of putting up with battered concrete slabs the time has come for a facelift – this year my garden is truly going to be an extension of my indoor living space with beautiful natural stone tiles on my patio. Now all I have to do is choose the right ones…

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Interiors

A Makeshift Retro Kitchen

Having just moved house I am overwhelmed by the number of jobs that need doing in my new house, which could best be described as a project. It is, or will be, a fantastic space when it is finished but for now it is proving to be a bit of a challenge. And because there are some repairs that simply can’t wait my plans for a sleek new dream kitchen will have to wait for a couple of years, maybe longer so I will have to live with the existing one but what I am hoping to do is revamp it with black and white ceramic tiles so that it looks more retro than just old-fashioned.