Category — Furnish

Setting up your first home can be an expensive business. If you’re renting you have to find the first month’s rent and the deposit at the same time, and pay for any new furniture you might need.  Buying a house is of course, even more of a stretch, as you sign up for 20 years’ worth of mortgage payments.

Whatever way you’re doing it, you’ll need to get a few bits of furniture, even if you keep it to the bare minimum to start with, and then add more things as you can afford them.

So, the base line of things you’ll need is a bed, a cheap dining table and a couple of chairs, a fridge and an oven. Anything else is a bonus.  After that, you can start collecting bits of furniture little by little.

Depending on your funds, you can start off by begging and borrowing from friends and family.  If you ask, you’re bound to find someone who’s got a spare sofa or a wardrobe they no longer need.  Sure, it may not be the style you want, but don’t forget the old adage ‘beggars can’t be choosers’.  Live with hand me downs for a while, even if they don’t match. It’ll save you having to go into debt for a few bits of furniture. You can always disguise a sofa you’re not so keen on with a throw or liven it up with some cushions. As long as what you’re offered is functional, accept with open arms and gratitude.

In a couple of months’ time, after you’ve paid the rent and the bills, you’ll have amassed some spare cash and then you can go down to the sofa sales and pick up something a little more your style.

We’ve all currently got Christmas on our minds, and rightly so, as it is next week. Yes, next week. If you haven’t started buying gifts, now’s the time. But what about after Christmas? When the decorations go down and the family departs, there’s still work to be done in the house. There are still interesting design trends to look for, and one of the big trends of 2012 is shared right here. I doubt you’ll guess it or expect it, but wooden blinds are making a comeback.

The variety and choice of them has grown immensely. You can get them in cherry wood, walnut, bronzed or medium oak, maple, and even mahogany. They can be painted in black, white, light blue, jade or sandwash.

Because of this choice, they can be matched with any décor and interior design. This has led to their standing within the interior design community increasing in a positive manner. As well as the fact that exuberant patterns on roller and roman blinds is becoming less popular, and more rustic yet elegant styles are becoming ever more trendy. The whole image of wooden blinds is turning from old fashioned to luxurious and homely. A strange combination admittedly, but it works and looks great.

Speaking of trends, having a green, green as in environment friendly green, home and interior is highly relevant for the coming year. This trend started with solar panels on the outside of your house, now it’s to use biodegradable material inside your home. Cellular shades and bamboo blinds are the most popular of these eco-blinds, but wooden blinds in general have the edge on the more commercial plastic or cotton window treatments.

Of course, their main benefit is the fact they don’t let light in. Or only let the amount of light in that you wish to wave. Plastic and cotton blinds often still let in a slither of light, you may not want, and with the time, the material stretches and the blind therefore droops. Not an issue with wooden blinds.

Finally, they’re easy to clean and tough. So, even if your cat decides to climb them, they will withstand the urge to disintegrate. Hope you found this small intro into 2012 fun.

Written by Sarah Oxley

1.       A Bit Of Colour

Colours have a great influence on our moods, so for a cosy living room, select warm, neutral colours for the walls of the room. When painting your room in a neutral colour, remember that this doesn’t have to be just one colour. Different tones of the same colour have a stronger impact and will be more interesting to look at. Alternatively, you can paint one wall in a striking colour, such as bright yellow or deep red, and use this one as your feature wall. Framed pictures of family and friends can be hung on this wall, as well as framed prints of your favourite artist or pop art.

2.       Create A Comfortable Atmosphere

By adding several pillows of different shapes and sizes to your furniture and living space, you’ll always have somewhere comfortable to sit. You can liven this up by using pillows of different colours, and shapes, as well as accent pillows. These come in all sorts of different styles and patterns, so there’s something for everyone’s taste. They can equally be used to underline the room’s existing décor and theme. Having soft and fluffy textures around you, further adds to that cosy feeling, and the best way to do this is by hanging blankets and throws over your furniture. Select calming colours for these blankets and be sure they don’t clash with the colour of the furniture. For a relaxing comfort, consider scented candles, essential oils or air fresheners. Lavender, cinnamon, chamomile, ylang ylang, frankincense and sandalwood are all classed as relaxing smells.

3.       Add Character

Consider purchasing a large wall mirror, and place tea lights in front of it. The mirror will not only make the room seem bigger and lighter, but with the candles, it will create a dramatic and romantic light setting. To further enhance this setting, use a combination of small table and floor lamps rather than a main ceiling light. Their soft glow adds to the mood of the room, and they still provide enough light for reading.

4.       Protect The Atmosphere

Once you have created a cosy atmosphere, you’ll want to protect it. To do so, you’ll need to keep unwanted light like natural light, and light from street lamps or cars passing by, out of your living room. A popular solution for this is using wood venetian blinds. They combine modern elegance with rustic comfort, and are seen as a luxurious accessory, without being overly expensive. Furthermore, they give you the control over how much or how little light you want to let into the room.

There is no right or wrong answer to creating a cosy atmosphere, but these tips should get you in the right designing mood. Be sure to surround yourself with items, colours and themes, that are comforting to you, and you’ll have that cosy and safe feeling

If you’re making a piece of furniture yourself as you enjoy a little carpentry – or maybe you’re doing a job in and around the house that requires some nice wood as it’ll be on display – then you go to the local timber yard or DIY store and buy it for the job, right?

Well maybe that’s OK, but if you’re serious about doing a proper job, let me explain a few things…

Air dried wood which is wood left to dry naturally outdoors in stacks which are exposed to the wind but protected from the rain, is the best possible way to dry wood.

The problem is – it takes years. So what timber merchants do is kiln dry it. But the natural way allows internal stresses to release over time – so air-dried wood is always more stable from a professional’s working point of view.

The disadvantage with air drying is that it doesn’t take the moisture content low enough for centrally heated houses.

So in an ideal world, you get timber which has been air-dried and then finished off by kilning. But most shop-bought and general commercially available wood is kiln dried from its green, freshly cut state.  Before the drying process takes place, the wood needs to be cut into planks from the green log.

So the time of the year when the tree is felled has a big influence on the drying and distortion characteristics. Ideally, trees should be cut during autumn or winter when the sap has stopped rising – thus drying and stresses will be kept to a minimum.

So the next time you’re planning that home-made display cabinet, you’ll know all about the wood you seek. If you’re serious about it – go to the wood-yard and ask for your chosen wood type then say you’d like air dried timber that has been kiln dried to finish if possible.

What’s amazing about this table? It’s not just its elegant looks. This table is made from the white oakwood reclaimed from Canadian whiskey barrels. Dimensions are 84″ x 35″ x 29″ and retails at USD1,900.

The table exudes grandeur without having to try hard or sound loud. It’s minimalist design is captivating and features traditional mortise and tennon joinery. The design is well thought out with the legs of the table set further in from the edges to allow the adequate legroom on either end of the table. Certainly a table I would not mind owning.

One of the rooms that I’ve found is often overlooked or left until last when considering interior design, is the guest room or spare room.
Perhaps because it is used less than the other rooms, the decor of the spare or guest room is sometimes at odds with that of the rest of the house, but I believe this is a mistake. After all, if you have family or friends to stay overnight, the room you put them up in will be that which creates their lasting impression of your home.
Consider creating a focal point to the room with a sofa that matches your home’s colour scheme and general design. Or, if space is an issue in a smaller guest or spare room, consider a sofa bed instead. This can then double as both your guests’ bed and of course as a seating area, and you can find yourself an absolute bargain in a sofa bed sale.
With so many colours, designs, patterns, sizes and materials on offer these days, finding a sofa or sofa bed to really bring a room to life has never been easier. As the focal point of the room, ensure you choose something that really reflects your personal tastes in terms of look and style.
Along with finding this important piece of furniture, consider the general ambience you wish to create in this room. Floral decor will create a pretty look, whereas nude colours will create a clean and modern impression. Deep rusts and reds can be warming and welcoming, and bright colours are great for a young and contemporary feel.
Take your time to select a look that will complement the rest of your home, whilst ensuring that the spare or guest room has its own individual interior personality too, and you’ll soon have a room that you are proud to put up any guest in!

Every one of us owns a bed of some description; be it a wooden bed, a metal bed or a leather bed. However, what they all have in common is that they have a mattress on it and, let’s be honest; a bed without a mattress would be useless. So, what is the ideal mattress?

Mattresses have been around for centuries. From the early days of sacks of hay through to modern memory foam mattresses, we have experienced many different types of mattresses and many of us disagree as to which is best.

Metal sprung mattresses are perhaps the most well used mattresses as they are affordable and reliable. With the open or closed spring options you will find that most people will find a hard or soft option that suits them. But, since memory foam mattresses came onto the scene many of us would rather invest in one of those.

So what is a memory foam mattress and how does it work? www.bedstar.co.uk describes it best:

Memory foam mattresses react to body heat and eliminate pressure points on the body, making them very comfortable and good for those who suffer from joint pain. Because there are no springs, memory foam mattresses are effective at distributing weight and you will not be disturbed by a restless partner. They are also hypoallergenic and anti-microbial, making them ideal for allergy sufferers.

So basically it is a wonder mattress! It is one that is said to rid you of those morning aches and pains and surely this is something we would all like eliminated from our lives? No longerwill you have to hobble to the shower and wait for the warmth of the water to sort out your aching back.

Many opt for the memory foam mattress because you have no movement on your side of the bed when your partner is doing a jig or two on the other side. You can sleep soundly, whereas on a normal mattress you would be bouncing around like a jack in a box. This could a marriage saver, not just a sleep saver.

So, perhaps the memory foam mattress is the way to go, what with all its advantages. But the case still remains that they are rather expensive. If you want an investment then they certainly are that, but if you just want somewhere to rest at night without spending all your savings then you might be better going for your normal sprung mattress.

If you would like to buy mattresses online, make sure you take a good look around the Bedstar website. You will be amazed at what deals you might find

If you want to give your dining room a complete overhaul, you could go for some vibrant stripes throughout.

While not for the faint-hearted, those who are a little more brave when it comes to their home improvements should definitely embrace stripes.

Your dining room will look confident and bold if you opt for some wide-striped, red and white wallpaper. It’s best to keep the ceiling white if you’re going for a strong design on the walls, but make sure you paint it first so you don’t end up with any drips on the wallpaper ruining the pattern.

To make sure the paper goes on well, you’ll need to prepare the walls beforehand. Do this by scraping off any previous wallpaper or stripping the paint from the surfaces. If you’ve got a large area to cover, you might want to consider hiring or buying a steam stripper to get the job done quickly. You should apply the wallpaper slowly, starting in one corner and working your way down, smoothing the whole thing carefully to avoid bubbles forming.

Once the wallpaper’s in place, you’ll have the difficult task of finding the right dining room furniture to fill the space. You’ll need to decide whether you want to continue the stripes theme, perhaps opting for thin red and white stripes on the upholstery of the chairs around your dining table or just go for plain white.

Either way, because you’ve gone for such a bold colour on the walls, the table and chairs are unlikely to look plain in any way, which is good news.

If you feel like there’s a bit of stripes overkill in your design, add a splash of a different colour to your room, such as a bright yellow cabinet, to break it up a bit.

Whether it’s dark and rainy outside or bright and sunny, the place where you’re bound to feel comfy and safe is in your own living room.

As the name suggests, the space is where you do your living – spending time with your family and friends, watching TV and socialising. This is why it’s so important to make sure the room is bright and cheerful, so it encourages you to spend more time in it.

You’ll need to pick colours which make the room inviting and homely, without being too garish. While acid brights are hot news this year, you might want to steer clear of them unless you’re feeling particularly brave.

Instead, go for warm bright hues such as sunshine yellow or sunset orange. These will help you create the atmosphere you’re after in the space and they’re very cheerful and happy colours.

You can either go for the hue of your choice all over the space, or you might want to throw a feature wall into the mix too. On one of the surfaces, perhaps apply wallpaper which complements the paint you’ve chosen to use in the space, making that particular wall stand out in the room.

If you decide to do this, you’ll need to find a sofa or sofa bed which matches the colour scheme you’ve got, as well. Go for a plain-coloured settee, otherwise there’s a chance there could be a bit too many bright colours taking over the space.

Last but not least, find a stylish rug for the floor in the space – if you’re daring, go for a bright-coloured one, or you can still achieve a great effect if you decide on one a rather more demure shade.

Buying a new sofa? Not sure what to choose out of the millions of styles and colours out there? Well here are some tips.

First of all, different homes will have different requirements. How large is your living room? How big is your family? How many people need to use your new sofa? Do you have pets or children? You’ll need to take all these into account when choosing a sofa fabric, colour and size.

The size of your family will determine the size of the sofa you need. If you have pets or children you’ll need to pick a hard wearing fabric that is easy to clean. Darker colours tend to hide stains better than lighter colours but neutral coloured fabrics are can be accommodated amongst most colour schemes. Bold, bright colours can make a statement as can patterned fabrics with graphic motifs. Leather sofas are easily wiped clean and are hardwearing (although they can be scratched by pet claws!!) It is also always in style!

Also consider the physical needs of those using it. Sofas need to be comfortable but you need to ensure that they support your body. Test whether you can comfortably get up from the seat and that the back of the sofa is high enough to support your back.

Consider the size of your room. You don’t want your sofa to dominate your room. If placing it under a window you’ll want a sofa with a low back so it won’t block out the light.

Then there is the style to consider. Most styles can be classed as traditional or contemporary. For large families there are L-Shaped sofas and armchairs, loveseats and foot stools can be added to three-seater and two-seater sofa suites.