Archive for May, 2010
Monday, May 31st, 2010
Handy storage for notes or messages
I love this idea of a hotel style letter rack, from Berry Red.
The piece comes in a white washed wooden frame and inside there are six fabric covered racks. Each of the racks can be used to slot in notes, messages, receipts, postcards or reminders and it’s a really nice alternative to the other types of memo boards.
You could use it purely for display purposes, as greetings cards, photos or postcards would look great peeping out of the racks, or you could use it for the functional purpose of storing your receipts, shopping lists or reminders of things you’ve got to do.
The simple white washed frame makes the letter rack suitable for hanging in all sorts of rooms, from family kitchens to home offices.
If you fancy hanging the hotel style letter rack on your wall, then it’s £50 from Berry Red.
Tags: Berry Red, Memo board, notice board
Posted in Decorative accessories, Home accessories, Kitchen accessories, Storage, Study | No Comments »
Friday, May 28th, 2010
By Penny Johnson
How Much Paint or Wallpaper To Buy?
For carpets and flooring, it is best to have the professional fitters come to measure up your room. For paper or paint, you need to start by working out the area of your room. Do this by measuring the width of each wall and adding all the widths together. Multiply this by the height of the room, to give the total area. Strictly, you should then work out the area of each window and door, and take these areas off your wall area. However most stores will give you a refund if you take back any unused rolls of wallpaper or unopened tins of paint – so by not subtracting the areas of the windows and doors you make sure you have plenty of paint or paper for the job.
Take a note of this area and a calculator with you when you go to look for paper or paint. Divide the area of your walls by the area covered by each roll of paper or tin of paint (see the label!) to find out how many you need to buy. It is best to buy all you need at the same time, and if you are buying wallpaper make sure that they all carry the same batch number, as different batches may have slight differences in colour.
Which Order to Do The Work?
The big things in a room makeover are decorating the walls and ceiling, and having new flooring. Anything else can be done bit by bit, but for those big tasks you need to empty the room. If you are doing all the work yourself, then a sensible order of work is as follows.
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Tags: decorate, Decorating, home, makeover, room
Posted in Decorating | No Comments »
Thursday, May 27th, 2010
Planning a Room Makeover: Part 1
By Penny Johnson
Making over a room can be great fun, and can really improve your home when it is complete. However it can also be hard work and cost a lot of money – so you want to be sure you get it right. What do you need to think about before you start? Planning can seem a bit of a bore if you just want to get on with it, but it is usually worth the bother in the long run.
What Do You Want To Achieve?
Spend a bit of time thinking about the room you are going to make over. What do you like about it? Which features do you want to keep? What don’t you like about it?
What do you want the room to do? Do you need it to have more storage space, less clutter, more light, a more relaxing mood? When you have given this some thought, number your list in order of importance. Which change will make the most difference?
How Much Can You Spend?
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Tags: decorate, Decorating, makeover, room
Posted in Decorating | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, May 26th, 2010
Jane Churchill products
Yellow isn’t a colour that I’ve used that much in the past, but a burst of sunny yellow can really inject a bright, summery feel into a room.
Fabric and wallpaper are two easy ways of bringing yellow into your home decor and, at its most basic, a couple of new cushions in yellow fabric designs can brighten up a tired looking sofa.
I rather like the look of these Jane Churchill fabrics and wallpaper. Available in various yellow designs, my favourites are the floral Fairhaven wallpaper and matching Fairhaven fabric.
For cushions, the Salcombe stripe fabric would be ideal and you could couple it with single colour block cushions made from the Woodbury yellow fabric.
Have you used yellow in a creative way to decorate your home? Leave us a comment and share your experiences.
Tags: fabrics, Jane Churchill, Wallpaper, yellow
Posted in Fabric, Wallpaper | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, May 25th, 2010
Stylish bowls
At first glance, it would be easy to assume these pretty bowls are made from china, but they’re actually made from melamine.
I love melamine homeware items, as they’re sturdy and hard-wearing and you needn’t worry about accidental breakages (although melamine can eventually break, it’s a lot less of a risk than expensive china). These bowls in particular are extra special as they have fluted, scalloped edges. It’s also great that you can buy them individually, as many others come in sets, and it means you can mix and match colours.
The bowls are available in a choice of pale pink, turquoise, lime green, raspberry and red and are great for using outside in the garden, on picnics, as well as for dining in the comfort of your home.
The melamine bowls are £7.50 each from Graham and Green.
Tags: bowl, graham and green, melamine, picnicware, tableware
Posted in Crockery, Dining, Outdoor | No Comments »
Monday, May 24th, 2010
Dainty butterfly wall stickers
These have got to be some of the daintiest wall stickers we’ve found. The picture doesn’t really do them justice, but it’s a very affordable set of five adhesive butterfly wall stickers from Laura Ashley.
The butterflies have a nice cut-out effect, which enhances their wings, and they’ve been given a mirror finish, which helps them shine in the light when they’re on the wall.
Ready to use and easy to adhere, this simple set could transform a wall of your home in minutes.
Best of all, they’re remarkably only £5 from Laura Ashley, so you could afford to buy more than one set.
Tags: butterflies, butterfly, Decorating, Laura Ashley, wall sticker
Posted in Children's rooms, Wall stickers | No Comments »
Friday, May 21st, 2010
We’ve been browsing the range of homeware available at Urban Outfitters and have been quite taken by a number of items. First up are these dainty butterfly letter holders.
Produced in a cutwork effect, you really get to see the intricate detail on the butterfly wings. The piece is the perfect size to be a letter rack, but if you’ve got another storage use in mind, it would be equally effective.
The black sets the cutwork off very well, but the pale blue is a more softer colour that would look better in some rooms. It’s also available in white, too. Pop this letter holder on your desk, to replace a boring old one, and it would really liven things up.
Tags: butterflies, letter rack, Storage, Urban Outfitter
Posted in Home accessories, Storage, Study | No Comments »
Thursday, May 20th, 2010
Operatic home accessory
This is a bit of a different idea and rather quirky.
London based vintage emporium, Colporter, collect and frame vintage old opera scores. The scores are all intact, with the sheet music preserved inside the frame. A selection of opera scores are available, with covers ranging in colour from blue, to turquoise and green. You can pick which score you’d like and whether you’d prefer a black or white frame.
I really like the idea (especially as the score is preserved and hasn’t just had the cover taken off, as is often the case when other similar old materials are framed) and it would make a special home gift for fans of opera.
Colporter sells the framed opera scores pictures via a shop on Not On The High Street.
Tags: colporter, Not On The High Street, opera, picture, print
Posted in Home accessories, Wall art | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010
Traditional cutlery box
This wooden cutlery box reminds me of a similar item that my grandparents used to have.
The box is designed to hold cutlery (although you could easily use it for anything else) and has four sections inside for storing all your knives, forks, spoons and teaspoons. Underneath there’s a a full width, deep drawer that would be perfect for storing larger serving spoons or cake slices.
The top of the box has a nice etched glass lid, so you can see at a glance what’s inside. As well as having a functional purpose, the box is nice enough to leave out on display in your dining room or kitchen. You could use it for storing your ‘best’ cutlery, or your everyday cutlery.
The Wilbury cutlery chest is available from Graham and Green for £36.
Tags: chest, Cutlery, graham and green, Storage, wood
Posted in Dining, Kitchen, Kitchen accessories, Storage | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010
Patchwork bird cushion
Although relatively simple in design, this square cushion is made more interesting by the use of patchwork effect birds. Sitting on three wires, the birds are made from a mixture of fabrics, creating a colourful look.
The cushions are handmade to order by Kindred Rose, so you can request certain colours if you wish, otherwise I quite fancy a random selection. It’s made from 100% cotton, filled with a feather pad and the cover can be easily removed for washing.
Tags: Cushion, Fabric, Kindred Rose, Not On The High Street, patchwork
Posted in Soft furnishings | 1 Comment »
