Design

July 10, 2017 by Christine

Simple home decor updates for 2017

Knowing how to update your home decor can be a tricky and costly business. It’s very easy to start a Pinterest board of ‘enviable interiors’ and come away with your mind reeling. There are however several simple updates you can try to inject a little pizzaz into your everyday, that don’t cost the Earth. Here are a few simple home decor updates for 2017…

The Kitchen:

Kitchens are the heart of any home with hours spent preparing, eating, and socialising with loved ones, as such it deserves a little TLC. First things first, brushed steel is out with bronze and copper making a comeback. The warmer metal colour makes the space cosier and allows you to go more functional with counter tops and appliances. No need intricately patterned cupboards or expensive surfaces. A few polished brass taps or spouts are all that’s needed to liven up a tired space.

If brass isn’t your style, wood is also an option. A new found appreciation for all that is natural and textural means wood with an interesting grain draw the eye. Coupled with plain or muted colours, wood pops and creates a chic space to cook, eat, and entertain. This look doesn’t have to cost the earth either with just a few wooden touches required. Be it cabinets, chairs, tables, or stools, a well-made wooden piece will always be appreciated.

The Bedroom:

The bedroom is a space where one can hide from the world. A space that should be a real sanctuary. As such it is a space that should reflect the character of the owner. There are a number of ways to do this and none of them needs to break the bank.

Green is the colour of 2017. From olive to forest, lime to sage, green paint, furnishings, textiles, and ornaments are very popular. A versatile colour, green can be used to subdue a room and make it more relaxing or pop with brighter variants. Try adding a green throw to chair, a few green candles for ambience, or paint one of your walls green to draw the eye. Replacing furniture can be costly however bed companies such as Bedstar, offer an economical option when updating your home.

Texture is another huge consideration for your sanctuary. The bedroom is the perfect place for a woolly throw, rich wooden furniture, velvet cushions, and other pieces are a great way to add depth to your space and fill it not with just visually appealing pieces, but texturally appealing too.

Passageways and Walkways:

One of 2017’s biggest hits has been bringing the outside, inside. Large windows, mirrors, and other reflective surfaces allow light to come and make the inside look much larger. Blurring the line between outside and inside is a great way to turn a neglected space, like a passageway from a wasted area into a connection between the two worlds.

All of these spaces can be revamped in a cost-effective way with little work. From accessories to furniture, a houseplant, hanging baskets or a splash of green on the walls- a little change can go a long way in updating a home.

Stay fabulous

Christine

Images via Pinterest– (Sponsored post)

December 10, 2014 by Christine

5 Fabulous Colour Schemes for Dark Bathrooms

The last place you want to complete the morning care and beauty regime in the cold AM is a dark and dingy bathroom. Whilst allowing extra natural light into the bathroom or expanding the dimensions of the room may be impossible, it is possible to add a little extra vibrancy and life with a clever colour and décor scheme. Here are 5 fabulous colour schemes for dark bathrooms:

Piet Mondrian

Dutch artist Piet Mondrian is best known for his ‘Composition’ range of paintings, grid-based works which separate primary colours (red, blue and yellow). His works have inspired high fashion designers such as Yves Saint Laurent in the 70 years since his death and have been used as a central design in homes and public buildings.

Apply the style to your bathroom using bright flashes of primary colours throughout all square flourishes and finishes. Primary colour towels and bathmats atop a white base of flooring and tiling (sparse primary-coloured tiles can also be incorporated).

Stark White

Toeing the line between creating a crisp white appearance and accidentally producing a clinical atmosphere in a bathroom can be quite difficult. Using stark white paint from Dulux can help create a clear, crisp base upon which to building without producing a ‘doctor’s waiting room’ appearance.

A simple pastel theme colour can be added on top of the stark white to create a consistency in the room and break up the tone which flows throughout the walls, floors and fittings. Opt for textured accessories and tiles to avoid the white looking to cold and flat.

Art Deco

Channel your inner Gatsby with an art deco style bathroom with simple but stylish flourishes. Building upon small, plain tiling, add flourishes of geometric shapes and patterns throughout the floor and walls in black.

Add 1920s-inspired posters in frames throughout the bathroom, depicting your favourite vintage movies and jazz performers or reflect the limited light around with a wall covered in vintage mirrors. Finish with vintage vase and accessories. If there is enough room, replace the standard fitted bath with one of these beautiful stand-alone baths from John Louis Bathrooms.

Soft Botany

Create a soft, natural style throughout the bathroom with subtle green-white painted walls, marbled grey tiling and simple plant life. Large tiles can create a simple yet attractive appearance through the room.

Plants can help revitalise a room, giving off oxygen. Inhabitat.com offers a list of seven plants which give off the highest levels of oxygen throughout the day and night, helping to purify the room – perfect skin preparation during the morning beautify regime.

Teal and Oak

A slightly darker design which helps to create a warm, cosy feel within the bathroom. Thick teal paint on all the walls can help cultivate a welcoming atmosphere. Oak flourishes including mirror frames and towel racks can continue this warming theme throughout the bathroom and add a sense of timeless sophistication. A high quality light above the mirror is necessary to add clarity to your reflection when checking you’re suitable to show your face at work. Underfloor heating can perfectly complement this style, adding physical a toasty warm feeling underfoot.

For more fabulous Home Inspiration be sure to follow my ‘Design for the Home’ Pinterest Board.

Christine

The Fabulous Times

(Images courtesy of: Piet Mondrian- Bright Shelving, Bright Tiles: Stark White- White Tiled Bathroom, Dove bathroom: Soft Botany- Green Tiled Bathroom, Plant filled bathroom: Art Deco- Mirror Wall, Art Deco Bathroom: Teal & Oak- Teal Wall, Oak bath)

June 3, 2014 by Christine

What does your front door colour say about you?

As the saying goes, first impressions are everything – and this is certainly true of your home. An immaculate front lawn or a freshly painted door makes visitors feel welcome and shows that you take pride in your home. My front door is freshly painted in high-shine gloss bright fire engine red with gold fixtures, it makes me smile every time I arrive home.

When choosing your front door obviously functionality is key, the design and style of the door is also important. If you’re on the look out for a new door you can find a range of sliding doors, front doors, solid wood doors and even fire doors here. When choosing you need to think about the kind of impression you want your doors to make, how they will complement your existing décor and what your door hue says about you?

Many cultures associate rather complex meanings to the colors we choose for our home, especially the color we choose to paint our front door? The front door is thought to be the “mouth” of the home, the entry point where energy, abundance and opportunities may find us!

Red: Red is the feng shui color for prosperity and abundance. Red represents joy, sexuality, passion, sensitivity, and love. Red is the color of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love.

Red has very high visibility, which is why stop signs, stoplights, and fire equipment are usually painted red a very emotionally intense color, red calls for attention, so you’re not afraid of being noticed.

White: A crisp white door is for those who are (or strive to be) organised, neat and clean. White is associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity, and virginity. It is considered to be the color of perfection.

Green: Green is the color of nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility. A green front door suggests you care about your home and your community and you have more traditional values. Green has strong emotional correspondence with safety. Dark green is also commonly associated with money.

Black: This is a timeless look, showing you don’t waiver for trends. You’re consistent, conservative and reserved. Black is associated with power, elegance, formality, death, evil, and mystery. Black is considered to be a very formal, elegant, and prestigious color.

Blue: Blue is the color of the sky and sea. It is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven. Blue is considered beneficial to the mind and body. Blue is strongly associated with tranquility and calmness.

Yellow: If you choose this sunny hue, a color that evokes mental clarity, perception, understanding, wisdom, confidence, curiosity, humor and merriment. Yellow produces a warming effect, arouses cheerfulness and stimulates mental activity. Yellow is an unstable and spontaneous color, so avoid using yellow if you want to suggest stability and safety.

Purple: You’re comfortable taking risks and dreaming big. Some may call you a “free spirit.” Purple combines the stability of blue and the energy of red. Purple is associated with royalty. It symbolizes power, nobility, luxury, and ambition. It conveys wealth and extravagance. Purple is associated with wisdom, dignity, independence, creativity, mystery, and magic.

Orange: Orange corresponds to desire, sexual passion, pleasure, domination, aggression, and thirst for action. Orange is the color of fall and harvest. In heraldry, orange is symbolic of strength and endurance. Orange has very high visibility, so you can use it to catch attention and highlight the most important elements of your design.

Doors aren’t always the most exciting part of your home but it doesn’t mean they can’t be used to make an impact. Think about how you want to feel when you enter a room or approach the front of your house. How do you want your visitors to feel? next time you decide to redecorate or simply want to freshen up your home, give some thought to your doors.

What colour is your front door?

Christine

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