Wednesday 27 June 2018

How to Make your Small Bedroom Look Bigger

Maximise your Small Space



If you have a small bedroom, you are not alone it is one of the most common bedroom decorating issues. You have to remodel to add actual square footage, but luckily there are decorating tricks to fool the eye into seeing your bedroom as larger than it actually is. Here are our top tips on tricking your eye into thinking your bedroom is bigger than it actually is.

Use Vertical Space


When you are dealing with a small space or room, think vertical. You might not have much floor space, but by using the walls right up to the ceiling, you use the space you have more efficiently while drawing the eye upwards, making the room seem larger.

Built in shelves that extend from floor to ceiling are a great way to add storage, interest and visual space to a bedroom, but unfortunately, aren’t an option for everyone. You can create the illusion of built ins with bookcases or shelving units that are tall enough to reach the ceiling or hang enough separate wall shelves to fill the space. Whichever you choose, you’ll make the room look larger by painting the shelves the same colour as walls.

Hang Mirrors


Every bedroom needs at least one full length mirror so you can check out your outfit from head to toe, but the small bedroom can use more. Mirrors are one of the easiest ways to fool the eye into thinking a room is bigger than it is, and there are so many ways to work them into the bedroom:
  • Mirrored closet doors
  • Ornate mirror over the dresser
  • Starburst mirror over the bed
  • Small, fancy-framed mirrors grouped on the wall
  • Mirrored or chrome finished lamps, furniture, and décor

Choose Furniture with Legs


Give your furniture a lift with legs to create an airy, open feel in the bedroom. Not every piece needs to be legged, but try to have at least one piece with some height, whether it’s your nightstands, dresser or bed. The mid-century modern decorating style is especially good for small rooms, as most of the furniture is elevated on thin legs. The more floor and wall that is shown, the larger your room will appear.

Match your Windows to your Walls


Whilst larger bedrooms can make great use of drapes and blinds that contrast with the walls, in a small bedroom, it is better to match your walls and window treatments. This keeps the eye moving across the space, fooling it into seeing the bedroom as a little bit bigger than it really is. You can even wallpaper one wall which adds a slight element of zest without really contrasting with the painted wall or drapes. That is how you add interest without making the space look smaller.

Use Sconces by the Bedside


Instead of taking up space on your nightstand with bedside lamps, why not try installing sconces above and slightly to the side of your headboard. This works to draw the eye upward, helping give the room an open, airy look and reduces visual clutter around your bed. If you like to night time read invest in adjustable sconces allowing you to move the light where you need it, and push it back when you’re done.

Mix Prints and Solids


You don’t have to avoid all prints in a small room, but you’ll make the space look larger if you stick with small prints and plenty of solids. This is especially true on your bed, which is generally the largest item in the bedroom. Choose a solid or mostly-solid bedspread or comforter, then add some colour and interest to printed sheets and throw pillows. Stick with light-to-mid tone colours to help visually enlarge the space.

Cut out Clutter


Nothing makes a bedroom look as small and cramped as clutter. One of the easiest ways to open up your space is with a good purge – get rid of excessive knickknacks, items that belong in other rooms of your home, and anything that is unneeded or unattractive. You don’t want a bare, sterile room, but you don’t want overload either – instead, find the happy medium with just a few pieces of artwork, photos, collectibles, or other accessories.

Scale your Furniture


A small room doesn’t have to mean downsizing your furniture, but it does mean that you will need to find pieces that match in scale and are sized appropriately for your space. For example choose a bed size that allows you to fit at least one nightstand large enough to hold its own beside the mattress.

Wednesday 13 June 2018

How to Organise your Wardrobe



Did you know that learning how to organise your wardrobe properly can save you so much time and energy on a daily basis? We all have to get dressed every day, sometimes more than once for different activities and without a system in place things can get messy very quickly.

Fear not we are providing a step by step guide on how to de-clutter and reorganise your wardrobe!

Step One: Identify the Reason for Organising your Wardrobe


When it comes to your wardrove, there are a few common things that have been said many a time and you are bound to associate with at least one of them and this will usually be the reason as to why you are motivated to get it all done.

You might find yourself saying such things as:

Step Two: Clear it Out and Assess the Space you Have Left


It helps to get your wardrobe completely empty when you start to re-organise your wardrobe, this allows you to see exactly what you have in terms of clothes and the storage space which you are currently working with.


If you have plenty of space, then you may be able to restore all of your clothes back into the space but in an organised way, when you know what space you have that is when you can make decisions about how best to organise your wardrobe, and what would work for you.


You can always think about space elsewhere as well, but simply don’t move the clutter from one room to another, it is important to think of all the space in your home as a vital space, and only mark out spaces which would be easy to store items.

Step Four: Sort Through Each Item


Pick up each item of clothing and make a decision about it there and then, the best way to sort through your clothes is to create a pile for each of the following:

  • KEEP – FREQUENT USE – Items that fit, that go with other items, that you wear often – or have worn in the last 3 months
  • KEEP – INFREQUENT USE – Special occasion items such as evening wear, wedding dress, maternity wear
  • KEEP – OUT OF SEASON – whatever is not worn in the season you are currently in
  • KEEP – TO ACTION – items that require cleaning, mending etc…
  • CHARITY – Items in good condition that you don’t wear anymore
  • GIVEAWAY – either to friends, Freecycle, supermarket recycling bins etc..
  • SELL – on Ebay for example
  • RUBBISH – ONLY GENUINE RUBBISH THAT NO-ONE WILL BE ABLE TO USE GOES HERE

Step Six: Find a Place for Everything


As with any organising project, you want to have all of your items in places that make the most sense for you and the way you live. Take a look at the amount of clothes you have and the spaces you have to store these in.
  • Think about storing the clothes you really need to keep but don’t need everyday in different locations i.e. under the bed, in the loft, etc. Making sure they are still accessible when necessary.
  • For purely sentimental items such as wedding gowns, etc. store in deeper storage areas so that you can get them if you need too but this will be rare.
  • Out of season clothes can be kept out of the way but accessible – as weather can be variable in the UK! – simply rotate when seasons change.

Step Seven: Organise Each Space


You are now ready to sort your wardrobe – you have everything that you want to store in it, and it will be items that you use frequently, and possibly items from the other categories as well, dependent on space available.

Step Eight: Live with it for a While


Now you have sorted your clothes out, created space for them, and found the best way to store them so that they will be easy to find as and when required. Next step is to live with the system, and to work with it as you go day to day.

Clothes are constantly needed, and so need to be constantly looked after to stay organised otherwise they will very quickly get messed up and cluttered again.

Step Nine: Make Any Tweaks


When it comes back to evaluating your organisation system, you want to be able to tweak anything that doesn’t work very well for you.

Ask yourself the following questions:

  • Are you finding it hard to find items quickly still?
  • Do you feel like you have too many clothes?
  • Are there many ways in which you need to re-evaluate?

Friday 8 June 2018

Difference Between Softwood and Hardwood

Many people are often confused when it comes to softwood and hardwood, thinking that softwood means that it is soft, and hardwood means that it is hard. Though the names don’t relate to the hardness or density of the wood but rather how the grows and he plant reproduction. For example, balsa wood is one of the lightest, least dense woods and is easy to manufacture, although it is actually considered a hardwood.

All trees reproduce by producing seeds although the seed structures vary between the types of tree. Hardwood trees are angiosperms, which produce seeds with some sort of covering. This could be a fruit, such as an apple or a hard shell, like an acorn. Softwoods on the other hand are gymnosperms which means that the trees let the seeds fall to the ground as they are, with no form of covering. Most of their seeds are released into the wind once they mature which means that the seed is spread over a wider area.



What Does This mean for Bedroom Furniture?


Hardwoods are more likely to be found in high-quality furniture, decks, flooring and construction that needs to last for a long time and withstand wear and tear. Most hardwoods have a higher density than softwoods, and so are harder to work with. Hardwood has a slower growth rate, which therefore means that it is typically more expensive than softwoods. There are more rings in hardwood which means that it is typically more work that needs to be done to manufacture your products.

Due to the nature of softwood and the fact that they are readily available, it means that there is more softwood production than hardwood. Around 80% of timber comes from softwood and there are a wide range of applications for them. Some of these being building components like windows and doors, furniture, MDF, paper, Christmas trees and many more. Although softwoods are easier to work with, they actually have very poor fire resistance and will need the specific finishes to ensure the durability of the product that it is being made from.

Depending on what you want from the wood, it is important to not only look at the aesthetical properties of the wood but also the functionality and durability. When it comes to wardrobes, some people may be looking to spend as little money as possible or paint over the wood to match the décor of the room and so it is best to use softwoods. Hardwoods are typically chosen for their longevity with products and for those who would like their wardrobe to still maintain the look of the natural wood, it would be best to use hardwoods.

Types of hardwood include; balsa, beech, mahogany, oak and teak. Types of softwood include; pine, cedar, spruce and yew. It is essential for you to do your research to see what type of wood may be beneficial for your circumstances. If you are the type to change your mind on the interior designs of your rooms or move frequently, it may be beneficial for you to stick to lighter and cheaper wood. If you feel like you want high quality furniture that will last for years and years then you should stick to hardwoods.