Interior Design

Doing up the house has become my new passion and I want to share our home renovations with you

Interior Design, Lifestyle

Changes to Make to Your Kitchen To Improve Your Home

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We all have a long list of interior design projects we want to focus on in the near future. Whether that’s because we’ve just moved into a property and want to make it our own, or because we’ve been in our homes for a while and want to spruce them up a little. Some people will even be looking for interior design work to be carried out pre-property sale in order to boost the space’s value. Whatever your reason for making improvements to your home, you’re going to want to make sure that each space receives the attention that it is due. For now, let’s focus on the kitchen. Here are some suggestions that can really bring this space to life.

Complete Renovation

If you have the budget, the best way to tackle your kitchen is to undergo a complete renovation. This can completely take out the kitchen that is in place at the moment and replace it with brand new countertops, cabinets, islands, drawers and more to create a space that meets all of your individual needs and requirements. Expert-fitted kitchens can be fully customised to ensure that all of your boxes are ticked, adhering to your chosen colour scheme, and aesthetic and also taking more personal touches into account, such as wine coolers, and spice racks and even taps that boil or cool water for immediate use.

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Countertops

Kitchen countertops go through real wear and tear. Sure, we should all try to keep hot items on the hob and only chop with a board. But most of us ignore our own advice on a regular basis and the countertops tend to take the brunt of this. Hot pans, knife marks, staining… it’s not surprising that you will need to replace this element of your home at some point or another. When choosing a new countertop, take a few factors into account. Sure, aesthetics and colour scheme may be what you care about most, but you also need to consider practicalities. Choose a material that is water and oil-resistant, sturdy, hardy and durable. You will likely also want a non-slip surface for security while chopping ingredients.

Flooring

Kitchen flooring can go through some hard times too. Kitchens tend to be relatively high-traffic areas in most homes, especially if they are paired with an open-plan dining space. Kitchens also tend to experience a lot of spillages and splashes. If you’re considering replacing your kitchen floor with something new, make sure to choose something splash-resistant that is easy to clean. Again, non-slip options are generally wise too, as you tend to deal with hot liquids and sharp kitchen tools in this space.

These are just a few areas of focus to get you started on your kitchen improvements or renovations. Hopefully, you’ll soon have the kitchen space of your dreams to enjoy!

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Interior Design, Lifestyle

Keeping Your Bathroom A Pleasant Space To Occupy

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It’s not as if any homeowner is going to start entertaining their guests in the bathroom anytime soon. But it’s true to say that this space deserves our care like any other. Our bathrooms tend to be areas where we greet our day as we wake up. Perhaps, enjoying a warm shower on a cold morning, and the place we wash and prepare ourselves for bed each night. Let’s make it a pleasant space.

So, a room that bookends our daily experience is worth focusing on, especially because it’s a space that even our guests are sure to occupy at one time or another, unlike our garage spaces, utility rooms, and even private bedrooms.

But with a family to take care of and a household to run, it’s not as if you have much time to clean every space through and through daily. Nor would that be a useful way of spending your time. For this reason, keeping your bathroom a pleasant space to occupy will be aided by the following investments and provisions:

pleasant space

Odour Defeaters & Ventilation

Odour defeaters can, of course, keep the bathroom smelling fresh and nice. This can be especially important in ground-floor bathrooms where open windows or ventilation may not be as easy to ensure at all hours of the day. That said, ventilation locks on your windows, ventilation bricks, extraction fans, and more can ensure that the airflow in such a space is properly handled, so that the moisture isn’t trapped and won’t turn damp. Ventilation will also ensure the bathroom is a pleasant, clear-headed space to occupy.

Comforting Floor Mats

A pedestal mat and a thin floor rug can be a good way to help you avoid foot stains when someone is leaving the shower and is a comfortable means of greeting your feet instead of the cold tile on a winter’s morning. A comforting floor mat also adds some nice aesthetic value to the space which can be invaluable as you try to decorate with limited room to do so. On top of that, keeping your bathroom a pleasant space to occupy is often defined by the small furnishings that tend to make all the difference. A few trimmings can change the character of the space anew.

Towel Warmers

Towel racks can be a nice addition to the space and help you remain organized. But some of these can also be tied to your central heating so they heat up in the midst of the colder seasons. Sure, getting out of the warm shower on a freezing morning can be incredibly uncomfortable, but the feeling is diminished greatly if we’re met with a warm towel we can use to get dry and make it back to our bedrooms while getting dressed. As they can be switched on and off at your discretion, you don’t have to worry about these radiating elements adding too much of a cost to your heating bill at the end of the month.

With this advice, you’re certain to keep your bathroom a pleasant space to occupy, as caring for the smaller rooms in our homes can be more impactful than you think.

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Interior Design, Lifestyle

Different Ways To Improve Your Home

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We all yearn for the creature comforts of a well-designed home. While many do-it-yourselfers labour diligently on their homes and appear to be constantly updating or renovating. This is not possible for those of us who don’t know the difference between a table saw and a drill. Of course, the latter group might just hire someone to renovate their homes for them, but it would entail untidy and pricey improvements. Anyone who has completed a significant remodelling to something like a kitchen or extension will attest to the unforeseen costs and massive mess that it produces. How can we modernise our homes without undergoing substantial renovations? We want updates that all of us, not just the clever do-it-yourselfers, can do.

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There are some things we can do and prepare for but when things happen that we can’t control like a hurricane or something that causes damage to our property then we need outside help from contractors and ​​working with an experienced property damage lawyer.

Make Room for Open Space in Your Home 

Homeowners choose an open floor design in which the kitchen, family room, and dining room all flow into one large open space. In addition, formal dining rooms appear to be out of favour. This is your chance to make additional space in your home, making it more appealing to both you and your visitors. You may be wondering how you can achieve this without breaking down walls. Actually, it may be easier than you think to make your home appear open and breezy. It can sometimes be as simple as getting rid of larger, heavier furniture or shifting furniture around the room to evaluate which arrangement provides the freest space.

Time To Upgrade Your Home’s Lighting 

A well-lit room may genuinely come to life. A dimly illuminated space appears small, dark, and confined, whereas a well-lit room appears open, airy, and welcoming. There are several methods to use lights to liven up your home. Some of the simpler methods include purchasing table and floor lamps for your home. Place a couple of tall floor lamps strategically in dark spots and watch your room spring to life. Layer this illumination with lights on side tables to create a welcoming and cosy atmosphere. Then, if you’re feeling daring, you can replace all of those outdated ceiling fixtures with the magnificent modern masterpieces on the market.

Window Treatments Should Be Updated And Renewed

Windows appear to be frequently disregarded. Homeowners struggle to determine which style will best complement the room, prompting them to give up and leave the windows plain, or install basic shades for privacy. You are missing out on a whole stunning layer of decoration by leaving your windows blank. While individuals who are fortunate enough to have ocean or mountain vistas may disagree, even the nicest views can be framed by attractive window panels. Windows can be styled to match your personal style and taste. If you’re overwhelmed by all of the options, look at the colour schemes you currently have in place.

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Interior Design

How to feel amazing after decluttering and deep cleaning

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To coincide with the creation of our living room feature wall, I decided to have a full house makeover. Decluttering and deep cleaning had been on the list for too long and it was time to solve the problem.

I couldn’t paint every wall, but I could use this as an opportunity to complete the household tasks which urgently needed doing. 

decluttering and deep cleaning

Here is a step by step of my decluttering and deep cleaning journey

Moving furniture & rugs and doing a deep clean

All the parents out there will be aware toddlers throw bits of food and any old item into the hardest to clean spaces. Therefore it’s always wise to see what’s lurking. It also feels great to know the house has had a spring clean and it won’t need doing for a while.

It makes me feel better. I used to be fixated on cleaning and always having a show home, but living up to that standard just isn’t possible with a toddler running around.

My mental health isn’t impacted by trying to live up to an impossible standard. Don’t get me wrong, I clean the house. But I usually just do the basics around other fun activities. The old me would try to tackle the whole house in one sitting and I wouldn’t stop cleaning until it was pristine. Who has time to be that person?

Taking the curtains down to wash them 

We had to paint anyway, so why not wash the curtains whilst we were at it. Mucky little toddler prints don’t help when you have floor-length patio curtains. Both the glass and the curtains need washing regularly.

Getting them out of the washing machine, smelling fresh, made me feel like we’d bought a new item for the living room and brought a sense of calm.

Putting up pictures our little one knocked down 

I love how this post is turning into things going wrong due to little toddler hands, but this is our reality!

She’s been curious about the pictures hanging on the walls and knocked a few down in the process. Little niggles like this bother me. The old me would have put them back straight away, but the new me just doesn’t have the time or energy to worry.

That said, it felt good to set aside some toddler free time to restore the walls to their former glory.

Putting the shower screen back up

We are lucky enough to have two bathrooms, but one shower is out of action at the moment because the shower screen fell down. It’s a good job I was there to catch it because it’s made of glass. Anyway, it’s been stored behind our other shower cubicle for months and needed sorting out. 

But we’ve been too busy going on holiday and enjoying ourselves. Autumn and winter are the months for DIY tasks in the home. It’s great we can now access the other shower, especially early in the morning when one of us has to be up for work and the other doesn’t.

Throwing out the toddler toys

With Christmas around the corner, it was time to finally get rid of the baby toys. As you can imagine, we have boxes and boxes overflowing with toys, some of which we haven’t seen for months because they are stuck at the bottom. (Anyone thinking of Woody telling everyone to rotate the toys).

It cleared my mind to finally organise the toy boxes and move some toys back to the little one’s bedroom. She doesn’t need to be constantly watched now when playing and she can wander into her room unsupervised for a little while.

Clearing out the rest of the house

I went on a serious mission to throw out anything we dont use or take it to the charity shop. Along with the toys, there were household items, clothes, things we have all outgrown. I am happy we were able to contribute to charity.

Clearing out always has a great impact on my mental health and doing this before Christmas and a drastic change of seasons had a bigger positive impact on me.

Final thoughts

Are you due to have a declutter? Have you recently had one and feel better for doing so?

Do you love decluttering and deep cleaning?

Let me know in the comments below. I would love to hear from you.

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