How to create functional zones in open-plan homes

While the flow and spaciousness of open-plan living offer many benefits, it’s not always the most practical layout. Assigning spaces for certain purposes becomes more challenging when walls are removed. But there are still ways to create functional zones without them. Follow our tips to bring more purpose to your open-plan home. Strategic furniture placement You don’t always need walls to separate living spaces, you can do it with furniture. Sofas, tables, shelving units and other additions can be incredibly effective dividers, helping to define spaces without closing your open-plan home. In a spacious kitchen, dining and living room area, corner sofas offer cosy seating and a natural divide between these spaces – all without making a space feel cramped. Open shelving units and bookcases can provide functional borders while maintaining visibility from one side of a space to the other. Be careful to not impede the flow between zones, though.   Using colour to distinguish areas If m......

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Small Bedroom? You can still go big on style

Having a small bedroom, for some, is a deal-breaker when it comes to buying a house or looking for apartments for rent in Miami . There’s nothing easy about designing a bedroom smaller than the rest of the rooms in the house, particularly when the biggest focal point of a bedroom is, of course, the bed. The bed base, the mattress, the duvets and pillows – they all make a statement. Whenever you walk into your bedroom , you want to feel calm and at ease, not overwhelmed by the clutter and mess because the bedroom is smaller, and so doesn’t have a good solution for storage. It’s for this reason that you need to consider how to design your small bedroom so that it works well for you. In my house our living spaces are much larger than our bedroom which is one of the smaller rooms but we have made it work. Modern downsizing , new builds and apartment living have decreased bedroom size over the years, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t have a functional, comfortable and beautiful......

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Tips for keeping on top of home repairs

When you buy a home, you mainly think about keeping up with the mortgage payments, paying your bills and ensuring that your home is neat, clean, and organised. However, there is another aspect that you should not forget—the time, labor, and cost necessary to stay on top of different home maintenance and repair projects, some of which should be done in certain seasons. Unless something breaks down, it's easy enough to postpone maintenance issues. Since these tasks can often be done later, you end up either forgetting about them or procrastinating, waiting for a more convenient time to get around to doing them, especially if the thought causes financial stress. Besides tending to forget or postpone home repairs, another mistake homeowners often make is trying to save costs by tackling projects themselves that should be done by experts. Take window replacement, for example. If you need to install new windows, this is always something that is better done by experts rather tha......

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Simple Interior ideas for simple living spaces

Living in or near a city does often mean a compromise on space but that doesn’t mean you have to compromise on having beautifully designed interiors. I'm hoping this blog post will go a little way in  helping you to achieve the designer-style you see in glossy mags and Pinterest boards but on a minute  scale as I share a few of my favourite products at the moment. The simplicity of scandi-style lends itself to smaller spaces where you are tight on space. The furniture is slim, with clean lines and generally comes in lighter colours. The main key the seasons is to declutter, simplify and also bring things into the home that are multidirectional and can be used for more thane purpose such as this shelf-come-desk below which is an example of an ingenious space-saving design. This shelf ladder is ideal for achieving a scandi inspired look while saving room and creating an office ‘space’ all rolled into one. Dwell have a version you can purchase here . The simple a......

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Making Each Day Matter

I have never been that materialistic, from an early age I realised that an evening spent laughing with loved ones was worth more than gold. Ever since I was young I dreamed of dusty roads, music festivals, camping under stars and those intrinsic experiences that would stay with you forever and become the fabric of your being. Before having children I did a lot of self funded travel, working at a variety of backpackers, hostels and hotels, without much of a plan I sought the simple good things and added very little to my backpack I set out with. I have always been a happy seeker being aware that paradise doesn't always last forever and holding onto those sweet perfect moments and knowing when to move on. Of course settling down and becoming a parent has brought so much joy and happiness but also a lot of compromise, a time to be unselfish, establishing routines and making more stable future plans. The thing is it's very easy to suddenly find yourself going through the......

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Be Green when it comes to Energy

For a lot of people, normal energy bills will account for a quite significant portion of the budget for the household and it's also one of the biggest drains on the planet. In fact, this one bill is typically only surpassed in amount by the mortgage or rent. For this reason, it is typically in the best interest of your budget and the environment if you can keep this bill as low as you possibly can. This will not only save you in terms of money, it will also conserve energy and make your home a little bit greener which is something we really all do need to start addressing sooner rather than later.  Let’s take a closer peek at some of the ways that you can save money on your energy bills. Unplug It If you are not using something that is plugged in, either turn it off or unplug it. This can be made easy even for those items that are plugged in places where the outlet is hard to reach by using a power strip. Then, you can simply turn the power strip off when you are......

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Win with Inspired Wallpaper

When it comes to wall paper I am very very picky as it's something that can really add to a room or completely detract from it. It's so important to make the right choice and invest in some decent wall paper as it can add a real pop of colour into your room if done in the right way.  The tops 3 tips for getting it right is 1. Have a clear idea of what style you want to achieve with your chosen room  2. Decided if you want to cover all four walls and if so go with something classical or more neutral 3. Consider a feature wall where you can be opt for a bolder print. It is also important to research and use a company that specialises in Wallpaper such as Inspired Wallpaper which have a fantastic collection and have been in the industry for more than 100years so they really know their stuff. I am really happy to offer one of my readers the chance to win a £75 voucher to use online.  The giveaway ends on the 20th March 2017 and is super eas......

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Simple Dining - Interior inspiration

Wether you have a separate dining room or a small kitchen diner it should be a place that is versatile and can be used for casual gatherings with friends and family but also be dressed up for dinner parties and special occasions. We are currently decluttering our house in a major way and trying to simplify all our living spaces including where we eat and relax each evening. The most important aspect of comfortable dining, whether it is for breakfast, lunch or dinner, is having a dining room you enjoy spending time in and is welcoming and warm. This ensures that meals eaten there are eagerly anticipated in a space that is as perfect as you can make it. Here are some ideas on creating the perfect dining space The Table Getting the size of your dining table right requires careful consideration of the size of your dining room and how many people will use it. For a family of four, you can use a round or square table to help you save space. However, if you entertain regularly ......

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10 ways to bring simplicity to your home

So as some of you may already know I've set myself a Minimalist challenge for 2017, which means our family is having a major sort out in the aim of cleaning our home , minds and leave behind only what truly makes us happy and things that bring joy into our lives. A few weeks in and I am already learning a lot about myself and the reality of trying to minimise a whole home that is crammed with not only toys, books, DVD's and everything else in-between but also lots of memories and sentimental things, but what I can say is once you start to sort through things it does slowly get easier, letting go becomes easier but it's not something you can do overnight so I thought I would share my top 10 ways to simplify your home this year and make it a place that is calm away from the chaos. 1. Get rid of Stuff Daily - Okay so yes this may seem obvious but there is one thing talking about it and another thing actually putting this change to practice and even a small declutter ......

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My Minimalist Challenge

As all the New Year resolutions have rolled out, everyone is juicing their food and trying to live clean I decided this year instead of any resolutions I was going to give myself a challenge for the whole year because it's simply the type of challenge that cannot be done overnight and will take time.  When it's come to living I have always swayed towards a more sustainable and ethical choices although these can be hard when we live in an age of instant gratification and disposable goods. The thing is I have always preferred to spend my hard earned money on experiences rather than stuff but when you go from living as one person to two then three then four things quickly change and suddenly you find yourself surrounding by so much stuff that at times you actually feel like your drowning in a plastic sea of toys, useless baby items and beauty products that are never going to get rid of those dark sleep deprived circles. Of course in life we need to replace thing......

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Dangers of DIY over the festive period

When we moved into our home a few years aog, it was just before Christmas, we rushed to get everything in and a tree up just in time for our eldest to enjoy the festive period and even though the house needed work in parts we were keen to get it feeling as homely as quickly as possible. After an initial quick re-paint in most of the rooms, we hastily unpacked most of our boxes, hung up prints and art work and filled the shelves in our alcoves filled with books and DVD's. We decided this was the best course of action to provide a bit of consistency for our son during a time that can feel quite unsettled. We then would work on each room, doing any repairs or re-decorating as needed. As our living room was the most used space we decided to leave that a little later than the kitchen which we did first, followed by the bathroom. We quickly realised the owners before us had been keen DIYers and not the best kind either. Luckily John is pretty practical, he had trained as an elec......

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Sleeping the festive stress away with Bruno Sleep

Both John and I are on the go for most of the day, especially John whose work means he is standing for hours on end and has been suffering with a bad back for the past year, it's been so bad that at one point he was visiting a Chiropractor fortnightly and having to take anti-inflammatories daily. We knew something had to change, especially in the run up to Christmas which is somewhat of a stressful time for most and when your not getting a good nights sleep this is only personified.  John felt that our current mattress was too soft and not offering him enough support where he needed it most. Luckily the amazing people at Bruno Sleep asked if we would like to put one of their 7-zone support ergonomic design mattress to the test which is meant to relieve pressure and promote a healthier spinal alignment which would hopefully mean a better night sleep and less aches and pains. The bedroom should provide a place of sanctuary where you can destress at the end of......

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A door to make your home

They say first impressions always count and when I walk past a pretty front door I am always drawn to it. I wonder about the person or people who live behind that door and what beautiful interior they may have. A front door can say a lot about a person, some are colourful others classic or imposing and at the end of the day, home decor should be fun. Nothing is more satisfying than putting the finishing touches to an interior room or exterior space to complete the transformation. That said, there are a few boring tasks that also need to be done and either you need a plumber, electrician or a cleaner. Easefix provides Professional Workers for your daily routine at affordable rates. For example, buying new doors is not something that everyone looks forward to doing (I love it though), but regardless of how you feel this is an important task. After all, the first thing your visitors will notice when entering a room is one of the larger and more highly noticeable features ......

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5 small changes to rejuvenate your home

As most homeowners know big renovations cost a lot of money as well as planning and when your feeling like a change big is not always the way to go, in fact there are many budget friendly options to inject some life into your home and rejuvenate a space that may be looking a little tired or outdated. Most of these suggestions are also doable in terms of DIY even if you have never picked up a paintbrush before with some simple instructions you could discover you have a new talent as well as save money hiring professionals. Of course if your nervous or short of time getting a carpenter in or a painter may be the best foot forward but make sure you get a range of quotes to find the best price. 1. Declutter - It's so easy overtime to collect, accumulate and hold onto things that we don't actually need or hold that much of a purpose. When our spaces become cluttered so do our minds and often our own productivity can go down because of it. It's also hard to see ......

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