In thought, curling up next to a roaring open fire is the idyllic setting for cool autumnal evenings.  But, as I have learned from experience, sometimes it can all seem a bit much like hard work.  The last thing I want when I’m feeling a chill is to be on my hands and knees sweeping up last night’s ashes and having the inevitable debate as to whose turn it is to refill the coal shuttle!

So, with central heating merely a switch away, I’m warming to the idea of making better (hassle free) use of my fireplace.  Here are a few of my favourite finds…

Candles

The same romantic effect with none of the fuss!  Filling your hearth with candles is a quick and easy way to maintain that cosy glow.  Choose a variety of shapes and sizes to give different levels and create a stunning focal point.

Storage

Why not make use of the extra space and tranform your fireplace into pretty storage shelves.  You could have great fun making this a real feature in the room.  Try backing the shelves with interesting paper.

Flowers

Bring your empty hearth to life with a beautiful arrangement of flowers.  You could place a vase inside with a beautiful bouquet of seasonal blooms, or why not use the firebasket itself packed with artificial flowers.  Either way, the greenery will bring a fresh look to any neglected fireplace.

Books

For a quirky centrepiece to your room why not transform your fireplace into a unique bookshelf! Whether adding shelves as before, or simply stacking the books as we see here, this is bound to create a real talking point in your living room!  Depending on the look of your books you could create a very colourful display or a rustic feel with more traditional looking, leather spines.

Logs

Ok so you may not be burning them in the open fire, but what’s to stop you creating that country feel with a display of logs!  Stack logs of different cuts and widths to create an interesting feature.  You could even line the mantle piece and hearth with tealights and small candles (but not too close!) for a wamring glow.

Do you have an unusual fireplace?  We’d love to hear about it!

As the nights grow darker it’s only natural that we find ourselves gravitating indoors and relaxing in our own home.  So what better time of year to explore some of your window dressing options: curtains, blinds, shutters and window film.

There are many different solutions available to you and the choice of window dressing can differ from room to room, with some solutions more practical than others.  You should consider the size of your windows and the style of your home.

Curtains

A popular choice for adorning our windows, curtains have far more benefits than it may at first seem.  Not only are they easily drawn and help to soften your windows, but did you know that curtains are a great way of keeping those heating bills down?

Particularly with lined and interlined curtains, having an extra barrier between your room and your windows will help to keep warm air in and cold air out!  Adding a pelmet also helps as it prevents warm air that has risen from falling behind your curtains as it cools, and escaping through the windows.

Blinds

We are all aware of the practical benefits of blinds in rooms like the bathroom and kitchen. They stay neatly rolled or pulled up out of the way until we are ready for them. But blinds are fast becoming popular choices for adding to living rooms and bedrooms. Used alone, a roller or roman blind can give a contemporary feel to a room.  Or you could try combining with matching curtains for a co-ordinated look.  Curtain and Blind combinations are great for adding extra depth to your windows.  Plus, blinds also contribute toward keeping cool air out on those cold winter nights!

Shutters

A pretty feature that can often add character to your home, shutters are becoming increasingly popular for bedrooms.  Enabling the most control over light levels, shutters can be pushed wide open to allow maximum natural light to flood in during the day. You could even consider coloured shutters to bring interest and life to neutral rooms. The pink shutters here combine beautifully with the white colour scheme to create a chic, femenine study.

Window Film

This is great to use in bathrooms, utility rooms and kitchens where window space may be tight. The frosted film can provide privacy whilst still allowing light in and you could even opt for a unique design to add extra interest to your windows.

You could opt for full window film like this one or just film half way up your window for that extra touch of privacy. With so many designs available on the high street and online there’s sure to be something for every taste!

What makes the perfect kitchen?  For some it’s an ultra modern blend of stainless steel, gloss surfaces and brilliant lighting.  For others it’s a quaint, quiet place where you can while away an afternoon baking or reading at the table.  For me it’s a beautiful, character rich country kitchen!  And today I’ve let my imagination roam to the five essential features that would make up this perfect country kitchen.  Spare a moment to indulge with me…?

1) A Belfast Sink

Although washing dishes is one of the last things I enjoy doing, I love the simple chunky design of a Belfast Sink.  This is a lovely way of making a feature of your window area and breaking up the lines of your cupboards.

Image sourced from House to Home

2) Traditional Appliances

An increasingly popular feature, the traditional style range cooker is a great way to give an instant nostalgic feel to the kitchen.  A bright, rich red like this one makes a real statement, or cream designs can give a more vintage feel!

Image sourced from Day Dreaming Foodie Blog

3) Quaint Accessories

Sometime less is more and for my perfect country kitchen I love the idea of simple white crockery.  Mixing in a few pretty fabrics and rustic designs can give a beautiful quaint feel which can be created no matter what style of kitchen you have.

Image sourced from House to Home

4) Exposed Beams

Nothing says country to me like beautiful exposed beams and the kitchen is one of the best places to feature them.  Packed with character they’re not only a stunning feature but practical too for hanging pots, pans and pretty accessories.

Image Sourced from Country Living

5) Kitchen Dining Bench

Benches in the kitchen are an instant way to evoke a nostalgic tone and are great for getting the family together.  Combine with beautiful cushions and you can even make a matching table runner for a co-ordinated look!

Image sourced from House to Home

What would make up your perfect kitchen?  We’d love to hear from you!

The importance of cushions is so often overlooked, when in fact they can be an intergral part to the whole outlook of your room. They are an easy way to add colour, texture and interest to your furniture, and are particularly effective in more neutral rooms.  It’s amazing how a carefully selected set of cushions can bring life and a whole different mood to your living room.  This sofa is a prime example!

See how much life has been injected into this room with a few co-ordinating cushions and accessories!

Even just a couple of cushions at the edge of your sofa can make a huge difference and help to bring your whole colour scheme together.  Cushions can be key to breaking up solid blocks of colour, and bringing energy to more neutral tones.

And it’s not just plainer fabrics that can benefit.  Choosing cushions that can coordinate with patterned furniture can also add a touch of interest and in some cases increase the grandeur of your sofa!

Finally, remember that cushions don’t always have to be confined to the sofa.  Decorate bare window sills with an array of cushions.  Choosing various sizes and shapes can be effective but ensure that you keep to one colour scheme, and match your curtains to bring the look together.

How do you like to decorate with cushions?

September is the perfect time to give our homes  a new lease of life and prepare for the cooler months ahead.  So what better time to share some inspiration for a brand new look this Autumn…

Opulent Luxury

Rich colour schemes are ideal for the cooler months, with darker shades making rooms feel cosier.  Contrasting curtains in strong colours can give a dramatic backdrop to your room and heavy weight fabrics will help to give your furniture a quality finish, giving the whole room a luxurious feel.

Cosy Retreat

There’s nothing better than curling up with a good book when Autumn and Winter close in, so ensure you choose luxurious soft-to-touch fabrics that you can snuggle into.  Velvets and Chenilles are perfect for providing comfort and style to your home.  I love this down to earth colour scheme of warming yellow and earthy brown to give a country feel!

Cool & Fresh

For a fresh subtle look, keep your palette neutral and accent with a zesty dash of lime green.  This fun pop of colour is great for drawing the eye and picking out focal points in your room.  The great thing about this is that you can swap and change your accent colour for a different look time and time again!

What kind of looks will you be adopting for the new season?

Over the past few weeks we’ve been looking at how to bring ideas together and make a mood board for your desired new look, whether it be re-decorating or planning an event.  There are lots of different and fun ways that you can complete your boards.  These are just a few of my favourite methods, or you could choose one that works for you!

Computer Montage

If you’ve used the internet to find your inspiration, save the paper in printing and collate your findings in a computer montage.  Just copy and paste your findings together in one document.  The beauty of this method is it’s so quick and easy.

Scrapbook

If you prefer to cut and stick, play around with your findings and bring them together on the page.  The great thing about this is that you can include different textures so you can get more of a feel for the end result.

Pinboard or Canvas

Why not make your mood board into a piece of art that can continue to inspire you throughout your project.  A great, easy way to do this would be to pin your findings to a notice board, or canvas which you can hang on the wall.  Have fun playing around with the positioning and colours.  You can be as creative as you like!

The Final Result…

So, does all of the researching, collecting, cutting, glueing and pinning pay off?  Well for me, having a mood board to work from gives me a clear idea of how the end result will look and keeps me focussed on the end result.  Take a look at how Plumbs own stylist Jenny Stirzaker uses mood boards to complete a beautiful new room….

Find out more about how to create a mood board from start to finish:

http://www.plumbs.co.uk/blog/index.php/2012/08/16/mood-board-magic-the-first-in-a-3-part-series/

http://www.plumbs.co.uk/blog/index.php/2012/08/23/mood-board-magic-where-to-get-you-inspiration/

With the children and grandchildren getting ready for back to school, now is a great time of year to rethink your study or home library. It may all be about electronic books today but for me you can’t beat the look, smell and general ambiance created by shelves full of books! There are many different ways we can incorporate home libraries into the style and design of our homes, so here’s just a few of my top 5 favourites…

If you like to be organised, arrange your books in colour order to keep things looking neat and tidy. These vibrant book spines look great against the dark wood of the shelves giving this a modern and fun feel.

For something a little more traditional you could choose rustic, earthy colours of browns and muted green. The ladder adds a little rustic charm here, and the globe gives the room a studious feel.

The perfect place to hideaway with a good book, this mezzanine home library is great for utilising space and adding a pretty feature to this home. The natural lighting from the skylight window will make for excellent reading!

This certainly is a unique design, and yet another great use of space. To me this feels like a secret archive where you can store all your favourite books!

I love nothing more than curling up with a good book and what a cosy place to do it! Combining a comfy chair with effective lighting you can create a snug home library to sit and relax.

What’s your Home Library style?

It’s amazing the things that make a huge impact on our homes: the decor, the colour scheme, the layout.  But would you believe that the height of your ceiling is a also major contributing factor to the overall atmosphere of your living space?!  Both low and high ceilings come with their own pros and cons, and each need to be treated accordingly.

High Ceilings

Most commonly found in period homes, a high ceiling with it’s natural air ventilation was essential to ensuring the smooth running and comfot of the home.  But today this can often go against us, with higher ceilings making it more costly to keep the room warm.  On the plus side, a high ceiling allows more opportunity for natural light to filter in, creating an airy and bright living room.

Higher ceilings are also making an appearance in more modern home designs, particularly with the recent popular conversions of old church buildings.  The extravagant ceilings are often maintained giving a grandiose and open feel to these homes.

Similarly, homes and apartments with a mezzanine layer are also making artistic use of high ceilings and creating a more open feel to the space.

Low Ceilings

Not only is it cheaper to heat the room with a low ceiling, it is also cheaper to construct and is commonly found in apartment complexes and more affordable housing estates.  The key to decorating with low ceilings is to choose a neutral, even white palette for the walls and ceiling, making use of lower light levels.

A low ceiling can also add great character to cottage and country style homes with the use of exposed beams.  Although sometimes a little claustrophobic, a lower ceiling can make a room feel warm and cost!

With gold on the nation’s mind this summer, spare a thought for the wonderful possibilties of silver.  We say silver doesn’t have to mean second best!

Used effectively in the home, this verstile colour oozes luxury and sophistication; and with metallics featuring heavily in interior design this year, you’ll be right on trend!

For a truely luxurious look, emphasise the silvery shine with an elaborate silver framed mirror.  Introducing a sparse pop of colour can also be effective and help to add interest to your room.

We can but dream that the weather will pick up and the sun will come out.  And when it does, we all want to be ready for it!  Take 5 minutes to be inspired this afternoon with our pick of top Patio designs.  Which is your favourite…?

Inject some fun into your garden with a colourful hideaway!  Combine bright colours with fun fabric designs for an exotic twist to your patio.  We love the vibrant shades of pink and orange here!

Give yourself a place to relax and unwind with this calming bohemian look.  Earthy colours like browns and greens are great here, and for an extra splash of colour try a vibrant shade of turquoise.

If you prefer a less is more approach then this stunning minimalist look is the one for you!  Use neutral, white furniture and simple foliage for this down to earth look.

Want to watch the stars from your patio?  Opt for fun, modern outdoor lighting so you can while away the warm summer evenings in your modern patio setting.  We love the sleek grey and red colour combination!

You shouldn’t have to miss out if your patio is small, so make the best of the space you have!  Use outdoor shelving and walls to add pots and flowers and opt for bistro style furniture for a cosy, al fresco feel!