Marrying classic designs with a contemporary edge, Blendworth’s range of florals, damasks and stripes have become more commercial, appealing to wider audiences.  But the long established company are not just concerned with the creativity of their designs, they also promote an excellent ethos, as their website explains:

“Where possible – and appropriate – Blendworth uses natural fabrics and actively explores the use of sustainable, fairly traded and organic products in order to minimise the environmental impact.”

What better way to carry on the environmental movement than recycling your own old furniture and re-upholstering or re-covering in a stunning Blendworth fabric?!  Plumbs offer the following Blendworth designs in a number of colourways..

Damask designs are perfect for injecting elegance into any home, and Blendworth’s beautiful contrast of rose and gold really adds to the drama of this Delphina Damask fabric.

A fresh and unobtrusive floral design, Sorrento Summer shown here in Vanilla, can brighten a dreary, old sofa and bring freshness to your living room.

Designed to complement Sorrento Summer, Sorrento Stripe shown here in Soft Aubergine, is great for adding a contemporary twist to your home.

A popular fabric, Delphina with it’s classic floral design is a more traditional option for giving your furniture a new look.

Which Blendworth fabric is your favourite? We’d love to know!

Our primary concern is, of course upholstery. 10 million items of furniture are thrown away in the UK every year. 3 million of these items could be easily re-used; more could be repaired. You’ll be pleasantly suprised to hear of the transformations that loose covers and re-upholstery can do to your old furniture. Bringing a fresh new look to saggy sofas or sprucing up your conservatory suite, recycling, or in many cases up-cycling your favourite furniture in this way is great for the environment and great for your home!

Here are some of our recent transformations…

Remember, it’s not just upholstery that can be kept and made new. Think about other household objects you could renew or repurpose, such as turning old cupboard doors into lap trays, or making a quirky shelf unit from unused drawers as seen on Decorology blog:

Re-purposing, re-cycling and re-upholstering is a win win for you and the environment! So, before considering buying a new suite, sofa or chair, why not arrange your free home consultation to see how Plumbs can help you save your sofa and the environment!

*Environmental statistics sourced from Bulky Waste Collection Services.

Extreme differences between policies were highlighted within the research, which found some council policies charging as much as £20 for the removal of a single item, compared with other boroughs which offered free removal for up to five items.

The research is part of our bid get the nation to consider reupholstering and repairing furniture instead of simply discarding it.

Birmingham, Bradford, Leicester, Lincoln, Manchester, Liverpool, Oxford, Preston and Wakefield offer the free removal of unwanted furniture, but with varying restrictions on the number of items and in some cases, type of waste.

Worcester and Cambridge were revealed as the most expensive, charging £16.10 and £20 respectively for the removal of just one single item.

The cost to remove a fridge freezer also varied dramatically between councils, with Canterbury charging the most at £25 while others offered the service for free.

Discounts for those on income support, housing benefits and pension credits were offered by some councils and not by others and in some cases, the time of year affected a council’s policy. In Chester, collection is free during the months of March and April but for the rest of the year there is a charge of £15 per collection.

Chris Plumb at Plumbs said: “According to latest government figures, the UK sends more than half its waste to landfill – that’s a huge 62 million tonnes a year in England alone. By reupholstering furniture, consumers are taking direct and effective action to help reduce our landfill problem.”

“The collection and subsequent reuse or recycling of furniture by councils is key to reducing landfill, yet our research shows that there is no consistency across UK councils with some waste policies coming out more favourable than others.”

Is recycling old furniture set to become more popular?

But this goes for any product around the home from, especially ones made from materials that can be recycled such as; glass and metal etc. These will play a big part in this year’s renovations.

One such product is a work surface created using pure natural quartz and recycled metallic chips. As well as being kind to the environment it is a durable solid surface offering excellent resistance to acids, abrasion and wear. The surface comes in four polished colour tones: white, black and two shades of grey. The worktops are also able to be created to support the stylish continental trend of slimline work surfaces.

For further information please contact: Chiltern Marble Group

Plumbs backs sofa scrappage scheme

Furniture re-upholstery specialist Plumbs is backing the sofa scrappage scheme, which encourages consumers to trade in their non-compliant products for new British-manufactured sofas and chairs.

The scheme, launched by The Association of British Furniture Manufacturers (BFM), aims to reduce the number of sofas in UK homes which are made from highly flammable material, pre-dating 1988 safety regulations.

• 73% of people believe furniture has sentimental value
• A fifth of people would never sell an old family treasure to try and make some cash
• Two thirds of people would rather bring a piece of furniture back to life and have a piece of family history than by something new
• But despite feeling sentimental, around 30% of people don’t think their kids or relatives would take a piece of furniture if it was handed down!

There’s no denying that seeing a piece of furniture owned by a relative can evoke memories of being a child, or times gone past and 45% of us say we have a piece of furniture in the house that has been passed down through the family. While a fifth of us say we’ve hung onto a furniture heirloom because they like the look of it and about 14% say there’s a story attached to it.

But while it seems that many of us are furnishing our homes with memories, it could be the end of the line for many items, as a third of people don’t think their kids would want any furniture hand-me-downs!

So is it all the fault of the “Throw Away Generation”? Do the younger generations think doing-up an old tatty sofa is too much hassle and may cost more in the long-run? The study from Plumbs Upholstery has found that two thirds of us say that we tend to keep furniture for up to 10 years – even though some people claim they’re bored of their furniture within 6 months!

It appears that the recession hasn’t put the pinchers on how much we shell out on furniture, with more than half of people saying they spend between £300 and £1,000 per year on furniture and furnishings. But it does seem that the recycling message IS getting through as the statistics show over 40% would consider investing money to bring an item of furniture back to its former glory.

So, do you have a sofa that’s seen the elbows of several generations? Did you have some furniture handed down from parents in your first home that was abandoned in a skip once you started to earn more money? Do you wish you had it now? Or do you think £500 for a three piece suite is such a bargain that the memories don’t count?

Read More Here…

“Its appeal is perhaps symbolic of our desire for a simpler life and a need for a stronger connection with the natural world,” suggests Sarah Quilliam, head of product design for Hillarys, a window blinds specialist.

“When times get tough there’s a tendency to return to a more organic, holistic and nature-inspired feel in the home.”

Annie Deakin, editor of online home shopping emporium mydeco.com, agrees: “This year marks the bicentenary of Charles Darwin’s birth and the focus on nature has helped heighten the focus on textiles and home products which echo that theme,” she said.

Deakin says it’s time to turn on to funky botanical wallpaper and fabrics for a bang-up-to-date take on bringing the ‘outdoors in’.

There are many ways in which to reproduce this look in your home by using a feature wall of woodland print wallpaper and scatter cushions.

“Woodland patterns are huge this season,” says House Beautiful style editor Charlotte Boyd.

“Even if you don’t have a large garden, it’s possible to create a sense of the natural world in your home by using one of the new designs.”

She suggests adding a touch of woodland spirit with one of the new metallic tree motif papers.

Save Our Sofas gives you advice and ideas of ways to keep your old sofa, giving it a new lease of life, or provide environmentally friendly ways for disposal if it is beyond repair.

Plumbs, along with Save Our Sofas believe every sofa deserves a long life in a good home.