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Pump up the volume, pump up the volume

December 18, 2012 By

As the song says, it’s time to “pump up the volume, pump up the volume,” but not through the speakers – this is all about your       shower.

Yet plain truth is that many of us in the UK are putting up with old-fashioned, weak showers, blissfully unaware that power shower technology has moved on apace in recent years and that a brand new power shower can be yours for just a few hundred pounds.

Have a look, for example, at a Mira Platinum shower. This has both remote control and programmable shower functions which help make sure that your shower is always exactly as you want it to be; you choose from a range of settings with ease. There’s even a digital clock to help make sure you don’t linger too long – because you can guarantee you will want to do just that – and there’s a ground-breaking “warm-up” mode that you can pre-set the shower to, to make sure you don’t waste any time – or money – each morning.

There’s also an “eco”-setting which ensures you don’t waste water, as well as thermostatic temperature stability which makes sure the shower is safe for everyone to use, including very young and old people.

Add to that the Mira Platinum’s 360 shower-head with four different spray settings and you really have it all in one powerful shower that won’t break the budget. What’s more, you can change all the settings with just a flick of the switch. All you need to do is choose between the chrome and the black models, then either do-it-yourself or let a professional fit the shower for you.

The Mira Platinum also includes the options of high-pressure valves for mains-pressured systems or combination boilers – or a pumped valve unit for low pressure or gravity-fed systems. And it’s very straightforward to install. So there’s really no excuse anymore – not to pump the volume.

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Digital showers explained

October 30, 2012 By

It seems no home is really complete without the latest digital shower today. But if you haven’t yet joined in this little showering revolution, you may be wondering what it’s all about.

Simply put, a digital shower is one controlled by a panel that communicates with the shower unit’s power unit to adjust both flow and temperature. This can be in a wireless way. The power unit is most commonly installed in your loft or airing cupboard. Your hot water feed will be delivered through either the ceiling or the wall, depending on the exact installation. The control panel can be placed anywhere in a 10 metre radius and there’s no plumbing work visible. Some types of digital shower also offer pause features, remote control and pre-settings.

Digital showers are available in both mixer and electric versions. As the name implies, digital mixer showers work by taking water directly from both the hot and cold feeds and mixing it in the digitally-controlled processing unit to achieve exactly the desired temperature. This water is then pumped to the shower at a flow rate decided by you, the user.

Electric showers, meanwhile, take only a cold water feed. They heat up the water as it passes over an electric heating element in much the same principle as a kettle.

The digital unit is different depending on the type of plumbing system in your home. So before you by, you’ll need to be clear about whether you have a high pressure system, combination boiler or gravity fed system.

Mira digital showers are some of the UK’s best-selling models, whereby the shower control unit and the water mixer have built-in digital intelligence. You can choose either a pumped or a high pressure version and these are ideal choices for homes with a plentiful supply of hot water. Other Mira showers may be more appropriate depending on your hot water system.

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The Ideal Snug

September 3, 2012 By

If you’re lucky enough to have two or three main living rooms – then it’s always a great idea to try and create the perfect family den – or “snug”. This is particularly so for those long winter evenings when the winds are howling outside, the weather is cold, it’s dark and raining – and you’re really glad just to be inside at the end of a busy day.

Often, the smallest of the rooms you have available are the cosiest of them all. After all, what most families tend to do is gather run for the evening after dinner to watch TV, or a movie – or maybe to play a computer game on TV or a board game etc. In other words, these family snug rooms don’t have a great deal of functionality about them other than as somewhere to ‘crash’ and simply stay cosy on the long winter evenings.

So why not make them cosily perfect? This usually involves closing them in a little, making them feel warm and cosy – and putting the bare minimum of furniture in there if the room is small.

This has the advantage of leaving the main living room/s and dining room relatively free for entertaining friends and family – whilst using the family den just for the immediate family and your chosen entertainment, particularly during the winter months.

You won’t need much in there at all if the room is small. It’s usually a matter of perusing your ideal TV cabinets, a sofa or sofas – and chairs, perhaps rugs, coffee tables and a few adornments to the walls and that’s often all the room needs. It’s all about creating the right ambience for the immediate close family to come together and relax.

In some ways, this is the heart of a house for your family – and always worth making the effort to get it just right as your children will remember the wonderful feeling of togetherness you create for the rest of their lives.

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Furniture video inspiration

September 2, 2012 By

When we’re looking for interior design inspiration, most of us go the web or to design magazine for a few ideas and a little inspiration. It’s interesting to look at examples of perfection in a certain area of interior design, after all, but it’s also important to temper one’s dreams with a little practical reality. It’s also important to realise that our homes can never be all things to all people. In other words, it’s vital to have a good idea of what you truly want your home to look and feel like before you look at the magazines or the internet. In this way, you will be truer to your own original ideas and a little less swayed than the images you see before you; more persuasion than inspiration.

One way that’s becoming increasingly popular as a method of viewing rooms is via online video. The problem with two dimensional images is that they can give a view of perfection which literally lacks depth. It’s sometimes difficult to accurately judge sizes and layouts in a room. But even more importantly, it’s impossible to see different products you may be thinking about buying in three dimensional situ – and from a variety of different angles and aspects.

One company that is doing something about this is Harveys. You can now view a lot of Harveys Furniture on YouTube which really helps in making your design and furniture choices.

You can then see the product range with full details and specifications on the company’s own website before deciding whether to buy or not. And if you do decide to buy, there are three ways to do just that; by ordering online, over the phone, or visiting a store to see the furnishings in reality.

Often, a visit is best to be able to check out the latest living room furniture sale, for example, or other bargains – though these are also listed online.        

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Make Your Dreams Come True With A Feng Shui Bedroom

August 24, 2012 By

Feng Shui, as you probably already know, it is actually a design concept which promotes harmonious living. Think interior design meets holistic living. You can use the principles of feng shui (pronounced “fung shway”) to create a bedroom which is good for mind, body and soul.

A bedroom created with feng shui in mind, is an inviting and alluring place, a place for excitement and calm. Whatever your age, budget or stage in life, whether you have solid wood bedroom furniture or not, a good feng shui bedroom is fun and a pleasure to be in.

When you next spot wardrobes for sale and are redecorating your bedroom, take the opportunity to create a good feng shui bedroom, and bear these basic tips in mind:

Have several levels of lighting in your bedroom, including candles, or use a dimmer switch to adjust the energy accordingly. Avoid task-lighting such as angle-poise lamps.

Use soothing colors on the walls, floor, bed linen and furniture – particularly the colours of human skin (from rich chocolate brown to pale white).

Choose the images for your bedroom wisely, as images carry powerful feng shui energy. Choose images that you want to see happening in your life, such as passion and affection. If you are single and don’t want to be, don’t hang a picture of a solitary person, for example. Find one of a loving couple.

Keep cupboards and drawers organized. Avoid hiding clutter anywhere, especially under the bed.

Keep electrical equipment (television, computer etc) and exercise equipment out of your bedroom.

Open the windows often or use a good quality air-purifier to keep the air fresh and full of oxygen.

Keep all the doors closed at night, be it the wardrobe doors, the en-suite bathroom door or the bedroom door.

In a perfect feng shui bedroom, the design keywords are Dreaming and Pleasure, and every item reflects the occupier’s intent for healing, relaxation and love.

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Boring Old Paint

July 16, 2012 By

If you are fed up of plain painted walls and long for something a bit more exciting then how about trying one of the latest ways to add interest to interior designs: wall features. Maybe not the thing to go mad and try in every room, but start cautiously and you never know where the trend will take you!

Wall features can be anything from a texture to a colour to decorations or a full on art installation. Read on for some ideas to get you started – and follow the likes of @furnishinghomes on twitter to get the best in contemporary furniture to match your bold design statement or just buy cheap wood wardrobes online.

Vinyl decals are absolutely top of my list for adding a new dimension to a plain wall. No need to redecorate even, just choose a theme which works for you and away you go – an instantly revamped interior. It might be a silhouette of a tree, a flock of birds or a repeated pattern or something more specific to the homeowner like a New York skyline. The options are endless.

Another way to change your environment is by using a wall-sized print. Pick a famous piece of art, a black and white photograph or even an image you have created yourself. Go online for bespoke suppliers that will produce your image to the exact size of your wall and apply it much like a series of posters – the only limit is your imagination!

Textured finishes to wall coverings are also a fabulous way to change the look and feel of any room. You need to be practical however – that expensive fabric wallpaper won’t last 5 minutes if it gets splashed in the bathroom and flock finishes will be hard to clean in the kitchen. For bedrooms however you can create the ultimate boudoir with leather-look or even faux fur wall coverings! Match with sleek bedroom furniture from www.furnishinghomes.co.uk and you will have a bedroom to envy. Have a look at Furnishing Homes Blog and get some inspiration.

And don’t forget the feature wall. It’s been with us for a while but is still a valid design statement. Bring out the best in your alcoves, chimney breasts and other quirky architectural features or simply draw attention to the great view through your windows. Be bold and follow through with your chosen colours in other parts of the room by picking out accents in cushions, lamps or ornaments.

Remember – walls are not just a backdrop they can be a feature in themselves.

 

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How To Strip Safely

June 28, 2012 By

If your furniture has seen better days, but you’re on a tight budget, you have a number of options. One is to find new furniture cheaply; your best bet is to try a retailer like Furnishing Homes for oak bedroom furniture. Keep an eye on their Twitter and Facebook status so you’ll be the first to know when prices are slashed or new stock is in.

Alternatively, you could try your hand at stripping your wooden furniture and giving it a new finish. Don’t go for industrial strength vats of chemicals, though, pick a “safe” stripper, especially if you are working with antiques. So called “safe” strippers don’t irritate your skin, their fumes aren’t damaging to your health and their contents aren’t explosive or flammable (although rags and residue must still be disposed of safely). In addition, safe strippers can be used indoors, which is great if you have little or no outside space, or for when the weather is too bad to work outside.

To strip furniture, you will need newspaper or something to catch residue, a safe stripper and a container or large can to keep it in, a brush to apply it with, cling-film, a scraper, steel wool (coarse and medium grade), a coarse stripping brush, old rags, soapy water, denatured alcohol, lacquer thinner or paint thinner (depending on what you are removing). You will also need a great deal of time and patience.

Place the piece of furniture on the newspaper to catch the stripper residue and pour some stripper into your container. Brush on a thick coat of stripper and then amuse yourself elsewhere while it does its magic. A clear finish, such as varnish will take at least an hour. If it’s paint, cover the furniture with a layer of cling-film or plastic wrap and return in about twelve hours. After the stripper has had time to do its job, scrape off the loosened finish, using wire wool and a stiff bristle stripping brush to get in the nooks and crannies. Once the finish is removed, scrub the item down with rags soaked in soapy water, do one final clean-up with medium steel wool and solvent (the thinner or alcohol), then let the piece dry naturally. You will be delighted by the result of all your efforts!

Author Bio:

Georgia is an enthusiastic home and design blogger and you can be sure that she will always manage to find some really good bargains online. She will blog about anything from what colour your bedroom wall should be if you have oak bedroom furniture from Furnishing Homes to how to restore your old wood furniture.

Filed Under: Decorating Advice, DIY & Home Improvement

Transform A Dull Roller Blind

May 29, 2012 By

Altering a whole room doesn’t necessarily have to mean embarking on building work or a complete re-decoration. With just fabric, wallpaper and a bit of know-how, you can transform a room successfully.

Beige roller blinds are dull and boring, but on the plus-side they are cheap and stop the sunlight from bleaching your furniture. You may find them mediocre and frustrating but can’t get motivated to do anything about it. It’s quite an easy and inexpensive project so before you follow that website link saying “click here for digital showers from Mira” or “click here for the latest on Russell Crowe”, why not get started on your roller blinds; it will transform the entire room in an afternoon, so what are you waiting for?

The trick is to glue a bold wallpaper print to the inside of each blind. Just as you can use the internet to buy digital mixer showers from Mira at a great price, why not buy some fabulous designer wallpaper online to save money too? This works best with blinds that measure 68cm in width (the width of a standard roll of wallpaper) or less. Because the wallpaper makes the blind stiffer, it can be a bit harder to roll, so this project works best on windows where you don’t mind leaving the blinds part-way down.

Roll out the blind to its full length then cut out a sheet of wallpaper about 5cm longer than this, and the same width as the blind. Using a clean paint roller, spread wallpaper paste over the inside face of the blind. Laying the cut piece of wallpaper onto the glued surface (making sure it is the right face up), allow the extra 5cm wrap under the bottom of the blind. With a rolling pin, press down and smooth out any air bubbles. Trim away any access wallpaper as necessary. Beige, be gone!

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Stages of bedroom renovation

April 25, 2012 By

Whether you have recently moved into a new home or are working on sprucing up your old home, renovating the bedroom can often seem like a fairly daunting task. Where to start? Well, as with all DIY and home improvement tasks, the best way to tackle a job such as this is to look at it in stages and tackle each stage one at a time.

 

The first stage of bedroom renovation should of course be getting rid of all the old and unwanted furniture, furnishings and other unwanted items that you do not need. Out with the old, in with the new! Consider whether you will need a skip, whether you can donate any items to second hand or charity stores and whether you will need an extra pair of hands to help you out!

 

Once the unwanted items have been got rid of, it’s time to move on to the wallpaper and paint; stripping all that shabby old wallpaper and paint away so you can begin to redecorate.

 

For wallpapering and painting, ensure you have all the equipment you need and consider carefully the colour scheme you want to go with before you begin. If any bedroom furniture or other furnishings are to remain in your room, make sure they are well covered with dust sheets to protect them from any paint or wallpaper paste splashes before you begin.

 

After your paintwork and wallpapering is complete, you can think about the fun part; filling your room with new furniture and furnishings! When you buy bedroom furniture, make sure you have measurements with you. There is nothing worse than investing in a brand new bed only to realise it won’t actually fit through the bedroom door!

 

Seek out discount bedroom furniture online to ensure that you can fill your bedroom with quality items without spending a small fortune.

 

Finally, enjoy all your hard work and have a well-deserved rest in your lovely new room!

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Don’t reach for your cardie – think about Double Glazing?

July 25, 2011 By

If some areas in your home feel a bit chilly – and not just in winter – unless you believe in ghosts, you may need to think about improving your home with Double Glazing. I’m not going to try and persuade you now, because we all know there are many eager salesmen who will beat a path to your door for that. However, believe it or not, in the long run the outlay may well be recouped over the years and leave you happily saving money in the future. Double glazing prices have definitely “come down” over the years, thanks to new, and cheaper, technology. [Read more...]

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