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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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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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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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Get Set For A Housewarming Party

July 2, 2012 By

When you first move into a new home, you need a little time to get things organised and just how you’d like them. However, you shouldn’t let the grass grow under your feet in terms of finding time to get the new neighbours round and having a little housewarming gathering.

If you delay too long, people might think that you’re unfriendly, and start to build up a false impression about you. Sometimes, people hold off holding a housewarming until they have everything perfectly organised and decorated, but this can take months – especially if you’re busy with work and normal life at the same time as moving in.

Instead, why not hold the housewarming while you’re still unpacking? You can make a couple of the downstairs rooms presentable for an evening and close the door on any unfinished rooms so that your guests don’t need to see all the packing boxes and bubble wrap lurking in the rest of the house.

Of course, how much space you need depends on how many people you’re going to invite. But for an informal gathering of your new neighbours, it’s probably a sensible idea to limit the catering to drinks and a few snacks. Dinner parties can wait until you’ve really got settled in and you’ve got one of those lovely new dining room sets that you’ve been looking at online!

Most polite newcomers will just want to pop in for half an hour and say hello, and they’ll know not to stay too long as it’ll be obvious that you’ve still got plenty to do. It’s just nice to be able to put some names to faces relatively quickly when you move into a new street or estate.

And inviting people over early will hopefully mean that you’ll be invited over to see their places relatively quickly too. You can great decorating inspiration from stores like Harveys Furniture on YouTube, but sometimes seeing what the neighbours have done can be even better!

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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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