Spring is round the corner...

Why not use the energy you feel from the extra day light and warmer temperatures to help you with any decluttering and/or decorating project in your home?

Over the winter months we tend to use our homes mainly to comfort us and protect us from the elements outside. The Spring means new beginnings, we see it every day in nature... today I noticed my first crocus just pushing through under the dried leaves in my garden and can see signs of daffodils and tulips preparing to thrust their bright colours upon us and awaken our senses!

Well it is the same for our home.... perhaps there are a few throws and wintery items still hanging around in your home covering up potentially a colourful sofa or bed that looks a little neglected over the winter? Perhaps the bright sunshine and longer hours in the days are showing up the windows and how much they need a good clean and possibly that voile at the window needs to be cleaned/replaced/ or updated?

Oh how I love this time of the year!.... The trouble is I tend to want to tackle every room in the house at once! The problem of course with this approach is that we get overwhelmed and within a week we tend to lose our momentum and find ourselves tackling one thing in one room, another item in another and progress is slow and it is easy to just abandon the project altogether!

Can I make some useful suggestions? List the rooms that need your attention but only list 3 at a time!

(e.g. Loft/ Spare Bedroom and Lounge)

Tackle one room before moving on to the next

Be systematic and group items:
to dispose of (donate to charity shops/give to family)
to sell (boot fairs/ EBay/Gumtree)
to recycle (repaint/reupholster/fix)

The hardest part is getting started and the rewards of having a loft organised means when it comes to decorating any room in the house you know for example that you have some paint/brushes that are still useable in the loft rather than having to splash out for more!


Treat the loft and it will pay you back ! Imagine you are putting your house on the market and potential buyers are viewing your loft... why not feel proud of an organised space and reap the benefits of then being able to make some money and recycle some hidden treasures!

2011 Trends

Simplistic old modern and vintage are the central trends for 2011, streamlined and tailored is a necessity with soft natural colours making your home neutral with the odd hint of colour on a wall, cushion or sofa.
Geometrics
Rebalancing your home with natural, homely colours is what’s coming into play this year and will follow through to 2012. Using clean slick lines with the occasional zigzag will make your room look fresh and clean. Watching out for vintage, repeat pattern and the odd 1970s print is what could really put that spark back into your home. This year is all about making things look fresh….
Colourful
In 2010, strong colours made a breakthrough but the difference in 2011 is the clashing of colours, following the trend on the catwalks and clothing. Being confident with your choices of colors, will bring a strong sense of style an individualism in your house. Painting a feature wall with a strong hue, will add impact and a hint of colour to your room.

Pattern and Print
When choosing a printed piece for your room, you need to make sure that not only the colour suits the mood of the room but the piece fits. Sounds easier than it looks, don’t be afraid to choose the unexpected, as it’s not just about suiting your needs in a room but about creating a room to your own taste and style. Don’t be afraid to consider using lots of texture with your furniture fabrics. And also, by painting the wall behind your selected piece, a colour that sets it off, it will make it stand out with desired effect.

Feng Shui for your home

What is Feng Shui and how can it help the way we live?

Sarah Rossbach is an author and feng shui consultant who whilst living in Hong Kong learned the art of feng shui from the worldwide authority Professor Lin Yun, defines it as follows.

Translated feng shui is "wind" and "water", it is an "eco-art" linking man and his destiny with his surroundings, be they natural or man-made, cosmic or local".

For thousands of years the Chinese have tried to influence environmental forces such as wind and water to improve the landscape and ultimately their lives. They have believed that if they were ideally positioned within the universe, they could enhance the balance of nature and thus improve their fortunes.

We have all been in buildings where immediately we have felt unsettled or have felt happy in another.

Feng shui attempts to define what elements in our environment depress and elevate us. It also identifies design problems and offers simple "cures" to balance and enhance our surroundings and – with luck - our lives.

For many years before I studied Feng Shui I realised I was instinctively using some of the elements of Feng Shui - I was able to know if a room was in balance and harmony almost immediately on entering it. I have always been very fussy about having a de-cluttered entrance hall and rear porch and not realising that until I learnt more that this was causing a "block " to the energy flow in and out of the house.

It is a necessity to clear out your clutter, removing anything that’s not loved in your house. This process will not only act as a therapy, but increase the positivity running through your home.

The hall - the occupant's first impression of a home or an office and the opening for ch'i (energy) is a crucial fen shui consideration. An entrance area should be light and expansive, warm and welcoming. This encourages residents' ch'i to rise and flow smoothly.

Placement of mirrors in another interesting area of feng shui which I again have always used instinctively - mirrors enhance a room in a number of ways, they visually double the space, they bring in more light, they reflect openings such as windows.

Always making your house happy and homely, don’t forget to take into account the lighting and air. These are two necessities when considering the layout and energy to your room. Windows open, air purifiers and spot lights are just a few essential ideas to balance the calm in your home.

With an understanding of balance and some knowledge of feng shui rules, businesspeople can feng shui their own offices. For example a computer worker in an office should face the door or he or she will suffer from stress after a while. When I visited Hong Kong last year I noticed huge office buildings with large gaps in them and was told it was to allow the wind to pass through the building and to give the business in the building more chances of success and prosperity.

It is a fascinating subject, even if we don't fully understand it, it is worth trying a few simple feng shui rules and it may surprise us. So if you were putting off that water feature at the front of your house - it may be worth going ahead with it - apparently it brings prosperity into the home.

Good luck with applying any feng shui rules to your home!

Decluttering before embarking on a decorative project

Any decorative project, from one small bedroom to a whole house, will benefit from good planning. It is easy to get carried away with colour schemes and accessorising before we are really ready for that stage.

So what are the benefits of decluttering and organising a room before we get the paint charts out or buy that new cushion?

Anyone who understand the basics of feng shui (read my next blog on more details) will know that harmony and balance are both crucial factors.
When we declutter a room we immediately allow new energy to circulate into that space and we feel calmer and more in control.

Simply tidying up a room is not enough. Start systematically with each drawer, cupboard and container and only keep useful items, dispose of broken ones and donate unused or out of date items to your local charity shop.

Be ruthless and only keep items you have used over the last year. Items that are kept should be organised so easily accessible and grouped into similar items. For example,in a kitchen - keep all dried foods such as rice, pasta,in transparent airtight containers that are practical and easy to use; or in a bedroom - organise shoes into colours and styles in transparent boxes so they are immediately identifiable, accessible and also free from being damaged.

Decluttering also helps you to know what you have and when putting items back in a systematic manner, label or sort into containers that makes life easier for times when you are frantically busy. There is something satisfying about going into a stationery drawer knowing you will find exactly what you want. Get into good habits of putting things away after use and you will make life a lot less stressful.

Once you have decluttered every cupboard, drawer, shelf, move as much of the furniture out of the room as possible. If you are emptying a room such as a kitchen and all its contents use large plastic transparent boxes that are clearly marked and I know from experience this can be a so beneficial when your kitchen refurbishment is moving into its second week!

So your space is clear now ready for your dust sheets, and pasting table - you can now decorate in a more systematic way rather than struggling to move items every time you move the ladder. Large items like beds or heavy wardrobes can be moved to one end of a room and allowing you the maximum space to tackle ceilings and large wall expanses.

You can now tackle your decorating knowing that all your hard work will make it easier and you can look forward to transforming it into a harmonious space!

Fabulous festive styling and decorating tips

With outside like a winter wonderland for most of us, we are naturally spending more time indoors!

Make the most of the white landscape outside and make your home all cosy, inviting, fabulous and festive with simple, natural styling and decorating tips that won't cost a fortune.

Tip 1: Start the festive mood as soon as you come in with holly wreaths for a bit of tradition hanging on your front door, add some apples (real ones will last surprisingly well or artificial ones if you prefer and tie on with wire)add lots of red berries - it will look so inviting and festive!

Tip 2: Select just 2 colours for your Christmas decorative scheme such as
cream & gold, white & silver, silver & teal blue, white and fuscia pink. It creates maximum impact and looks more stunning!

Tip 3: For any windowsill or as a table decoration - use a garden obelisk and wind battery-operated fairly lights around for the perfect mood enhancer!

Tip 4:Make festive favourites something special by displaying them in
big sweetie jars - eg, mandarin oranges, walnuts in their shells, home-made biscuits and whatever takes your fancy!

Tip 5:Drape your hallway with icicle-like fairy lights for the ultimate winter wonderland entrance. Hang some large pinecones and twig birch stars from picture rails or ceiling - looks simply amazing!

Tip 6:Wrapping presents - use simple plain wrapping paper but highlight with pretty tape by winding it round your parcels - a great way of smartening up inexpensive wrapping paper and looks so original too!
Wrapping bottles is difficult to just tear off a sprig of from your Christmas tree and wrap around the neck of the bottle and add 3 inexpensive baubles with a gift tag... just adds that personal touch!

Tip 7: Decorating the dinner table: Candles are a must - experiment with different shapes and sizes - but try to use all white candles (which are the cheapest) but in volume they look stunning! Add colour to the table with quirky tree decorations as place settings.... to make your guests smile!


Most of all - have fun: get the kids to help you, listen to some Christmas music, pour yourself a glass of lovely wine while creating your magical Christmas home which family and friends will love sharing with you.

Fame at last!

Eco friendly Interior Design

We are all becoming much more socially conscious of waste and the need to recycle and to use more eco friendly products.

Eco friendly products are now much more accessible and affordable and certainly in the world of Interior Design companies such as Farrow & Ball Paint manufacturers have recently changed all their paint products to Eco friendly.  See http://www.farrow&ball.com/ 

 “You can choose any colour as long as it is Green”  ... the slogan used by the traditional paint supplier, Farrow & Ball, in a recent promotional campaign.    They now only supply paints that are eco friendly with the latest EU environmental legislation regarding the VOC  (Volatile Organic Compounds) content of paints.  These water based finishes are all low in odour and classified as either low or minimal VOC.

What is eco friendly furniture?

Furniture made from highly sustainable materials such as bamboo, which is grown without pesticides and replenishes itself within only one growing season.  It is furniture which is made using EU “EO” standard for adhesives and is finished with low VOC paints and lacquers. 

Does being eco friendly mean forsaking style?  Not necessarily – look at one of my favourite furniture suppliers http://www.4living.co.uk/ who have collaborated with a British designer, Jo-Anne Wright, to create a beautifully elegant range of occasional and bedroom furniture, crafted from sustainable Bamboo.

Recycling Furniture

I actively encourage my clients to recycle furniture – a pine chest of drawers that has gone a little “orangey” over the years can look amazing when given a wash of paint and new handles, dining room chairs can be given a new lease of life when reupholstered in a contemporary funky fabric and family heirlooms such as sewing boxes can stay a treasured personal possession if they are repaired and given some TLC.

We have a team of paint specialists who can also give that pine fire surround a new lease of life with a marble finish that would be hard to distinguish between the real thing!