Tag Archives: Interior Design

Using Integrated Downlights to renovate your home lighting

March 18, 2021 By in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

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One of the most common mistakes people make with interior design is overlooking the importance of lighting a space. Lighting can be used to create height and depth in any given space as well as helping to draw attention to accents. Good lighting is essential to truly creating a modern & inviting feel in your home.

Integrated Downlights for Kitchens

The kitchen is the heart of the home and there are many ways to can go about lighting this room to accentuate a modern design. Installing Integrated Downlights into the ceiling is a great way to add a modern flair to the kitchen. These spotlights are sold as one complete unit with the bulb being part of the downlight. With LED bulbs, these can last up to 15,000 hours so will not need replacing for a long time.

Integrated downlights come as on complete unit so you need to decide what bezel and colour temperature you need to find the right one. For most people, Warm White or Cool White will work best in the kitchen.

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If you’re planning on installing these lights above the stove where boiling posts are likely then you need to make sure they’re installed fully flush but that you’re choosing a downlight that is rated for that environment. What are most commonly known as “Bathroom Zones” will help you work out which downlights can be used in which environments. Anything that can be used in Zone 1-3 is perfect for the kitchen. Anything that is not IP rated should be avoided as these will not be suited to moisture rich environments such as kitchens.

Another thing to keep in mind is the beam angle of the downlight. Lamps with small beam angles are great for creating a tight beam of light that is ideal for spotlighting. Integrated Downlights like this one from Collingwood with wider beam angles are designed to be installed in the ceiling to light the whole room. Depending on the size of your room depends on how you want to arrange these. Going for fewer lamps with a wider beam angle will be the best option for many homes.

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Sometimes known as Architectural Lighting, integrated downlights are mostly hidden from view as the terminals are installed directly into the ceiling cavity. They’re the perfect way to get a minimal, modern style into your Kitchen to give a new atmosphere quicker and cheaper than you might expect.

 

 

 

5 Decor Tips for Renters

December 1, 2020 By in Lifestyle Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

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Interior decorating can be tricky when you are renting a house. You have to make sure the landlord is happy with any major changes to the house. It is usually best to let the landlord or letting agency know in advance the sort of interior changes you would be making and get them approved. That way there are no surprises or confusion.

Many landlords prefer their property decor staying as it is for every tenant since many tenants opt for only a short let contract. The hassle of letting the tenants change the decor every time is usually not worth the time and it could affect their landlord insurance, which will lead to them having to compare landlord insurance with various providers to get the best deal. However, that does not mean you can’t add a personal touch to your rented home.

Elegant Solutions for When Your Home is Losing the Battle For Space picture

Here are 5 easy and cheap decor tips for renters –

Make use of decals

Vinyl wall decals are great for renters because they are easy to put up and they come off easily without damaging the wall. You can go all out and decorate your walls with vinyl decals if you like. There are various designs available for every room. You can also use decals on your floor if you are not keen on the flooring in the house. There are loads of designs available for floors.

Paint the walls

If you are not a fan of wallpaper, you could paint the walls. This will definitely need to be approved by the landlord. You would likely have to paint the walls back to the original shade once your tenancy is over, so do have this in mind. It might be easier to just paint small areas on the walls to create a different look rather than painting the entire wall. A quick look at Pinterest will definitely give you loads of ideas.

Add some plants

Plants have a way of adding life and beauty to any space. They are cheap and easy to care for. If you are wondering how to make a house feel more like a home, my advice is to get some indoor plants. The mood of the house will change for the better.

5 Benefits to staging your home when it is for sale picture

Invest in soft furnishing

Cushions and throws have the power to add some colour to a dull space. You can wake up a room with some beautiful soft cushions and you can add some life to your bedroom furniture with a stunning throw. If you are working with a tight budget, updating the soft furniture may be the best option for you.

Grab some rugs

If your rented home is carpeted, you can grab a stunning rug to add some beauty to the carpet. Rugs are easy to set up and take away when your tenancy is over. Rugs also protect the carpet from general wear and tear.

What do you think of these 5 decor tips for renters? Do you have a tried and tested decor tip to share? Please sound off in the comments. Thank you.

 

 

 

 

Summer Home Improvements

September 14, 2020 By in Lifestyle Tags: , , , , , , , , 8 Comments

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Summer is always a great time for home improvements. The sunshine and longer days make you feel like you have more time to play with, and with the lockdown, we had so much time. We made the most of the extra time spent at home by doing some summer home improvements. We have been really busy working on our house and I am impressed with how much work we have done already. Prior to the home improvements, our house was looking pretty tired. We have been in our house for over 7 years now and we haven’t really devoted time to redecorating since we moved. I switch things up here and there, but nothing extreme until this summer.

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Before this big home redecoration, the most we ever did was to get new curtains and blinds a while ago. The Yorkshire Fabric Shop is a great store to shop for fabrics for blinds, curtains, so it is worth looking on their website for fabric furnishing ideas. We also decorated the children’s room some years ago and we do get new home furniture every now and again. However, this is the first time we went all out in home decoration.

Plastering and Painting

The first thing we started off with was plastering and painting. We only just finished painting the whole house some weeks ago. M did it all and it was a lot of work. We opted to use the same colour to keep things simple, and the cream paint and white doors work so no need to change it.

Redecorating the Children’s room

The kiddies got new beds. They have outgrown their toddler beds, so we decided to go for single beds for them. They love them and the single beds look great. I love the fact that they come with some storage to store extra bits neatly. You can never have too much storage. The twins also got some new bedroom furniture and a reshuffling of their bedroom. The redecoration has given the room a new look. It looks brand new!

Deep Summer Cleaning

We were able to deep clean the house. Since we were moving furniture about, we got the golden opportunity to clean so many corners and spots we haven’t been able to reach in years. It was so amazing to give the whole house a good deep clean.

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Have you had any summer home improvements done? Do you enjoy decorating?

 

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