If your bedroom isn’t exactly luxurious, you might be pressed for finding some way to store all your stuff and still have a place that feels like a bedroom. One of the most important aspects of home staging is to make sure that every room looks its best, and that is only possible if a room does not look cluttered. With these tips, whether you are fixing up the room for you to live more comfortably or because you need to show it off, you will certainly get a better end result.

Choose multi-purpose furniture

If your bookcase can double as a table, you instantly gain some extra space and utility. You can find all kinds of furniture that has been designed with space saving in mind, and some of the designs can be really clever.

Furniture that is designed to fit into corners is always good

When an item of furniture is designed to fit neatly into a corner, it saves a considerable amount of space over traditional furniture. This type of furniture is more compact but still offers the same amount of storage space due to the angular design.

Tall is better than wide or long

When there is not much floor space, it is better if storage spaces are vertical rather than horizontal. The exception is when you are multi-purposing as described earlier.

Modify existing furniture to make it do more

Maybe you have a nice big desk that you don’t push back against the wall. If so, did you ever think you could add some shelves to the back of it and put things on them? You can also add shelves to places such as the sides of closets, so that you gain more storage space, and without a large expense.

Add some coat hooks to the back of the door

This is an easy one, and gives you a place to hang up your coat and other accessories without having to use closet space. That means you will have more space in your closet for other things.

Don’t throw out your old drawers

If you have furniture that has seen better days, you may be ready to throw it out, but often there could be perfectly useful shelves and drawers tucked away inside that you could actually recycle and use for something else. It depends a bit on the design, but if they are mostly constructed from flat boards, all you need is a hammer to bang them apart and turn them into shelves.

Use stationery clamps to organize cables and cords

By placing these in strategic locations, you can avoid the chaos of tangled cables and cords, so you don’t have to worry about tripping, and also you’re much less likely to damage sensitive electrical equipment. This may even reduce your risk of electrocuting yourself!

Wine racks are useful items

Wine racks are intended for storing wine, but you can put them to use in a number of ways to store many other items. Everything from towels to shoes, in fact. So the next time you see a wine rack for sale in your local store, think about how you can use that in your bedroom and help in your bid to create a calm and restful space that’s a pleasure to spend time in

In a world obsessed with iPhones and silicon, there are still a handful of technologies from over a century ago that are incredibly relevant today. Heck, you could probably even retrofit modern mobile devices to control them at the touch of a button!

The old bygone era technology we are referring to today in this article is none other than that of the lowly cast iron radiator. Older than the telephone, and when spoken of today’s millennials still actually know what we’re talking about. After all, how many young adults today understand what it means to “hang up the phone” or what the “save” icon in their word processor represents?

So, back to the topic at hand; what is the one notable way this antiquity of a home fixture is able to solve the modern day problem of the energy bill? Simple. Keep reading.

UK Power by the Numbers: Motivation to Save Money

So why would anyone want to save some money on their electricity bill? How much does the average energy consumer pay to power their home and all their modern toys?

According to the BBC, the average energy consumer will pay approximately £1,264 annually. And we suspect that’s with a lean to the frugal working class –energy is not cheap.

So, about those radiators..

The best place to put an old fashioned cast iron radiator is below any and every window in your home.

Why do People Put Radiators Under their Windows?

The answer to this is a little more or less obvious, depending on the age the home that you’re living in. Those who live in more contemporary homes, with all their modern fixtures, doors, and windows just might not get it; whereas those in older heritage homes know exactly what I’m talking about.

Windows, whether the old wood and glass types found in older homes, or those newer ones made from synthetic materials still lower the temperature of any given room in the winter time, and lose their cool in the summer. The temperature differential they create can become quite costly in the long run. Pennies on an hour become hundreds of pounds per annum; there’s no other way to look at it.

So the truth of the matter is that any kind of home can benefit greatly from implementing a radiator system in their homes and you don’t need a time machine to pick one up; modern home radiators come with a lot of advantages! For instance, there are some pretty ingenious bay window radiators for curved windows that are themselves curved; these aren’t your daddy’s radiators.

With the space and money you save, you can put more emphasis on the quality of your living space.

While there are a big selection of cast iron radiators on the market, the benefits of a curved radiator in your humble home can create space instead of limiting it like the ones of old.

In Conclusion

At the end of the day, radiators can help reduce energy costs while lowering your carbon footprint in a big way.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments!

General guttering

Whether you are building a new piping project or renovating an older one, a lot of choices come when dealing with piping materials. If you are looking to improve your guttering system or redesign your house’s water drainage system, installing a guttering system is crucial to stop water from destroying your building’s foundation as well as prevent other unwanted mishaps such as erosion and leaks from occurring. If you reside in an area or country with a lot of rainfall, installing a proper guttering system is crucial. With only a few simple materials and tools, you can all by yourself install and create a system which will safely transport water and remove it.

Best areas to install

The best areas to install your guttering system depends on your house’s design, but a simple and effective design is always a safe practice. The guttering system which attaches below your roof needs to be slightly sloped at an angle in any direction to ensure that water delivery is effective. Nevertheless, try to install the gutters along the main parts of your house such as the main entrance or garage, and the downpipes away from them.

Try to keep the gutters and drains away from sensitive locations such as electrical components and the kind. Lead the system to the side or back of your house which can safely remove the water from your house’s critical areas. If an external drainage system is within reach, you can design your system to lead unto the drain. If you have a rainwater harvesting system, it would be even better to design your mini line guttering system which leads into that system. 

How to install

Most of the mini line guttering supplies are generally designed for easy assembly and installing your own guttering system can save you quite a fair bit of costs. However, before you start purchasing and installing the necessary components for your guttering system, it would be wise to conduct a careful inspection of your building’s foundation. Look for miscellaneous components made of other materials that are not part of the guttering system which might need replacing or which are to be removed.

Make a sketch with careful measurements as to the length and width of your house in correspondence to the length of the gutters and downpipes which you will need to purchase later on. You might want to design a more complex drainage line with multiple sloped pipes and bends. Note as to where these mini line gutteringparts will be fitted and include the location of the downpipes. You will also need to purchase multiple hangers and elbows to connect your pipes and dispose of the water. Normally speaking, downpipes only require a single elbow in the outlet, but this depends on how you design your system. You might need more elbows if your house’s design is somewhat complex and you will need more bends.

After you have purchased the mini line guttering components by using the earlier measurements, it is time to install it. Make sure you have all the necessary tools and components and always wear protective gear.

1. Firstly, you will need to fit the gutters. If you purchased seamless or preassembled gutters, make sure they have the ideal length in accordance to your prior planning, as you might have to cut and connect the gutters. The gutters are positioned slightly under your roof and will require hangers.

2. When the gutters have been assembled, it is time to join the downpipes.If you need to cut some of the downpipes, local DIY stores usually sell specialised snipping tools for this operation. For best results, roof flashings are a good investment as they can provide added water protection and as a cosmetic addition. If you are adding multiple slopes, you might need to splice some of the pipes and join them with more bends.

3. Lastly, you will need to install the outlets which connect to the downpipes which will lead to an external drain or a rainwater system.Try to avoid installing the outlet facing open surfaces such as open gardens or sidewalks as water is a destructive force.

There was a time in the not too distant past where if you wanted to buy something you needed to leave the home and go to the shop that sold what you needed. Technology has moved on in leaps and bounds over the last couple of decades, and now we have the luxury of being able to shop from the comfort of our own home. No matter what you want to buy, you can find it quickly and easily online:

• Clothes
• Indoor or outdoor furniture
• Food
• Electronics
• Toys
• Plants and Flowers

So instead of having to traipse around the local garden centre when you need some good quality outdoor furniture, you can now do it without leaving the house. You can relax while you shop at home and have everything delivered directly to your house. You may be surprised at some of the savings you can make when compared to your local garden centre!

A Wider Selection of Stock

It is easy to find the best outdoor furniture stores in Brisbane, at the click of a button when you search online using a computer, tablet, or your phone. You will often find that a good stockist will have much more available than what they display in their showroom, which will give you plenty to look at when browsing their website. It is common to find different companies offering either the same or very similar stock, so when you have found some items that you are interested in, you will need to compare the companies before placing your order. You will want to choose the company that not only gives you great value for money, but also excellent customer service.

Which Company to Use?

Most of the time you will see that the biggest online retailers have very similar prices, so it comes down to which company to use. When buying online there are some important factors to consider before you purchase any outdoor projects to do on the weekend. It is vital that you choose a company that has secure payment facilities in order to protect your privacy.

Every website that sells products online has a box that we have to tick to complete the transaction. The terms and conditions are something that is often overlooked by many of us, but they are extremely important. The procedures for things like refunds, replacements, damage, and a lot of other things are covered in this agreement. It is important that you read these before committing to an order, as once you have acknowledged the terms and conditions, as long as these are law-abiding then there is no getting around them.

Speak to Them

It is also an excellent idea to speak to someone on the telephone before committing to an order. You can gauge the level of service a lot better when speaking to someone in person. Call the advisor that you speak to through email, and ask your questions directly, and it is also a good idea to ask them to state their policies over the phone, so you will know what to expect with the terms and conditions. By doing this you will be able to decide which company you strike a connection with, and that will be best for you to use. There is a world of choice available out there with varying degrees of quality.

With a little bit of time and effort front the comfort of your home, you can find a quality supplier of outdoor furniture, and you may even save some money in the process!

The days are numbered. Advent calendars are already ticking away the time between now and Christmas. If you haven’t gotten all of your decorations out of storage yet, don’t worry! Here are a few ideas for how to make your home feel festive this season.

Tree

Although there is more to Christmas decorating than the tree, it’s usually the first step when it’s time to start decorating. With good reason, too, because besides being an iconic image of Christmas, the tree is also a gathering place. How often have your family and friends circled the tree, getting lost in the wonder of antique ornaments, admiring handmade trinkets from the kids, and letting the gentle scent of pine waft through the house?

Lights

Lights are another Christmas standby, but why not try to spice things up a bit this year? Naturally, the outdoor lights will be hung with care, and inside, the tree will be dressed in all its glowy finery, but what about the other rooms of the house? Try something as simple as sticking lights inside glass lanterns or bowls in various rooms. Making lights spell out Christmas phrases, creating wreaths or entwining lights with bows, candy canes, and branches help make the season bright. Literally!

Senses

Christmas is about more than just what you see hung on the walls, so try to incorporate all five senses in your decorating. For touch, bring in elements like acorns and branches from outside to add to your winter décor. Taste is an obvious one — just cook or bake some seasonal goodies! Some traditional things to try are sugar cookies (which are fun to decorate with the kids), turkey or even a fruit cake if you want to challenge yourself. Smell is also a powerful reminder of the season. Pine scented candles, cloves or apple and cinnamon often get people feeling those winter vibes as soon as they walk in. The same goes for those groovy Christmas tunes! Get everybody humming along to the season’s favorites with a pre-made playlist for the occasion.

Room by Room

Living Room

The living room is often the first room guests see, so don’t hold back here! Choosing a color scheme for the season can help make a familiar room feel different, so think about what colors fit with your festive scene. Consider using wrapping paper to decorate baubles around the room, make a banner for over the mantle or go all out with an entire wall of ornaments.

Bathroom

The bathroom gets used a lot, but homeowners often forget to spruce it up for the season. Some frosted spray on the mirror or a Christmas seat cover can brighten up the space quickly. You can also swap your standard towels for some festively themed ones.

Bedrooms

Though most guests won’t be in the bedroom, try wrapping the doors with festive paper and a bow, hang stockings on each family member’s door or tie bows on the pillows inside.

Kitchen

This is a great place to display those Christmas cards! Make a creative collage and include any artwork from the kids alongside them. Oven mitts, towels and plates can also add a sense of season to the kitchen.

Follow these tips and you’ll have a fantastically decorated house this Christmas.

Images by cobaltfish and JL_7978, used under Creative Commons license