Entrance and Hallway Lighting Advice
Your home’s entrance and subsequent hallway is the first impression visitors receive on entering your home. While we all pass through this part of our homes several times a day, most of us pay little attention to it. It’s really important to note, however, that by making some simple changes to your entranceway and hallway lighting, you can dramatically improve the look and feel of these transitional spaces in your home. Lighting is one of the most important elements in any room of the home and when it comes to your home’s entranceway, it’s the first experience your guests will have with your home’s interior. A statement pendant light or chandelier makes a wonderful first impression for visitors and is something beautiful to admire every time you walk in the door from work. You don’t need a grand entrance space to pull this off, just select a statement light fixture that is the right size for your home. For long hallways, people often rely on light filtering from other rooms to provide illumination. Having dedicated hallway lighting is a wonderful way to create a pleasant atmosphere. Track lighting is a great choice if you are going to hang photographs or artworks in your hallway. You can move the track lights into different positions and angle the light so that it highlights your family photographs or artworks beautifully. Bright idea: For loft style apartments and winding staircases having a series of large pendant lights hanging from the high ceilings above works well in contemporary interiors. If you have your own private entrance to your apartment or terrace, external entrance lighting is also an important consideration. You don’t want to be fumbling for the keyhole when you come home after dark. By installing a small sensor light above your door or on your patio if you have one, the light will automatically come on once someone approaches, which is also great for security purposes. If you’re utilising the one bedroom plan design then to scatter supporting lights throughout the dark corners is an absolute must. Sometimes it’s taking the time to work on the finishing touches that have the most impact on your interiors. By ensuring your entranceway and hallway is well lit, you’ll most certainly notice that your home will feel all the more...
How to Bring the Outdoors In – Infographic
Now this is a lovely design trend – bring the nature inside. It’s quite easy to blur the line between outdoor space and your home interiors. This type of design will make for a lovely and relaxing indoor environment, which will always keep you in a good mood. See the detailed and easy tips you can use to merge outdoors with indoors, and share your own ideas and experiments. The infographic is created by...
Raw Wood Meets Industrial Design in the Kitchen
The modern industrial trend is taking off right now, combining the warmth of raw wood finishings with metallic and steel industrial elements. This trend is particularly noticeable in the kitchen where this beautiful pairing of materials creates a truly stunning effect in modern homes. Wood is a traditional material used in homes, but when it is complimented with metal accents and hardware it’s instantly given a contemporary edge. The modern industrial look clearly favours lighter wood tones in rustic, non-glossy finishes. How to mix raw wood and metal in perfect harmony The real key to this trend is forward planning that balances elements to create a kitchen space that appears cohesive and well put together. In order to do this you need to have the right balance of metal and wood. If you have wooden bench tops, a row of copper, silver or gold metallic pendant lights suspended over an island bench will make the perfect modern industrial statement. Compliment these with some metal stools to complete the look. To carry on with this trend throughout the space, use metal handles on your wooden cupboards and kitchen drawers. Of course, this same principle works in reverse too. If you have a lot of stainless steel in your kitchen that currently has a very industrial vibe, add warmth to the space by using a combination of wooden pendant lights that compliment your metal surfaces. The pendant lights you use, metal or wood, should be eye-catching, making a statement as the rest of the kitchen space should be fairly muted and bare, in line with the design principles of the modern industrial look. The whole idea of this trend in many ways is to soften the often harsh appearance created by a completely industrial styled kitchen. Images are courtesy of...
A Multi-purpose Guest Room for the Win
When buying a house you’re often making a bet that you know where life will take you. You’re betting you can keep up with the mortgage, that the neighbourhood won’t change around you (or will change in desirable ways), and you’re betting that your family won’t grow larger than the home you have. Regardless of your plans and how well you stick to them, many people are in the position of having just one spare room in the whole house. It’s easy to declare it the Guest Room and leave it at that – but that often means it sits unused for months at a time and only serves a purpose when people come to visit. Many people try to solve that dilemma by using the spare room in other ways – an office, a craft room, or even a storeroom – but this results in chaos when it’s needed as a spare bedroom, and turns it into a cluttered, disorganised mess. The answer is to be a bit more thoughtful about designing the room from the bottom up. Here are a few ways you can make that spare room more multipurpose. Choosing the Bed If the spare room has to be the guest bedroom, many people make the mistake of simply buying the largest bed that comfortably fits and making the room up as a bedroom. This means that trying to use the room in any other way is a difficult and unhappy challenge. Instead, go with a couch that folds out to a double bed; or a futon. This reduces the floorspace the sleeping area takes up and frees up the room to be used in other ways during the majority of the year when no one’s sleeping in it – but allows it to be converted instantly into a bedroom when guests arrive. Making Everything Serve Two Purposes With just one extra room in the house you may need the space to play several roles at once. The best way to achieve this is to make sure every aspect of the room has a dual purpose. For an office space or craft room, use a deep floating shelf instead of a desk. It’ll be shallower than a desk, and when someone needs the room to stay in it quickly becomes a place to put their bag or suitcase. To use the room as extra storage space when it’s not being used as a guest room, use rolling clothing racks that can be moved out of the space quickly and easily when it’s in use. In fact, any extra furniture that isn’t part of the bedroom set...
Lighting Solutions For A Greener Home
There are many ways that we can reduce our carbon footprint and our power bills at the same time. With our heightened level of awareness of what impact our actions are having on the environment, many families are switching to greener lighting solutions that are more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Believe it or not, making some little changes to the lighting you use in your home can significantly reduce your home’s carbon footprint. Using outdoor solar powered lights Solar lighting options come in different forms to suit your outdoor space and current décor. Because they receive their charge from the sun, they work on their own without any intervention, most of them turning on at dusk and off at dawn. You just need to ensure that you have the solar panel for the light(s) in a prime position to receive optimal sunlight. Whether you’re looking for spike lights, a table light or a string of lights, you’ll be able to find a solar powered version to meet your needs. LED lighting for both inside and outside applications Why everyone is talking about LED lights LED lights are extremely energy efficient because they lose a minimal amount of energy production to heat. Most LED’s are now up to around 85% more efficient than incandescent bulbs. Because they don’t waste energy on heat, they aren’t hot to the touch either. By using between 50-90% less energy they also emit far lower amounts of CO2 as well. LED bulbs also last significantly longer than other light bulbs which also adds to their level of efficiency. Once a LED bulb’s life span has ended, it is most likely recyclable too. Many people used LED downlights inside their home for example and LED flood lights to illuminate their back or front yard at night. You can now buy LED globes to match a huge variety of lighting fixtures both inside and outside the home. If you’re conscious about making greener choices, when it comes to lighting, solar powered lights and LED globes are an excellent choice. They will not only reduce your carbon footprint but they will also lower your energy bill...
Dress Your Guest Room To Impress
When you invite guests into your home, you want to make a positive impression. Although your living room, kitchen and bathrooms must all be well decorated, pay special attention to guest rooms to show off your personal style. Decorate your guest rooms with fashionable comforters, pillows, curtains and other décor to create a wow factor while making your guests feel at home. The focus of each guest room is the bed, so concentrate most of your time finding comforters, pillows, throws and shams that match your home’s décor and colour scheme. Adorn beds with an array of decorative pillows featuring stitched designs and complementary colours to create a luxurious feel. Lean larger pillows against the headboard, and arrange smaller pillows in front. A decorative throw draped across the bed is a courteous touch. No matter what scenery guests view out their window, make the area bright and beautiful with simple curtains. White curtains with ruffles near the bottom add a playful touch while lace patterns are appropriate for a more classic theme. To finish the look of your guest rooms, add a side table topped with a table lamp. Let the theme of the room guide your table and lamp decisions; a paper lamp is impressive in an Asian-themed room while a simple geometric lamp is perfect for a modern display. Keep in mind that the bed is the focal point of every guest room, but do not neglect other areas, such as the windows, floor and bedside. Purchase bedroom items that match the rest of your home, or add some creative fun by giving every guest room a different theme. Whatever you decide, remember that the comfort of your guests is your top...
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