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Get Ready for Summer with a Whole New Look for your Home

June 10, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

Summer has got to be my favourite time to change up the décor throughout my home. This is the perfect season to introduce exciting splashes of colour and to invest in some key pieces of furniture to make your living space look and feel refreshed. You can also rely on professionals who are well-trained in doing Kitchen Renovations if you want to spice up your kitchen.

If you are thinking of redecorating your home, have a look at my tips which I hope will help you give certain rooms in your home the revamp they need.

Perky Painting

New colours suggested by Just DIY Decor can instantly refresh a room and don’t think you need to just stop at painting the walls. Tired furniture can be revived with a lick of paint, and dining chairs, each painted in a different pastel shade. Epoxy Flooring can also give your dining area or kitchen a stunning new vibe. Now is the time to paint your kitchen an entirely different shade and bright yellows will help keep your home feeling summery even during the inevitable wet days of summer in the UK.

Refresh Your Bedroom

If you have had the same bedframe and mattress for many years, now is the time to invest in a brand new bed. I’d recommend browsing the selection at Bedstar as they have a great choice of mattresses to suit all body types, which is ideal for summer months when the warm weather can have the potential to interrupt your sleep. White bed frames and bedroom furniture are in this season and this shade is perfect for introducing relaxing summery elements into your home. Complete the look with white or pale bed covers and throws and a white cotton rag rug beside the bed for a beach-shack feel. A new carpet installation can also refresh the overall aesthetics of your bedroom.

Lush Living Rooms

As the place where you are most likely to relax, the living room needs to be a cocoon of comfort for you and the entire family. One of the most enjoyable things about summer is seeing the sunlight stream into the room and if you still have heavy curtains, you cold be missing out on enjoying the full impact of the sun in your living room. Choose light, translucent curtains which will allow light to flow into the room and opt for white or pastel shutters rather than darker colours. Brighten up the living area with a colourful rug rather than completely overhaul your flooring and if you don’t want to purchase a new sofa, buy a few light-coloured throws and cushions.

Garden Ideas

Summer’s here, which means its time to dust off the barbecue and get your friends and family around for a garden party. Make sure your garden looks its best by choosing quirky, pergolas for shade, colourful garden furniture where your guests can relax. Ensure you can keep partying into the night by draping outdoor fairy lights on fences and in hedges, and invest in an outdoor heater or two so you won’t feel the need to retreat indoors.

Hot Tubs and Pools

Pools and hot tubs can be so relaxing and fun addition to a backyard this summer. If you plan to install a new pool or hot tub this season you will need a licensed electrician to install electrical wiring for things such as a pump, a heater, and lighting. So make sure to get your hot tubs and pool ready for the summer heat!

Although we are already well into summer, it isn’t too late to get decorating, so grab a paint brush and don some overalls and get your home summer ready!

How to Create Your Own Shabby Chic Furniture

May 25, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

The shabby chic look is incredibly popular right now. People everywhere are ditching their IKEA furniture and snapping up old bits of antique furniture, purely so they embark on a furniture restoration project. There is no doubt that distressed furniture is a really cool look, but if you don’t know the difference between milk paint vs chalk paint, or you are not sure which paint to buy from www.realmilkpaint.com, where do you begin?

Choose a Piece of Furniture

The shabby chic look is ideal for any piece of furniture, with the exception of modern veneer items. Basically, as long as the piece is solid wood, you are ready to go. So take a look up in your attic and see what you can find, or start hunting through garage sales or junk shops. One man’s unwanted furniture is another man’s shabby chic masterpiece!

Prepare the Surface

Once you have found your perfect piece of furniture from the Dumonds Custom Furniture catalog, you need to prepare the surface. The item needs to be clean, so wash it thoroughly with some soapy water and leave it to dry naturally. If there are any holes or cracks, fill them, and if the item has metal hinges or handles, remove them for now.

Pre-painted or varnished pieces of furniture need to be sanded down. You don’t have to go too far overboard, as a bit of paint or varnish will give you a nice distressed look with zero effort on your part, but it is a good idea to apply sandpaper to the surface so the paint has something to adhere to you can even add resin to your furniture to make it look better and last longer since you can get it easily from USA Epoxy Resin online.

What Paint is Best?

There are lots of boutique paints in the stores. Chalk paint comes ready mixed in a can. It doesn’t need a primer as it grips well to non-porous surfaces. Milk paint comes in powder form, so you mix only what you need. Milk paint doesn’t grip well to non-porous surfaces, so you may need to add a bonding agent to the mix. Both paint finishes will benefit from a final topcoat of wax or oil. Both paints produce lovely finishes and both are easy to work with. Ultimately, you should try both and see which one you prefer, as it is a personal choice.

Add Resistance

To create the shabby chic look, you need to add some resistance to the surface of the item, as this prevents the paint adhering. You can do this with oil or wax. Use a wax candle to rub over any areas where you want the base color to show through.

Apply the Paint

Apply a base coat of paint and follow this up with a second coat. If you want a two-tone look, use a darker color as your base coat.

Distress the Surface

To distress the surface, use some fine sandpaper to rub away the top coat of paint. You can also mark the surface using sharp tools and fill in the cracks and holes with tinted wax.

Once your restoration project is complete, invite family and friends over to admire your handiwork!

Disney Countdown – Days 114 – 108

December 14, 2014 by Bel Leave a Comment

Our 2nd week of Disney Countdown has passed and its been another full week of Disney fun!

Monday (114) – Dec 8th – Watch “Beauty & the Beast”
Tuesday (113) – Dec 9th – Read a Disney book
Wednesday (112) – Dec 10th – Make or Draw Disney (turned into Harry Potter)
Thursday (111) – Dec 11th – Megan’s Birthday
Friday (110) – Dec 12th – Make an Elsa Peg Doll (which turned into Katai comes and sleepover with Enchanted)
Saturday (109) – Dec 13th – Day with Katai (finally time to get the Peg Doll done in the evening)
Sunday (108) – Dec 14th – Read a Disney book

So this week was another busy one and Monday I was worried we wouldn’t have time to fit in a movie. However we did get Beauty and the Beast crammed in and it reminded me just how much I love that movie. Tuesday we had read a Disney book and that’s because Tuesday is often the kids day with their dad. However for one reason or another he didn’t have them this week but we enjoyed reading the book without being too late to bed this week. Wednesday was Make or Draw Disney but with Lily’s school play taking us till 7.30pm and then Megan’s birthday cake to make – the best we could do was honour the other Florida park (Universal) with our Harry Potter cake. Next was Megan’s Birthday on Thursday and as I mentioned before, having December as part of our countdown came on the condition that some days were easier to relieve the stress. Megan’s birthday had no specific task but there was no lack of Disney – from cards, to wrapping paper, to gifts – it was mostly Frozen but plenty of Disney everywhere! Friday our task was to paint our first peg doll (Elsa) as we had originally planned for Megan’s friend Katai to come on Saturday. However it ended up being Friday so we put off the peg doll for when we had more time. Luckily for the girls sleepover, they chose to watch Enchanted so we had watch “Enchanted” as our task for the day. Saturday we spent the day with Katai and that was marked as such on our countdown. She was gone by 5pm though so in the evening Megan got her Elsa peg doll done, to make sure she was up to date. Sunday was read a Disney story again, so we got another chapter of “in a blink” read and I have to admit I’m quite into it.

Aside from all this, there has been loads of other Disney influences in our life! I can’t wait till next week and work being over, so we cram in even more!