Redflamencos | Home Properties

Tips From The Home And Garden Store

Posted on January 20, 2012

The home and the garden are, for many people, an extension of their persona. It is an expression of who they are and what they like. In the past, the opportunities for self-expression were limited as design and furnishing options were in short supply. These days, however, there is an explosion in the number of options for anyone who wants to populate their interiors and exteriors with funky, whimsical, striking or modern art decor.

Home furnishing:

As any professional interior decorator will tell you, each room within the house has a certain function and a certain character. It is necessary to recognize this innate character before one can go about furnishing the room appropriately. Indoor decor leans heavily on the right use of color, lighting and furnishing. For instance, the role of curtains, decorative rugs, objects of art and other decorative materials must be complimentary. Every object within the room must contribute seamlessly to the total effect.

Many homes these days, boast of stunning pieces of art that single handedly transform the look of the room. Funky, whimsical designs featuring themes and colorful artwork could well become the center of attraction of the room. When such pieces of art are combined cleverly with furnishing and color, the effect is breathtaking. A fitting example of such art is the Round Top Collection by Jeff Krause.

Thus, interior decor can be transformed from the staid and the predictable to glamorous and glitzy through the clever use of objects of art. Care should be taken, however, to choose quality over quantity. Hand crafted objects are more popular than machine made objects as the former contains unique objects that enjoy limited availability.

Garden furnishing:

The garden is typically the extension of the home. It is where we seek to establish an instant connect with nature. For many, it is the place dedicated to the pleasure of cultivation and abundant growth. Even homes in urban areas where garden space is limited make the effort to transform the garden into a haven of sorts.

The use of unusual, whimsical and colorful furniture and objects of art can transform the garden into something that is out of a fairytale book. For example, whimsically designed benches and tables are available in the most stunning colors. These pieces of furniture greatly add to the appeal of the garden. In addition to this, pieces of art may be strategically scattered around the garden to make it colorful and beautiful. By adding these pieces of art to your garden space, it is possible to achieve the perfect balance between beauty and utility that characterizes great outdoor spaces.

Easy Ways to Warm Up a Bedroom

Posted on January 18, 2012

When the winter season comes, it is always great to just stay indoors and try to stay warm. However, this might not be a very simple thing to do. In order to keep your house, especially your bedroom, warm, you might have to make use of several means.

When the sun is still up, take advantage of the light and heat that it can offer. In rooms where the sun's rays can reach, make sure that you draw the curtains and let the sunshine in. This will allow the sun to warm up the furniture items as well as the air that is inside the room. Keep your windows uncovered during the day or when there is still light coming from the sun. But when nighttime comes and it is already dark outside, you have to make sure to close the curtains to have more insulation against the cold temperature outdoors.

Another thing that you can do is to add rugs and mats on your bedroom floor. It can be daunting to get off the bed and step on a cold flooring. If you have flooring that gets really cold because of the weather, you have to take this step seriously. It may be better if you put rugs and floor covers on strategic areas of your room. Such areas will include the side of your bed where you usually sleep, and at the foot of your bed where you may also mostly stand on.

You may likewise want to increase your insulation. Aside from the curtains, shades, or blinds that you already have, you may also introduce another layer for extra insulation. You may use blankets and other fabrics to prevent drafts from entering your room. These covers should be placed on your windows and underneath your doors.

Find heaters that can fill a part of the room with enough warmth. The heater does not have to be really big and have to warm your whole house as this can mean greater electricity consumption for you. It may already be enough if your heater can provide heat for about a few feet. Furthermore, get thermostats that will help you assess the temperature inside your bedroom. There are also programmable thermostats that will make life much easier for you.

You also have to be prepared with the clothes that you are going to wear. When you want to stay warm, you have to wear enough clothing. Go for warm fabrics with thick materials. Use jackets, warmers, sweaters, socks, gloves, caps and a lot more if you still feel cold. But, you still have to make sure that you remain comfortable even if you have put on a lot of clothing.

And when you are on your bed, you have to use the right kinds of bed sheets and blankets. Do remember that there are blankets that can effectively keep you warm while there are also those that will not really help in blocking the cold environment. If you want, you can get electric blankets that might be more effective in keeping you warm.

Renovating a House on a Budget

Posted on January 16, 2012

Last year I bought a house at auction and although it was structurally sound, the interior looked like it hadn't been touched since the 70's. Floral wallpaper and carpets, an avocado coloured bathroom suite. I remember the style from my childhood and here it was again in my new home. As much as I like retro style, I couldn't live with this and it had to go.

I had spent most of my savings on the deposit for the property, so I didn't have a large budget, so it was down to me to do the work and make the best of it. I certainly didn't have any spare cash for an interior designer so I set out looking on the internet for some ideas to make my home look nice for as little money as possible.

Having read a lot of guides online I decided that keeping it simple and buying in bulk as much as possible would be the best choice for my budget. If I wanted to personalise the space in the future then that could be done at a later date, but for now it had to be cheap.

I stripped the place out first. Removed all the terrible carpets, the wallpaper with the old fashioned borders. It looked better already!

The biggest expense would be the kitchen and bathroom but they had to be changed, so I went to the sales and picked up a very plain and simple looking kitchen and bathroom suite. It was just right for my needs. It was cheap, but it was plain and I thought it wouldn't look dated too quickly.

For the walls and flooring I kept the buying in bulk tip in mind. For the kitchen and bathroom I bought a job lot of porcelain floor tiles online and used the same tiles for both. I found the prices of tiles online cheaper than getting them from a tile shop in town, and it was more convenient for me as I don't drive and these were delivered direct to my door. The tiles were a crisp white and even though they were cheap they looked really stunning in both rooms. I was very pleased with them.

The rest of the house I simply painted white. I found I could buy white paint very cheaply in bulk, so that is what I went for. I knew I could add colour at a later date, with a feature wall, or with my accessories, but I wanted to start with a clean fresh look, and this was a very cheap way of doing it.

I also ordered the same carpet for all the rooms which was just a plain hard wearing beige carpet throughout. I got a discount for having all my rooms carpeted at once, which is always nice. I had the same carpet laid in the hallways too and I really liked the feeling of continuity with the same flooring from room to room.