Anyone can build a house, but it takes more than a physical structure to make a home. Creating a home requires an emotional attachment to your abode. The thought of it should evoke a sense of joy, calmness and serenity. Your home should remind you of quality time with those you love, allow you to relax in harmony and represent your personal interests and style.
When designing a room, remember to stay true to the feelings you want to evoke. Play with colours and textures to create a mood or theme for your space. Keeping this mood in mind throughout the design process will help turn an everyday space into a topic of conversation.
Find out what it is that makes YOU happy. Maybe you have fond adolescent memories of family holidays to the coast and spa blues with silk textures help you almost feel the salt in the air. Or perhaps you loved the days spent at your grandmother’s home and an art deco wall clock preserves a piece of your history. Bringing a personal connection to life through a theme or statement piece injects joy and wonder to your daily living.
To enhance the conversation-evoking qualities of a room, factor in the unexpected. Select a focal point, such as metallic throw pillows or a chandelier made from recycled bottles to catch one’s eye as they walk in. Think outside the box with colours. Play with bright hues such as lime green for a cheerful space or mix in blacks for a more dramatic feel.
Once you’ve found your inspiration do a lighting test to make sure your ideas work in the actual space. Pay particularly close attention to the natural lighting as it is one of the most important design elements. If the lighting washes out a statement colour or a metallic accent creates a blinding glare, it’s best to go a different route. The natural sunshine coming in should cause a sense of serenity.
As you go through the design process remember to listen to your heart to select the themes and elements that speak to you and your family.
Not only will your home provide a sense of balance, but will make an authentic statement about who you are and will bring you bliss every time you open the front door.
And of course, family is truly what makes a home.
You’re looking forward to settling in for the night, but as you reach for the remote control, you trip over the bulky coffee table and find yourself face to face with the rug! If only you had more space in that tiny living room… Guess what? You’re not alone.
Even inhabitants of roomier living spaces often lament that they don’t have a larger area for entertaining, lounging or visiting with family.
The bottom line: unless a remodel is in the budget, we must appreciate the space we have. And there’s no better way to do this than by making some strategic design choices!
City dwellers often crave more space, but the second-best thing is space-saving, flexible furniture. Now manufacturers are finding new ways to shrink, fold and collapse furniture, and many also offer expert advice.
Keep the floor space as clear as possible. Make the walls work hard. Consider fold-down gate-leg tables and extending or wall-hung tables.
Choose beds with built-in storage and sofa beds that fold away. Side tables, coffee tables or stools with lift-up tops provide extra seating and storage.”
Choose furniture that is adaptable and flexible to meet the challenge. Coffee tables that lift to become dining tables, a “smart bed” can store sports equipment, TV units can offer storage and a footstool can open into a bed.
As for decor, you can use visual tricks to create an illusion of space. Where natural light hits a room, paint that surface white, glossy surfaces can bounce the light around.
Light & Space paint reflects twice as much light as ordinary emulsion, and glass-topped tables can increase the effect. Using the same floor coverings can link rooms together.
Sherborne has grown from a small family business into one of the most successful upholstery companies in the United Kingdom with two factories in Bradford and over 250 employees.
Through three generations of family ownership, skills have been developed and nurtured to enable the highest standards of workmanship to be applied in the manufacture of Sherborne’s upholstery ranges.
Traditional craftsmanship is combined with the latest in sophisticated manufacturing techniques to ensure that every piece is produced to a consistently high standard.
Only the finest materials are used to ensure that every Sherborne product is made to last. All frames are glued and screwed and every Fixed or Reclining Chair or Settee has fully sprung seating to ensure the proper degree of comfort and support.
High quality REFLEX seat cushions are used throughout
High quality memory foam mattresses over high-resilient foam bases are used on all Adjustable Beds