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Bathroom Refurbishment Leicester

When you are looking for a company to do your bathroom refurbishment in Leicester, you don’t need to look very far. Craven and Hargreaves is the local company that has been serving your friends and neighbors for over ten years. Their mission has been to bring their unique blend of home remodeling, home refurbishing and interior design to their friends and neighbors in Leicester.

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Their first step is to have them pop round for a free initial consultation. They will listen to what you are trying to accomplish and offer up some preliminary ideas on how you can get started. They will talk with introduce you to some beautiful mood boards for you to review, which will encompass all of the design elements you are looking for in your new bathroom. They address carpets, flooring, curtains, color scheme and anything else that you need to include. They offer the most comprehensive bathroom refurbishment in Leicester, and they pride themselves on being able to come up with some extremely creative and beautiful plans for any budget.

Once you have decided to work with these local ladies, they will manage your project from start to finish, even assisting you with choosing your contractors. As a matter of personal pride, they guarantee that any contractor they recommend will be personally endorsed by them, or they will not recommend them at all. This type of personal accountability and service is what makes Craven and Hargreaves the perfect choice for your bathroom refurbishment project in Leicester.

Creating the Illusion of Size in Your Home

How many of us can honestly say that we’ve never looked around while sat in a room thinking “if only it didn’t feel so cramped”? Well, here are some handy hints as to how to make your rooms feel bigger than they actually are – exceeding their potential if you like. This article won’t go into de-cluttering as I hope that it goes without saying that the first step is to reduce the amount of ‘things’ occupying your space.

home-accessories

Get up against the wall!

It’s amazing how much of a difference simply moving your sofa or other piece of large furniture flush against a main wall can make. The clean lines that result combine with the reality of the extra open space to great effect.

Reflect on this great tip

Yes, you’ve guessed it – use mirrors! The choice of styles is endless and can be a fun way of making a statement while also making your room appear larger. Large ceiling to floor mirrors in between two big cabinets or bookcases can make a devastating impact on the size impression of a room.

Furniture that’s light on its feet

Small rooms will not benefit from chunky, old-world furniture. Instead make sure that dining chairs or tables made of light, fresh materials such as Perspex, acrylic and glass. If wood is to be used opt for lighter woods with thin legs and a low surface area.

Trick the eye

Large, bold black and white diagonal floor patterns (perhaps vinyl flooring) not only look impressive, but they send the eye on a dizzying journey that distracts it from the edges of the room, helping to confuse its idea of size. It can also help to make furniture appear smaller and less bulky.

It’ll be all white on the night

White rooms from ceiling to skirting boards always look bigger. It makes it harder to see where walls end and space begins. This effect can be helped by the use of recessed lights as well as (if you can) stepped ceilings and even a sky light.

Dark can work too

The same trick can be applied to darker shades, like grey so long as you stick to the same principle of ceiling to skirting board coverage in the same colour. This visual seamlessness can be enhanced by also painting doors and radiators in the same colour.

So, before you despair at the thought of accepting your lot there are some low cost options from home accessories Leicester to subtle, well chosen paint jobs that can give your house the illusion of space.

Updating Your Kitchen Lighting Fixtures

Although summer time might seem a funny time to be thinking about your light fittings – there’s never a bad time to plan your next kitchen remodel and planning in advance gives you all the more time to find the perfect fixtures for you. We spend so much time these days in our kitchens and making the most of them makes sense not only from a lifestyle point of view but also from the perspective of adding value to your property. This is exactly the type of advice that those involved in kitchen refurbishment Leicester will give.

After-Two

There are so many light fixtures from which you’ll have the luxury to choose and imprint your own style on your kitchen. These include chandeliers, recessed lighting, under-cabinet lighting, mini pendants, track lighting and elegant, brimful of character hanging pot racks. A nice shade hanging low over a breakfast bar can look wonderful and is a way of introducing colour as well as making a statement. There can be so many options that the problem is deciding where and how to make a start. Of course much will be dependant on your personal taste and the existing style of your kitchen, unless of course your fixtures update comes hand in hand with a complete kitchen overhaul. Do you have a coherent theme in your kitchen? Is it a city style or contemporary kitchen, a small kitchenette or a large country kitchen diner complete with range? Is your favoured theme industrial with cold whites, greys and silvers or a more homely feel with traditional and even antique features?

The functionality of your kitchen must also be considered. Do you have a clear food preparation area like an island? If so, even if you favour recessed lighting throughout the kitchen you can opt for a trio of beautiful pendant lights over the island for a trendy, functional touch. Do you eat your meals in the kitchen or do any paperwork and computer work? If the latter is true then remember computers have their own lights, so it’s the paper that requires illumination. A handy fluorescent task light is a good option.

Lighting the spaces above and below the cabinets has become increasingly desirable. Available in slim, energy-efficient models like miniature track lights or low-voltage linear systems, under and over-cabinet lighting is a great way to illuminate counter tops and cabinet recesses and also accents ceilings. On the subject of accenting it may be the case that you have some favourite pieces of art, posters, decorative plates or even a photo wall in your kitchen that you need to light up. This can be achieved wonderfully with recessed light fixtures or directed track lighting. As you can see, there is a light fixture for every occasion and with a little research and perhaps some expert advice you can achieve a whole lot by overhauling your kitchen lighting.

Basic Tips for a Summertime Bathroom Makeover

Why might I need a bathroom reviver?

Due to consistent wear and tear, bathrooms tend to begin their decline after around 20 years. The average bathroom remodel comes in at around £7-10,000, so it is very important to get things right.

Summer time is the right time

As the warm weather inspires us to get creative (and of course helps the paint dry!) now is a great time to freshen up your bathroom freshened and add some of the style you’ve been dreaming of. As bathrooms represent a ‘high traffic space’, making sensible reformations can yield excellent results in terms of resale value, so also make sound financial sense.

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Essential tips

When considering bathroom refurbishment Leicester it is imperative that you consider utility and design as well as making allowances for where the water fixtures must occupy space.

Due to their typically small and enclosed nature away from the rest of the house, the bathroom is usually somewhere you can really go to town on should you desire, with playful colour schemes and interesting features. Even so, it makes real sense to ensure that your material choices are maintenance light, energy maximising and bright and airy.

Flooring

There are so many options for bathroom flooring that it can be overwhelming. If you have a very small bathroom, then it makes aesthetic sense to go for large tiling and patterns, ensuring the space doesn’t feel cluttered. Ceramic tiles and vinyl flooring are the two most sensible options. If going down the ceramic route, make sure that the tiles are grade 1 or 2, have less than 7% water absorption and are slip resistant. Vinyl flooring can, however feel much better underfoot and is more practical (cleaning) and cheaper.

Walls

Tiling is a great way to freshen up your walls. The classic option is to tile half way up in white and create a stylish border of your choice. More expensive, but more durable and easier to clean than painted walls, tiles are a great way to make your mark on your bathroom wall.

Lighting

LED, LED, LED: the bathroom lighting mantra. LED lights use up to 75% less energy than other options and last up to 25 times longer. Well chosen lighting is a must.

Fixtures and Fittings

These take up an average of 20% of a bathroom remodelling budget and are used heavily many times a day, so durability and ease of cleaning are key. Glass shower doors can be treated with anti-spotting agents, which really help to keep your bathroom looking clean and new. Quartz is more practical than marble and all-brass fixtures are a must.

How to Introduce Colour into your Home

This March 2015 was the first year that I’d noticed the interesting International Colour Day. The day prompted a lot of discussion on interior design forums and it seems that each year the industry is embracing colour to a whole new level. Crown Paint, Valspar Paint and Dulux have all launched their individual campaigns highlighting the importance of colour, with the latter warning that we are sleepwalking into a future without colour, enticing us to become ‘colour rebels.’ Colour really is one of the best ways to add that personal touch to your home. But just how can we do this without making an almighty mess of our home refurbishment Leicester?
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Start small

If your home is understated and filled with neutral tones, try to identify a statement piece to catch the eye. How about a chest of draws in the living or dining space with each draw painted a distinct colour. Perhaps start with yellow at the top, moving through some greens and finishing in blue. The sides, top and back of the chest can all be painted one subtle shade of greenish blue – perhaps the same as the penultimate draw? If this seems too audacious, perhaps start with introducing some flowers in a colourful, bold vase or some coloured cushions.

Big in 2015

This year we have seen the trends shift away from the nondescript cream and beige palette to a cooler set of colours such as silvers, fresh whites and greys. This trend is in keeping with the idea of bringing the industrial into the home. On the fringe of the more popular choices there is a real buzz about using colourful ‘artist palette’ designs against a backdrop of icy white.

Blinds

Sometimes the very nature of an accessory lends itself to colour experimentation. Window blinds are a clear choice when to create a bold impression in an interior because of their ‘blocky’ look. It is also easy to use colour contrasts or combinations, by using a border on a roller blind or alternating slat colours.

Kitchen mix

Colour mixing in the kitchen has been on the rise of late and helps kitchens look less ‘out of the box.’ The most obvious way to achieve this is with the units. A blend of oak and hand painted units can look lovely. This introduces a homely feel and elegant shades of blue and grey can look great against a predominant oak set-up. The great advantage to this is the colour can be changed in the future, giving you a relatively cheap freshen-up option going forward.

Storage Solutions and Upcycling Tricks for City Life

Life in the city can mean a sacrifice in terms of living space and after all with all that socialising and wining and dining, who needs a mansion to come home to, right? When it comes to putting everything back after a spot of home renovation Leicester then these tips may just save you some time AND space as well as giving your home a quirky touch or two.

It’s never the wrong season for a good old fashioned clearout and often the precursor and even motivating factor for a revamp of your living space and storage options is to don the gloves and get started on the clutter cull! Luckily the fine folk at Storage Solutions have come up with an infallible ‘five box declutter technique’ to help you make those ruthless decisions. Essentially this involves marking five boxes dedicated to 1 – Bin; 2 – Store; 3 – Donate [or sell]; 4 – Keep; 5 – Relocate.

De-cluttered? Good. City living goes hand in hand with minimalist style and what could be more in vogue than upcycling? Both trends are satisfied in the idea of using old shower hooks on wardrobe bars to tidy away all those handbags. It’s a simple, cost-effective way of putting some surprisingly bulky objects out of sight.

In the kitchen, those fortunate enough to benefit from high ceilings can fix a rack upcycled from a bicycle wheel or the round top of a decorative metal garden table to some ropes to be attached to rings in the ceiling. From this surprisingly chic contraption (a conversation piece for sure) you can hang those infuriatingly un-storable pots and pans.

One of my favourite little tricks is gluing or (perhaps more safely) drilling the lids of glass jars to the underside of a table or sideboard and storing bits and bobs in the jars underneath! It’s an ingenious idea for craft rooms, garages and sheds and is strangely addictive once you see how handy it can be. You can even try it out in the kitchen for your spices and herbs – perhaps underneath some shelves – doubling your shelfspace.

Clever storage and old world charm need not be mutually exclusive and for those who feel that a good bookshelf choc-a-bloc with fine reading is imperative, a bookshelf can easily be built into the wall at the foot of a bed in a small bedroom, which lacks the space for a standing bookshelf. To give it that quirky upcycled twist, if the room design allows an old wooden ladder could be split, making a mid wall corner bookshelf. With just a little thought and imagination the opportunities for ingenious, space-saving, inexpensive city storage solutions are endless.

10 Tips for Smashing Your Home Design Mental Block

Is your home refurbishment Leicester project all ready to start, but you find yourself sitting there staring at blank walls unable to decide on a direction? Our little guide aims to show you ten handy tips to free yourself from your creative block and set your imagination in motion.

1: Phone a friend

Everyone has that one friend who’s full of ideas. Sometimes their flow of inspiration can be nauseating but on occasions like this their input can be invaluable, so put your pride in the back seat, make the call and soak up the ideas.

2: Hire a designer

It is something of a myth that designers are the domain of the rich and famous. The input of a designer can be tailored to most budgets and you can’t put a price on the years of experience and of course the passion and dedication to fine design that comes with all good professional designers.

3: Create those boards!

The design equivalent of brainstorming, pin-boards and of course their popular virtual equivalent enabled on sites such as Pinterest not only provide a great visual aid, but help to get your creativity in full flow.

4: Go to open houses

It might feel a little cheeky to arrange an appointment to look around a promising house from an interior design perspective, with no intention to buy, but believe me you won’t be the first to do it! You never know quite when you’ll come across an idea that you can steal for your stalled project.

5: Go window shopping

Have a look around some interior design shops and look for colours, textures, materials and other details that you feel an affinity towards.

6: Use a virtual room

Trial and error is often the best way to reveal the winning formula. Online virtual rooms offer that facility without the expense and blood, sweat and tears!

7: Paint swatches

Paint swatches are neat, but there can be an element of overkill in covering your walls in blocks of different colours and sometimes you can’t see the wood for the trees. There are numerous ways you can restrict your potential choices, for instance by looking at how mood is influenced by colour and the BBC page has a good article and uses a colour wheel.

8: Incorporate some of your interests

Without becoming twee or cluttered it can be a great idea to use your hobbies and interests to guide your design. For instance a bird-watching enthusiast can choose some interesting tiles that feature our feathered friends and nautical folk can introduce some shipping antiques or upcycle a ships wheel for example.

9: Go travelling

If your budget can stretch to a bit of a backpacking trip then surely there can be no better way to find little snippets of cultural influence that can make all the difference to a design project.

10: Go for it

Make a start. You can always tweak your design along the way, but no project can be completed without taking the first step.

10 Tips for Smashing Your Home Design Mental Block

1: Phone a friend

2: Hire a designer

3: Create those boards!

4: Go to open houses

5: Go window shopping

Have a look around some interior design shops and look for colours, textures, materials and other details that you feel an affinity towards.

6: Use a virtual room

Trial and error is often the best way to reveal the winning formula. Online virtual rooms offer that facility without the expense and blood, sweat and tears!

7: Paint swatches

8: Incorporate some of your interests

9: Go traveling

If your budget can stretch to a bit of a backpacking trip then surely there can be no better way to find little snippets of cultural influence that can make all the difference to a design project.

10: Go for it

Make a start. You can always tweak your design along the way, but no project can be completed without taking the first step.

How to Introduce Colour into your Home

Start small

Big in 2015

Blinds

Kitchen mix

Storage Solutions and Upcycling Tricks for City Life

Basic Tips for a Summertime Bathroom Makeover

Why might I need a bathroom reviver?

Due to consistent wear and tear, bathrooms tend to begin their decline after around 20 years. The average bathroom remodel comes in at around £7-10,000, so it is very important to get things right.

Summer time is the right time

Essential tips

When considering bathroom refurbishment Leicester it is imperative that you consider utility and design as well as making allowances for where the water fixtures must occupy space.

Flooring

There are so many options for bathroom flooring that it can be overwhelming. If you have a very small bathroom, then it makes aesthetic sense to go for large tiling and patterns, ensuring the space doesn’t feel cluttered. Ceramic tiles and vinyl flooring are the two most sensible options. If going down the ceramic route, make sure that the tiles are grade 1 or 2, have less than 7% water absorption and are slip resistant. Vinyl flooring can, however feel much better underfoot and is more practical (cleaning) and cheaper.

Walls

Lighting

LED, LED, LED: the bathroom lighting mantra. LED lights use up to 75% less energy than other options and last up to 25 times longer. Well chosen lighting is a must.

Fixtures and Fittings

Let There Be Light! Innovative Home Lighting Solutions

Lighting is so important when it comes to creating distinct areas with different functions and atmospheres within the home. The interior designer Leicestershire understands the best ways to use lighting to your advantage whatever your goal. With the right planning and expert advice you can transform almost any space in your home at the flick of a switch.

Drawer Lights
Is your chest of drawers in a dark corner of the bedroom? Do you have to get up regularly while it’s still dark and fumble around for the right top while your partner sleeps, not wanting to turn on the light? If any of these questions ring true then low-cost LED drawer lights can be your friends and solve your problems, while adding a touch of style to your pants drawer!

Task Lighting
So-called task lighting is essential for all hobbyists and budding sewers and knitters as well as those of us who like to curl up on our favourite chairs with a good book. Let the world of lamps light your way to a well lit area in which to indulge in your craft.

Do you only have space for small bedside tables?
Don’t worry – with some well positioned wall lights you can save on vital table space leaving room for your obligatory glass of water and a place to leave your book and glasses.

Update fixtures when redecorating
If you’re planning on jazzing up a particular room, giving it a special theme or striving for a certain atmosphere, be sure not to ignore those old light fittings. Going for an olive green feature wall? Perhaps think of a botanically themed fixture or woodland shade. Opting for a calming blue? Perhaps you could really conjure that maritime vibe with some nautical pendant fittings. Or maybe you’re catching the industrial bug and going down the concrete or mock concrete route. In this case there are some amazing steampunk machine age lamps that can add to the industrial feel and serve as a real talking point.

Add a variety of lighting types
We already mentioned task lighting, but ensure that each room has lighting to perform different functions. This can include mood lighting, accent lighting to highlight works of art or architectural features.

Fallen in love with some shades, but don’t want more lamps?
Hang some down lighters over the kitchen table and embrace the shade love!

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