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Home accessories Leicester

Perhaps you are planning a home refurbishment or renovation and you are looking for new accessories for your finished living space. You may be rearranging some rooms and are seeking out a new theme. You may even just be looking for a single piece that makes all the other furniture come alive in a new way. When you are searching for the perfect home accessories in Leicester, call the company that can find anything that you are looking for, wherever it may be.

If you are looking for interior designers who simply “love to shop,” then Craven and Hargreaves is the company for you. They have been in business for over ten years, and in that time they have made the contacts necessary to source whatever home accessories in Leicester you are looking for. Perhaps you need some new lighting or a piece that matches a particular color scheme. You may be looking for a new painting or wall décor. You may need some period pieces for decoration or even new furniture that matches your vision. No matter what your desires may be, when you need home accessories in Leicester, Craven and Hargreaves has the experience and passion to search it out for you.

Curtains and Blinds Leicester

It is said that the right curtains can make any house into a home. Your window dressings speak volumes to your guests, yet they are somehow one of the most overlooked features in home remodeling and interior design. At Craven and Hargreaves, we understand that your curtains, blinds and window coverings are a statement about you, and we treat them with the appropriate care. When you are looking for curtains and blinds in Leicester, choose to work with the professionals who have been taking care of their friends and neighbors for over ten years.

curtains and blinds

Craven and Hargreaves can prepare your very own bespoke curtains for any style or statement you are looking for. They can offer you a variety of styles, including triple pleat, tab top, pencil pleat, goblet pleat, eyelet pleat, double pleat, cartridge pleat or the roman blind. When you are choosing your curtains and blinds in Leicester, don’t settle for something that isn’t perfect. Craven and Hargreaves will tap into their vast network of vendors to find the perfect fabrics and textiles for your project. They will sit down with you during your free consultation to ensure that your made-to-measure curtain and blinds are exactly what you imagined.

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.

Syd lille

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.

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

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?

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.

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.

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.

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!

Nifty Shades for May: a Brief Guide to the In Colours for 2015

When looking at your home with a fresh pair of Spring-inspired eyes, one of the most satisfying ways of freshening up your interior design is by giving your interior a new colour or shade. As an interior design company in Leicester, we have taken steps to unearth some of the more exciting colour trends for Spring and beyond.

The overriding trend that we noticed was one that is intrinsically linked to our ever more complicated and connected lifestyles. Mobile technology has gripped us like never before and people are choosing to escape the hustle and bustle of modern life in their homes using shades of soothing blues in their homes, instilling a sense of calm and tranquillity. Particularly prominent are the tropical blues including aqua, azure and mellow green, giving further credence to the escapist theory as we all look to bring the holiday vibe into our living space.

These shades of blues can be playfully combined with tans, burnt oranges, corals and lemony colours to revitalise your tired décor and optimize the chill out factor of your home. Once you’ve decided on the exact shades and tones for you, the question remains as to how best to use these colours.

Paint is the easiest and most obvious way to introduce colour, but even after deciding that a lick of paint is the way forward there are many ways in which paint can be used in the home. The idea that paint must be applied to every wall in a room is finally becoming consigned to history and a feature wall may well be what your room is crying out for. A good tip is to choose a prominent wall – such as the wall you first see as you go into a room and make that your statement wall, giving it your soothing blue shade and giving you an instant shot of calm.

Other ways you can boost your tranquillity and update your palette include choosing a piece of furniture – a kitchen table, chairs or desk for instance – and give them the revitalizing colour boost. Outside the realms of paint, you can even use soft furnishings, such as cushions, lampshades and curtains. Moving into bathrooms and kitchens, you have the added option of replacing those tired kitchen tiles with fresh, exciting new ones in the latest, most exciting shades. With the weather on the change and moods lifted, May is a great month to get started.

Style Quite Literally On Tap!

Be they in the kitchen or bathroom, our taps are used so frequently – we wash our hands and face and clean our teeth many times a day – and yet they are often overlooked as simply functional accessories and yet with a bit of digging and inspiration you might find a way to give your basins a lift by replacing your taps. Of course it is not only style that can justify a change in faucet; there are in fact many different types of tap with various pros and cons. As we are at the heart of home refurbishment Leicestershire we keep up with the latest developments.

In terms of functionality requirements are distinct in the bathroom and the kitchen. Your bathroom taps should be able to control the temperature to a more sensitive level as our skin will come in contact with the water from them more regularly, while a kitchen tap will benefit from swifter access to stronger water pressure and the two temperature extremes to satisfy washing up and pouring a nice cold glass of water.

This short article aims to shed some light on the much neglected tap and how despite our apathy towards it, it remains at the forefront of advancements in technology and design.

LED temperature sensitive bathroom taps
Ideal for running baths, these stylish taps are lined with LEDs that change colour in with the temperature of the water (blue=cold, pink=warm and red=hot). This is a nice detail which marries functionality with style and can add to that magical candle-lit bathroom ambience.

It doesn’t have to be chrome
Chrome looks great, which is why in terms of modern bathroom and kitchen design it is all pervasive and yet there are alternatives. Copper and bronze are both making a comeback, especially when contrasted with colours on the grey/silver spectrum and there are a range of copper sinks– especially the hand-hammered textured sinks – that come with gorgeous copper waterfall taps that can really look great in a well-designed bathroom.

Flexible faucets in the kitchen!
Have you ever found yourself with a mountain of washing up and a tap that just won’t move high enough to direct the water? Or perhaps you have a jug or that won’t fit under the tap to fill it? There are some great options that not only solve your problems but look amazing too. At the top end there are some truly gorgeous articulated kitchen taps that can offer around 46 cm clearance and are made of a unique combination of carbon and metal for consistency and durability. If you’re not feeling so flush, there are some excellent monobloc taps with flexible hoses that achieve the same objective.

Mixed Material Accents – an Introduction

If you keep up with the latest Pinterest design trends then you might have noticed the increasing presence of mixed material accents to create statements in the home. With a modicum of thought and inspiration it is amazing the results you can achieve, especially if you take advantage of the advice and expertise of those at the heart of sourcing home accessories Leicestershire. This little article will introduce two of the more prominent examples how this phenomenon is infiltrating the living spaces of those who keep up with the design innovation.

Marble and Brass: This combination is becoming all the rage, especially in the bathroom. Marble tiles and bathroom surfaces are being combined with gorgeous round brass sinks, taps and fixtures, with mirrors hanging from brass fixtures the icing on the cake of this particular example. As you can see, this stunning bathroom even takes the mixed material trend a further step by using wood flooring to add a bit of a rustic and warmer feel, which works beautifully. And, as one blogger commented, ‘brass is the new black.’ Cutting edge furniture design companies have taken up the challenge of integrating this particular set of mixed materials, with this coffee table, one example of how you can get on board without wholesale decorative change. Chopping boards, light fixtures, trays and mirrors all offer opportunities for exploration in mixed materials. Time to explore!

Concrete and Copper: Perhaps an even bolder development has seen the increasing use of copper and concrete accents in the home, lending an industrial feel to the interior, perhaps originating from the trend-setting apartments in old warehouses in the East of London. It is no coincidence, for example, that Dulux’s colour of the year for 2015 is copper blush. Concrete look wallpaper has even emerged to offer a virtual way of integrating the mixed material vibe in your home, without the weight of real concrete to contend with! This can be stunningly offset by hanging pendant light fixtures in copper and mirrors and table ornaments as well. The department stores and boutiques alike have joined in the fun, with lamps of concrete and various metallic contrasts popping up all over the place, offering another chance to explore the many possibilities for exciting mixed materials in the home. Again, the potential for adding a splash of colour is there, just look at how the addition of an orange cushion and visually striking orange egg chair gives a beautiful contrast to the stark grey concrete feel in this room.

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