Many of my friends and associates have opted out of a holiday away this year, and decided to put their time and money into renovating and transforming their home – which is a break in itself, and sometimes far more satisfying.
It is certainly a good time of the year, because as Summer sets in, so do the flaws in your home – or at least you can now see them as the sunlight floods in through the windows illuminating the cracks and crevices of your walls and ceilings.
Talking of cracks, you could enhance this look by applying a rather innovative technique to give your walls a distressed look previously achieved by years of years of wall torn aged living.
By applying a layer of glue or crackling medium between 2 layers of latex or acrylic paint, you can give most any surface a faux finish, which is both on trend and stylish.
You may believe that if you paint or paper the ceiling of your living room or bedroom, it will make the room look smaller. This is actually the opposite, and it will give the room a more spacious effect, making the ceilings seem higher than they actually are.
Fifty shades of grey is still fashionable, and I don’t mean the best seller novel. All shades of this colour are being used by the most prolific interior designers this season, and you won’t go far wrong with any shade of grey to enhance your home.
If you want to get rid of the carpets, especially if you have pets or young children, you have probably decided to invest in marble tiling or wooden floors, which is great if you can afford it, and you can still scatter rugs throughout for a more cozy finish. Or there are some brilliant fake flooring or linos on the market, which will also do the trick. http://www.onlinecarpets.co.uk is a great website for some good designs.
If your bathroom is in need of a face lift, why not go gold and get it looking like a five star hotel, at a fraction of the price of a couple of nights stay. Dark is dramatic and you can create an ambience for those long relaxing bath nights, with an atmospheric array of candles to carefully create an even better environment to completely destress. http://www.homebase.co.uk has some great selections of gold wallpapers for you to choose from.
If you are feeling adventurous and want to add brickwork to your kitchen, for that country look you can also create the effect with the brickwork wallpapers that are on the market, to try it out or if your budget wont stretch to the rebuild or even if you just want to experiment. www.totalwallcovering.com
