Are you thinking of adding some extra-luxury to your home? Are you just thinking because you do not have the budget to have high-end looks in your house?
Well, we think this could help:
13 clever ways to fake high-end looks in your home.
Posted by Hometalk on Sunday, 8 April 2018
We are sure you can apply at least two of these ideas in your home. Maybe make the letting place look nicer before a viewing…
Photo source: Pinimg https://bit.ly/2pIgSht
Don’t let renting a house stand in the way of your design aspirations. With a pinch of imagination, you can transform your rented home, tackling even the most overlooked areas such as the hallway or landing.
Try these landlord-friendly ideas for adding personality and character to your home.
Lighting is an easy, high impact way to brighten up your home. An eye-catching floor lamp can change the whole feel of a room, so use it to highlight your style. And the best part? You can take it with you when you leave.
Whether you’ve got wooden floorboards, laminate or carpet, you’ll need to protect it to protect your deposit. Rugs and runners are typically inexpensive and will enhance and style a room or hallway whilst keeping the floor intact.
Inject life into your home with bold prints and jazzy patterns. Textured scatter cushions and chunky throws will add personality to any room with minimal effort or cost.
A mirror is a classic addition to any room, but there’s no need to fix it to your wall.
Where your tenancy agreement doesn’t allow you to drill holes to hang a mirror, try propping it against the wall instead.
This will add the illusion of space and depth and using a large mirror in a cramped hallway or smaller bedroom will make it look twice as big.
Just as with mirrors, making holes in the walls to display photos and artwork may not be possible in a rental home. Use what you have to avoid causing any damage to the walls; a fireplace mantle, existing shelving or a freestanding cabinet.
Try framing a large piece of art or a poster and leaning it against a wall to make a stylish statement.
When you potentially move every 1-2 years, you want furniture which you can take anywhere. Modular furniture is perfect for rented properties as not only will it fit any size or shape room, it is easy to remove at the end of your tenancy.
Fresh flowers are beautiful, but buying them regularly can be expensive. Plants are an easy and slightly cheaper way to bring life and colour into a space. You can sit your plants in pots on a book shelf, in floor stands or hang them from the ceilings in macramé hangers.
When it comes to rentals, outdoor space can often come at a premium. Potting herbs indoors is a simple way to bring greenery into your home and keeps fresh flavours within arm’s reach.
Don’t forget to decorate your outdoor space!
It’s easy to create a personal oasis by adding hardy plants, comfortable seating and a barbecue for those summer nights.
Whilst your tenancy agreement may contain restrictions, there is no harm in asking your landlord if you can paint a room or add a few pictures to the wall. As long as you fill in holes, generally most landlords should be quite open to you personalizing the space.
The biggest risks from cowboy builders, and what to do if things go wrong.
More than 40,000 people contacted Citizens Advice last year about a home improvement nightmare. Two thirds of them were about cowboy traders – who did a terrible job, took far longer than they said they would, or never finished at all.
The figures are an alarming wake-up call that we all need to be on our guard against the cowboys.
What can you do?
The best approach is to reduce the risk of falling victim in the first place – by taking a number of steps when you first contact a trader.
1. Don’t pay until the job is done. If you are paying in stages, don’t bow to demands for a final payment until you are happy with the work.
2. Make a list of the work that’s not up to scratch or is unfinished, and ask them to return to complete it. Don’t let politeness stop you, and don’t be afraid of what they may say or do. They promised something, if they didn’t deliver, then you have every right to expect them to return and finish the job.
3. Ask for some money back. If you’ve lost faith in them, or they claim to be too busy to rectify things, ask for compensation. You tell them the refund you expect, and explain why it is reasonable – for example, you may have to pay to have the work fixed.
4. Complain to the company in writing. If it’s a larger organisation, bypassing the individual and going to the firm itself can be useful. Include your list of outstanding problems, and your expectations for a solution – whether that’s them returning to finish the work or a refund.
5. Check to see if they are a member of a trade association, and get in touch with them to see if they can help.
Photo source: Property Division http://bit.ly/2BdqYyG
Window blinds are a must for some homes. And somebody has to make the decision and choose the most adequate and fit all around the house.
The main types of blinds are: Roman, roller , Venetian, vertical, and panel. Each type has its own advantages and disadvantages so analyse them throughout before choosing one.
Photo source: Elle Decorations UK http://bit.ly/2iPriZq
Raising the value of the house can be done in many ways. You can start re-shaping it, creating more useful space, refurbishing, changing the design, and maybe even adding some technological improvements (smarthomes).
A clean-cut way to add value inside the home is choosing valuable antiques. Special decorating objects that blend in the design, old elements from an old house that can be reused and kept for their high value, furniture from antique shops…
It will give you some headaches when it comes to the general design of the house, but with a very critical eye and some rightfully chosen antiques, your house is going to be… precious!
Some well-placed greenery can not only brighten a space but also purify the air – and they’re also helpful in creating a more relaxing, restful ambiance in any room. We know that spending time in nature is linked to reduced stress levels and tension relief. What’s more, in a 2008 study, Dutch researchers found that hospital patients with indoor plants in their rooms reported lower stress levels than patients without them.
The gel of the Aloe plant has several healing properties. Not only does it soothe skin burns and cuts, it can also help monitor the air quality in your home. The plant can help clear the air of pollutants found in chemical cleaning products, and when the amount of harmful chemicals in the air becomes excessive, the plants’ leaves will display brown spots. Aloe Vera Plant grows best with lots of sun.
NASA Scientists listed the English Ivy as the number one best air-filtering houseplant, as it is the most effective plant when it comes to absorbing Formaldehyde. It’s also incredibly easy to grow and adaptable. Try it as a hanging or floor plant, grow in moderate temperature and medium sunlight.
The beautiful Peace Lily plant is a wonderful low-maintenance flower to keep in the home. Peace Lilies do well in shade and cooler temperatures, and they can reduce the levels of a number of toxins in the air.
The bright flowering plant battles a whole host of chemical including Xylene, Formaldehyde, toluene and Benzene. Keep it in the Lounge (In bright sunlight) so it’s anti-polluting superpowers can be best put to use.
Snake Plants don’t need much light or water to survive, so they’re an easy choice for any corner of your home. The plant absorbs Carbon Dioxide and releases Oxygen during the night, so place one in your bedroom and you’ll breathe better while you sleep. It has also been proven to be extremely effective in treating headaches, eye irritation, and respiratory problems.
The Golden Pothos makes the NASA list as well for its ability to clear Formaldehyde from the air. Try adding it to your Kitchen or Lounge as a hanging plant, as the leaves will grow down in cascading vines. They grow easily in cool temperatures with low levels of sunlight. Please be aware that it is considered poisonous and therefore should be kept away from small children and pets.
7.Calathea (Peacock Plants)
Peacock Plants are grown for their foliage alone and it’s easy to see why. The purple, green, pink and red leaves put on quite a show. For the best display, keep the plant moist (Not drenched) and avoid bright light.
As part of the Olive family it normally grows outside, but can live inside just as well. This plant should be more specially placed in the bedroom as it promotes sleep quality by emitting scents that have shown to make for better sleep, as well as increase your levels of alertness.
Thinking about renewing the flooring in your small flat or your spacious house? Ever considered bamboo?
Photo source: ThisOldHouse http://bit.ly/2l7iyCi
It looks great inside and the material (although not new) is one of the new entries in the commonly used materials for constructions and renovating.
We found a great article on ThisOldHouse.com about how to use bamboo for usual flooring for interior designing. There are, as for any other material, pros & cons.
Pros:
• A fast-renewing resource, bamboo is ready to harvest in 5 to 6 years, about one-tenth the time it takes red oak to mature. New stalks regrow from the same plant.
• Generally less expensive than a common hardwood by about $1 per square foot, and even cheaper in comparison with an exotic species.
• Extremely durable, a quality bamboo floor can last decades with care and minimal exposure to grit, high heels, and pets’ nails.Cons:
• It can scratch, even with a factory finish, just as wood does; use doormats inside and protective pads with furniture.
• All bamboo is not the same, and it can be hard to sort through the quality claims. Plus, the different types (see below) make apples-to-apples comparisons a challenge.
• Off-gassing can occur with lesser-quality flooring made with adhesives containing urea-formaldehyde.
Read the full article for a clear image and all the implications.
More on how magical bamboo can be in Elora Hardy’s inspiring talk on TED.com.
Photo source: Traditional Home http://bit.ly/2pIyvA1
When it comes to pets, the rent market is usually split in two between landlords – usual pet ‘haters’, and tenants – whom can be quite fond of their pets. One of the most difficult situations is the one when the two have to get along. It is just a joke, of course, but there have been conflicts and prices going up for houses of apartments to let because of the appearance of pets into the discussion.
But, when you are the owner, the problem is easily solved. A pet lover – depending on the degree, of course, can even make changes to the house to accommodate the animal companion.
Here are a couple of things to do to improve your home and make it pet-friendly:
You will find a lot of good advice in the following article both for cats and dog lovers.
Don’t throw away that old ladder. It might not hold you while trying to change a light bulb, but it can still hold books, paintings of photos, candles and other small objects. Just turn it into a nice accessory for your living room!
Turn a ladder into the best accessory for your living room!
Posted by Hometalk on Tuesday, 1 August 2017
You can also use it in the garden or a balcony to put all the flower or herbs pots.
Source of the video and source of inspiration: Hometalk TV.
Small re-decorations might prove to change the entire look of a room if you choose your ‘target’ carefully. For example, a wood counter-top for your kitchen is going to make it look better and raise the value of your home in case you are thinking about selling it at one point.
Source: Flickr, Labeled for re-use
If you are just analyzing the idea of placing a wood counter-top we recommend you to read all the pros in this article on This Old House. Such an element can be budget-friendly, easy to maintain and refurbish from time to time, and it is strong and soft at the same time.
If you are handy enough to start a DIY project, we found some videos that you should look at before starting.
Both projects seem easy to do and the result is amazing!
Tell us or show us how you built your kitchen counter-top or, at least, what type of a counter-top you chose!