20Oct/16
enhance the exerior of your home with gates

Choose Gates & Railings to Enhance the Exterior of Your Home

Home Improvement,

Are you passionate about interior design? Are you constantly updating the look of your rooms to keep up with the latest trends in the UK home improvement market? If so you might find yourself falling into the trap of getting carried away with the amount of money you spend on the interior whilst paying little or no regard to the appearance of the exterior of the property, yet it is just as important to enhance the exterior of your home.

16Sep/16
Conservatory with Birch Blinds

Tips To Make Your Conservatory Cosy and Functional All Year Round

Home Improvement, Lifestyle,

Conservatory construction really took off in the 70s, and during that time, the glass-panelled wonder quickly established itself as the best way to add value to a home. Unfortunately, conservatories are a notoriously difficult room to work with. They are sweltering hot in summer and bitterly cold in winter, and as a result, they often become a neglected part of the home. The first sign of damp often leads many homeowners to pull out all of the furniture, and suddenly the conservatory is little more than an ornate garden shed. If you want to avoid this fate for your conservatory space, there are a few steps you need to take before this often neglected room can become an idyllic space throughout the year.

28Jul/16
storage ideas

The Only Interior Design Tips You Will Ever Need

Interior Design

It is not uncommon for people with the budget to do so to spend a significant proportion of the cost of their home on having it updated by a professional interior designer. But not all of us have that kind of budget or want to spend it on an interior design scheme. Many expensive interiors have a certain “over-designed” look reminiscent of a smart hotel, which can look fantastic but don’t create the cosy and unique look that can be achieved by using personal mementos (whether they fit the style and colour scheme or not), unique contemporary art or modern art and a more eclectic choice of furnishings and fittings.

But whether you crave a highly-designed look or a more original look for your home there are some basic tips that you can steal from the professional interior designers about home interiors and decor that are simple and relatively inexpensive to implement. These tips can transform your home without requiring a second mortgage to pay for them and if you are keen on DIY then you might even be able to do some of the work yourself and save even more money.

06Jul/16
buy my own home

Why Are New Homes So Small in the UK?

Lifestyle, Moving House

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) have been involved in a long-running campaign to bring to the public’s attention the lack of adequate space for everyday living in new homes being built in the UK today. A RIBA/IPSOS Mori report entitled “The Way We Live Now: What People Need and Expect from their Homes” revealed that a substantial proportion of new homes in the UK do not have adequate storage space for the basic requirements of a family, including food storage and household appliances.

04Mar/16
moving house

Moving to a New House – Key Do’s and Don’ts

The Housing Market, , , , ,

Regardless of where you’re moving to, or if you’re moving yourself or hiring a removal company, moving to a new house is pretty stressful. In fact, it’s listed as one of the most stressful things to do after having a baby and organising a marriage (or getting a divorce). You know it is going to cost a lot of money, you don’t have to be an accountant to grasp the financial situation, but If you want it to go as smoothly as possible but not cost the earth, you’ll want to read our key do’s and don’ts:

02Mar/16
gorgeous bathroom for a small attic space

Top Tips and Inspiration for Refurbishing Your Bathroom

The Housing Market, , , , , ,

We all love a pristine new bathroom – gleaming taps, shiny new bath, elegant tiling, clean white grout, soft fluffy towels. Sadly, in reality, our bathrooms tend not to look like that unless we have recently moved house to a new build. The taps have limescale staining, the grout is starting to discolour and the sanitary ware and tiling is no longer gleaming. But it doesn’t have to be like that – refurbishing your bathroom is a relatively inexpensive job providing you don’t have to move pipework, and if you are on a really tight budget then you can give it a facelift that will transform it – what are you waiting for?

02Mar/16
buy my own home

Why It’s Harder Moving House As You Get Older

Lifestyle, Moving House, , , ,

We all tend to think that first time buyers have the hardest job persuading lenders that they are a good risk when it comes to a mortgage but are banks and building societies equally reluctant to lend to older applicants? This seems counter-intuitive as older borrowers are likely to be more used to handling their finances and budgeting properly but it seems it is now harder moving house as you get older so what could be making lenders reluctant when it comes to older borrowers.

Many banks and building societies have made their lending criteria more stringent for borrowers approaching retirement age and some have even started to put a “maximum age” cap on their mortgage deals. This has resulted in some older borrowers struggling to secure a large mortgage for their new home, even when they have solid financial circumstances and a range of assets that more than cover the value of the mortgage. It has also led to accusations of ageism on the part of some lenders due to the restrictions they have placed on older borrowers that take little account of individual situations.

27Feb/16
cutting tiles to allow for pipes

Tips for Cutting Tiles Like a Pro

DIY, ,

Whether you have recently moved house or plan on improving your current home, installing porcelain tiles offers you a world of options in terms of colour, finish and style. Whether you choose high gloss surfaces, vibrant mattes or a natural stone effect, when you are remodelling all or some of your house, it is a difficult task choosing the right products, but also preparing and installing the products too.

Whether you are putting all your creative talents to use or aiming for simple, practical porcelain tiles, you will need to consider how you’re going to get your tiles to look like they have been installed by a professional.