Articles
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Girls' Day In - Be Creative
Over the past couple of years, there has been a surge in popularity in all things creative and craft-based.
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My home is my scrapbook
Social media is an interesting phenomenon. It affects our lives in interesting ways, which were unimaginable only a few years ago. From enabling us to get back in touch with long lost friends, to allowing us to express our opinions to the world in 'real time', to sharing holiday photos with relatives in Australia, it is a phenomenon which touches most of us in some way or another.
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An original gift for Mother's Day
Mother's Day is approaching and for many of us, the struggle to come up with an original idea for a gift is a difficult one.
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The forgotten room
Speaking to a family friend, I was recently reminded of the power of colour paint, and I wanted to share her story.
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Rediscover your heroes - A social phenomenon and an interiors trend
We at Dulux recently launched Colour Futures 2012 - a publication which forecasts major trends in colour and interiors for the coming year.
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2012's Hottest Trend- Nostalgia
If you want to stay on trend in 2012 and fall in love with your home all over again, then embrace the trend for nostalgic interiors.
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How about a paint party
Do you need a little pick me up in the post-Christmas 'slump', that many of us feel at this time of year?
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Dulux Let's Colour Projects - No money for new furniture? No problem, give dreary hand me downs a new lease of life
Do you ever flick through interiors magazines and look longingly at the beautiful dressers, chairs and bedside tables?
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Adding a personal touch to rented properties
When moving into a new home, the first item to cross off the 'to do' list is often 'paint'. Whether you want to blitz the magnolia and add a splash of colour or cover up the former occupants' lime green feature walls, putting a personal touch on your new home with a fresh coat of paint is a must for most of us.
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How to brighten rooms with a splash of colour on doors
A great tip for a stylish home is painting doors in your home in a favourite shade. The Dulux easycare satinwood range has 25 stylish shades which are ideal for injecting a touch of colour to any room in your home.
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Maybe grey but not dull...another colour that's here to stay
I know this may sound terribly dull, but the colour grey is an interior designer's dream and I have to admit, I am convinced that grey is the new cream. Unfortunately, many people consider grey to be dull, drab and cold but let me convince you otherwise.
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Dulux Let's Colour Projects - Cheap, Cheerful & Truly Unique; Colourful Makeovers for Hidden Treasures
In a world of mass produced goods, it can seem impossible to find something truly unique. From the High Street dress that half of your circle of friends own, to the Swedish-style sofa that seems to be in every living room you enter, there seem to be mass-produced, identical goods at every turn.
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Quirky Chic - Putting Your Personal Stamp On Your Home
What makes a stylish person truly stylish? Often it's their ability to add their own personal twist to a trend. Whether it's the flea-market hat teamed with the high street biker jacket, or the 50s-style fringe teamed with a classic white shirt and jeans combination, it's the quirky and thoroughly personal takes on an established trend which distinguishes the style gurus from the followers of fashion.
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From boring box room to colourful play space
This used to be a poky dark attic that nobody would venture into. Thanks to a colourful makeover it's now a bright, fun place for my kids to learn and play; a space that is just for them!
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Exploring colour combinations with Dulux Tailor Made Colour
Exploring different colour combinations is the most exciting part of decorating and this is where the Tailor Made Colour unit becomes even more useful.
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The Fifth Wall - Adding Colour to Ceilings
A fresh coat of paint and a change of colour is the ideal way to put our own personal 'stamp' on our homes. It's a quick, straightforward and inexpensive way to reinvent our surroundings, without the hassle or expense of moving.
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Lighting
Good Interior Design is not just about a stunning colour scheme and a perfect furniture plan All rooms need a variety of lighting: ambient or atmospheric lighting, task lighting for close-up work and accent lighting to highlight special features. Nothing makes a room feel unwelcoming and bland as bad lighting.
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Feeling blue
This month we are celebrating all that is blue. Although phrases such as 'feeling blue' or 'the winter blues' would suggest that the colour has strong associations with feeling melancholy, for most of us blue is a colour we associate with positivity and hope.
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Dulux Let's Colour Projects - How to create 3 different colour schemes around 1 item in your home!
Easy colour scheming...with the colour wheel it's so easy to create 3 different colour schemes around a favourite personal item.
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Bathroom Style
Your bathroom provides you with a stylish retreat where you can shake off the stresses of the day and indulge in some serious relaxation and pampering. It's a room that can make or break a home.
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Dulux Let's Colour Weekend Projects - A Look That Reflects Your Personality
Have you ever noticed how confident you feel when you wear your favourite red heels or that gorgeous silk teal scarf you treated yourself to in last year's sales? When buying clothes and accessories, it's a given that we'll opt for the shades we love and which reflect our personalities, so why should our home be any different?
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Interior Designers' Best Kept Secrets: Add Instant Glamour To Your Home
Let's face it, transforming a home usually entails months of stress, builders, moving out, and to top it all off...an escalating bank loan! But for those of you who would much prefer to transform merely by redecoration, help is at hand.
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Classic yet modern - how to achieve stunning results
Many interior enthuasists are keen to keep their home feeling 'classic' yet yearn to inject some modernism into their rooms. It's easy when you know how, so check out the following tips to be inspired!
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It's all about texture
Interior designers always talk about using 'texture' in their design schemes to give a room warmth and atmosphere. For the novice designer, or someone trying to go it alone, 'texture' is the feel and surface finish of a product - such as velvet fabric, limestone tiles, matt paint finish etc.
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Furniture Makeover
Most people love the initial buzz you feel when you treat yourself to something new, but there is nothing quite like the lasting sense of satisfaction you get when you create something yourself, which is as unique as you are.
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Make a small room feel bigger
Nobody wants to spend time in a small, poorly lit room but most of us are familiar with the problem of rooms which struggle to receive natural light. They may be north facing, badly lit or just smaller than we'd like, but while there may be a multitude factors contributing to the dingy depressing atmosphere, there is a single solution to help alleviate your woes: Dulux Light and Space emulsion.
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Create a perfect room for children
Let Dulux MySpace take the stress out of preparing for a new arrival or creating a bedroom or playroom for you little ones.
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How to create a feature wall
We all need a bit of a change in our lives now and again, and sometimes a small change can be just as refreshing as a complete transformation. If you're looking for a new look for a room, but don't want to completely re-do the decor, how about a feature wall?
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Finishing touches
Love your wooden furniture but fancy a change? Bored of looking at the same old white door? Want new-look furnishings without the expense or effort of shopping for new pieces?
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Quick wins when selling a house
In a challenging market, it can be difficult to make your house stand out from the competition when you are trying to secure a sale. Dulux Colour Consultant Sinead Kelly's article 'Top tips to sell a house' is a great place to start for some insider advice.
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How to choose a colour scheme for any room
Choosing colours for your home can seem a daunting task and one of the most common dilemmas is knowing how to combine colours to create a stunning scheme.
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All the trends at this season's interiors shows
As I mentioned in my previous blog, colour is having its moment again, and it's hardly surprising when you consider that we are all searching to create vibrance and happiness in our recession-hit enviroments through the use of colour in our homes and offices.
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The Fresh Face of Colour: Embrace the retro revolution & inject some colour into your home!
Cool and sophisticated neutral colours have led the way in interiors for the past decade. However, the gloomy economy, limited budgets and the upsurge of recycling furniture has turned the popularity of neutralness on its head.
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On trend colours for interiors this season: Sapphire Springs
Some may say diamonds are a girl's best friend, however, I am very sure that Sapphire will be the gem we'll see twinkling in our homes this Autumn. A sophisticated sapphire which is a rich and luxurious blue has been earmarked by leading style experts to make an impact on interiors in the coming seasons.
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How to create a stylish yet 'child-proof' home
Every parent to young children knows that creating a home which is both stylish and easy to maintain can seem an impossible task. With sticky fingers, spills and boisterous games now a fact of everyday life you could be forgiven for thinking that cream carpets, fabric sofas and a tidy home were things of the past.
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Designing for male and female tastes
As most people are very aware, what men like and what women like are often poles apart in the interiors world. Bridging that great divide is no mean feat!
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Top interior design tips when decorating with a budget
Painting a room in a new colour gives your room an instant lift and drags it into the new decade. Choosing this colour with confidence is something you can easily do.
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Feng Shui in interior design
Sometimes you come across a property where you feel instantly at home and thoroughly comfortable. Maybe it's the light pouring into a room or the colours used. Perhaps it's the use of space or the room's views. Maybe what you felt was good Feng Shui, maticulously planned and co-ordinated by its inhabitant.
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Wooden flooring in the home
Almost every house owner today has installed wooden flooring in some, if not every, room and yet it is a subject many know little about. Here are a few tips for those faced with choosing a wooden floor.
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Scandinavian Design
Many people today are putting together an interior with a Scandinavian look. To most, Scandinavian Design means stripy fabrics and red and blue accent colours. This is merely the tip of the iceberg and equates to saying Christmas is only about jingle bells. I decided to research this popular movement further.
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The modern garden shed
The classic, wooden garden shed is the stuff of nostalgia, with stories of middle-aged men escaping to the sanctuary of the shed and relaxing in a battered old armchair. However, times have changed as property owners crave more and more living space.
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Open plan living
Open plan living is at its peak in today's architectural world. Everyone building a new home is seeking large, open plan living areas. Most of today's new builds are laid out so that the family room, kitchen, dining room and living room are open to each other for family interaction.
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Designer bathrooms
Limestone, travertine, marble, body jets, rain showers...total luxury in the bathroom is the object of many a homeowner's desire. Not content with the standard bath, loo and sink of the 90's, current house builders and renovators are splashing out on bathrooms big style.
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The importance of lighting
Light is integral to life. It can stir emotion, set a mood, create atmosphere, offer direction and guidance. Good lighting is a subconscious emotion and needs to be in context with its surrounding - only then can it truly be an integral part of a whole
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Expert interior design tips for dealing with awkward rooms
Most homes have at least one awkardly shaped room. Common problems are rooms that are too big, too narrow and, more importantly for today's first time buyer, too small. The following guidelines will help you assess a room's potential and visually correct any shortfallings.
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Art Deco in 21st Century design
Born back in the glamorous era of 1908 to 1935, Art Deco was a popular design movement that holds strong today. Anyone who watches Flog It or Cash in the Attic during the afternoon on UK Style will be familiar with Art Deco finds.
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Plan the perfect kitchen
Today's kitchen is a multifunctional room that incorporates many different facets of life, be it cooking, studying, homework, socializing or lounging. Long gone is the kitchen where women reigned supreme and where food preparation filled every corner.
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Adorable children's bedrooms
There is something so sweet about kiddies' bedrooms and yet, parents struggle to create the adorable haven they can so easily put together for their children. In the majority of homes, children's rooms are generally the smallest room in the house, so with that point in mind, the most important task at hand is to maximise the space visually and practically.
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Wet rooms - the new bathroom?
Every week I'm asked questions about wet rooms and whether I think they are a good idea or not. Up to now I have had to plead ignorance and so decided to do some research on the whole area of wet rooms. I hope any of you thinking of installing one will find the following information helpful.
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Choosing and placing art in your home
Selecting art for your home can be a source of enjoyment for years to come. Keys to success are figuring out what kind of art you like, how it will fit in with the rest of your interior design plans, and how to exhibit the art to the best effect in your home.
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Top tips to sell a house
As we are all well aware, there has never been a more challenging time to sell a house. However, for many of us, a change in life circumstances can leave us without any other option.
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How to use wood in the home
Too many woods in your room will create clutter. Look at the floor, door frame, skirting boards, fire surround, coffee table, bookshelves, sofa legs, TV unit, window frames and window boards - are they all different woods? If so, your room is overcrowded with mismatching wood. Limit your woods to three maximum, two preferably.
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How to choose colour in the home
Colours can be classified into two divides - advancing colours and receding colours. Painting a wall in an advancing colour will have the visual effect of bringing that wall closer to you. Receding colours visually push the walls away. In layman's terms a large room can easily take dark, advancing colours, while a small room will benefit from receding colours
