Promotions

From cosmetic facelifts to major structural alterations, there are a huge number of home improvements that homeowners choose to make to their homes in order to make them more personal and a better fit. And, while some refurbishments and improvements are almost guaranteed to add value to your property, others are likely to leave you out of pocket when the time comes to put your property on the market. In this blog, we’ll look at the 7 home improvements you should avoid.

Adding a luxury bathroom

Possibly a controversial inclusion on our list, a luxury bathroom may seem like a good investment but when it comes to return on your outlay then the figures simply don’t add up. Generally speaking, a bathroom remodel will only return about half of the money that you spend on it. If you plan on being in your home for a long time then this is not an issue, but if your plans are to sell on after a few years then a more standard bathroom will deliver a better return.

Building

When your goal is saving money on a large home project one of the easiest ways to do this is by tackling the job yourself. And, while some projects naturally lend themselves to the DIY weekend warrior, other home improvement jobs really are best left to the professionals. In this blog, we’ll look at some of the reasons why hiring a professional could make more sense than tackling the project yourself.

Equipment costs

Many home improvement jobs will require specialist equipment in order to get professional results. For example, carpentry or joinery projects will often involve a range of joints to be made such as miter, dovetail, and tongue and groove, having the right equipment will make creating these a breeze. And, while there are plenty of DIY focused tools on the market to help you with these tasks, the tool costs alone can cost more than paying a professional carpenter to do the job.

Time that it will take

While money is often the biggest factor when

While we’re not all lucky enough to live in a period Victorian property filled with stunning features such as fireplaces and high-ceilings, period features can be added to almost any home. In this blog, we’ll look at some of the easiest ways that you can add period style features to your property to help create visual interest in your rooms.

Crown and base mouldings

A fantastic way to add interest to your rooms for a very low cost is with the addition of mouldings. These mouldings provide a transition between your walls and the floor and ceiling and often feature a decorative or intricate carved pattern. Mouldings are available in a huge range of styles from traditional and rustic to modern and contemporary. Most mouldings come in a base white colour, but these can be painted to add an extra impact or to complement your existing décor.

Wainscoting

Hallways, bathrooms and utility rooms are all great candidates when it comes to wainscoting. This decorative

Has the outbreak of Coronavirus suddenly forced you to work from home? Are you currently struggling on the coffee table or kitchen table? In this guide we’ll look at how you can create the perfect home office without needing to spend hundreds of pounds doing it.

Workspace

Do you have a spare bedroom that you rarely use or is space at a premium in your home? From the space under your stairs to a corner of a bedroom or living room, your home office needn’t take up a lot of room. All you need is enough desk space to accommodate your work process and computer setup and room for some type of storage.

If you are planning on using a corner of your bedroom or living room why not look at some folding partitions which will help you make the transition between work and relaxation. Make sure that you have enough space to work effectively, after all you will probably be spending 8 hours a day in your home office, so it does need to be comfortable.

Your desk

When it comes to decorating your home it can be tempting to try and save yourself some money, after all, why would you pay premium prices for paint when you can get a giant tin for a lot less. In this blog, we’ll take you through some of the false money-saving tips that will actually end up costing you more.

1. Picking cheap paint

This is probably the biggest false economy of the lot. A big tin of cheap paint really is not the bargain that you think it is. These paints are cheap for a reason, namely, they tend to be very thin which results in a poor quality of finish and the need to use multiple coats in order to get an acceptable finish. A professional painter will never use paint from the big DIY chains as they don’t have the same coverage, consistency or level of finish as trade paints.

2. Buying a cheap roller or paintbrush

We know, you’ve only got one room to paint so why not just pick the cheapest brush and roller set you can find? Well, if you

Have you fallen in love with a new house? Looking at how you can transform it from a nice house into your dream house? In this blog, we’ll take a look at some simple décor tips to help inspire you and help your new home live up to all of your expectations.

Declutter prior to moving

One of the common tricks that estate agents use to make properties seem more appealing is to ensure properties are free of clutter. This helps to provide a clean living space that is comfortable and seems more spacious. As soon as you start filling the space, it’s easy for this illusion to be broken especially if you have more stuff than you have storage for. Use a move to a new home as your chance to properly evaluate your needs and declutter your life. You’d be amazed by how many things you really, really don’t need and don’t actually use. From old clothes and shoes to DVDs and CDs, it’s amazing how much clutter we gather.

Paint and decorate right away

In an ideal world,

When it comes to the workspace there have been a lot of studies conducted on how colour can be used to help boost productivity and stimulate our minds. And, while offices have traditionally been, dare we say it, pretty boring, there has been a definite movement over the past decade to brighten up workspaces. In this blog, we’ll take a look at simple ways that you can brighten up any workspace and help to boost productivity.

Select your colour scheme

The first step when it comes to giving a workspace a makeover is to choose your colour scheme. Different colours work to affect our state of mind with red helping to stimulate urgency and proactivity and blue helping to bring a sense of calmness. Green helps relieve the mind of stress and works well with natural light. Yellow helps to enhance the mood and brings lots of energy while purple makes a fantastic accent colour that works hard to stimulate productivity and creative thought.

When it comes to a workspace take

Do you struggle to get a perfect finish when it comes to painting and does the thought of painting your home fill you with dread? Well, fear not, with some simple advice, the right tools and plenty of practice you can learn the secrets to achieving a professional finish. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the secrets of the trade to help you achieve better results when it comes to painting and decorating.

Start with smooth walls

Whether you are starting off with a freshly plastered wall or decorating over an existing coating, one of the things that separate professionals from the rest of us is taking the time to prepare the walls properly. One of the tools that will help you get perfectly smooth walls is a pole sander which can be used with fine-grit sandpaper to sand from the top to the bottom of a wall with ease. Pay particular attention to sanding holes that have been filled and ridges as these will show up the most when painted.

Use a paint conditioner

Are you looking to upgrade your kitchen but don’t have thousands of pounds to spend on remodelling? These simple decoration tips can help you breathe fresh life into a tired, dated or worn kitchen and help you remodel your kitchen on a budget. And while some of the jobs on this list may be best tackled by the professionals, the majority can be completed by anyone with some basic DIY skills.

Painting your cupboards

Think that it’s only your walls that you can paint, think again. One of the easiest and cheapest ways to transform the look of your kitchen is to paint your kitchen cabinets, drawers and doors. Of course, if your cabinet doors are damaged then a better option would be to replace these. And, while this will cost more than painting you should still be able to update all your cabinet doors and drawers for much less than the cost of a brand new kitchen.

New worktops

Once you’ve updated your cupboards with new doors or a fresh lick of paint the next

Like the coming and going of the seasons some things are inevitable and so the time has come once again for Dulux to announce their colour of the year for 2020. Every year top international design experts come together to discuss the global trends that will affect us all in the year ahead and from these insights Dulux puts together a paint colour trend. As well as the main colour they also create four palettes that are designed to perfectly complement this colour.

As a new decade starts it gives people a fresh start and a new dawn. Tranquil Dawn takes inspiration from the colours of the early morning to create an inspiring new shade of green that works well with the other colour palettes to create a versatile colour scheme that will look great in any home.

The four colour palettes

Like the colours of the year before it, Tranquil Dawn can look different when combined with other colour palettes and Dulux have put together four example palettes that each create a