When planning interior schemes lighting can so easily be forgotten about yet it can be one of, if not the most important atmosphere creator in the room. With us enjoying open plan living so much in recent years this has become more important than ever as the same space will be used for a multiple of activities, preparing dinner, eating, socialising and relaxing.

 

There are four areas you need to cover with your lighting scheme,

*General Lighting – day to day lighting normally the pendant in the middle of your room giving your overall illumination.

*Accent or feature lighting – Highlighting areas of interest, picture lighting over artwork.

*Decorative Lighting – consider lamps, chandeliers even candles.

*Task Lighting – lighting you require for activities reading, cooking, working.

The above picture shows some great examples of lighting that takes into consideration theses points. Lamps on tables, a chandelier over dining tables and spots in the kitchen, the under unit lighting is also a great touch for some extra task lighting.

In an ideal world we would start with a blank canvas all striped back but most of us when coming to decorate may not have the ability to change our wiring or electrical circuits to add more spotlights or move a pendant. What we can do is look at our fixtures and fittings, take great care in choosing the right lamps and even consider what you can create with selective candle light.

One of my favourite tips is to consider where possible changing your normal light switches to dimmer switches this can be a great atmosphere changer with out a great deal of cost.

It is amazing but simply changing your light bulb can enhance the mood of a room, bulbs can admitted different colours

Warm light – Great for bedrooms and living spaces.

Bright White/Cool White – Ideal for kitchens and work spaces.

Daylight – Use for task lighting such as reading lamps.

One thing I firmly believe is that lamps are key, they can cover so many of the points task lighting, as well as decorative and feature. Choose your lamp wisely and you can change a room.

 

The Homecraft Team x

At Homecraft we believe mirrors are the ultimate home accessory, gone are the days of boring functionality, mirrors can definitely be used for much more than just checking your reflection. They can be the secret weapon for any home, capable of adding space to a room, creating instant style and even giving the appearance of more light.

With the opening of our e-commerce website we can now supply even more mirror designs especially large floor length mirrors, something we have always wanted to do but was limited for space in our Homecraft stores. Choosing mirrors to sell to our customers is always tricky as there is so much choice, we like to offer a range of mirrors to suit people’s requirements. Here are just a few of the highlights….

Why be conventional?

Why hang your mirror on the wall when you can create your own style try leaning one against the wall for an instant chic look!

When we saw these elegant shabby chic Paris mirrors and we instantly fell in love, they are a beautiful size and come in 4 stunning colours, perfect to suit all decors. The mirrors can also be hung on the wall creating space and adding instant brightness to your room. After seeing this product we can guarantee any shabby chic fan will love it!

Struggling  for wall space?

This art deco style mirror is truly fantastic and my personal favourite. Don’t just restrict yourself to using these types of mirrors on your dressing table, how about on a console table in a dark corner with a lamp to reflect light. I love the art deco style and believe it will always be a timeless classic for any home, a good future proof investment.

Need a feature?

This round mosaic mirror is a more recent addition to our mirrors range, when we saw it we thought it was unique, definitely a one off piece! The detail on this mirror really is stunning, it has beautiful tiny mosaic pieces twinkle in the light. This mirror is as much of a feature as it is a mirror, use them as you would art work to create points of interest in dull rooms don’t be afraid to use more than one mirror in each room.

Substance and style!

Of cause there are going to be times when we need to use a mirror for its original purpose, to see our reflection, then this is the perfect mirror for the job. When we first saw this mirror we thought stunning, luxury and class, really is simple yet so stylish, when needing something functional you shouldn’t have to compromise on style!

We feel this mirror is one of the most versatile simply because you can put it in any room with any décor and it would instantly blend in. Perfect for contemporary and traditional decors! You do have the option of mounting the mirror as well as leaning it against the wall.

There you have it our selection of mirrors all offering something unique for individual needs. Will keep you updated on any new mirrors we have coming in.

The Homecraft Team x

 

 

With the launch of our new Homecraft Interiors website it has meant we are able to start selling more beautiful furniture pieces! At Homecraft we love selecting perfect individual items to sell to our customers, our interior designer has a keen eye for unique objects with lots of style. Our collections of furniture will appeal to a wide range of people, easily sitting in a variety of different decors. So whether you have a traditional family home or you’re more partial to the contemporary urban living we have some wonderful pieces to suit you.

Here’s a selection of some of our favourite pieces from this seasons key trends.

Joanne’s Favourite

This stunning apothecary chest is my key piece of the season, it is part of our industrial living range and just oozes urban living! I love the industrial style as it can be so practical and robust for family living with lots of storage.

Designed to offer a stunning rustic reclaimed look, the full range features coffee tables, chairs, dining tables and stools. You really can go all out and create the ultimate contemporary urban loft look, I’m finding it hard not to splash out and buy the full range!

Helen’s Favourite

How can anyone not love this chair!! I have chosen this as my favourite piece as I love traditional items with a contemporary twist so this was a no brainer it is the perfect addition to our furniture range.

The chair oozes glamour and style adding life to any room and we are proud to say that the design is exclusive to Homecraft Interiors. You will notice that on all images across the website and on this blog we have featured the label “made in the UK” at Homecraft we support all furniture made in the UK. This particular piece is made by our own upholsters therefore we can ensure it is of the best quality.

Heather’s Favourite

I love classic style, therefore this stunning piece of furniture is my personal favourite and just timeless!

Royal Oak is definitely a classic material that can suit both contemporary and modern living environments. This dining table was a definite must buy when we saw it as we believe it oozes luxury and class. The solid royal oak is a timeless look you can just picture it in a wonderful country farmhouse. You can complete the look with other pieces of Royal Oak range.

Rachel’s Favourite

A definite stand out piece of furniture! When I first saw this piece I instantly though glamour and style. The table features a stunning mirrored top and an elegant art deco style which would definitely spruce up any home.

Mirrored furniture has been a common trend but this piece takes it to another level, enhancing a decor and reflecting light but don’t be afraid to mix it with wooden items as well as other mirrored pieces.

Browse our full range of furniture on our website, will keep you updated on any new additions that we love!

The Homecraft Team x

So the progress of the renovations have certainly slowed down over the festive period, however we have got to the most important part (well in my opinion) the décor!

With most renovations often £1000’s can be spent on work that will never be seen, electrics, plumbing, all obviously very important but it will often mean the funds can be quite low by the time you get to the pretty things! You can’t have a house with out the bricks and mortar but you can’t have a home without your personality and style stamped on it created by your interiors.

So we have come to the point of making style decisions, surely this should be my part? As it is my job after all, but my husband likes his say and actually I quite like that he does as it means we have been able to produce a stronger over all design discussing each element to find the best solution.

First debate, choosing your style……….

Luckily we both have similar tastes but you also have to take into consideration the style of your house, here are some of my key steps when considering an interiors style.

1. Do some research, when talking to customers I try to find out their likes and dislikes using magazines is helpful ripping out pages of styles they like. This process can be fun, pin the pictures to some pin boards and will create the basis of your mood boards, you don’t have to get into the nitty gritty of the design just yet, just find your style. Also try these helpful websites for inspiring images.

www.houzz.com

www.housetohome.co.uk

www.pinterest.com

2. Once you have discovered your likes and dislikes take into consideration your house. Mine is a 50’s build semi-detached very square with clean lines and large flat windows, although I love elements of the decorative Country Shabby Chic look with nooks and crannies, open fireplaces and lots of nic-nacs it would be hard work to really pull this style off without a lot of changes, but not impossible!

3. Make a list of what you want to use the room for, family space, cosy hide away, formal dinning room… this will help you choose your style you may not want formal French Rococo chairs when designing a family room for everyone to snuggle down and watch TV.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Make a list of the items of furniture you need to or would like to keep, this could also form a basis of your decision. If there is a small budget try and think out of the box can you recover or paint your furniture to fit in with your new look.

Research is key so take your time and don’t be afraid to mix elements of your favourite styles, this dining room image shows a beautiful antique turned leg wooden dining table mixed with modern white and chrome leg chairs.

 

Find this image at http://www.housetohome.co.uk/dining-room/picture/cool-contemporary-kitchen-diner?room_style=modern

Now you’ve chosen your style you can get into the details…..

We had been debating knocking down the wall between the kitchen and dining room for some time, however often being swayed back to the idea of a formal dining room. I can remember reading an article by Sarah Beeny saying she believed there would be a backlash to open plan living with a revival of 80’s style formal dinner party’s. The thought appealed to me I love hosting and the idea of keeping the kitchen clutter out of view is very tempting but space and light won out in the end, we wanted to create a large family area that the whole family could host events and why not use every part of the house all the time instead for just special occasion and so the journey began…

I have said it for years that one day I’ll come home from work and my DIY fanatic, engineer of a husband will of knocked down a wall well…..today was the day!

It didn’t come as a total shock as mentioned we had been discussing it for some time, but it didn’t hit me till I came home what he’d actually done. I do have to give credit where credit is due, my husband is not afraid to take on any task and the perfectionist in him means everything is executed to exact precision, but it does take three times as long trying to fit it all in at weekends and evenings. So to help me through the dust, dirt and only a microwave as my all in one kitchen for the next few weeks I thought I’d document the journey and key stages of turning your house into a home.

 

I can’t believe it is that time of year again, it’s less than a week to go before Interiors UK 2013, lets hope the snow departs before we have to travel to the NEC!

In 2013 Homecraft is taking on a new direction with the launch of its own E Commerce website, so this years shows are more important than ever looking for our most inspiring products, sumptuous soft furnishings and tantalising gifts to reach out to our new wider audience over the web!

The website has been a long time coming  with a few hiccups and delays along the way but it is now right at our finger tips a push of a button and we’re ready to go.

We’re so excited and we’ll keep you posted with the new beautiful products we pick up from the show!

The Homecraft Team x

Homecraft Interiors are great believers in thinking local, shopping local but most importantly supporting local people and charities. On the build up to our big event on Thursday 25th November we have been having some of the pupils from Foxwood school popping in to learn the ropes at Homecraft with a spot of work experience.

Everyone did exceptionally well helping with various tasks including serving customers, doing the banking and trips to the Post Office but more importantly selling raffle tickets for the charity raffle to help raise money for rainy day equipment at their school.