Tag: decorating

Adding a rustic touch to your living space

Adding a rustic touch to your living space | H is for Home

Are you someone who’s into rustic looking décor? Maybe you like the thought of simplicity in your surroundings – a bit of coarse texture here and there, just to add some character. You’re not alone!

A rustic touch is very popular these days, considering how many of us like the idea of returning to nature, and living life simply with what we have. Seeing as rustic interior design, with a spot of complementary furniture, is a lot cheaper than most interior themes, you can’t really lose!

It’s time to get decorating. So without further ado, here are a few of the ways you can add a rustic touch to your living space.

Front of a rustic wooden house

Incorporate the building’s natural style

The house you live in will have a natural style to it, and when you strip away all of the carpets and the wallpaper, you’ll see it laid bare before you. And that can be quite rustic in itself! Of course, you don’t want to be walking on exposed foundations or poorly finished wood, and you’d like the walls to be properly insulated and sealed, so take the idea of this natural style and see where you can take it.

For example, incorporating some Pipe Fitting Furniture will give you that rustic or industrial feel. It’s a perfect spot for displaying books or house plants. Expand on the rustic theme with some complementary soft furnishings and you’ve made a great start!

Sprigs of herbs hanging out to dry

Use wood or brick textures

Wood and brick textures always look attractive, whether they’re clean or worn looking. They can be covered in decorative grime, or they can be polished to within an inch of their life, and covered with motivational signs and a bit of hung woodwork! Either way, your living space is going to look wonderfully rustic as a result.

You don’t even have to use real wood or brick here; clever ‘trompe-l’œil’ wallpapers have you covered, and often work out a lot cheaper per roll. Or you could use wood panelling- mount them halfway up the wall and paint or paper the rest.

Jars upcycled into tea light holders

Upcycle as much as possible!

Finally, be sure to upcycle as much as you can. This is the act of taking something that was going to be thrown out and turning it into something new. It’s healthy on your budget and the planet and can help you learn new DIY skills. Refurbish pre-loved kitchen cabinets with a bit of wear & tear using wood stain, wax or paint. Reupholster a comfy sofa or armchair with upcycled coffee sacks. You’ll create one-of-a-kind rustic gems!

Would you like to add a rustic touch to the home in which you live? It’s a lot easier to do than you might think.

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You’ve moved into your best home – now, how do you decorate?

You've moved into your best home - now, how do you decorate?

It isn’t uncommon to feel slightly overwhelmed when moving into a new home. We may arrive, look around and reflect on just how much work there is to be done. In some cases, we may want to start afresh, bringing all of our belongings but leaving them put for a time while we consider options.

Of course, some people may embark on moving into their new home happy and excited, thinking of all the changes they’ll make. Then, after actually inhabiting the space for a period, they may develop other ideas that they need to clarify in their minds before deciding on the course of action. There’s nothing wrong with all this, it’s just part of how the ‘moving to a new home’ experience can be.

Thankfully, moving into your best home is victory enough already, so then follows the really fun part. So, how do you decorate? Often, doing a place up is something that happens over a period of years and will be constantly evolving. That being said, consider the following advice:

keeping furniture in storage

Keep your bulky furniture & belongings in storage

Whilst it can be tempting to just put all your stuff in whatever empty room is available, this can sometimes impede how well you can create your interior from the ground up, and can lead to no small amount of stress. With a storage unit, you can keep your most prized, valuable and sizeable items safe while you figure out where to put them. Of course, this will mostly be for inessential items that aren’t required in your home immediately. You needn’t go without a bed for two weeks before you decide where to put it however, in the case of out-of-season clothes, your hardback book collection etc, this can be a great solution and save you future hassle.

Tape measure illustration

Measure everything

When you were viewing your potential new property, it’s unlikely that you had the chance to measure the dimensions of everything. But now you’ve moved in, you’re free to investigate the space as you wish. Measuring walls, the width of the front door, ceiling heights etc and jotting these down in a notebook can help you make more informed decisions when it comes to buying new items for your home. This can prevent you from making unsuitable purchases, and helps you feel much more confident when in the shop.

Illustration of a homeware shop

Take it easy

It’s not uncommon to think that if you have a room, you need to fill it. It’s how we’re wired. However, there’s no need to rush to your nearest home furnishings store to select everything you can from the offset. Taking the time to find fixtures & fittings, decorative items or renovation materials that you like, rather than think you should buy, can help the space develop its own individual character over time. This could include advice from luxury interior design specialists, purchases from indie designer-makers, antique shops or even doing some DIY crafting – wherever your taste takes you!

If you’re lucky enough to be planning a move to the Costa del Sol, Estuco Interiors is perfectly placed to help you bring your dream home to reality.

With this advice, you’re sure to move into your best home well.

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7 ways you can spend less money on your home

7 ways you can spend less money on your home

Trying to spend less money on your home might seem unrealistic to you right now, but there are probably a few things you can do to cut down your monthly bills and make things much more manageable. Below, you’ll find 7 suggestions that could seriously improve your budget – take a look.

Invoice on a smart phone

  1. Change utility bill suppliers

Don’t stay with the same utility suppliers without looking elsewhere to see if you could be getting a better deal. Chances are, you could be! Suppliers often offer new customers better rates, so it could be worth comparing different deals that you find and then speaking with your current supplier to see if they will match it. If not, tell them you want to cancel. They might offer you a better deal there and then, or you may have to switch. Either way, you’ll get a better deal.

Toilet rolls

  1. Buy in bulk

When it comes to buying essential items such as toilet paper, kitchen roll and tinned foods, consider buying in bulk. This can be much cheaper than buying every time you go to the supermarket, and it could even help you to cut down the number of trips to the store you take, further helping you to save money in terms of petrol. If you can buy food items in bulk, you could potentially cook large batches of food, freeze them, and have meals set for weeks.

Plumber fixing a kitchen sink

  1. Have regular maintenance checks

Knowing what to look for in your home in order to identify issues will help you to keep things running smoothly – you don’t want a simple repair to get worse and end up costing you more money in the long run. It could be a good idea to have a professional company come out and every so often and make sure you aren’t in need of a repair. Boiler checks are a must, for example, and it’s a good idea to know what to look for in blocked drains. You’ll save yourself a lot of money and hassle if you keep a close eye on these things or hire somebody else to do it for you.

Grey sofa and side table

  1. Avoid home décor trends

Home décor trends come and go so quickly that if you try to follow them, you’ll want to redecorate more regularly. Go for something that’s timeless, or completely your own; this way, you’ll likely keep the same décor for a long time.

Man buttening up a white shirt

  1. Live minimally

Get used to living a minimal life. A capsule wardrobe, minimal accessories, and really think about purchases before you make them. Do you really need that? Will you use it?

Energy-saving bulb

  1. Live with the environment in mind

Living a more eco-friendly lifestyle, such as cutting back on meat and making sure you don’t waste energy can be a huge help to both your wallet and the world.

Board game house on a pocket calculator

  1. Have regular money meetings

Have a household budget and hold regular money meetings to make sure everything is as it should be. You’ll teach your kids a thing or two early on, too.

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4 tips to make painting a room easy every time

4 tips to make painting a room easy every time

When your home is looking a bit tired, the easiest way to freshen it up without spending a lot of money is by giving it a fresh coat of paint. It’s one of those jobs that you can do yourself and it should be easy. Unfortunately, it’s not always as easy as you think it’s going to be and sometimes, you regret getting started in the first place. However, painting can be really easy as long as you know how to do it properly and you use a few small tricks to make things simpler for yourself. Here’s how to take the stress out of painting a room and get it done quickly.

Dust sheet covering a sofa

Move the furniture out

A lot of the time, people move a few things out of the room and then cover the big pieces of furniture with a dust sheet to protect it when they paint. That’s fine and you can do it that way if you like, but that furniture is still in the way when you’re trying to paint and there’s still a chance that it will get damaged. That’s why you should consider renting storage and just moving everything out for a few days until you’re finished. It’s an added cost but it will make life so much easier for you while you paint the room and you can be sure that you get a great finish on the walls.

Applying grey paint to a wall with a roller

Go for slightly darker colours

When you’re picking colours, you might want to consider going for slightly darker colours because they’re more forgiving. You don’t really want to go for beige because it’s a pretty boring colour and it shows up every single tiny mistake that you make, and it gets dirty easily. Your house will look way more interesting and you’ll get a better finish on the paint if you choose a different colour. Just make sure that you don’t go for anything too dark, otherwise, the room can look cramped and gloomy.

A collection of well-used and badly cleaned paint brushes

Buy good brushes and rollers

When you’re doing any home renovation project, you always want to keep the costs low, but don’t make the mistake of going for cheap brushes and rollers. You might save a bit of money but it will make the painting a lot harder than it needs to be. Paint goes on so much better and you get a more even finish with good quality rollers and brushes so it’s worth spending the extra money. As long as you clean them properly straight away and look after them, they’ll last you a long time.

Preparing walls will filler prior to painting

Don’t skip the prep

Sanding off any lumps and bumps and then cleaning the walls properly is a bit of a pain but if you decide to skip this step, it’ll be harder to get a good finish when it comes time to paint. But if you prep the walls properly before you get started, the paint will go on easier and bond to the wall more effectively so painting is easier and you get a better end result.

Follow these simple tips and painting a room doesn’t have to be a chore any more, it’ll be a pleasure.

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