Adding Colour To Your Home

Looking to brighten your interior? Colour plays a vital role in our homes, having an impact on our well-being and although not everyone has a favourite colour and so you might take ideas from the latest colour trends for interior decorating.

Thankfully, there is never just one colour trend so everyone should be inspired by at least one of the following colour trends for 2010:

* Serene Colour Palette - Try cool blues, mineral greys and muted teals.

* Futuristic Colour Palette - Try intense reds, purples, zesty yellows and turquoise.

* Elegant Colour Palette - Try dusky lilacs, pinks, bronze and gold.

* Harmonised Colour Palette - Try natural greens, coral and warm greys.

* Playful Colour Palette - Try mixing it up with bright colour, earthy tones and clean pastels.

Adding colour in small quantities, such as choosing cheap cushion covers in a new colour may be a good start rather than subject your system to a complete shock – not only will you be able to see how a new colour affects your well-being – if you come to loathe the colour it's easier to change, and more cost effective, than having to completely redecorate.

Image: Haven and Home

You Can Never Have Enough Storage, Seating or Cheap Cushions!

I always think that you can never have enough storage space, seating or cushions as such I embrace the idea of combining these with open arms!

Window seat are always a great idea in older styled houses where there is sufficient depth on the window sill to enable you sit or lean comfortably against a cushion, if they have built in storage so much the better!

Making use of space in today's modern homes has to be on many people's agendas. With house prices still very high in most parts of the UK, finding a home to enable you get your foot on the first rung of the house buying ladder is becoming increasingly difficult. The houses or apartments you may be able to afford are going to be the smaller ones, irrespective of their age.

However, restoring an old Victorian terrace or choosing the type of design you want in a more modern house is all part and parcel of transforming you living space into a place you can call home. Putting your individualism into each room can be fun and does not have to cost a fortune or look tacky!

For first time DIYers a great project would be to make additional seating for when you have guests and incorporating much needed storage. A simple box style construction made from MDF or ply would be suitable substantial to take people's weight and the top can be simply painted and have lots of cheap cushions placed for comfort, or the more adventurous may like to add a padded bench cover. This can be achieved by buying a block of foam, most suppliers will cut it to size for you, and either making a fabric cover which can be put on and off, in much the same way as a pillow slip, or simply drape it over and tucked in underneath!

Be inspired and make the most of the space you have!

Image: Alkemie

Boost Your Morale With The Colours Of Summer

The colours of summer are a great way to boost your morale and inject vibrant colours into your living space. Interior designers are going against the 'grain' and using clashes of colour with great effect!

Bright and airy rooms cannot help but make you smile and feel happy! As many people are feeling gloomy due to being made redundant or struggling to make ends meet, having vibrancy within your home is a great tonic to lift your mood and inspire you to try new ventures.

Whether that be a complete change in career or the decision to start your own business. Keep positive and there are many ways you can make the most of hidden talents you never even knew you had!

I'm not implying that everyone should become interiors designers, far from it, but whilst you have time on your hands it is the ideal opportunity to get round to finishing all of those niggling little decorating touches you never quite got round to completing!

You could simply move your furniture round to give a completely new and refreshed look to you home, add cheap cushions and throws in beautiful colours which bring touches of different colours into your home. Think of stripes which may in some ways remind you of circuses, seaside fun and gorgeous colours of natural flowers which are prolific in many gardens at this time of the year and have these as easy to hang tab top curtains or in a rug.

Open the windows and let the smell of the rain or freshly mown lawns fill your home with natural cleanliness may be just the pick up you need!

Image: Belle Masion23