How To Decorate Your Master Bedroom

Whether you've just moved into a new home or it's been a long time since your home's master bedroom had a lick of paint, you know when it's time to change things up. Your room is the last thing you see at night and the first thing you see in a morning, so can play a big part in setting your mood for the day ahead or the quality of night's sleep you get.

However, even if you know that what you currently have doesn't work, it can be difficult knowing where to start with your changes.

A good place to begin is to understand your own sense of style and get some ideas of what you like. Flicking through home magazines and websites is a great place to start, as they are full of inspirational photography. It may be a useful to create a scrapbook or digital 'look book' to fill with images that appeal to you. This is great to refer back to when it comes to buying furniture and fittings.

Understanding the opportunities and limitations of the bedroom is crucial. For example, if there's a focal feature – such as a fireplace or large window – you'll want to factor this into your planning and make sure you're getting the most from it. Likewise, if space is at a premium or the room is an unusual shape, you may have to consider what furniture will make it feel bigger and more spacious.

Choosing your colour scheme should be next. You may want something that makes the room feel light or you may prefer a warmer feel. By identifying the type of ambience you want, you can decide on a colour palette that informs the decisions you make about wallpaper or paint, carpets or flooring and your furniture.

As well as colour, the biggest features of a master bedroom will be the furniture you opt for. There are plenty of choices, from real wood to flat-pack MDF. If you do opt for real wood, you then have to choose which type you like. Pine and solid oak are two of the most popular, so it may boil down to taste and budget. Pine wardrobes, for example, are often a little cheaper and can be bought with a painted or natural finishes; whereas solid oak wardrobes may cost a little more and can deliver a warm, rustic appearance.

Once you've chosen your colours, furniture and focal points, your final step will be to add the finishing touches – such as bedding, wall hangings, rugs, and curtains. These will add character to the room and help it feel like a room you're happy to go to sleep and wake up in.

Garages in High Risk Areas

In city environments like London and Bristol security is at the top of everyone’s list. This is no different when it comes to garages and storage. Garages in high risk areas are often cheap and affordable - but they hold a high price when it comes to chance. There are a lot of crafty fellows out there who will not hesitate a seconds thought to break in, steal and damage property if they see the opportunity. If you are afraid of this happening and are worried your property is at risk you can ensure this doesn’t happen with the right advice and precautions.

If you keep your garage in a high risk area chances are you can’t change the surrounding environment but you can adapt your garage to withstand attempts of a break in. Follow this advice below for peace of mind:

A stronger door

Roller garage doors should be your door of choice. They are industrial, strong and sturdy – a great defence against thieves. With a roller garage door the lock is much harder to break compared to an up and over canopy style. Made out of strong aluminium strips with a tough finish it can’t be kicked in or unlocked without a key. It would take an awful lot of effort for a chancing thief to break through this barrier.

Put steel bars in the windows

If you have windows in your garage you should either brick them up or put steel bars across them. A thief wouldn’t hesitate to put a brick through it if they believed there was a rich bounty inside for them. Thieves can also be crafty and agile getting through the smallest of spaces. No matter how high up or small your garage windows are make sure you remove the risk of an intruder getting in.

Install an alarm

If your garage is in a secluded you don’t want to run the risk of someone spending a lot of time breaking in. With an alarm in place someone will be sure to hear it and the loud sound itself will alarm your intruder.

Automatic lighting

Make sure the garage is well lit. If you have a security light outside that comes on when it detects movement you’ll eliminate any risk of having a thief sneaking around without anyone seeing them.

Install CCTV cameras

CCTV cameras do not come cheap but there are affordable alternatives out there. You can get fake CCTV cameras with a blinking red LED, your everyday thief isn’t going to risk snooping around to find out if they are real or not. Many thieves are repeat offenders so even if they are not doing much they may not be too please about having their faces on camera even if they come across as an innocent passer-by.

Thieves like dark, secluded places where no one can see what they’re up to. With these precautions you can help protect your garage from unwanted intruders. So long as you ensure you have a strong sturdy garage door and your garage should be safe. Luckily there are some great companies out there, whether you are looking for garage doors London or garage doors Bristol be sure to fit the sturdiest style available.

Top 5 Bizarre claims made for home insurance

Home insurance companies are increasingly bombarded with some of the strangest stories out there with claims that are too far-fetched and sometimes needless, embellished or falsified. Sample these bizarre home insurance claims that will likely have you rolling over with laughter. Be careful not to damage the house, though.

1. Buzzing bee

A bee found its way into a man’s house. The man got so engrossed watching it fly around his head that he got dizzy, fell over and dented his kitchen wall. The man claimed it was obviously the bee’s fault that his kitchen wall was damaged. The bee just wouldn’t buzz off! But, his insurance company would not hear of it. Home insurance does not typically cover insect infestations. If bees won’t buzz off your home, call the exterminator!

2. Hungry hamster

A couple let their hamster with an appetite out of the cage for "play time" only for the furry creature to gnaw through their skirting boards. The couple posted a claim form saying that the “tasty wood” was to blame for the damage and not the hungry hamster. Evidently, the hamster with an appetite did not get to chomp the claims form before it got posted because the form was actually received!

3. Bowling stroke

An insurance company was little bemused when a woman decided to use her hardwood floor to practice her ten pin bowling stroke. The insurance company was even less amused when instead of blaming the heavy ball the woman blamed the hardwood floor for the resulting damage. She claimed the hardwood just wasn’t hard enough! Her insurance company, unsurprisingly, struck out her claim.

4. Wondering dear

A policyholder came home to find a broken sitting room window and a dear wondering around his kitchen. It did not take him long to figure out what had happened. He swiftly filed an insurance claim that the deer had accidentally rammed through his picture window and found its way into his kitchen! However, he soon learned that standard home insurance cover does not usually protect against damage resulting from wild animals.

5. Embarrassing claim

A woman’s kitchen was nearly destroyed by steam when her washing machine got stuck in the middle of a boiling cycle. Her insurance company wouldn’t hear of her claim because according to them she was covered for water damage only and not steam damage! Luckily for the woman, a claims court did not even allow the insurance company’s representatives to speak. The judge reviewed the case closely, laughed and ruled "Water is H2O as is steam – case for the plaintiff."

Turns out bizarre insurance claims stories don’t just come in one way after all.

Minimalistic Interior Design

Effective lighting is a key component of homes decorated in a minimalistic design style. Modern design’s emphasis on open space, clean lines and streamlined forms makes light fixtures that don’t take up visual space or encroach upon the footprint of the room ideal. Wall lights provide a perfect way to add sophisticated style notes to minimalistic spaces, creating a stylish atmosphere and ensuring that a minimally decorated room doesn’t look cold and bare.

Wall Lights as Design Statements

Wall lights can play a prominent role in minimalistic design, providing eye-catching focal points that add sparkling personality to the space. In minimalistic décor, it’s important that the space reflect the owner’s personal taste whilst maintaining the modern style. A wall light fixture that features a stylised pair of intertwined lilies expresses an appreciation for natural elegance. A modern sconce inset with decorative candles adds a note of classicism to the space.

Achieving Cohesive Design with Wall Lights

Wall lights also offer opportunities to unify the overall design of an interior. Whether it’s chic black chrome or antique brass, repeating finishes used in other furnishings and accessories in the space encourages the eye to take in the space as a whole. Shapes can be repeated as well. In minimally decorated rooms with curving forms, a simple wall sconce with a cylindrical shape reinforces the overall design.

Using Wall Lights for Striking Lighting Effects

In a minimally designed room, illumination is never merely functional. Whether to create a sense of serenity or to express a flair for drama, light can be used as a stylish tool to create atmosphere. Wall lights, spotlights and uplighters installed on a wall may direct light on focal points like art work or accessories. They can be employed to create focal points of illumination as well, creating pools of light on the floor or adding soft ambience to walls.

Minimal design calls for decorative strategies that add personality to an interior without compromising the modern aesthetic with unwanted clutter. Nothing adds warmth, depth and dimension to a minimally designed room like chic wall lights.

Research Confirms That The Kitchen Is The Most Important Room In The Home

It's long been suspected that the kitchen is the most important room in the family home and now there's proof. A new survey has revealed that the kitchen is the heart of the home as well as the most influential room when it comes to buying a new property.

The survey by property specialist Hamptons International found that half of respondents said the kitchen would make or break their decision to buy a new property, featuring ahead of the living room (37%) and bedroom (6%).

If you're looking to sell a property, this provides a great opportunity to increase the appeal of your home in a cost-effective way. Whether it's a complete makeover or something as simple as new kitchen doors and cabinets, a relatively low investment could be the difference in whether someone chooses to buy your home over another.

As the kitchen is subject to more wear and tear than other rooms in the home, it's common for kitchen doors and cabinets to look tired after a few years. It's no wonder why this would look off-putting to any homebuyer that has to judge a property in a small window of time.

The good news is that when it comes to replacement kitchen doors and door fronts there are some great styles and colours available to choose from that will give your kitchen a fresh and inviting new look. From MDF to real wood to painted and wood effect, there are endless options to make the kitchen sparkle.

If you're the one buying a new property, it may be comforting to know that affordable kitchen fittings are available. So if you find the perfect home but are a little put off by the current standard of the kitchen, you may get comfort from knowing that for a small investment you would be able to create the new kitchen you've always wanted.

Whether you love to cook or you enjoy sitting down for meals with your family and the kitchen table, there's no doubt that it make a difference to the enjoyment you get from your home.