Friday, 28 October 2011

Get Comfy - Get A New Chair!

 Curling up in a soft, inviting  armchair next to an open  fire is an idea


that most of us find very appealing indeed . It is even more comfortable and


inviting if you have a few luxury  scented candles like the ones by


Yankee candles glowing  in the background. What's more, if


you decide to go for a leather chair it does not even need to match your existing sofa - it can be a stylish


statement piece in its own right – an accent chair as it is often called  . Whether you already have a sofa


covered in a patterned fabric, or want to add warmth and character to a minimal


living room , a chair in leather


will always look the part . Brown is the


classic colour to choose, but what about striking red, cool white or black? Choose a shade  that contrasts with the rest of your furniture for a real style winner


that stands out from the crowd . When choosing a


new real or faux-leather armchair, think about our suggestions   . Allow plenty of time to try out an armchair in


the shop before you buy it Spend a few minutes sitting in


the chair to get a true idea of its comfort  . Take your measurements with you - an armchair


that looks average-sized in the showroom could potentially swamp your living


room. Check how it is made, these days, most armchairs are either zigzag or


web-sprung, but if you're looking for something that will stand the test of


time, choose a traditionally made chair that is coil-sprung. This spreads the


weight more evenly across the seat and reduces wear on the base. Real leather


will age with use and this adds to its character. It's easy to look after -


simply dust with a damp cloth. If it gets really dirty apply some special leather


cleaner. This is easy to use. Generally speaking it comes in liquid form. Get hold of a good soft cloth - a microfibre cloth is ideal. Work some of the cleaner on to the cloth and then gently rub this all over the surface of the chair. This may take a little time, but the resultswill be well worth it. Not only will the cleaner remove dirt but it will also give your treasured chair an element of protection against future dirt and grime building up, so you win in two ways! And if all this seems like too much trouble, simply call in a firm of professional cleaners like Proclean Domestic Cleaning and Carpet Cleaning Glasgow to take care of it for you. When that is all done, there is nothing more to be done than light one of your favourite Yankee candles and relax!











The author is owner of The Scented Candle Store which supplies a wide selection of home fragrances including scented candles and True Grace candles

Thursday, 27 October 2011

Get Comfy - Get A New Chair!

 Curling up in a soft, inviting  armchair next to an open  fire is an idea


that most of us find very appealing indeed . It is even more comfortable and


inviting if you have a few luxury  scented candles like the ones by


Yankee candles glowing  in the background. What's more, if


you decide to go for a leather chair it does not even need to match your existing sofa - it can be a stylish


statement piece in its own right – an accent chair as it is often called  . Whether you already have a sofa


covered in a patterned fabric, or want to add warmth and character to a minimal


living room , a chair in leather


will always look the part . Brown is the


classic colour to choose, but what about striking red, cool white or black? Choose a shade  that contrasts with the rest of your furniture for a real style winner


that stands out from the crowd . When choosing a


new real or faux-leather armchair, think about our suggestions   . Allow plenty of time to try out an armchair in


the shop before you buy it Spend a few minutes sitting in


the chair to get a true idea of its comfort  . Take your measurements with you - an armchair


that looks average-sized in the showroom could potentially swamp your living


room. Check how it is made, these days, most armchairs are either zigzag or


web-sprung, but if you're looking for something that will stand the test of


time, choose a traditionally made chair that is coil-sprung. This spreads the


weight more evenly across the seat and reduces wear on the base. Real leather


will age with use and this adds to its character. It's easy to look after -


simply dust with a damp cloth. If it gets really dirty apply some special leather


cleaner. This is easy to use. Generally speaking it comes in liquid form. Get hold of a good soft cloth - a microfibre cloth is ideal. Work some of the cleaner on to the cloth and then gently rub this all over the surface of the chair. This may take a little time, but the resultswill be well worth it. Not only will the cleaner remove dirt but it will also give your treasured chair an element of protection against future dirt and grime building up, so you win in two ways! And if all this seems like too much trouble, simply call in a firm of professional cleaners like Proclean Domestic Cleaning and Carpet Cleaning Glasgow to take care of it for you. When that is all done, there is nothing more to be done than light one of your favourite Yankee candles and relax!











The author is owner of The Scented Candle Store which supplies a wide selection of home fragrances including scented candles and True Grace candles

Tuesday, 25 October 2011

Tips On Decorating Your Kitchen

We moved in to our existing home more than fifteen years ago , and about


thirteen years ago we made a start on the kitchen .


Originally it was upstairs , so it had no access to the


garden , and downstairs was a


granny annexe, dining room and larder. We knocked the wall down   between those two areas to make one large


kitchen and dining area , and kept the original French doors and


windows. We also put in plain wooden units . It worked well for more


than ten years but the room began to look a bit tired and the appliances


started to fail . My husband and I had a serious discussion about moving, but


we decided to stay as we love the area and we've got the garden as we like it.


I decided if we were staying, I wanted a new kitchen . Something very different from what we


had -  a contemporary design with clean,


simple lines. We started looking but one company came up with a grand plan


with a grand price, which scared us off a bit


. On a visit to a local


kitchen showroom last spring we saw units we really liked, and this time round


it was a different story. They listened to what we said, respected what we


wanted to spend, made lots of clever suggestions and, best of


all, came in under our budget of £20,000 .


This sum  not only included the


cost of the units and appliances plus all the fitting costs, but alsoincluded


a number of  lovely little accessories which we found to give the new


kitchen a homely lived in look. We went for some original art produced by a


friend of ours which has brightened up the space no end, as well as some of the usual things you will find decorating a kitchen, such as  our favourite aromatic candles produced by Yankee candle and True Grace candles and a beautiful antique


style railway clock which has pride of place above the dining area.
















We ended up with dark brown wooden units as they just seemed to fit with the overall style of our home, which is a slightly traditional property. We were


thinking of something pale, but it's such a light kitchen that we can use a


dark colour. Somne kitchens do not seem to get much in the way of natural daylioght which might be a bit of a problem, but in our case this really was not an issue We knew that we wanted solid oak flooring throughout, and


certainly not the laminate we'd put down previously, which didn't last. It was


an expense to replace the French doors with bi-folding ones but, as they fold


right back, we can watch the garden wildlife more easily. We have tall pull-out


storage units, full-height cupboards and drawers, and a dresser unit that


stores all our tableware. About finishing touches, I remembered that we had


some pendant lights in the loft with a green glass band, so fitted them and


they tie everything together.










The author is owner of The Scented Candle Store where you will find a wide choice of candles as well as reed diffusers

Tips On Renovating A Period Home

 The first time I clapped



our 1930s detached house for the first time, I was immediately certain that this was the perfect



choice for myself and my family.



I was so enthusiastic about the possibilities that the property offered that I



was absolutely desperate to make sure we secured it.  It



was obvious from the outset that the property was full of potential and with a



little care and planning could soon work out to be the ideal location for us.



I was pregnant with my second son at the time and I soon realised that all the



stairs in a three-storey house would become an issue with two young children.


 When we eventually got the keys



and completed the sale the house was empty – a completely blank canvas if you



like. We  were therefore able to start



entirely from scratch when it came to the interior design and layout we were



looking for and  despite the fact we had lots of ideas initially,



we  decided it would make sense to live with the house as it was,


and



get familiar with it before we made any major changes .  In



actual fact it was almost four years before we embarked on our major renovation



and decorating project. The planning stage was incredibly straightforward



because we had a clear vision of what we wanted.  One of the best things we did was to hire



an architect who quickly put down our ideas in the shape of some detailed


drawings.



We employed a local building firm to do the work and the project management was



shared between the builder and the architect.







 Of


all



the rooms in my new look home the one I like best is the kitchen and dining



area. I enjoy cooking for family and friends and  could not be simpler to keep clean tidy and organized. There was a



traditional kitchen in place when we bought the property but we were keen to



have something more contemporary. We already had the range cooker and we



decided matt black kitchen units would go really with it! We picked



out  several accessories to give it



a lived-in appeal, including  fragrant  candles our favourite


makes, such as Yankee


candles
and  True Grace


candles
.  Other great ideas for the kitchen included one of those retro style French inspired railway clocks for the wall. They are quite large but fortunately the kitchen itself was sufficiently big that it did not look out of place. Another great idea which we used from an Irish company was some wall art which was made entirely out of coloured glass. The pieces were expensive, but we only needed one or two to really make the place stand out.







 The biggest problem – and certainly the



major inconvenience was living in the property



during the time when the renovations were taking place. At one stage



we  did without a kitchen and bathroom for  almost



two months. The project took eight months to complete! At the end of the day you just have to get on with things and make the best of it. As the saying goes, you can't make an omellette without breaking eggs! Instead of getting downhearted by the constant mess all around us, I tried to focus on what we were trying to achieve. When I thought about how our home would look after the work had been finished and all the builders materials and equipment had been packed up and moved on, I did not feel quite so bad. It was really just a case of trying to accentuate the positives and ignore all the other stuff that was going on all around us. That, and the mud!




















The  author is the owner of The Scented Candle Store where you will find many different home fragrances choices including  candles and  reed diffuser

Monday, 24 October 2011

Give Your Kitchen A Touch Of Style

 


After  spending quite a bit of time living and


working abroad, we returned to the UK so we could make sure that our children could finish off


their studies in this country. While our home is ideal in many ways, the kitchen is pretty old fashioned as we had


never got round to updating it before we moved away There wasn't enough


preparation space, equipment cluttered the work surfaces and the areas weren't


well thought out. The things we really wanted


out of our new kitchen was somewhere where everything would be ordered and


neat. We also did not want to compromise on quality if we could afford to do


so.Food preparation, storage, cooking, washing up and eating areas were  combined or classified into distinct areas and


the brief was to ensure that there was ease of movement between these various


areas. We were anxious for the kitchen to have all mod


cons but at the same time we did not want it to look purely functional nature,


with endless areas of gleaming work surfaces and stainless steel they can often look more like a workplace or even a laboratory, more than part


of your home, so we gave it that lived in, homely appeal by adding a few well chosenaccessories


including~ such as~ likeour favourite fragrant candles manufactured by well known brands not to


mention a beautiful old fashioned French railway station wall


clock. When we


were abroad one thing we had seen in many kitchen was various pots and pans


hanging decoratively and this was something we were keen to introduce to our


kitchen.  In most instances this involved an overhead


trellis type of  designbut the idea we liked involved a “mesh”


metal grid that was pinned to the wall vertically.  All that is then required is to


hang your pots and pans from the mesh by means of individual hooks which you


can pick up in any good hardware store.  If you use a collection of different cooking


utensils,  such as a wok


and an authentic paella or “sarten” , it  makes for a really nice feature wall for your


kitchen. The main part of the kitchen is solely for cooking and eating, while


the laundry zone and utility area are tucked away around the corner. We teamed


electric blue Formica with bleached oak. The oak runs along one wall of the


kitchen and the utility and laundry areas. A great team of local builders and


cabinetmakers undertook the work, while we provided the designs and sourced the


fittings and appliances.  With good


quality units and clever design, this kitchen is stunning and practical,too. There are lots of other simple tips you can employ to make the most of the kitchen or indeed any other room in the home. It depends to a lesser or greater degree on your budget. As previously mentioned home fragrances such as Yankee candles and True Grace candles  need not cost too much. Wall art of various different sorts is available, either online or from good retailers. There is plenty of choice, so take your time and you will be able to find something that suits your needs and your budget. Apart from accesorries and ornaments which you can  buty you should not discount the freat effect that you can get just from painting your kitchen. Giving the place a fresh lick of paint can make a substantial difference to the way your property looks anmd feels. If you do the painting yourself you will not have to spend too much. There are so many shades to choose from that getting a look that you really like should be simplicity itself. Why not take a few sample pots home and try them out before deciding on the final decorative choice you want to go with.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              











The author is the owner of The Scented Candle Store where you will find a wide range of candles as well as other home fragrance choices such as reed diffusers

Wednesday, 19 October 2011

Beeswax Candles – The Perfect Choice

People have been using candles


for as long as they have lived in communities , going back to the times of the Greeks and


other well known ancient civilizations. Those people


would have some difficulty in recognising what we


use as candles in the modern age. In the first place,


the notion of people wanting such a thing as scented candles would would no doubt bemuse them totally. In days gone by


candles were not seen as something decorative – they were completely functional


in nature. They had one main purpose and that


was to shed some element of light when used indoors. They could also provide


some small measure of heat. The suggestion of using


candles as decorative items ~ to decorate your home just would not


have occurred to them and even if it did it it almost certainly would be regarded as a ridiculous


and fanciful idea. As well as this  contemporary candles are produced from a  selection of different waxes,  of which the most popular is certainly


paraffin wax which is derived from petroleum You can also find more


environmentally sound waxes available as well, including soy wax and vegetable wax,


but none of these items would have been known to our predecessors. There is,


however, one variety of wax which our ancestors would


have recognised when it comes to candles and candle making in general namely beeswax, which is


employedby top quality  producers including true grace candles or Yankee candles, to name but two  in the manufacture of their products.


Beeswax, as as you will no doubt have guessed from the


name, is obtained~ from the honeycomb. It is


made from nectar in a similar manner to honey and is


currently used in the manufacture of candles not to


mention  a wide range of other items including cosmetics and toiletries. Beeswax has been used in


candle making for many centuries. It has a number of positive attributes which


make it perfect for candle making. Chief among these is the fact that  it burns cleanly, with little mess. It gives off little soot so it will not cause dark marks to form on your walls and ceilings when you light a beeswax candle at home.  Beeswax also burns


slowly - a good deal more slowly than conventional wax candles -  which means that your candle last longer and it also contains natural properties which


help cleanse the air as it burns, which is particularly important when using


candles indoors. In actual fact beeswax candles ionise the air while they burn making things so much easier for anyone who sufferes from allergies or perhaps a respiratory condition. So it seems, that while they probably didn't know the scence behind beeswax candles,  our ancestors knew a good thing when they saw it!


















The author is owner of The Scented Candle Store which supplies a wide range of candles as well as  reed diffuser

Tuesday, 18 October 2011

Add A Little Bit Of Eastern Style To Your Home

Take a


look at an Eastern style with hammered, punched or embossed, decorative metal . Imagine taking a


walk  through the bazaar on a


foreign holiday and seeing all those beautiful


items  created by craftsmen out of lovely


burnished and treated metal. These accessories like plates and bowls help add


the exotic look of the souk to even the plainest of rooms  . And you do not need to restrict this look to


simple accessories  . Light fittings, too,


look fantastic in these materials.  A beautifully ornate pendant light, made from


punched nickel-plated metal, would make a great focal point in a hallway or indeed in a living


room or dining room. And what about using the same idea for your table


settings? It could not be simpler . All you need to do is add a few brightly aromatic candles to a softly curved metal candle holder 


for an attractive  centre piece for


your table and a certain talking point for your dinner guests . Try  to pair this up with


suitable  glassware – coloured or


patterned glass , perhaps a little ~ maybe a bit old fashioned to some –


would be absolutely perfect ~would work perfectly ~ would be the ideal


choice. The scented~ aromatic~ fragrant~ perfumed candles made~ created~


produced ~ manufactured by True Grace candles would be ideal ~ a good choice


~suit down to the ground, especially~ particularly the gold coloured beeswax


ones they have available . Choose, for instance, a large hammered


candlestick in brushed or aged bronze for a sophisticated look  that will


be equally at home in a modern as well as a traditional property. The hammered


base look also looks great lit up at night   .The ideal choice would be an elegant pillar candle made from beeswax


from True Grace candles or Yankee candles, but


there are lots of otherchoices out there. Shop around to find the one that


suits your needs best.  Beautiful


design at a great price means you can splash out on more


than one hammered pieces and group them together to create a stunning effect. Do


not forget that dimpled frames are perfect for displaying on aside board or


mantelpiece. What about wow wallpaper? Did you know you can even get wallpaper


with a hammered metal finish. With a subtle metallic finish, the wallpaper has


just the right amount of shine and will look fantastic paired with the right


sort of furniture. If you want to carry the theme further you can do so with a clever choice of glassware and plates for the dinner table - nothing says the Levant more than a beautiful Moroccan tagine which is the perfect dish not only for Moroccan food, but also for making any hearty stew or casserole. Another simple but terrific addition would be a hand made leather pouffe or footstool. With their intricate detail, hand stitchd on the leather,  these make a fantastic - and comfortable - addition to any living room.










  The author is owner of The Scented Candle Store whichsupplies a range of scented candles as well as the morecontemporary alternative reeddiffuser