Warm autumn colors for furniture and decoration

Autumn is a time of year when you can experiment a bit with colors in your home to give your home a more natural look. By using autumn colors you make the room look warm and cozy. Don't know which colors you can match to achive best results - read our guide belowe.

Remember that warm colors will make the device appear cozy and homely. Traditional soft cream color can be combined with wooden furniture. Moreover, beige has a great advantage - this color is neutral and can refresh yourself with different accent colors. By using beige and bordeaux you will make the interior look classy - so this combination is great for living rooms or bedrooms.

Furthermore, you can achive great effect by having two colored living room. The dark color attracts attention to itself, while the lighter pastel color remains in the background. Therefore, it is always advisable to emphasize a well-lit wall in vibrant color, and keep the other plain.
And there is also one color that you just need to use on autumn - orange. It's such a cool color that fits perfectly with almost every modern living room.

And if you think that vibrant colors have no place in the interior with autumn theme you are in big mistake. Colors like turquoise blue and red act cheerful and are perfectly suited for larger living room.

You can even refresh traditional furnishings or interiors by the exotic color combination. Of course as long as it is present only in the home accessories. For example table runner in azure and red flowers can contrast strongly with dark mahogany furniture and will surely delight your guests.
In addition to that , colorful patterns are allowed for the upholstery and the pillows.

Source: http://furnitex.co.uk/

Few tips how to choose perfect sofa

Nowdays, there is so many products on the market that you have almost endless choice. This same applies if you want to buy new sofa. You might think you know exactly what you want, but once you walk into a shop or browse images online all that options can become overwhelming. Here is our short guide that will help you choose right.

First of all consider size of the sofa. If you have a bigger living room, you'll need to decide exactly how much of the space you want to fill. Do you want to have chairs or maybe coffee table in your living room? If so, a simple sofa or one with L-shape is probably the best fit. On the other hand, if you're looking for a sofa that will be the focal point of your room, look for rounder couch shapes.

If you have a smaller room, you will probably need a smaller sofa. With less space, any sofa will be in the spotlight. Because of that you want to choose something that is practical, but also has unique design.

Next very important thing - you need to decide how the sofa will be oriented. Ask yourself those questions: What do you do the most in that space? Do you like to sit down in front of the TV? If so make sure your sofa faces that direction. Love hosting game or wine nights? Create a semi circle around a central table.

Furthermore, you need to determine which shape will suit the room best. Now that you've decided your sofa's function, it's time to figure out which shape will help it fulfill that purpose. A clean L-shape sofa is great if you want  to divide the space and separate the living room from the dining room.

Moreover it's good idea to research upholstery materials. Which will be best for you? Design is important, but functionality is the most important thing when it comes to choosing a material for your sofa. Maybe you are tempted to buy white suede sofa, because it looks so good, but be aware that such sofa is also very dangerous. Suede can be a poor choice if you have pets or small children in home. Then you can choose leather as it is consistently in style, generally wears well with age, and can be fairly easy to clean. Just remember to pick up darker colors.

Source: http://furnitex.co.uk/

Guide to buying eco-friendly furniture

The eco-friendly terminology doesn’t exist in the furniture category in the same way it's used in labeling for example food. While some items will have the word organic or eco-friendly in the product name or description in case of furniture it look differently.

Here is our guide to what’s out there in eco-friendly furniture, décor and furnishings, from organic fabrics and fills to certified ecologically harvested wood.

First, if you want to be eco-friendly opt for organic in upholstered or filled pieces. Let's start with home furnishings you will find with the word organic on the label or in the product description.
Take upholstered furniture for example - you need to look for chairs and sofas covered in organic fabrics and stuffed with natural latex foam.

When you buy mattresses choose organic cotton, organic wool and natural latex. Most organic mattresses have latex cores and are wrapped in wool or cotton or a combination of both.

As you may know organic mattresses are pricey but there is an alternatie - futons. They can be a cost-effective alternative, and you don’t have to use them on tough to sit folding frames. There are platforms and flat frames available, too.

The simplest way to avoid toxins like formaldehyde and PBDEs is to buy furniture made from materials that don’t contain them. Pieces made from metal or glass carry few concerns, as both are inert materials which don’t offgas. Solid wood furniture ranks right up there, too. However, keep in mind that the products used to paint or finish wood and metal can contain VOCs.

Source: http://furnitex.co.uk/

Decorating mistakes you should avoid

Most home owners aren’t professional decorators and will eventually fall prey to common decorating mistakes. Here is our guide about common decorating mistakes that you should try to avoid.

First of all something about toilet rugs. They are necessary item but common mistake is to buy ones that are odd-shaped and draw to much attention. Simple solution is to buy a small rectangular rug that wont give you an eye sore.

Another common mistake is about making your home looks like grandma’s house by using too many picture frames in one place. Not only do these cluttered surfaces make your home look messy, but they can be overwhelming to your guests. It' will be better if you create a photo collage on your wall with matching frames.

Avoid cord mess. This is one of the oldest mistakes in the book. Cords are necessary for almost every electronic device so it’s important to be deliberate about having them organized. Remember to label every cord in your home and unplug everything that you don’t use.

We need to mension also different size furniture in one room. When you have similar pieces that are all different shapes and sizes, it can make a room feel like it’s not put together. We usually love balance in design, so mismatched furniture will make things look akward. So keep in mind to buy furniture that are the same size to create symmetry and balance.

Next mistake that is very common are uncomfortable dining chairs. Dining should never be an uncomfortable experience, but we very often invest so little in our dining room chairs. So if you want comfort buy padded chairs with arm rests. Your guests and family will thank you for it.

Last common mistake - buying furniure that doesn't fit. We’ve all seen the living room with the huge couches that shrink the room and make it hardly livable. Always remember to buy furniture that fits your living space. Sometimes something smaller is better as it makes your room feel larger.

Source: http://furnitex.co.uk/

Timeless home design - decorating tips

Season trends come and go so if you want to achive timeless decor design in your home here is our quick guide how to do it.

First of all try to stick to a muted color palette. With a restricted palette, colors are no longer the most important thing and are just a background for furnishings and the accessories which take center stage.

Another tip to achive timeless decor design is to arrange small pictures on a dresser. Small pictures look like visual noise on a wall, and they can pump up the personality of an otherwise ho-hum table. To unify a collection of photographs, use frames of the same material and size.

Moreover try to top carpeting with an area rug. Layering rugs, like layering clothes, adds texture, color, and dimension. For the best results, start with a tightly woven, low-pile carpet or sisal in a solid tone

Next, buy only functional furniture. As chic as that angular chair with a bucket seat looks in the magazine, don't buy something on which you can't comfortably sit. The same goes for coffee tables and shelves. Buy furniture that are meant to be used, not just admired from afar.

Furthermore, remember to cluster similar colors together. Colors from a single family blend effortlessly. Pick a color you like and stick with its variations. If you love blue, for example, paint walls and choose curtains in a navy color. Punch up the palette with a brighter sofa. Accessorize with a lilac patterned rug, cloudy prints featuring different shades of blue.

And last advice - remember about the flooring. Solid wood floors have been a popular addition throughout the home for many years and can perfectly complement a wide range of styles so they are for sure timeless.

The most common interior design mistakes you should avoid

A few small tweaks to your space can make all the difference. Knowing what is right and what is wrong can change chaotic space into one that is organized and add a sense of order and balance. Below are few example of thing you shouldn't do when you are decorating your home.

First common mistake is over-furnishing room. You don't need much to turn your room from well planned space to one that closely resembles a dumping ground of collected furniture and accessories. You need to remember that your furniture should fill space and create a space that is both appealing and functional. In every room there should be enough space to create movement and flow.

Sometimes it’s not a matter of too much furniture, but their placement. If after moving a piece or two around, your space still feels tight, then you will probablly need to remove it - and ou’ll be amazed at the difference such small change makes. Overly furnished rooms makes that room smaller than it is.

Next common mistake - placing in room furniture that doesn't fit in size.Just like too small pair of jeans, furniture must also fit. Furniture that is too big will make your room seem unbalanced and this is certainly not a look you want. Conversely a room whose furniture are too small may feel like a doll house. So before you buy new furniture, whether couches, tables or beds, measure both the furniture as well as the room.

Moreover, remember that lighting is very important. Your space should have as much natural lighting as possible.  Do not block natural light sources with poorly placed curtains and accessories. You can enhance natural light with the placement of mirrors so the light can bounce around the room. Also you can add some overhead lighting.

Basic rule is to have more than one source illuminating your room. Add proportionally sized and well placed lamps. Your lighting should be bright enough to to function under but not so bright that it is jarring.

Another mistake that happens very often is picking furniture before deciding paint colors of walls.
It will be much harder to match furniture to an already painted wall than the other way around. We suggest working first with your couch or sofabed. Do bring fabric swatches to your paint store to help select your color palette. Bring paint samples to your home and test again.

Last mistake that is very common is hiding windows in room just like hanging curtain rods too low. Curtain rods should be hung as close to the ceiling as possible to create a sense of height and largess. Rods that are hung too low make a ceiling feel lower, and can make a room feel a lot smaller.

Open kitchen concept - a quick guide

Nowdays, in design there is tendency towards full opening of the living area. The benefits are obvious, but there are also some drawbacks, so make sure you know the basic design rules and that your decision is based on a good balance of pros and cons.

The open floor plan is great for a variety of reasons. First of all, it looks good and gives a sense of airiness. Moreover if you have a family of for or five, plus pets, the openness of the design will sure make it easier for everyone to spend some valuable time together. The concept of a kitchen open to the living room is utilized by owners of small apartments, where the open plan simply creates the illusion of a bigger space.

What you need to keep in mind is to leave the view unobstructed. Why open up the space if you plan to divide it again by some folding screens or curtains? Successful open plan designs are all about a sense of airiness that comes from the lack of barriers for the eye, but also from the choice of appropriate furniture.

Key factor in open-plan environments is to try to avoid furniture which is too tall or heavy as compared to the furniture in the living room area. If you choose bulky upper cabinets, they will not only close in on the room and make it look smaller, but will also draw too much attention. Of course you can use upper cabinets but they should be simple in terms of style and color.

Next thing that you should know is that defining feature of most open-plan environments is a kitchen island, which acts as some sort of a border between the cooking and lounging areas. Sometimes it is also a breakfast bar or a rectangular dining table.

Furtermore, you need to be careful with open shelving. Too many closed upper cabinets can make a room seem smaller. There are pros and cons to using open shelves in just about any room, but when it comes to open-concept designs, they need special consideration.

Another thing that you should know is that floors are the backbone of an interior, and it's especially truer in open-plan arrangements. Whether you go for wood, tile or stone be sure to use rule of thumb for open areas and as much of one material as possible. Continuous flooring brings the sense of unity and spaciousness into the overall design.

Another advise is to be consistent in terms of style, as open plans need an overall stylistic coherence, so that all areas interact with each other without individually standing out.