If you have a penchant for designer furniture, but not for the price tags, check out Made.com.  A clever website aimed at bringing great quality designer pieces of furniture direct from the makers.

Made.com cut out the middle man, they have no plush showrooms or huge warehouses to pay for, so they can keep costs down and pass the savings directly on to the customer.  In fact, savings of up to 70% can be made!

Customers can also have a say in which designs are produced, with a voting system set up on the site allowing visitors to cast their votes on which products are brought to life.

Have a look at this gorgeous chair, currently featured on the site.  A snip at £169, compared to high street price tag of £799.  Stylish and a bargain… and that’s not easy to find!

So if you want to update your home without breaking the bank, check out Made.com…. you won’t be disappointed.

Eeek… I couldn’t believe my eyes today when I visited my own blog to see I hadn’t posted for over a month!

I have been a busy bee to say the least over the past four weeks, and while it’s no excuse, I just haven’t found the time to blog.  And that’s not the only thing that has slipped.

This started me thinking how quickly time can fly, and how easily we can let things slide if other areas of our lives become busy.

If you are selling your home, and you have a busy and full schedule,  it is all too easy to let things go slightly.  But don’t underestimate the importance of keeping on top of things at home.  You could be called upon at any time to open your doors for a viewing and if the house isn’t ready, you could find yourselves waving bye bye to that potential buyer.

I always advise my clients to ‘Tidy as you go’.  Have a good cleaning/tidying session each week and then keep at it. Don’t walk past clutter or mess without picking it up and clearing it away.  Once one bag or a pair of shoes is abandoned, it will always attract more! Encourage everyone in the house to do the same.  You could even gather the whole family up and spend 10 minutes every day sweeping through the house to keep everything in order.

And make sure you are on top of those odd jobs. Does the lawn still need to be mowed, has the fence in the garden been fixed yet?  And what about that broken light bulb… seen to that yet?  These are things that will stick out like a sore thumb to your eagle-eyed viewers.  Fix things as they break and it will mean less panic when the agent calls.

Make these things a priority if you are serious about selling up and moving on.

Kelly Swallow designs and makes beautiful patchwork chairs using vintage pieces of fabric, meaning each piece is a complete one off.  The fabrics for her patchwork chairs come from a variety of sources including designer fabrics such as Designers Guild and Osborne & Little.

I was lucky enough to catch up with Kelly this week and was delighted to learn she has just finished a new range of chairs, made using French grain sack.

This latest addition, shown above, is a fabulous Edwardian club chair, with a beautifully shaped back and scrolling arms.  The ornate carved feet contrast with the hessian grain sack upholstery.

French hessian grain sacks traditionally featured the farm name and town that they came from, as well as the year, which in this case happens to be 1966… a very special year!

These stunning rustic chairs contrast beautifully with Kelly’s range of patchwork chairs.

I would highly recommend a visit to her site www.kellyswallow.co.uk.  Enjoy browsing, and don’t be surprised when you find yourself pondering on which one of your rooms you could see one of her stunning designs featuring!  It’s hard not to!

Kelly Swallow is based in Hertfordshire and is more than happy for clients to pop into her workshop and look at her latest designs and discuss bespoke pieces.

Many thanks to Kelly for the fabulous photos of her latest creations.

It is probably safe to assume that if you have ever sold a property you will have considered dropping your asking price.

Some of you may have been asked by your agent to think about a price cut, others may have been advised it is the only way you are going to secure a sale.  And did it work?  If the answer is yes, chances are your house would have sold anyway.

Image courtesy of: Arvind Balaraman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I believe you should never lower your asking price. And here’s why:

8 reasons why you should stick to your asking price:

1.  In most cases the drop in price you make probably won’t make any difference to your buyers… whatever their budget.  Unless you can afford to slash the price by at least 25% (and why would you?), it really won’t make an impact.

2.  Your property was originally valued based on some sound research and by an expert in the industry.  What’s changed?

3.  A price drop can cause suspicion among buyers, what’s wrong with it?  Why have you lowered the asking price?  Not a good impression to make on your potential buyers!

4.  Unless there is good reason, your house shouldn’t be the cheapest on the street/estate/area.  Buyers want to feel they are getting something special.  Lets face it ‘cheapest’ and ‘special’ don’t often go together in the same sentence.

5.  If you are feeling pressure from your agents to drop your price, ask them what else could be done to secure that sale… put the onus back onto them.  That’s what you are paying them for.

6.  In today’s market most buyers will most certainly make an offer, not many people will go straight in with the full asking price. If you have already lowered your price, and then go on to accept an even lower offer, how much money have you lost?  You do the math.

7.  Dropping your price may lead to other properties in the area doing the same.  Not only will you have driven down the overall value of homes in your area, but you will still be in the same ballpark as everyone else in terms of price.  The net effect?  You will be in a similar position as you were before you, except slightly worse off!

8.  And finally, have confidence in your price, if you don’t, no one else will!

So stick to your guns and stick to your price… and if you need some extra help, you know where to come!

Home Staging is relatively new in the UK and so often I find myself having to explain to people what it means and what I do.

So I was thrilled to see that the Telegraph have written a piece on the topic today and thought I would post it to on my blog to share with anyone who might have missed it.

Just click on the image below which will take you straight to the full article.

Article and Image courtesy of The Telegraph

I am often asked by clients for new and clever ideas for storage.  This is particularly common among my clients with children.

Kids toys and games seem to have a habit of spilling out into every room!  Which is all well and good when you have the children and their friends tearing through the house during the day, but so many parents want a quick and simple way to tidy things away so they can relax in a ‘grown up’ space in the evenings.

In the past I have found blanket boxes, shelves, chests and plastic crates, all in my quest to help parents.  Today I have stumbled across a lovely, unique and fresh way to get those toys out of the way for a few peaceful hours!

Image and product courtesy of Cox and Cox

These sturdy, stylish canvas bags are great for throwing those toys into at the end of the day. Perfect!

And why stop there?  Those clever people at Cox and Cox have come up with a couple of other bags for storing away hats and gloves.   With all this lovely storage, there can be no more excuses for being unorganised!

Image and product courtesy of Cox and Cox

You only have to walk through the high street to see the vast array of lighting on offer.  It can be daunting and overwhelming to say the least.

How much should you spend, what style should you go with, what type of light should you buy and what if it goes out of fashion?

So to help you out I have decided to write a blogpost on two classic iconic lighting designs.  Designs that you can’t go wrong with and that you can find replicated on the high street, at affordable prices.

First up is the fabulous Artichoke Lamp.  Designed more than 40 years ago, by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen.

Image courtesy of Dotmaison.com

This stunning lamp is made up of 72 leaves in 12 circular rows.  The clever design means the light can be looked at from any angle and the light bulb in the centre will be hidden.

For those of us who can’t quite stretch to the £5,ooo price tag, the high street have many Artichoke inspired options.

I love this pendant by Interior Addict, a much more affordable option at £199.

Image courtesy of Interior Addict

Or for a softer version, try this pendant from Lighting Styles, at £188.80 I am sure you won’t be disappointed.

Image courtesy of Lighting Styles

For a more simple, timeless design, look to the Robert Dudley Best Pendant light. Designed in 1930 and manufactured ever since, this British design remains a classic and can be found in many homes today.

Image courtesy of Icone

This classic light could be yours for £209 from Icone.

Similar versions of this pendant can be found in many shops, but I like this modern take on the design from Lighting Direct at the bargain price of £36.29.

Image courtesy of Lighting Direct

Two gorgeous examples of light designs that have stood the test of time.

Each year AkzoNobel (the worlds largest paint company) get together the best minds in the world of design and decide which colours will be key, in the coming year.

The experts have come up with 5 trends for the year, each having it’s own colour palette. It is from these palettes that one colour is selected……..the ‘Colour of the Year’.  This is the colour that will best represent the mood, attitude and fashions of the time.

The 2011 ‘Colour of the Year’ is …… Sherbet Lemon.

“fresh, reassuring, vital, sugared lemon, surprising, creative and fun, healthy, hopeful, glowing and warm” (quote taken from Colour Futures 2011)

With this in mind, I have scoured the market to bring you some gorgeous goodies for the home, that represent this fabulous colour trend.

So, if your home could do with an injection of colour, or you are keen to tap into this years trend, take a look at the fabulous products below for ideas and inspiration………

First up is this lovely linen cushion, it’s a subtle nod to the colour trend, without being too obvious. Perfect if you want to ease into the colour gently.

Bramble Cushion £25. Product and picture from http://www.plumchutney.com/

These fun door stops are a perfect accessory and bang on trend this year.

Door Stops £43. Products and pictures from http://www.jim-lawrence.co.uk/

This Designers Guild bedding is stunning in yellow and white floral print… demonstrating perfectly how yellow can work beautifully alongside black and grey.

Bedding from £15 to £100.  Product and pictures from http://www.designersguild.com/uk-shop-online/shop-home/

This iconic, vintage Eames Chair from comes from Rockett St George, in a vibrant shade of yellow it would be a real statement piece in any home.

Eames Chair £270.  Product and picture from http://www.rockettstgeorge.co.uk/

And finally, why limit yourself to indoors?  I love this fabulous citrine bistro garden furniture set from John Lewis, perfect for those balmy evenings.

Bistro Set £125. Picture and product from http://www.johnlewis.com

With so many inspiring products on the market, why don’t you try embracing this gorgeous colour and inject some sunshine into your home!

When it comes to lighting, the ‘one size fits all’ approach definitely does not apply.

Think about how you use each room before deciding upon your lighting scheme.  Some rooms will be functional spaces where it is essential to have task lighting, other areas might be for relaxation, where harsh overhead lighting would fail to create the desired effect.

I have picked some key rooms to illustrate just how different the lighting requirements can be:

Kitchens - If you are a keen cook, you should make sure that your kitchen has sufficient task lighting.  Consider using lights underneath your cabinets to shed light on the work surfaces.  Ceiling spotlights are a great way of lighting a kitchen, without casting shadows.

Image courtesy of: Paul Sutcliffe / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Living Rooms – Layering your lighting in this room is essential.  It may be necessary to have overhead lighting for certain times of the day or for certain activities.  Consider using dimmer switches to allow you more control over the intensity and brightness of your lights. Teamed with table lamps and floor lamps you can create a cosy atmosphere in the evenings, or a relaxed environment when entertaining.

Dining Rooms - Think about the position of your table in the room, this is the area where you should be focusing your attention.  It is vital that there is sufficient lighting at the table.  This can be achieved in many ways such as using directional spotlights, or perhaps a low hanging pendant light above the table.  The dining room is often a key area for entertaining, make sure the room feels relaxed and welcoming.  Picture lights, or table lamps will help to create a space where people feel comfortable. Avoid harsh lighting, which could make the room feel flat and one-dimensional.

Bedrooms – Most people will find they need less light in their bedrooms than anywhere else in the house.  This is an area where the lighting should be soft and calming. Dimmer switches for any overhead lighting could be introduced to allow more control over the intensity of the lights. Bedside reading lamps should be considered to provide sufficient lighting for evening reading.

Image courtesy of: Maggie Smith / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Lighting really can transform a space.  Many people will find that they avoid using certain rooms in their homes because they are not lit correctly.  Avoid this happening by using my tips above and see what a difference well thought out lighting can make to your home.

The importance of lighting should never be underestimated, it can transform a space at the flick of a switch.

Good lighting can pull together a room scheme, finishing off the look and creating the perfect mood.  Lighting can be functional, practical, decorative and atmospheric.

Bad lighting can leave a room feeling cold, clinical and sparse.

With so much choice it can be a minefield.  Navigating through a barrage of wall lights, ceiling lights, pendants, chandeliers, shades, up-lighters, down-lighters, floor lamps, table lamps….the list could literally fill this page.

So where do you begin?  How do you create the perfect lighting scheme?

Time and time again I am asked about this.  So, I will be dedicating some serious blog time to this subject over the next few weeks.  Covering the basic principles, guiding you through the process, and inspiring you with ideas that you could achieve at home.

So, keep popping back to see the latest advice, and if you have any questions just let me know….

Let the lighting Masterclass begin!

Image courtesy of: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net