Home Decoring

Oak furniture is classic, timeless and reliable and when it comes to choosing the ideal oak collection for your home, Fortune Woods has everything to offer. From beds to wardrobes, dining tables to bookcases and desks to sideboards, you’ll find it at Fortune Woods. There are eight completely unique ranges to choose from, each featuring different shapes, shades and finishes, so no matter what your home decor, you’ll find the furniture to match. Strong, sturdy and hardwearing, each piece is carefully crafted from only the finest cuts of American oak to feature all the beauty of natural grains and blemishes.

If you’re looking for traditional shapes with a rustic finish then the Country range is for you. These pieces combine straight lines and smooth edges with a brushed oil finish to complement warm decor and create a comforting, homely feel. The drawers are fitted with dovetail joints through time-honoured techniques and curved, brass-coloured handles add that extra note of elegance and charm. Brighten up your bedroom with the Country oak dressing table, with a mirror and stool to match or for that truly traditional touch, consider the Country oak blanket box.

For lighter shades of wood and a more modern feel, the Milano or Tavistock ranges are for you. The pieces in these collections feature squared-off edges and a smooth, blemish-free finish for that understated, contemporary look. Curved metal handles add grace to the Milano drawers while the Tavistock range combines traditional large oak knobs with straight and contemporary, cube shapes. Choose from the elegant Tavistock coffee table and TV unit to match or spruce up your dining room with a Milano extending table and glass door dresser.

If you’re looking for pieces that ooze glamour and really stand out then the Bordeaux collection is perfect. These designs take inspiration from France to inject an air of allure and sophistication into your home. With a lacquer finish, dovetail joints and a warm tone, the pieces retain a traditional look while delicate shapes and rustic metal handles add that touch of prestige. Make a grand impression on your guests with the majestic Bordeaux dining table and chairs or opt for the gorgeous Bordeaux bookcase to store all of your favourite reads.
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Choosing a sofa can be a fairly big task, as whatever you choose, you’ll want it to be a fixture of your home for years to come. As the centrepiece of most living rooms, you want your sofa to be comfortable, to look great and most importantly, to last. Once you’ve established the size you need: two-seater, three-seater, corner, etc., the next big decision is usually the style, which begins with weighing up fabric sofas versus leather sofas. So, when you’re shopping for sofas, just remember to consider the four Cs:

Cleaning

Fabric sofas can be also be easily hoovered clean; and they do fare better than leather sofas if you have a cat that likes to scratch! They also often have removable covers that can be professionally cleaned or simply put in the washing machine to freshen up them up. Although they provide a sleeker, more modern look, any damage to a leather sofa is there to stay, and rips or tears in the fabric are fairly inevitable over time.

Colour

One of the downsides to choosing a leather sofa is that the colours are often a lot more restrictive. The material primarily lends itself to neutral shades like black, cream and brown, complementing minimalist décors best. Fabric sofas, on the other hand, have a much wider choice of colours and patterns – so if you’re looking for a sofa to liven up the room, then fabric will be the better choice.
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More and more, people are hearing about the upcycling of furniture, creating shabby chic masterpieces and saving old bits of wood to create fantastic pieces of DIY furniture.

But why do people do it?

Although it is true that the internet provides a very convenient and often cheaper source of furniture, with stores such as Oak Furniture UK selling solid oak, you can also spruce up, upcycle and even totally repaint old furniture relatively cheaply with a good old bit of DIY.

So what is upcycling?

Put simply, upcycling is the act of taking waste or unwanted materials and through DIY, turning them into something useful, or in the case of furniture, often something great.

Whether you have a cabinet that you can turn into a lovely bookcase or a door that could be converted into a coffee table, the options really are limitless when it comes to upcycling.

Not only do your skills and creativity get put through their paces, but it also means that you can save your pennies for when you really do want to buy a great piece of solid oak furniture.
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You are selling your home! How can you get the highest sale price with minimal investment (time and money)?

Here are the top 3 do it yourself home renovations to increase the value of your home without breaking the bank:

#1. Start with the Floors

What is the Number 1 most requested renovation from homebuyers? You guessed it! Hardwood flooring. Everything appears to be more luxurious and clean with hardwood. The catch is that hardwood floors are expensive. So why not buy wood-like tile flooring instead. It’s cheaper and easier to maintain.

#2. Polish up the Kitchen

Upgrading your kitchen can be expensive. So use a bit of ingenuity and upgrade your cabinets with off of the shelf cabinets from IKEA. Once you have your cabinets up to snuff, then buff up your kitchen counters with household cleaners. Shiny, scuff less counters give the illusion of being new.

#3. CLEAN

A clean home is well cared for home. You can increase the desirability of your home by taking one day and cleaning from top to bottom. That means the ceilings, walls, corners, carpet, floors and especially the bathrooms.

Homebuyers more often renovate the bathrooms, so give the buyer a break by cleaning yours.

One of the easiest ways to renovate a bathroom is to PAINT it. Use a basic white or off-white color so it appeals to everyone. Take off any seat covers on the toilet, and if you need a new toilet seat, replace it.

Most homebuyers request “spa-like” bathrooms which basically means clean lines, fresh smells, and modern accents.

If you have decided to improve your home to list it for sale, it’s sometimes difficult to know where to begin. While you certainly can’t pick the house up and move it to nicer area, there truly are numerous things you can do to improve the resale value of a house.

Simple repairs and upgrades can up the appraisal by as much as 20%. However, you must have a plan and focus on the key areas that will bring you the biggest profit on the sale of your home. This is a list of eight of the most important things to do to increase the value of your home.

1. Keep the Landscaping Manicured

Presenting a positive first impression to prospective buyers is a crucial aspect when selling a home. The very first thing they will notice is the landscaping. Make sure all of the trees and bushes are trimmed and the lawn is mowed. Be sure to neatly edge around the yard, driveway and sidewalk. Keeping the landscaping freshly manicured and green will attract more potential buyers and up the value.

2. Paint the House

A fresh coat of paint on both the interior and exterior of the home will charm more buyers and command a greater price. Remember to use only neutral colors, because many potential buyers find brightly colored walls a bit distracting. Light, warm colors present a pleasant atmosphere that will appeal to a wider range of individuals. Don’t forget to remove all of the wallpaper in your home, because it is not a high selling point and can actually lower the resale value.
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A couple of years ago, researchers found that living in the city actually affects how your brain senses and perceives danger, meaning that these warning signs actually become overactive during times of stress.

In fact, research showed that there is a 21% increased risk of anxiety disorders and a 39% increased risk of mood disorders for those who live in cities.

It is important therefore, to be able to have the luxury of leaving work after a long day, to a home that is both comfortable and affordable.

You can help relieve the stress of city living by bringing the rustic, and shabby chic elements of the country into your home; whether you live in a high raised apartment in the sky, or a luxurious townhouse in the centre of the city.
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We all love buying a new sofa for our homes, and at the end of the day, it is a purchase that we only have to make once or twice in a decade.

As sofas are so expensive therefore, it is important that we look after them as much as we can so that our favourite pieces of furniture are with us for as long as possible; though you can buy them online at hellosofas.com sometimes it is just best to remove the wine instead of the sofa.

With that in mind, when those occasional spills do happen (or often if you have a large family), it is important to know how to tackle the worst of the most gruesome stains.

One of the most notorious stains in the country however, is of course red wine. Although we’re pretty sure that you can’t blame this accident on the children, if you have a house party, this is a problem that is more than likely to happen.
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Who knows that the value of the houses have become more than double since the mid 1990s. What about the value of your home now? Have you already made a capital gain from the ownership of your house? It was no surprise that you’ll need to use the money you release to pay off your existing mortgage and other secured loans first, then you’ll be free to spend what’s left however you want. Releasing money from your house could give you a more comfortable retirement.

Anyway, did you know that the rising value of your home now can obtain a lump sum cash or a weekly steady income without have to leave your home? If you are elderly persons who need to boost your retirement income without leaving your house, then equity release plans can be your option. If you are in UK, AVIVA allows you to release some of the equity in your home with a lifetime mortgage.

Equity release recommended for you who have age 55-70s and have a property with worth at least £30k and make sure has no heirs when you die, because your property will not be able to leave it to your family, and will reduce the total value of your estate on your death. Some advantages of equity release are you can receive a lump-sum of tax-free cash or a steady income (annuity), which can be index-linked, for the rest of your life. You can’t lose your home, because all Equity Release Council (ERC) member providers include guarantees in their equity release plans that let you stay in your own home for the rest of your life. You don’t have to worry if interest rates fall, borrowers are free to refinance their mortgages at a lower cost with other providers.

Equity release also has provided for you who may want to move to a smaller or cheaper property. The council will provide as long as your new property meets the equity release provider criteria, you can take your plan with you to another property.