Showing all posts tagged interior design

In Interior Design

Interior Design Finishing Touches

Author Nicki CawoodPosted on

finishing touches

If you’re a regular reader of Curly&Candid it may not surprise you to read that we are still plotting and planning some interior design changes. This house is perfectly sized and laid out for our needs however it needs some oomph, some wow and it needs us to add our mark to it. We’ve been in here over fourteen months now, so it’s time.

The big changes we’ve mostly finished planning, however, we’re still quibbling over the finishing touches. These are the bits and pieces that on their own aren’t always very exciting however as part of an overall design, they offer functional and design-led benefits.

Here are just a few of the finishing touches we’re talking about.

Skirting Boards

Did you know that skirting boards have quite the history? We didn’t until we found this blog post about it. As well as protecting the wall at kick-level, skirting boards help finish a room off and keep it warm (important in a Victorian house, trust me). With high ceilings, heat is easily lost so we’re looking at architrave from Skirting World UK to finish off post-decorating.

Door Handles

Door handles are a function item but that doesn’t mean they can’t be pretty or feature an edgy design. I’ve fallen in love with these copper door knobs on Pinterest and while I haven’t yet worked out where they would fit in the house, I’m determined to find a way!

Feature Walls

Once we’ve built storage and what not we’ll be looking at our dining room and lounge feature walls. Currently covered in some dubious patterned paper, we’re looking for something with a little more oomph. At the moment stone split tiles (in a dark grey) are the frontrunner.

Window Film

Years ago, in another property, we experimented with window film and were thrilled with the result. It offered privacy, warmth and we didn’t lose any of the light. We are definitely considering doing this again. This is the modern and easy to maintain alternative to net curtains, which I loathe!

Flooring

We’re still thinking about this. Ideally we’d love hardwood floors, however, I’m looking at something that looks similar but is warmer (not laminate!). Any recommendations on this point are more than welcome. I love rugs so would use those on the floors I think, to compliment the room decor.

Lighting

finishing touches, lighting I would love to find a way to incorporate some industrial style lighting into the house. We need decent light levels for working and for hobbies however I’m pretty sure I can pull this off and still use light fittings as one of our interior finishing touches which will give the home a little more character. I’m thinking steel, chrome and copper tones.

In Summary

When you think of interior design finishing touches what comes to mind for you? Throws and pillows, lighting and wall art or perhaps like me, skirting boards and door knobs? Feel free to comment with your favourite interior design Pinterest boards, I’m still looking for inspiration!

 

In Interior Design

UK Feature Walls

Author Nicki CawoodPosted on

It’s not often that I come across something new and exciting when it comes to interiors but UK Feature Walls have certainly got my attention. I’m something of a Rightmove tart which means I spend a fair amount of time on the site viewing properties and often cooing over decoration or layouts. If I’m not on there, I’m on Pinterest.

The reason that UK Feature Walls have got my juices flowing is the fact thatthey offer something new and different, or at least new and different me. I have two feature walls in my home and neither of them please me. My lounge has a dark red paper across it with sprawling black and white flowers and my dining room chimney breast is, well,  I’m sure I saw the same paper in a pub toilet many years ago (It was on when we moved in over a year ago). The reason that both of these papers have stayed intact, despite them causing me grief is that until now I’ve just not been able to find something suitable to replace them.

Paper on a feature wall can be tricky, especially when you’re in a Victorian house. It’s entirely possible that I may now have found the answer.

Why Have a Feature Wall?

Feature walls are tricky and you have to think carefully about your space in order to get them right. The way I see it you have two choices, plain walls all around and jazz up your room with accessories, or a wow-some feature wall with plain adjoining walls. You can be bold with a feature wall however too much of a good thing can be a bad thing so you wouldn’t want to smother the whole room in a bold print or selection of wall tiles. The end result might be just a little too in your face, to be blunt.

Feature walls also allow you to make the most of your room’s assets. For us this is a gorgeous original fireplace, for someone else it might be a case of providing a unique canvas on which to hang a special piece of art or similar.

What Do UK Feature Walls Offer?

A more stunning range of tiles you would find hard to find. A UK company, based in Birmingham, UK Feature Walls offer a number of decorative feature wall tiles that are heat and weatherproof so may be used inside and out, and around fireplaces and so on. Choose from brick effect, concrete slab and even a decorative stone design.

I’ve spent quite some time browsing the site and have fallen in love with their stone veneers which simply need a suitable strong adhesive applying to put up. I love the texture, the feel, the depth and I’m already picturing the below in my lounge around the fireplace (which features a black and green marble effect), only with these darker grey stone split tiles instead of white.

feature walls

Roy might take some convincing (mostly because he’ll be the one doing all this redecorating) however with incredibly cheap samples of the tiles available I think he’ll find it easier to visualise the end result once he has my chosen tiles in hand.

In Summary

There are a number of ways to make a feature wall “pop”. I’ve spent years looking for something a little different to either spending thousands stripping a wall back to the original brick or trying yet another wallpaper. UK Wall Features offer me, and everyone else, a new and interesting way to banish interior design woes. We’re in the midst of planning and plotting big changes in our home and hearing about split face tiles and brick slips have made me completely rethinking the direction we were thinking of going in. This is not a bad thing!

We’ll keep you up to date with our plans!

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