katie.lacy@letsgetcoffee.co.uk, Author at Modish Living

Why we love the Dulux Colour of the Year – Bright Skies™

Why we love Dulux Colour of the Year Bright Skies

Dulux has just announced their top pick colour for 2022 – Bright Skies™ and we think it’s the perfect hue to pair with our rustic furniture.

The household paint company consulted with a team of international designers who looked at how interior trends have changed over the last 18 months and discovered that the desire to be more in touch with nature and the great outdoors is ever growing. Green has been an on-trend colour for some time and used in 1000’s of homes up and down the country, but now it is time for a switch to an uplifting summer sky blue. This pale blue is perfect for a rustic farmhouse kitchen and easy to mix with other natural “outdoor” colours.

Credit: DULUX Announces Colour Of The Year 2022 BRIGHT SKIES Greenhouse Palette 3

We thought we would consider how this beautiful blue hue would work with some of our reclaimed wood furniture and also our newly launched mango wood furniture collections.

The Standford Industrial Reclaimed Wood collection

This is a collection of industrial furniture which we think would look fabulous with a soothing sky blue. We see this colour in an open plan kitchen/diner with large patio doors overlooking the garden. The pale sky blue colour would allow the reclaimed wood and metal industrial frame to really stand out, but it will also help to bring the outside in. Bring in accent colours via chairs, for example, in a rich, luxurious blue or industrial dark grey. For stylish storage, the industrial coffee table is a must-have – on this you can arrange some blue decorative pieces to continue the theme.

From left: Standford Large Industrial Dining Table and Standford Industrial TV Stand

The Chelwood Reclaimed Wood collection

This classic collection is created from gorgeous pale reclaimed wood. If you want a light and airy look in your room the combination of the Chelwood collection and Bright Skies™ would be the perfect combination. Blue brings calmness and serenity to mind meaning your space would be one to relax in making it ideal for a soothing living room.

The rustic coffee table from the collection positioned next to a tan leather sofa or a leather Oswald 2 Seater Sofa will stand out beautifully against a lovely and calming pale sky blue.

The Canford Sustainable Mango Wood collection

The Canford mango wood furniture collection is new to our shop, we think it is absolutely gorgeous when paired with pale blue, sitting in complete harmony with a natural blue sky. Blue is a colour that is perfect for a soothing bedroom, dining room or living room and being pale, it allows the striking patterning of the Canford rustic furniture collection to really pop.

From left: Canford Sustainable Mango Wood Dressing Table & Canford Sustainable Mango Wood Bookcase

Houseplants are great in the bedroom and again this pale blue will provide you with a serene and restful backdrop. Coordinate your bedding by opting for a slightly bolder blue, bring in warm luxurious scatter cushions, bed throws and floor rugs to bring in warmth and comfort.

Credit: DULUX Announces Colour Of The Year 2022 BRIGHT SKIES Greenhouse Palette 7

What do you think of this refreshing colour? Leave a comment below – we’d love to hear your thoughts. Or read more about the Dulux Colour of the Year for 2022 here.

Create a warm rustic living room with the Ringwood

mango wood coffee table next to dark brown leather sofa

A living room should be a cosy family room – somewhere to relax and unwind in front of the TV, play cards and board games with your favourite people, a place to quietly read a book as well as a social space to sit with friends over a morning coffee or before dinner cocktails.

You also want your living room to reflect your personality and style so this is why we have many different types of rustic furniture collections for you to choose from – the modern look comes from the Canford mango wood furniture collection, whereas if you like the look of industrial furniture then you can choose from the Standford reclaimed wood furniture collection or for rustic furniture then the new Ringwood living room furniture collection simply has to grab your attention.

The Ringwood collection is skillfully crafted from gorgeous honey-coloured, sustainable mango wood. It is produced in a way to make the most of the gorgeous wood grain that mango wood is renowned for, just what you need to create a warm rustic living room.

Just about every living room has a coffee table and we love the beautiful simplicity and clean lines of the Ringwood rustic coffee table where the gorgeous mango wood does all the talking. However, if you need to add some practical storage space in your living room (and who doesn’t?) then the storage coffee table with its slide open top and two drawers has to be your first choice. For extra occasional coffee tables then consider the wooden nest of tables always handy to have when visitors call!

For those times when you just want a little atmospheric dim lighting in your living room then make sure you have a lamp next to the Ringwood lamp table next to your favourite relaxing spot – it has a drawer too, handy for your favourite book, reading glasses and to keep remotes in one place.

Bringing your own personality to a living room is essential for a homely living space and the rustic sideboard or rustic console table is the ideal spot to display memorable photos and favoured accessories, again crated from solid mango using traditional carpentry methods to ensure each piece is as unique as it is beautiful.

Being a rich dark honey colour this living room furniture will bring a natural rustic warmth into your room that only real solid wood can – it will complement bolder and brighter colour schemes just as it will a calming neutral colour scheme.

Carry the same rustic scheme into your dining space with the Ringwood Sustainable Mango Wood Furniture for the dining room. Including a wonderful mango wood dining table with solid X-legs and a choice of three matching wooden dining chairs, read more in our Spotlight on the new Ringwood Mango Wood Dining blog here.

Top tips to create a cosy dark bedroom

A bedroom should be a place that’s all about winding down and relaxing ready for sleep. A cocooning space to read in before bed and prepare for a good night’s sleep. We love a light and airy bedroom but we also covet a more dramatic and cosy atmosphere to retreat to. Here we look at how comforting a dark bedroom can be – especially as the nights draw in and get colder.

Dark colours

Opt for dark greys, deep greens and dark hues of blue – all are restful colours with a hint of drama. Blue, in particular, is perfect for the bedroom – mimicking the night sky it’s calming and soothing. Navy can also be used in small or larger amounts, whereas a rich deep royal blue will give a room a regal and luxurious feel.

If you already have a dark room it is quite tempting to bring in lighter hues but this is not a rule set in stone, in fact, doing this can sometimes end up making your bedroom look dull and drab. If you are a lover of something more bold and dramatic then opt for darker colours. Just one statement wall can make all the difference in your bedroom – a perfect dark canvas to make lighter items really pop and stand out – or go for the current trend of painting walls, skirting boards, coving and even the ceiling in the same rich dark hue. If this is a step too dark, experiment with a dark ceiling and lighter walls to make your bedroom feel wonderfully inviting and cosy.

Duwlich Reclaimed Wood Bedside Table

Add reclaimed wood

Use reclaimed wood furniture to contrast against dark walls and bring warmth to your room. It also stands out beautifully against your dark bedroom canvas as the Dulwich bedroom furniture collection shows you here. The rustic features visible in the reclaimed wood of the rustic bedside table and solid wood bed look wonderful against a rich darker wall.

Warming textiles and accessories

Of course, even a dark bedroom can feel a little stark and oppressive so this is where sumptuous warm and soft textiles come into play. A warm rug on the floor, plenty of cosy scatter cushions and a fake-faux bed throw to bring in plenty of cosiness. Another way to break up the dark bedroom is to bring in soothing houseplants. We all know they bring positive energy to a room but they will also bring in softness and the purity of nature to contrast against the darker colour. Pop one in the corner of the room or stand one next to your bed on a rustic nightstand. A velvet or fabric yellow armchair is another great way to bring a pop of colour into a dark bedroom.

Canford Sustainable Mango Wood Bedside Table

Bring in pattern

The patterning on the new Canford mango wood furniture collection looks like it is produced just for this purpose – warm wood with a striking geometric pattern that breaks up the heaviness of a dark coloured room. This mango wood bedside table is the perfect example of just how good this sustainable wood looks! With several other bedroom pieces in the collection, including a mango wood chest of drawers and wooden dressing table you really can have the bedroom of your (sweet) dreams!

If this has inspired you to give your bedroom a makeover, see our blog on how to get a small rustic bedroom layout right before you get the paintbrush out. For more ideas and interior inspiration see more from our collection of blog articles.

Spotlight – Onslow sustainable bedroom furniture collection

spotlight - canford sustainable bedroom furniture collection

We are always on the lookout for sustainable and stylish new products and our new Onslow Sustainable Wood collection ticks all those boxes. Let’s discover more…..

A quick intro to reclaimed wood furniture…

Reclaimed wood is an ideal sustainable raw material when it comes to rustic furniture. It’s a hardwood and the trees grow quickly, maturing when they are 10-15 years old, whereas an oak tree for example takes around 75 years to mature.

The gorgeous new Onslow Reclaimed Wood collection, the collection has all the style you would expect to see in the most beautiful of bedrooms – it includes a solid wooden wardrobe, a solid wood chest of drawers as well as a bedside table.

Brimming with character and just the thing to add a touch of modern farmhouse style to the bedroom, this small chest of drawers crafted in reclaimed wood is the perfect bedroom storage solution.

These solid wood furniture pieces have been designed with the modern bedroom firmly in mind and combine this with expert craftsmanship.

Mango Wood – how suitable is it for furniture?

Cosy industrial living room TV ideas

Time to cosy up in front the TV

We will all be spending more time in front of the TV over the next few winter months, so let’s look at how it works in the space you have. Does it fit well in the space? Can people see it from wherever they are in the room? Would it be better in a different position in the room? You might also have a second focal pointing your room that you don’t want to sit with your back to like an open fire or wood burner, or maybe the sun hits the screen at a certain time during the day.

1. Place your TV at the optimum distance from your seating

There are some useful guidelines about how far away from the TV screen you should be sitting. For 30 to 49 inch TV’s it is recommended to leave a distance of 3-5 feet, whereas a 50 inch and above screens should have a minimum of 6ft.

2. Choose an attractive TV stand

Wall mounting a large flat-screen TV has always been a popular choice but it can sometimes look a bit low and like it is floating in the middle of nowhere – then of course there’s often an unsightly cable dangling down to the nearest powerpoint. And, you still need to find somewhere to place TV boxes and games controls and all the other bits and bobs that are needed near to the TV. This is the time to consider a reclaimed wood TV stand. A medium height TV stand is generally 50-60cm high – your TV should ideally be at or just below your eye level when you are sitting down. You definitely don’t want to be straining your neck to be looking up at it all the time!

The Standford industrial TV stand is a perfect choice for your living room with warm reclaimed wood on stylish industrial legs, with the industrial coffee table from the same range you have your living room furniture sorted.

3. Balance out proportions

Of course, the TV is not the most important thing in everyone’s living room! If you like books or like to have decorative pieces around you, you may want to blend your TV in more into the rest of the room rather than it being the focal point of the room. You can bring some balance into the room by adding some wall shelving or a rustic bookcase on either side. This will give the room some balance and draw attention away from the TV.

4. Blend TV in with living room

Another top trick to help your TV blend in to your room is to paint the walls a dark colour rather than white or a pale neutral colour. Deep dark colours are very much on-trend, especially in the living room to give it a cosy comforting feel, and it also helps the TV blend into the wall.

Rustic dining room storage solutions for entertaining

reclaimed wood industrial dining room furniture

It’s that time of year again when entertaining is definitely an indoor activity! Whether you love to hold sophisticated dinner parties, cocktail evenings or just have friends around for casual evenings in you will want to entertain in style, clear of dining room clutter. We look at some great rustic dining room storage solutions to help your parties run smoothly …without having to leave the fun to look for shakers, stirrers, serving dishes and all those other items you like to have close to hand when entertaining.

4 rustic dining room storage for easy entertaining

1. Drinks cabinets

The Blackbone collection offers some real statement pieces of rustic furniture with clean lines which combine striking dark oak with an industrial gold or silver base. Parquet patterning on the doors lifts this beyond the everyday furniture collection. Choose from the two different style drinks cabinets which are a great alternative to a traditional wooden sideboard for your dining space. These large dining room storage cupboards are also perfect to use as a larder. Many of us shop a little differently these days with many people wanting additional space in their home to keep a little more food in than they normally would, these large cupboards provide the perfect hidden storage solution.

2. Kitchen dresser

A kitchen dresser is a perfect solution to add extra storage space in the kitchen – a combination of hidden storage and open storage space. The bottom of the kitchen dresser can be used to store things you want to keep out of sight with the top usually having glass doors for more attractive display pieces. For a smaller space, you can opt for the Worcester dresser, crafted from reclaimed wood and painted a neutral white, it will match many different interior decor styles. The Chelwood dresser has a generous amount of doors and drawers to provide storage and style – made from pale reclaimed wood it will slot right into a light and airy dining space.

3. Glass display cabinet

A glass and wooden display cabinet is always a popular choice when it comes to dining room storage – with the Standford glass display being as popular as ever, especially if with a reclaimed dining table from the Standford range. This is the place to show off your best bits for all to see! Set out your best wine and cocktail glasses and decanters as well as your favourite decorative dinner set. One drawer provides hidden storage – perfect for table linen, a bottle opener and serving spoons.

4. Sideboards

You can never really go wrong with a rustic sideboard in the dining room – this is generally classed as an essential piece of furniture in most households up and down the country. But as we are talking rustic here, I am going to give the Kingsbridge sideboard a special shout out! Crafted in the most gorgeous, full of character, reclaimed oak it offers a generous amount of hidden storage behind its four parquet patterned doors. Being a lower piece of furniture it works great if you feel a tall storage unit would look too overpowering in your dining room – the top can be simply dressed with a lamp or decorative candlesticks and a wall mirror.

How to bring character into your hallway – not clutter

how to add character not clutter to your hallway

The hallway is one of those spaces in the home that is often overlooked, but it really shouldn’t be as it has lots of roles within a modern family home. It should welcome people to your home, store bulky winter coats, muddy boots, hats, gloves, umbrellas, scarfs, dog leads, keys, handbags, etc. etc. It’s also a place that we often give ourselves a quick once over before we head out of our homes. Even though it’s a small space we should spend a little more time thinking about and making sure it meets all these many needs.

You want a hallway that shows off character – not clutter!

It is a good idea to start with the main storage requirements first – this is where you need to think about what could be left lying around during normal day to day usage by all in your household. Do the kids have big school bags that need to be tucked out of sight? Do you often come back with muddy boots after walking the dog? If you have a big storage cupboard under your staircase or a coat rack, then you won’t need to add a lot of extra storage. You can just opt for a rustic console table – this alone will give your hallway plenty of character as well as providing storage for smaller easily misplaced items. The Mitcham Industrial Oak Console Table is a perfect piece for a hallway – it’s hardwearing with a gorgeous rustic solid wood top sitting on sturdy dark metal legs – and it’s practical too with an extra shelf underneath for hidden storage.

Shoe storage is another big consideration in the hallway no one wants to walk into a sea of shoes strewn across the floor – it can be dangerous too. So you really should invest in a hallway storage bench that will help keep some of the clutter down – you can put shoes in or underneath it to keep them safely out of the way.

Years ago the hallway was a space where just the landline telephone was kept – but with mobiles and handheld home phones we are keeping them in much more convenient places in the home. So now you have storage addressed you can devote the hallway area simply to looking good stamp some character on the space.

Reclaimed furniture is a great foundation to bring in some character – each piece is unique and will give a warm homely feel to your home as soon as you or your guests walk in.

A lighter neutral colour will work best as the hallway is often a little on the darker side. You can add character in the decorative items you place in there, as you will only be adding a couple of items you can opt for just a couple of statement pieces. A feature wall mirror hung over a console table to help reflect light, a stylish wooden sideboard or floor lamp and a couple of other decorative items is all you need.

Author: katie.lacy@letsgetcoffee.co.uk