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

3 Ways to Embrace Autumn Style

Tall black teapot with coffee in glass drink

Autumn is coming after a long, warm and very different summer. Here we look at ways to snuggle down and cosy up your home ready for autumn and the coming colder months.

Go natural

Reclaimed wood furniture just instantly adds warmth to a room. The timbers used for our reclaimed wood furniture have been salvaged from 100-year-old buildings, disused railway sleepers and even boats, and given a new lease of life as a dining table, a sideboard or a dining bench – with its history and gorgeous markings on show for all to see. A rustic dining table paired with a dining bench with a cosy faux sheepskin throw on it, will give your kitchen or dining room an instant warm welcome, add some rich velvet upholstered dining chairs to really turn up the temperature.

Photo featuring: Standford Industrial Reclaimed Wood Coffee Table and Standford Industrial Reclaimed Wood Sideboard

Brightening your home

Make use of sunny days by giving your windows a good clean to allow as much natural daylight as possible to flow into the room. Although you won’t create vitamin D from sun filtering through a window, your mood will definitely be boosted by sunlight. So position a small armchair or family sofa and an industrial side table near a sunny window or patio door to make the most of the rays when you can.

Photo featuring: Louis de Poortere Vintage Patchwork Yellow Rug

You can also bring a bit of nature into your home using seasonal flower and autumn leaf arrangements, a terracotta vase or dish with a display of fallen leaves and twigs would look wonderful on a rustic coffee table, a living room sideboard or a bedroom chest of drawers. The rich autumnal colours will give a warm and homely feel to living spaces where you spend a lot of time.

This is the time of year when you can start incorporating wonderful warm textures and rich colours into your home. If your room is neutral then add some bold colours like hot red, warm orange, sunshine yellow or leafy green to add an accent colour to your room. You can do this by adding sheepskins, sofa blankets and sumptuous velvet cushions in these colours. Nothing says autumn warmth quite like an oversized chunky knit jumper – a chunky knit throw will do the same to a room, throw one across a king-sized bed for a cosy bedroom look or drape one over the arm of your sofa or armchair to snuggle down in to.

How to choose the right accent chair

Woman dressed in mustard trousers resting on an armchair next to green plant

Sat in the corner of a room or by a window, accent or feature chairs are hugely popular right now. An occasional chair to enjoy a coffee and relax in or team your chair up with a side table and a lamp and you have a designated reading corner. You can put an accent chair in the living room, kitchen, a bedroom and even the hallway. There are three key considerations that makes the perfect accent chair – style, colour and shape. Here we look at how to find the right stand-out chair for your home.

Photo featuring: Grayson Fabric Armchair

Choose your style

As you are just adding one chair you may want it to slot into the style of the room…. but then the beauty of the accent chair is that it doesn’t have to either! Go for a retro look, industrial, Scandi or classic. You might have a oswald 2 seater sofa and want to add a modern armchair to the room. The Edward Leather Armchair, being in a stunning brown leather is contemporary and extra comfortable, while the Ava White Armchair would make a bold statement in a retro-influenced living room or bedroom.

In a more formal setting, a brown high back chair with a classic button back and decorative stud work wins hands down.

Photo featuring: Ava White Armchair

Colours

If you have a neutral decor scheme you may want to add a pop of yellow, rich blue or bold red these are all great options. These colours would also work well with a black or brown sofa to introduce a bold contrast to a room – you can also use the colour to base other accessories on.

You can of course also be a little more daring by choosing a completely different bold colour. Say you have a room with various shades of yellow then you could add a bright blue armchair, these work well together but your accent chair will become a feature that draws the eye.

Photo featuring: Grayson Fabric Armchair – Midnight Blue

Shape and texture

There are so many chair shapes available – we love the Reeves Rattan Armchair – ideal for a neutral coloured bedroom or the perfect small armchair for a morning coffee or afternoon reading.

The Oswald Armchair is a vintage brown leather and has both texture and shape with its luxurious super soft leather and gorgeous curves, the perfect addition to a funky living space.

Photo featuring: Oswald Armchair Vintage Brown Leather

Want to create a calming living room? Here’s how

Neutral colour scheme living room with cream sofa and industrial coffee table

Our living rooms need to cope with many different activities from a kids playroom and TV room to a sophisticated space to entertain guests – but it should also be a space for relaxing after a busy day. In this blog, we look at ways to create a refreshing and calming space.

Calming colours

The decor needs to be light and airy. Neutral, white or off-white walls is a great start, then you can introduce calming colours such as blue, green, pink, grey, white, violet or yellow – these are all colours that are known for their relaxation and calming properties. Reclaimed wood furniture is a great choice and works harmoniously with these colours. Natural daylight is the best way to light up a room so it should always be allowed to flow in.

Living room layout

The layout has a fundamental effect on the feel of a space. The largest piece of furniture, and where you will probably spend most your time sitting, is the sofa, so place this first – you can use elements of feng-shui to help layout the room and create a naturally calming feel. Ideally, you should position the sofa against a wall – to give a truly secure feeling it should be “anchored” against a solid wall. Furniture pieces should be positioned so that you, and good energy, can flow around the room. You may need to try your sofa in a couple of different positions before deciding on its final position.

Photo featuring: Hudson Living Ohio Cube Coffee Table

If you have the room you can opt for a large coffee table like the Hudson Living Ohio Cube coffee table, as featured above. Or the Lansdowne rustic coffee table, which has the added bonus of a shelf below as well as two drawers for hidden storage. For smaller spaces, the Luxe Kensington modern nest of tables would work – you only need to pull out the lower table when needed so the room does not feel cluttered.

Photo featuring: Luxe Kensington Reclaimed Wood Industrial Nest of Tables

Practical storage

As with any room in your house, being clutter-free is essential when creating a calming environment – a wooden sideboard, well-placed side tables and book display units will all help keep things in their place. A TV cabinet is a must-have – a place to keep all media-related items tidily together and essential to hide an ugly bundle of cables! The Abingdon reclaimed wood TV cabinet ticks all the boxes, it’s finished in a calming distressed white, has two cupboards and a hole for feed plugs through the back – perfect!

Photo featuring: Abingdon Reclaimed Wood TV Unit

Tranquil Textures

Now you have the main elements sorted you can turn your attention to the finer details, those homely finishing touches. Cushions, throws, a sofa blanket, a rug – these are all things where you can add additional splashes of colour and stamp your personality on the room. Add a table lamp for subtle lighting, set one on a sofa end table or in a reading corner. The mesmerising quality of candlelight makes them the perfect relaxation aid and you can try diffusers to add aromatherapy to your wind-down routine.

Photo featuring: Industrial Lansdowne Rustic Wood Side Table

Elements of nature

The importance of houseplants is well talked about – not only do they remove toxins and clean the air, they also enhance your mood and create a living space that is generally more soothing to be in. Houseplants blend with reclaimed wood beautifully, combining to make a space full of gorgeous natural elements. So we really should make room for some of these leafy lovelies in our calming living room!

Talking colour with The Little Greene Paint Company

Breathe a new lease of life in to your dining room

Industrial oak dinging table with dark grey leather dining chairs and industrial sideboard

Sometimes a room just needs a bit of a freshen up and a few new pieces to transform it into a space you and your loved ones will enjoy spending time in it again. Here are our top tips to breathe new life into you dining room….

A good place to start is to decide what style suits you and your room – farmhouse, modern, Scandi minimalist, retro? With so many styles on trend right now this can be the hardest decision.

Dining room furniture

Reclaimed wood dining tables come in so many shapes and sizes you will definitely find one to suit your needs – yes, this is a bit of an outlay but it will be a stunning centrepiece in your dining room for years to come. A rustic or industrial dining table will work well with so many interior styles you will easily be able to incorporate it in your next decor theme.

To inject a bit of luxury into your dining space you can add sumptuous velvet upholstered dining chairs or even a velvet dining bench, great for when you might need to squeeze a few extra around the table. If you have a growing family and sticky little fingers to deal with then some wipe-clean leather or faux leather dining chairs will instantly modernise your room without the need to replace other pieces of furniture.

If your dining room has become a bit cluttered over the last few months, a wooden sideboard will quickly fix this for you…. plus you can dress the top of the sideboard, hang a wall mirror over it and your room will have a very practical and stylish new feature.

Lighting

Your dining room may have been used as a school room or an office in recent months and you might just want to make a small change to switch it back to being (and feeling like) a dining room again. Natural pendant ceiling lights are making a huge comeback this year – our rattan and bamboo pendant lights are all produced from sustainably sourced materials and with a range of different styles to choose from this would give your dining room an instant update.

New table linen

If you are not in a position to replace your dining table then glam it up with crisp fresh table linen. You can choose linen that blends with your existing colour scheme or a colour that contrasts. Start with a white table cloth add a runner and napkins…..you don’t just have to stick to the table, get some cushions or throws to smarten up dining chairs or benches.

Atmospheric accessories

Last but not least…. Choose a new centrepiece for your dining table – you can add a candlestick, a decorative bowl, a vase with some dried flowers and grasses or a new houseplant. Scented candles and diffusers look lovely and will soothe your guests into after-dinner drinks and conversation. Same with lighting, a ceiling pendant is perfect when you are dining but the cosy glow of a table lamp is much better mood setter as the evening wears on.

How to create the perfect guest room and study combo

Bed with blue and white cushions next to wooden desk

Wouldn’t it be lovely to have plenty of rooms in our homes, so we had a spare bedroom made up, ready and waiting for last-minute guests?! However, for those of us lucky enough to have a spare room, many have been using it as an office or even a classroom for at least some time this year. If your spare room is working hard as a home office one minute and a guest bedroom the next, here we look at a few ideas to help make this a quick, pain-free and practical switch.

1) Choosing the right furniture

A matching reclaimed wood bed and desk combo is a great start. The chances are your guest room / office room will be on the smaller side so coordinating furniture is way more sleek than mismatched pieces. A white reclaimed wood desk with a wooden double bed is perfect for a smaller room giving it a more light and airy feel. If you can, position the home office desk next to the bed so it can easily be used as a nightstand by your guests or add a rustic mirror over your home office desk and, voila, you have a dressing table.

Photo featuring: Standford High Reclaimed Bed & Standford Reclaimed Wood Beside Table

2) Clear that clutter

You can stash away a whole lot of what you normally need on your desk in a chest of drawers when you are expecting guests…. and of course, they have somewhere to pop their clothes, so they are not living out of a bag during their stay. Another great storage option is a blanket box, a great place to store seasonal and guest bedding and towels, but also to hide away any office clutter.

Photo featuring: Savannah Reclaimed Wood Blanket Box

3) A touch of comfort

Reclaimed wood furniture, with its character there for all to see, gives a room a homely and warm feel. It matches well with neutral and bold colours and it also works in a traditional or an ultra-modern setting, making it super versatile. For extra cosiness put some scatter cushions on the bed and a bedside lamp on either the desk or a separate nightstand. A coordinating bedroom rug to step onto is also a nice touch. Choose a soothing colour that works as well in an office as it does in a bedroom – blues, greens and grey are great colours to consider.

Photo featuring: Standford Industrial Reclaimed Wood Desk

4) Little treats

Although you will go out of your way to look after your guests, we love the idea of leaving a little basket of tasty treats in their room. You could leave some peanuts or other savoury snacks out for them, some fresh fruit, as well as some sweet treats, perfect for if they feel a bit peckish before dinner – it also means that you can get on with preparing the main event without worrying if your guests need anything to keep them going until dinner is ready.

5) Toiletries

Generally, people do bring their own preferred products, but if they have forgotten something or are on a flying visit with hand luggage only, it’s a really lovely thought to have some toiletries ready for them to use, without having to dash to a shop! Have a little selection of “the basics” in a basket that you can put out along with their wash towels.

8 ways to get boutique hotel style bedroom

Wooden do not disturb sign hanging on white door

Make the most of a staycation this year and turn your bedroom into a luxury hotel room. As many of us will not be travelling away from home this summer let’s have a look at how to bring boutique hotel room style to your home and create a 5 star bedroom.

1) Make the bed the focal point

The bed is usually the focus of attention in a hotel room, dressed with a plush throw, plumped up pillows and a mountain of scatter cushions, all there is to add a touch of sumptuous luxury to your room. If you love the natural beauty of a reclaimed wood bed, we think you will love our Beam range. All beds and coordinating bedroom furniture is handcrafted right here in the UK using old reclaimed beams, perfect for a staycation bedroom. The Beam Buckingham (pictured below) has a wonderful high headboard, perfect for piling those pillows and cushions up against!

Photo featuring: Beam Buckingham Reclaimed Wood Bed

2) Go for a themed bedroom

If you like a minimalist look then consider a crisp, clean and airy Scandi themed room. If your favourite place to be is by the sea, you could create a modern beach themed bedroom using tranquil shades of blue and sand colours set beside pale wood, maybe add some beach hut style timber cladding on your walls.

Photo featuring: Hudson Living Kielder Oak Bed

3) Bedside cabinets

If you don’t have some already, bedside units are a must for a boutique hotel room, a place to stand a glass of water or your morning coffee, your holiday reading material and charge for your phone. With either drawers or cupboards, they also add extra valuable storage to your bedroom, so it remains tidy and serene.

Photo featuring: Winchester Reclaimed Wood Bedside Table & Worcester Reclaimed Wood Bedside Table

4) A good mattress for a great night’s sleep

It’s all well and good having a spacious king size wooden bed frame but it’s the mattress that makes it super comfy. A decent hotel quality mattress really does make a huge difference. The UK produced Simply Irresistible Mattress 1000 pocket springs and a sumptuous layer of Vytech Memory Foam and is also guaranteed for a full 10 years.

5) Get rid of bedroom clutter

Imagine if you walked into a hotel room with all sorts of clutter scattered around, it would make most of us turn around and walk right out! There is lots of advice available about how to start decluttering and what we really should not be holding on to anymore. A simple place to start is to spend 15 minutes every day in a different room of your house and declutter! And make the most of bedroom drawers to keep your boutique bedroom clear.

Photo featuring: Dulwich Small Reclaimed Wood Chest of Drawers

6) Relax in a bedroom seating area

A reading or relaxing area works great in a bedroom, a place to escape from the hustle and bustle of a busy home. A luxurious velvet armchair is an obvious choice for this spot, we love the Mateese Velvet Armchair in a soft pink and if this does not fit in with your colour scheme then the neutral Finchley Grey Velvet Armchair will blend into any scheme. And of course, you can always add a cushion to coordinate with your bedding.

Photo featuring: Mateese Velvet Armchair & Finchley Grey Velvet Armchair

7) Add a dressing table and floor standing mirror

Hotel rooms will always have a dressing table and a mirror so of course, if you have the space, you should have these in your room too. A place for pampering day and night.

Photo featuring: Amalfi Floor Mirror

8) Give the room some ambience

And now for the finishing touches and personalisation! Lighting is an important element and If you like to have music whilst you relax or to fall asleep to then add a bluetooth speaker or a docking station, just like in a hotel. Not only do reed diffusers look great they really can set the mood in your bedroom with their wonderfully subtle fragrance, or light a scented candle and let the flickering light calm the space.

How to feng shui your desk for success

Woman's hands typing at a lap top with tidy accessories on wood desk

Never has it been more important to focus on our wellness. We spend so much time sitting at our home office desk so let’s look at a few ways to get some wonderful positive energy flowing using the principles of feng shui.

1. Get rid of clutter

Clutter drains your energy! Set aside some time, a few minutes at the end of the day or a half-hour at the end of the week when you can go through and dispose of, or file, things that have accumulated on your desk and in your office. A home office filing cabinet should be a must-have to store work related documents, as well as personal documents, all kept in their place and easy to find when needed. De-cluttering should include what is on your desktop computer, back-up what you need and delete those old unused files to “create space” for new opportunities.

2. Desk position

If you can you should position your desk so you don’t have your back to your office entrance – you need to face the world and see what’s coming if this is not possible then you can adapt and hang a wall mirror over your desk which will have the same effect.

3. Which chair

The best office chair according to feng shui is one with a high back as this represents good support in the office, but this should also be put in the correct position. Whilst you want your desk to be facing your office entrance, try to ensure your chair is not in front of the doorway as this may allow positive energy to be drawn away from the space.

4. Bring in energy colours

Add some cushions to your workspace or add a rug in a colour that will inspire you. Use blue for career success and growth, green (plants for instance) improves health and balance. Yellow symbolises happiness and joy, and stick with white to encourage creative energy.

5. Add a touch of nature

Even a little bit of natural light is a great energy booster so try to get your desk near a window but if you do need artificial light make sure it is well-positioned and not casting a shadow on your workspace. Place one or more pot plants or flowers on your desk, the living energy of plants will refresh the energy in your space as well as your own personal energy. Wood is one of the five elements of feng shui so a natural rustic wooden desk fits in here perfectly.

6. Important areas

In feng shui there are three areas you need to think about to ensure good energy. The south is your fame and reputation area. As its energy is fire try not to add the colour blue here or anything to do with water as it will extinguish the fire energy. Water should be represented in the North which is the “career or path in life” area, this is the space for inspiring images, you can put these in black or white frames. The south-east area boosts productivity and positive energy, if possible this is the place to locate your office within your house. This space must always be kept clear and clutter free.

How to design the perfect home office for YOU

Laptop against pink wall with succulent in ceramic pot and white candlestick

The home office is a hot topic right now. Whether you love the natural beauty of reclaimed wood furniture or like the ultra-modern look, here are a few pointers to getting it right first time!

Location, location, location

If you are not lucky enough to have a separate designated office then you need to decide which room you are going to double up in. The living room? A spare bedroom or a corner in the kitchen. This is when you need to consider who else might use the room when you need it to work from. If you are on the phone with clients a lot, then background noise of rattling pots and food preparation noises will most likely not work well! If you have guests often then the spare bedroom may also not be the best choice.

Natural light and a room with a nice view would be an ideal choice but if you don’t have this luxury, you can always hang a landscape picture or pictures of friends and family on the wall and of course, add some houseplants for a bit of soothing greenery. Oh, by the way, blue or green work brilliantly with a rustic wood desk to create a stylish and soothing theme for your home office.

Size matters

As a rule of thumb, you should allocate an area of 210cm x 150 cm (approximately 84″ x 60″) for your workspace. You will most likely need more space than you think, a comfortable office chair can be bulky and you need enough room to get in and out of it without being a contortionist! Remember, if your chair has arms you will need more space to get in and out! And, if you have clients come into your home office then you will probably need a couple of armchairs that can be pulled up to your desk for meetings.

For a similar aviator style desk and chair see our Aviator Vintage Jet Brass Hornet Desk and Aviator Keeler Wing Chair.

Choose the right desk and chair

This, of course, depends on what you do – we would say a 120cm wide desk would suit most home workers with a laptop – so a reclaimed wood desk with a couple of drawers may be all you need, we love the industrial simplicity of the Standford desk (pictured below). But, if, for example, you are an architect and need to look at plans then you may need much more space. Do you need to have a printer on your home office desk? In trays? Reference books? All these take up valuable desk space. We also suggest you invest in the best office chair you can afford, it is all too easy to adopt a bad posture sat at a laptop in an uncomfortable chair all day.

Photo featuring: Standford Industrial Reclaimed Wood Desk, Standford Industrial Reclaimed Wood Filing Cabinet & Standford Grey Faux Leather Office Chair

Tidy desk, tidy mind

So the saying goes! If you have the space then invest in some office storage furniture. A sideboard, a small bookcase or some rustic shelves to store stationery, books, catalogues, office supplies, ink cartridges and any other items associated with your work. Not only will it keep your workspace tidy but it will also be much easier to find the things you need quickly! It’s also a good idea to tidy up and tuck away cables where possible, not only will your space look better but this can prevent you and others tripping on them.

Photo featuring: Quinton Reclaimed Wood Desk