valentine's day Archives

Cosy up your living room for a romantic Valentine’s day

A romantic living room is all about upping the cosy-stakes and Valentine’s day, today is the perfect day to give it a go! Making a room extra cosy helps it feel so much warmer too, so with the last month or so of winter (hopefully) upon us we can see out the last of the season in our super snug living space. If you are lucky enough to have reclaimed wood furniture in your space then you already have a great foundation to build on – natural rustic wood always look warm and homely without even having to try.

Layering textiles

Soft tactile cushions and throws are so lovely and comforting to sink into, but mix in other warm textures, such as velvet, corduroy or wool and the cosiness is taken up to another level. Blankets are also wonderful to snuggle under when you’re cuddled up on the sofa…..there’s no such thing as too much cuddling on Valentine’s day! Even if you already have carpet, you can still add a rug to help make your floor feel even softer and extra warm, it’s also a great way to bring in some additional colour into your living space. Place under a rustic coffee table and make it a centrepiece.

Ditch bright lights

Bright lights are a definite no-no for Valentine’s day – it’s dim lighting only! Whether that comes from table lamps on a wooden side table or rustic console table to a floor-standing light in the corner of the room. Obviously, candles should feature in your room – stand some on a wooden sideboard and also on the coffee table, you can even scatter them on the floor if you’re careful! Candles provide warm, romantic and flattering light and help to set the right atmosphere in the room. A win, win for the day of love.

Romantic aroma

We think about lighting when we want to set an atmosphere in a room, but scent is just as important. Fresh flowers on the mantlepiece or a wooden sideboard are the natural choice for this but you should also consider scented candles and diffusers to help set the mood. For a romantic scent, choose vanilla, rose & jasmine all of which are said to have aphrodisiac properties.

Cosy colours

Bring in colours that will make your living room feel romantic. Natural hues with warming colours such as reds, oranges and golds will really warm up your room and give it a touch of romance. You don’t have to do a whole room makeover – that would be a romantic gesture too far, but by bringing in some warm coloured accessories you can set the mood. If you have dark furniture or warm honey-coloured mango wood furniture like the Farnham collection, a very romantic range featuring glittering brass accents within the furniture, the candlelight will reflect and bounce beautifully around your living room.

Not feeling the love? Discover more inspiration here and let cupid’s arrow bring some romance into your home…

A romantic table for two at home

A red and white handstitched fabric heart with two silver forks

This year we will not be making a reservation for a table for two in a romantic restaurant. Instead, we will be staying at home and getting a takeaway or preparing our own special dinner for two.

Set the scene

Place some candles on a reclaimed wood dining table to get the lighting right, some fresh cut flowers always spell romance on Valentine’s day. A dining bench with back is a great love seat – make it cosy and comfortable with cushions and throws.

Prepare your meal

Here are a few meals to consider cooking for your special meal for two.

A classic steak dinner, serve on a wooden board on a rustic dining table with fries or jacket potato and a crisp fresh salad, if you like you can add a mushroom or tangy pepper sauce.

A smoky Spanish chicken dish with roast potatoes and greens, the simple ingredients for this dish, chicken, mushrooms, tomatoes and paprika take need little cooking on the stovetop, soak up the sauce with rice or couscous.

A creamy salmon and pasta dish is always a winner – indulging and comforting it is quick to prepare and cook leaving you free to enjoy your evening. Serve this with some fresh crusty bread rolls.

For a completely vegetarian meal, ricotta-stuffed aubergine rolls – all tomatoey with melted cheese, serve this with a side of pasta or fresh bread rolls and a green salad. Again these can be prepared in advance and put in the oven to warm through just before serving.

A chocolatey desert like a double chocolate mouse is quick and easy and can be prepared well in advance, then left in the fridge until you are ready to eat.

Sit down, relax and enjoy the evening

Whether you have a farmhouse table or an industrial dining table, bring your dishes and set them out, grab a glass of wine or special drink and get comfortable for the evening on some sumptuous fabric dining chairs. Wooden sideboards provide an extra surface for additional romantic lighting and to place dishes on, keeping your table clear of pots and dishes.

Photo featuring: Raffles Reclaimed Wood Industrial Dining Table

Great films for a Valentine’s night in

White and red candles lit on a coffee table with two red mugs

This year Valentine’s day falls on a Sunday so you will get the opportunity to spend the whole day with your loved one. Obviously there isn’t anywhere special to go this year so we are having a look at some of the most popular romantic films that you can snuggle up to and watch together. Even if you are spending the day on your own, with a box of chocolates for company, these films will bring a touch of romance into your life!

Prepare some snacks

Whether you opt for cinema-style after-dinner snacks and nibbles or a buffet spread to share and pick at throughout the evening then think about this in advance to give you a chance to get food in. To make it a bit different to every other evening you can decorate your reclaimed wood coffee table with love-themed table decorations, and candles of course. Don’t forget to get some wine, beer or champagne chilling in the fridge.

Get the mood right

You can stage your front room beautifully – turn down the lighting for a romantic ambience, place a table lamp on a sofa side table and candles on your coffee table. Fresh cut flowers are a great addition on large sideboards – you can opt for fairy lights to keep the lights toned down but still draw your eye to the flowers.

Photo featuring: Knightsbridge Reclaimed Oak TV Stand

Sit down and enjoy the film

Reclaimed wood furniture paired with a brown leather sofa is a match made in heaven. Get your sofa super cosy with cushions, blankets and throws to snuggle into ready to pop your favourite movie (or two) on your TV on a romantic rustic TV stand. Below are some films to give you a few ideas…

Ghost
Dirty Dancing
Just Go With It
Love Actually
When Harry Met Sally
Crazy, Stupid Love
A Star is Born (2018)

Photo featuring: Chelwood Nordic Reclaimed Wood TV Stand

If you prefer the golden oldies then you can opt for Casablanca, Gone with the wind or An affair to remember – to name just a few!

Our Endless Love of Reclaimed Wood Furniture

On this international day of love, we think there is no better time to declare our endless love for reclaimed wood furniture than today.

Reclaimed wood furniture is unique, different, stylish and warm. There is a simplicity to it and yet, it has a complexity that also makes it a must-have for the home. For any room, from the hallway to the kitchen, the dining room to the living room, to the bedroom, reclaimed wood is a beautiful material. But why do we love it so much?

Emotional connection

The wood used in a reclaimed wood dining table, bed frame, coffee table and more is usually a slow-growing hardwood – in other words, too good to waste. Some are native to the UK and others from further afield, their qualities well-known.

In its previous life, the timber performed a range of functions, possibly structural such as oak beams or in another guise, such as doors. It may have been used outside too, such large heavy railway sleepers.

When it is no longer useful, it is reclaimed and given a new lease of life. And so a structural beam that was part of the strength of a building becomes a reclaimed wood coffee table, for example.

Unlike brand-new furniture made from recently felled wood, it is not pristine. It has marks and scuffs. There are dents and knots. Without compromising its strength and integrity, reclaimed wood brings the romance and the story of its past life to furniture for the home.

For us, that is simply perfect, wouldn’t you agree?

Unique and beautiful

You can tell by the expert craftsmanship of reclaimed wood furniture that the artisan’s heart and soul has been put into each piece. Specialists in reclaimed wood work it into a new shape and form guaranteeing it is genuinely unique.

It is this uniqueness that many people covet. No two pieces of reclaimed wood are the same. There will be scuffs in different places, the grain will hold a different pattern and the wood itself will hold its own different secrets too.

We may want something different, but we also want beauty and style too. More often, when something is ‘different’, it is made to stand out. We don’t always want that.

We want a reclaimed wood bed frame, for example, that looks like wood, feels like wood and behaves like wood. We want style and beauty with a hint of uniqueness, but we don’t want it to stand out for all the wrong reasons.

This is another reason why we love reclaimed wood – its subtleness and the fact that every piece is different and beautifully unique.

Across the home

There is nowhere in the home that reclaimed wood furniture cannot be used. brought back to life, it still has so much to offer…

… a functional reclaimed wood bench alongside a rustic dining table is a match made in heaven. Or, if you prefer the Nordic style with its clean lines and light textures, reclaimed wood can be that too.

… a reclaimed wood bed frame is as unique as relationships and family. Alongside bedside tables, chest of drawers and wardrobes, create your own exclusive boudoir in the style that you want.

Find out for yourself

We could go on and on about reclaimed wood and what it feels like to allow the palm of your hand to drift across the history contained within its grain, but that would be taking it away from you. Why not discover the beauty of reclaimed wood furniture for yourself?