farmhouse Archives - Page 7 of 10

The pros of adding a breakfast bar to the kitchen

In our series of renovation blogs, we look at various projects that add not only value to a property but enhances comfort, style and flow.

This time, we are going to take a look at adding a breakfast bar table and stools to the kitchen, an invaluable addition to any home. And the great thing is, you don’t need a lot of space to accommodate one either.

Why include a breakfast bar?

As an informal seating area, it is an ideal addition to a busy kitchen. It doesn’t have to be a full-sized breakfast bar with seating for the whole family. A small seating area where the kids can perch while you make breakfast or a place where you can sit whilst your other half makes dinner, to a place to grab a snack or read the paper, with kitchen shelving built in, a breakfast bar is easy to incorporate in a kitchen renovation.

1 The ideal spot

A breakfast bar need be nothing more than a small overhang of a ledge and matched with two breakfast bar chairs. To keep the appeal slimline, choose a stool without a back or too many details. When not in use, simply tuck away under the ledge.

2 Make the most of the U-shaped kitchen

To get the best from the kitchen, many of us choose a U-shaped design. Giving three sides of possible storage solutions, it makes the best use of a small space. If you have at one side of this U-shape open, you could place a row of bar chairs on the opposite side of the kitchen, a super-easy way of creating a breakfast bar table with stools to match!

3 Round the corner

To make the most of your kitchen space, you may choose to place a cupboard and expanse of worktop beyond a kitchen wall or corner. What this creates is an ideal space that is perfect for two bar stools to snuggle next to each other and offer a fantastic seating area. Match the stools with the worktop to give a cohesive finish. And don’t forget, there is nothing wrong with a little luxury like these rather grand and sumptuous breakfast bar chairs.

4 Freestanding breakfast bar

So far, we have discussed making a breakfast an integrated part of a new kitchen, but it could be that you decide to add a freestanding farmhouse furniture one. A breakfast bar table and stools set that matches the farmhouse kitchen table, for example, would be a shrewd move as it wouldn’t look out of place. And because it is freestanding, you can not only relocate it in the kitchen but onto the patio for breakfast in the sun too, from time to time.

5 Custom design

If the space is small or even a vast kitchen area, or the shape of the room awkward, the best solution is a custom-made breakfast. Remember, you need to be accurate with your measurements, especially concerning the height of the custom-made breakfast bar as you want to be confident you will find bar chairs or stools that ‘fit’.

Is a breakfast bar something you have considered? We would love to see your ideas!

Main photo credit: Photo by Brad Javernick of Home Oomph

How to get your home summer-sun ready

Summer is a glorious season. Finally, we can shed the layers and allow all that glorious sunshine to kiss the skin and warm our bones.

For many of us, it is also a time to socialise and party, meet up with old friends and new, and entertain the family with BBQs and garden picnics. And that means getting your home ship-shape and Bristol fashion, ready to make the most of summer.

Ditch winter

The coldness, the greyness and the dampness have gone so switch soft furnishings around. Wash, dry and store away heavier, thicker throws in the wooden blanket box and change the cushions covers for lighter, pastel shades. Put away heavily textured items too in favour of lighter, smoother throws and rugs.

Defrost the freezer

Our eating habits change in summer and that means making space for lighter meals and the all-important stock of lollies and ice cream. Crush some ice too, perfect for a summer-light strawberry gin and tonic on the patio.

Store away the slow cooker

…and bring out the shatterproof picnic dishes. Give them a clean in the dishwasher and then have a move around in the kitchen cupboards. Be ready for unexpected summer guests with plenty of ingredients to create a summer feast and serve on your farmhouse dining table with pretty napkins and other essential al fresco dining accoutrements.

Bring summer in

It is amazing how much dust and dirt accumulate on the windows and doors of the home over winter so before your summer party season starts, roll up your sleeves and get spring cleaning – and that means cleaning windows. It may be a boring job – get your headphones on and bop away to your favourite tunes – but the difference is amazing. Summer will flood in, whether your patio doors are thrown open or closed against a slightly cooler summer day.

Summer stock

It isn’t just our appetite that changes in the summer but the hazards that greet us too. Take a peek in your first aid cupboard. Is the antihistamine ‘itchy-bite-cream’ still in date? Do you need some plasters and anti-bac wipes for when there are grazes on knees and rose thorns in fingers? Insect repellent is usually helpful too although, in the garden, you can plant blooms and herbs that keep some pesky critters away.

Make the patio into a room

Living outdoors is what summer is made for and so, when the sun is shining and the temperature hovering somewhere around balmy and tropical, why not lift out your farmhouse table from the kitchen onto the patio and make the patio the summer room? lay a rug down first – either an interior rug or a special outdoor one – to protect its feet and to add comfort underfoot first.

Accessorise it too

From cushions to throws, to lanterns and candles, there are all kinds of ways of adding interest, colour and comfort to the patio or the farmhouse furniture that adorns it. Choose lighter materials, such as cotton and don’t forget the beauty of patterns for summer too.

Is a kitchen island for you?

Grey Upholstered Dining Chairs in Kitchen

For a larger, spacious kitchen, a central island is an obvious choice. For smaller kitchens, however, the kitchen island as a fixed, immovable feature can bring more problems than it solves. A strategically placed kitchen table, however, is the solution that you need. And here’s why:

Adds Character

For the industrial styled or modern rustic kitchen, there is no denying the character that a kitchen table brings to the space. A longer table helps the eye to see the smaller kitchen as ‘longer’ too, a perfect illusion to create or a smaller kitchen table takes up less space, but because it is moveable, allows for more versatility.

If you plan to chop, knead and slice at the kitchen table as you would an island, choose a higher than average one, like this Rough Swan extendable kitchen table, a piece of furniture that can be made to your exact needs, from height to size. Add style and aplomb with bar stools, like these industrial-styled button back leather bar stools, with detailed leg frames or these oak bar stools for the rustic kitchen.

Encourages a sense of openness

The kitchen is a busy room, but the kitchen island brings welcome extra worktop space to the smaller kitchen. Take a look at other storage alternatives, maximise cupboard space and source clever storage solutions that use the kitchen walls.

For example, wall mounting the microwave is a logical solution as it a ‘maiden’ for hanging pots, pans and cooking utensils above the cooking area. If you have a small area that could double as storage space, a small ladder unit would add welcome storage shelves, great for the rustic kitchen.

Adds Style

A kitchen island is, in many ways, not to be missed but its fixed structure is not for everyone. There is no reason why the kitchen table cannot be practical and functional as a food prep bench, as well as a suave, sophisticated dining table.

With elegant dining accessories, it can be transformed into something magnificent and with fabric dining chairs too – choose any style or colour that makes a statement for you! – you can see how a reclaimed wood table turns from workhorse to elegant dining feature.

Versatile

A kitchen island is fixed. Get it wrong, and the calamity will great you every time you walk in the kitchen. The small kitchen table can be replaced, modernised, updated, painted… its versatility knows no bounds, especially when you consider that by changing the seating arrangement – why not opt for a dining bench, for example? – you breathe new life into the kitchen (and the table).

Tradition or Not?

There is a suggestion, the source of which is lost in time, that the kitchen and the way we use it should follow rules. But there is no rule that says you can only peel veg stood at a worktop or whisking eggs can only happen whilst you remain upright. Sit at the table, peel, chop and knead whilst you remain comfortably seated at a beautiful kitchen table.

How to make your home pet friendly

April is National Pet Month and, as a nation of animal lovers, it comes as no surprise that we are pampering our pets more than ever. When it comes to dogs, there is no denying that our pooches are a welcome and important part of the family.

But where and how they are integrated into family life can still be divisive and so we took to our poll, asking our fans and followers what they thought about letting their dogs into the kitchen, bedroom, dining room and living room.

We Asked, You Answered

Of all the polls we have conducted, this has been the one to have drawn the most comments! Further proof, if we needed any, that our dogs ARE a part of the family. Most people responded that their dogs were allowed in any room of the home, with some saying that they were allowed in any downstairs room, but not allowed upstairs.

But it was one comment that summed them all up;

“He is a Beagle, but thinks he is a human and would just howl if excluded from family life”

But sometimes, our adoration of Fido goes beyond the pet dog being a member of the family – sometimes we decorate our homes to accommodate them too…

The dining room

With your pooch snoozing peacefully whilst you eat with the rest of your family, it is common to find Fido in the dining space. Dining room furniture can prove irresistible to puppies losing their teeth or for a bored dog. To protect the legs of your farmhouse kitchen table and wooden kitchen bar stools, spray with anti-chew spray, harmless to dogs.

The living room

Unfortunately, your four-legged fur ball may also find the aroma of a leather armchair or an upholstered sofa enticing and have a little nibble too. Although with supervision, you can stop it.

We didn’t ask about pets on furniture (another poll, perhaps?) but to keep your sofa or armchair fur-free use sticky tape to pick up the worst of the hair and vacuum to remove all traces (works on cat hair too!). On leather armchairs and sofas, use a quality leather wipe or conditioner to keep it in tip-top conditioner.

Dog adoration

But our adoration of your pooches goes further than snuggling up on the sofa together. We have seen some fantastic dog motif items that will suit a dog-mad home!

• Dog motif cushions – perfect for injecting a little fun and kitsch into the modern living work and suit all kinds of furniture and style

• Doggy wallpaper – perfect for a feature wall or for adding a bit of zing in the kitchen or utility room, we love the doggy wallpaper we have seen of late.

• Dog sculptures – from the quirky, cartoon-style dogs to the posed, majestic looking sculptures, these items are ideal for displaying your allegiance to a certain dog breed on your reclaimed wood shelves.

• The unexpected touches – whether you are a dog lover or a cat lover, adding a touch of the unexpected with table lamps with dog or cats are ornament bases, you really add a sense of quirkiness to a room. Why not add it to the bedroom?

So, tell us, how much of your home does Fido make his own?

Celebrate spring with bright vibrant yellow in your home

Spring arrives with a flurry of new life in the garden! The sun begins to warm, and we throw open the windows to bid the grey and cobwebs winter adieu for another year. For many of us, this means a deep spring clean and introducing new colours to mark the coming of spring.

And what better colour to bring vibrancy, spring warmth and sunshine that a dash of yellow? From undertones of fiery orange to pastel yellow, there are many shades that make it the perfect colour to pep up any room in the house.

But it can be a tricky colour to use. So how can you welcome spring with bright yellow without tipping into ‘day-glo’ shades?

1 Add just a little

Adding a bright, modern citrus shade of yellow doesn’t mean painting everything in sight and neither does it mean ditching your favourite furniture. Adding dashes and pops of bright yellow here and there in any room will give it a lift.

Take a look at the styled bedroom, complete with white bed. The watery yellow shade on the bedside lamp is more than enough to draw your eye to it. Note how well it sits with the turquoise blue items, including a throw, bedspread and rug. And yet despite the blue being the abundant colour, you just can’t take your eyes from the yellow lampshade.

2 Yellow + Grey = Designer Heaven!

We are accustomed to seeing the combination of yellow and black, a timeless combination but the two strong colours together can be difficult to balance.

Throw awkwardness to the kerb by ditching black for a light grey. Make sure it doesn’t have too much of a pinky base, otherwise the result won’t be what you want. But in your grey living room or bedroom, add yellow scatter cushions or a throw to lift the grey from winter to spring.

If you want to make more of an impact, choose a yellow armchair to complement your reclaimed wood furniture. This velvet armchair with its low back and sumptuous finish is ideal for any room.

3 Bold design and muted tones

Spring is all about the garden and you can emulate this in the home with pretty floral wallpapers and other detailing. And in the bold design add simple, yet striking statements, such as a Louis de Poortere yellow rug. The barely-there detailing and the clever use of grey and yellow make this the perfect yellow contemporary rug for your home this spring.

4 Go for gold

Using gold tones in the metallic finishes of a room also adds a golden glow, which is what yellow is all about. The radiance of a crisp white dining chair with gold metallic legs is ideal. It works well in the industrial dining room but adding a hint of luxury or it works just as well in a modern dining room.

Yellow is a versatile colour, working will across the colour palette and styles choices too. From a pop of colour alongside farmhouse furniture to the industrial dining room, every home will welcome bright, vibrant yellow this spring.

Amazing Easter decorating trends to look out for

Easter is just around the corner and for many people, this means a long weekend full of sunshine and fun family time. It is also the ideal time for entertaining. If this is the case, you will be wondering what Easter decorating trends are coming our way.

We have sourced the best ideas so that you can create the perfect stylish and sumptuous backdrop to your home this Easter, from a reclaimed table to the centrepiece that rests on it.

Dining, Food and Table Settings

Easter is, for many, a time to feast together as a family, and friends too. And this means pressure on the dining room to be a stylish, spring-inspired room. Whether you have a large extending farmhouse table or an urban modern landscape to the dining room, we have some great ideas.

Table centrepiece – Flowers

With Easter comes warm summer sunshine and this means that the garden wakes from its winter slumber. Spring flowers are delicate and usually pastel coloured and so use this as the centre table piece. Keep colours light and pastel, from indoor flowering bulbs to arrangements of flowers in vases.

Detailing – Simple

Spring is a time of simplicity and so this means keeping the details and accessories simple too. As well as flowers, keep the patterning light. Ditch the heavily coloured table cover for your reclaimed wood table and replace with crisp white. Napkins should be white or keep them a light colour with simple patterning.

Invest in – Fabric dining chairs

Spring is a time when we make changes and updates to interiors. From re-decorating to investing in new pieces of furniture, spring is the time to make big and small changes. If there is one thing you invest in this year make it coloured dining chairs. There is a range of colours and fabric to choose from when it comes to upholstered dining chairs. And again, they work well with a farmhouse dining table as they do with a modern dining room set-up too.

Metallic finish – Your choice!

Candles are a great addition to the dining table at any time of year but come Easter, they add a gentle, romantic flicker. But if you want to ring the changes from tea lights, opt for tall candle holders instead. Use these pretty accessories to add the metallic finish to the spring dining room, something that every room needs.

Colour scheme with a difference – monochrome

The classic mix of black and white is perfect for any time of the year. Elegant, simple and non-fussy, to add a hint of spring to the look soften the sharper edges of the monochrome colour scheme with hints of pastel shades such as pretty peony pink or watery spring sunshine yellow.

Spring schemes are all about nature and so it makes sense that alongside your reclaimed furniture and your impressive farmhouse table that you bring in as much nature as possible. From spring flower arrangements to indoor flowering bulbs, there are many ways in which you can ring the changes. How do you decorate your Easter dining table?

A unique farmhouse table for a modern dining room

The farmhouse style is a popular choice. Easy to achieve, warm and homely, it is the top choice for any home, from a busy family pad to a stylish apartment. But if you think that this means harking back to traditional long-gone days, think again.

A farmhouse table, along with subtle accessories and detailing, is ideal for the modern dining room. But how do you seamlessly marry the farmhouse look with a modern, light airy feel?

The farmhouse table

Undoubtedly, when it comes to the kitchen/diner or dining room styled along farmhouse lines, it is the farmhouse table that is undoubtedly the centrepiece.

The Windsor oak extending farmhouse dining table has all the key elements needed to pull off the look. Large without being imposing, it is the satisfying chunkiness of the top and the detailed legwork that makes this the perfect solution.

If you want more than a hint of modern, then take a look at its same table with white legs. The colour may be neutral but in a modern dining room landscape, the white oak farmhouse table is a great option.

Tying it together

With any design scheme, it is the details that tie it all together, bringing a sense of cohesion to the whole dining room.

With the farmhouse style, this can be relatively easy to do, IF you know what you are looking for!

Worktop and tabletop – the farmhouse style is all about natural materials but especially wood. For a farmhouse kitchen, opting for wood worktops and cupboard doors is a great move, especially if you can marry them to the farmhouse table top. Choose lighter woods and the best quality for your budget too.
Matching sideboard – a sideboard in the dining room is an essential piece of furniture for storage. And matching this with the farmhouse table brings a sense of cohesion and style to the room. The Windsor large white painted sideboard will work with either the painted or non-painted version of the Windsor table.

Modern twists – on one hand, you want the room to flow in terms of its appeal and looks but everything too matching means a boring landscape. Introducing small twists is a way of avoiding this and with the dining room, there is no denying that modern dining chairs are a great addition. From soft-to-the-touch leather dining chairs to fabric upholstered dining chairs, there is an array of solutions that allow you to create a unique finish.

Other farmhouse details

The farmhouse kitchen is as much about function as it is about style. And so, accessories can be as simple as you like. From fresh flowers as the table centrepiece to a functional wool rug that acts as a carpeted island for your farmhouse table, keep the colours light and pastel for a true homage to the farmhouse style.

Its no surprise that the farmhouse style is popular – always warm and welcoming, it is the perfect style for any dining room.

How to elegantly display flowers at home

With the beginning of spring around the corner, now is the perfect to inject some colour into your home with some beautiful blooms. With this in mind, we thought we should share some of our favourite ways to elegantly showcase your floral displays this year and instantly bring your room to life.

One option is to match the colour of the flower buds to the colours of your room. Perhaps not an option if your colour scheme is blue. However, for many colour schemes, adding co-ordinating flowers into your space can look incredibly stylish and will really pull a room together. A bunch of yellow flowers will add a real zingy look to your room paired with a couple of yellow scatter cushions on a chesterfield style sofa.

If you are not sure about having all one colour, go for two or three colours and pick flowers in one of your selection. For example, with a sunset colour scheme which incorporates pinks, oranges, reds and even yellows, any of those colours would look fab!

Go large. Five or six large blooms (think hydrangeas and peonies) will look uber sleek in a glass bowl vase and will make a perfect statement piece for your hallway. If you have a large sideboard, this simple decoration placed on top will keep your decor looking clean and elegant, but will add also add enviable style. Large flowers are also a great way to add excitement in your large farmhouse table.

Double the impact of flowers by placing in front of a mirror. A tall glass vase filled with flowers and foliage will look twice as full if placed in front of a mirror. Whether the vase is placed on the floor in front of a full-length mirror or is on a sideboard with a large wall mirror, your flowers are bound to look twice as impressive! This works particularly well with an otherwise understated room, such as light walls and flooring and soft Scandinavian furnishings, to make the biggest impact.

Work with more natural textures. Beautiful bouquets of flowers are undoubtedly stunning. However there is something more unique in bouquets of wilder, natural flowers. This look works particularly well in country kitchens and living rooms. To really make the most of the style, display in a soft coloured, metal jug, or even hanging out of a wicker basket as if they’ve been freshly picked. You could even line two or three small old glass milk bottles up in on rustic wooden shelves for that cosy farmhouse style.

Have you got a creative way to display your flowers at home? We would love to know!

How to improve your open-plan living space

You may have come across our polls on Instagram and Houzz, and you may have contributed to the debate too. If not, why not take a look and be part of a community that enjoys discussing trends in interior design?

We asked a question that we thought would elicit a lot of response – and we weren’t wrong! Possibly one of our most controversial questions yet: is it over for the open plan living room?

We Asked, You Answered

The answer was no, it is not over with the majority of people still in support of an open plan living room as a great solution for the modern home. But, there were a significant group of people that said yes, it is over for the open plan living space.

What surprised us was the lack of ‘don’t knows’ or ‘unsure’. And we think that this shows the love or hate relationship we have with this style of living. With this in mind, we take a look at an open plan living room and how to create a cohesive space with industrial style furniture that works.

Styling an Open Plan Living Room

Open plan living spaces can be fantastic IF they are styled well, but can look and feel cavernous and characterless if not. Great styles to use with this kind of open living are the farmhouse style – no chance of large farmhouse furniture pieces swamping the space – or the industrial style, one that is synonymous with loft living.

So, what hints do we have?

Define spaces – just because it is open plan living doesn’t mean that you cannot define spaces within it. But instead of walls, use room dividers such an industrial style display unit. This open shelving unit allows for light and vision to pass through, but zones an area at the same time.

Think big – an open plan space can accommodate some of the larger pieces of furniture that catch our attention, and do so with ease. For the farmhouse style, there is no denying the importance of the dining table. The heating heart of the home, a large farmhouse dining table works well as it too can be an object that denotes the use of the area. In other words, it is a piece of furniture that allows you and your guests to ‘make sense’ of the open plan living space. (HINT: industrial dining tables work just as well too!)
Create a focal point – any room, open plan or otherwise, can seem cavernous and featureless if there is no focal point. They can be a fixed object, such as a splendid fireplace or, for an open living you may want to introduce something else that acts as the defining statement of the room. Living room décor can provide the semi-permanent focal point you are looking for;

Expose the beams – paint metal ones black as use these are a frame to the room
Be creative – use old windows are a room divider
Create a feature wall – and create one that really stands out! From large print wallpaper to super-bold colour, the feature wall can be even more gregarious in an open plan living space

Open plan living is, admittedly, not for everyone. BUT, we think with the right reclaimed furniture and style, it is a space that is cosy, practical and uber-stylish.