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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 make a white dining room work

Minimalist dining room with wood dining table with black steel legs and wooden chairs

The Scandi minimalist look is still a hugely popular interior trend right now. So if you have white walls and a white ceiling how can you give your dining room some texture and warmth? A blank canvas is a wonderful starting point for your dining room, below we look at some ideas to introduce some homeliness while still keeping it fresh, cool and clear.

Reclaimed wood furniture

This is a great way to start. Warm, rustic, and homely – the minute you add reclaimed wood furniture you’re adding a warm and natural texture. Choose a reclaimed wood dining table, the table-top proudly boasts natural markings and undulations from its previous life. The Dorset trestle table is white painted to really embrace a white dining room theme, it’s a shining example of minimal style, accessorise the natural finish dining benches with cushions and a small throw to give additional texture to the room. We love to see a pendant light hanging over a dining table, to keep things fresh choose an unobtrusive white one.

Photo featuring: Dorset Reclaimed Wood Extendable Trestle Table

White linen

White table linen on a rustic dining table just oozes dining room chic and you can, of course, add an accent colour to mix it up a bit. This is also a great way to link with other coloured elements in the room and keep the coordination going throughout your dining space.

Flowers and houseplants

Houseplants are so popular right now, especially while we have all been staying at home more. Adding pot plants into a crisp white dining space adds an element of nature that not only brightens your room but is also proven to have health benefits. A vase of fresh-cut flowers is another option, choose something seasonal – in summer impressive gladioli or bold sunflowers and in autumn, dahlias can be arranged in a clear glass vase.

Photo featuring: Standford Industrial Reclaimed Wood Extending Table & Bench.

Dining chairs

If you don’t like too many accessories then you can break up the white by using upholstered dining chairs or faux leather chairs. There are so many different styles and colours to choose from you will be spoilt for choice. You can mix and match benches with white dining chairs and cushions, or add coloured cushions yourself as another way to get some more colour into the room.

Photo featuring: Dorset Reclaimed Wood Chairs

Add contrasting elements

With all this talk about furniture and accessories, we must not forget the floor and the option to add a rug. For example, a green rug in a crisp white room with a rustic dining table and some houseplants will give your room a completely coordinated theme, team this up with a contrasting small armchair in a corner and again you are adding more features and interesting elements to your blank canvas.

Photo featuring: Louis de Poortere Fading World Oyster Green Rug

How to set the mood in your dining room

Two candles on a rustic wood table with a wool blanket

The dining room table is used for many things, not just eating and entertaining, it is often used as a home office, for homeschooling, homework, as well as crafts and hobbies. So when it comes to lighting it is a good idea to consider what it might be used for and when. During the winter months, it will most likely be dark when you eat your evening meal so lighting is an important element to consider.

Over dining table lighting

The dining table is the most important component of your dining space meaning a ceiling pendant over the table is always a good start. A bamboo pendant light hanging over a reclaimed wood dining table is a match made in heaven, the beautiful natural wood grain and natural bamboo work well together; hang one over an industrial dining table and it will soften the heavy industrial style. You can get double or even triple pendant ceiling lights to make something as simple as a light fitting, a whole extra feature in your room.

Photo: Bamboo Manta Tapered Pendant Light

Layered lighting

Take time to play with lighting in your dining room by layering the lights. Suspend a modern pendant light over the table, add some glass table lamps on a sideboard or console table, use fairy lights or candles to add subtle accent lighting around in the room. Use lighting to accentuate a favourite feature in your room such as an open fireplace or a wall picture.

Candles

Candles are a timeless classic when it comes to mood lighting. You can use a couple to create a romantic and intimate mood and can use more to give the feel of a grand banquet. Scented candles are great after you have enjoyed your dinner, choose a relaxing aromatherapy candle to wind down at the end of the evening.

Table lamps on sideboards

If you have a sideboard in your dining room you can place a glass table lamp on it. You may not always want bright overhead lighting for a more laid back and romantic feel. After you have finished your meal you can switch to more subtle indirect lighting for after-dinner drinks with your dinner party guests.

Fairy lights

Fairy lights are very popular and are perfect if you prefer not to light candles in your home. We love these wire weave fairy lights, you can leave them as a decorative feature on a sideboard and when the dinner pots are cleared away pop them on the dinner table as a centrepiece which gives a soft and cosy glow.

Photo credit: @justalittlebuild

Mirrors

Mirrors are always a good choice for helping with lighting issues. A cleverly placed wall mirror will work with well-placed lighting to give a feeling of more space, brighten a dark corner, break up a wall with no window as well as reflect light around the room.

How to choose a large dining table for your family

Large wood dining table with food and arms

A dining table is most likely the place where you and yours all sit down together at the end of a busy day, a place where you enjoy your dinner and talk over the day’s events. It’s always a good idea to have a big dining table so you have plenty of space to put dishes on the table and plenty of room to spread out and dine comfortably. But what if you have a large, or growing, family? Here we look at some large super stylish rustic and reclaimed wood dining tables, which can be paired with other reclaimed wood furniture, as well as with a more contemporary interior.

Size matters

How many people normally sit around your dining table? Do you have guests often? Does your dining table double up as an occasional workspace? Do the kids use it to do their homework? Do you need a bit of space to fit a highchair around it? If you have the space for a large table then all is good and you can get a lovely large homely rustic dining table with plenty of chairs to fit around it. If your dining space does not allow it then an extendable dining table might be just what you need.

The Portobello oak extendable wood dining table is a great choice. A gorgeous light solid oak dining table, in a minimalist Scandi style which can be combined with a dining bench, perfect for the little ones to squeeze up when you need a bit of extra space! Another rustic option would be the Farringdon dining table, it extends from the centre of the table with a cleverly hidden mechanism to ensure little fingers won’t get caught.

Reclaimed dining table

A reclaimed wood dining table is a clever option, the nature of the wood used means it has beautiful natural texture and undulations in the wood so small “everyday use” marks, chips and dents easily blend in. A reclaimed wood table is a homely and warm place to sit around and will make a stunning centrepiece in your kitchen or dining room.

The Standford extendable wood dining table is crafted from reclaimed wood often over 100 years old, with old nail marks adding interest and plenty of character, it easily extends to become a six-seater dining table. The Dorset is another super stylish extendable trestle table, for which there is the option to add a combination of benches and / or chairs.

Spider leg table

A spider leg table just makes so much sense when you need to add extra diners as there are no table legs to compete for space with! You can position your chairs anywhere you like, move them up a bit when you have guests and spread out when you have none.

The stunning Sussex oak oval dining table has a spider leg, is 2.5 metres long, it combines style and industrial elegance with a classic parquet top. It will also give the impression of taking up less room because of the rounded corners – meaning an oval table is a good choice if you still want a large table in a smaller or narrow room. Another bonus is the little ones not banging knees into table legs, so hopefully no kicking under the table!

How to tidy up your dining space

industrial kitchen with glass cabinet and sideboard

The dining space is an important part of every home, whether you dine in the kitchen, have your table in the living room or have a separate room, it’s a place where the whole family comes together to chat about their day and enjoy a hearty meal. It’s also a place where we are most likely to entertain guests which makes this space the heart of every home.

For these reasons, storage is vitally important. Here we have a look at different reclaimed wood cabinets that will provide storage solutions whether you like clear and clutter-free, if you like a few select items on display or if you prefer the homely feel of having your prized possessions in full view.

Is a sideboard for you?

A low-level sideboard is the most popular choice, there will be a style and size on the market to suit your needs perfectly. We love a reclaimed wood sideboard with doors and drawers to keep table linen, cutlery and serving dishes in.

A great place to start is to work out what you need to store in it and how much room you have to place one, of course allowing plenty of room to walk past it and to pull your dining chairs out. You can dress the top of a solid wood sideboard with candles, houseplants and ornaments, add a picture above it, or a mirror if you want to brighten the space. This will also provide an extra surface to place serving dishes and save your dining table becoming cluttered up when you have a houseful.

Would you prefer a display cabinet?

This is another popular choice for a dining space, in this, you can display your finest wine glasses, decanters and other dining room essentials, whilst keeping them all dust-free and ready to use. The Standford reclaimed wood display cabinet is a firm favourite of ours. Handcrafted from reclaimed wood with nail marks still visible and the natural beauty of the wood left to shine through the finish, it looks amazing in a traditional as well as a modern room.

Is a drinks cabinet the most useful option?

Drinks cabinets are becoming increasingly popular. A must-have for any amateur bartenders. Fill it with your favourite tipples, cocktail glasses, a shaker and a mixing spoon and you have everything to hand to entertain your guests without trips back and forth to the kitchen. An oak drinks cabinet will last you a lifetime making it a great investment if you enjoy stylish entertainment.

5 best wardrobes to keep your bedroom looking tidy

We all have so much to store in our bedrooms, making the right choice in storage options is paramount to creating your ideal place to wind down and relax in.

Below are 5 important things you might want to consider when choosing the perfect wardrobe for your bedroom. Of course, this is also the perfect time to give the items you no longer need, or wear, to a charity!

1. Choose a wardrobe with drawers

A wardrobe with drawers is always a great choice. This will present you with valuable extra storage space especially in a small room if you don’t have enough space for a chest of drawers as well…. A light coloured wardrobe would be the perfect choice for you. Drawers also save on hanging space in your wardrobe – socks, vest tops, thick jumpers and items that don’t crease can all be popped away in them. A drawer organiser will help you keep them tidy and ensure that your clothes are quickly and easily found when you need them!

2. Brighten your room with a white painted wardrobe

If you like minimal clutter and clean crisp white in your bedroom then consider a white painted wardrobe to reflect light and brighten the space. Add coordinating reclaimed wood bedroom furniture to bring your room together. A white-painted reclaimed wood wardrobe works wonders to brighten a dark room and gives a small room the feeling of more space.

3. Add character with reclaimed wood

Reclaimed wood wardrobes come in many styles, shapes and sizes – From a natural finish to white painted, to a dark retro/ antique look – there are plenty to choose from that will suit your style. A reclaimed wood wardrobe oozes character, their history is there for all to see in the old nail holes and in the beautiful undulations of the wood. Rustic wardrobes offer versatility, blending as perfectly in a modern room, filled with bold and vibrant colours as they do in a farmhouse style or neutral colour scheme.

4. Open hanging

Not everyone wants to hide their favourite clothes away in a wardrobe! An open wardrobe adds a light and elegant touch to your room, a sort of traditional Provençale farmhouse feel. With a shelf for storing folded items and shoes on, it could be all you need! These are also great in the hallway for hanging coats on and a brilliant idea for your guest bedroom.

5. A touch of Nordic rustic

When discussing wonderful wardrobes we could not overlook the hugely popular Scandi furniture trend! Natural light, clear and clutter-free spaces, clean lines and neutral colours are a great foundation to style the perfect bedroom. A solid wood wardrobe would tick all these boxes, offering storage as well as style. Pair this with other reclaimed wood furniture, soft rugs and light and natural fabrics to create a room that will be hard to leave in the morning!

Create Your Own Beautiful Dinner Party Table

Just A Little Build founder, Sarah-Jane, shares her dinner table style

We’ve been lusting after the interior style of Sarah-Jane, the stunningly gorgeous and oh, so talented lady behind Just A Little Build, since she completed her build and renovation project back in February 2019. Documented on her Instagram and blog, her honesty, enthusiasm and love of interiors shines throughout, but it is her stories of family life (she’s a full time mum of three with a menagerie of animals and a career of her own) and how she juggles this with her wonderful style and design that makes us ‘just a little’ bit obsessed with Sarah-Jane.

With her love of entertaining and attention to detail, when it comes to creating a show-stopping dinner party table, Sarah-Jane is the lady to ask. So, we did just that.

Here are her style secrets for a dinner party to impress….

Fresh Flowers: never underestimate the impact fresh flowers can give to your table decor. Not only do they instantly lift the mood of the room, but they also lift the eye, creating height and interest.

Use seasonal blooms to add colour to your table or for an understated elegance, simple green foliage, such as eucalyptus, are a wonderful way to add a stylish bit of substance. Just be careful that they don’t obstruct the natural eye line, so you can still see your guests!

Accessories: when sourcing plates, placemats and glasses etc. for the table, I use the same design process I would for a room. It all comes down to the styling and what materials, colours, heights and textures work together. I coordinated the smoked grey water glasses to mirror the frames of my sliding doors and blue bottom wine glasses to match my kitchen island and cushions.

Placemats: these can play an integral role in helping frame the plate and tie in your colour scheme. Here I have layered two different styles to add texture and contrast. The silver woven mat ties in with the cutlery, whilst the smaller slate placemat on top brings out the smoked grey of the water glass, as well as highlighting the stunning natural cracks and grooves of the wood in the reclaimed wood table. I love how the varying sizes and contrasting materials add interest and dimension to the table.

And lastly, the final piece for a heavenly table setting is lighting, or more specifically, mood lighting. To make a dinner party special I love to bring in a bit of sparkle and atmosphere to the room. I do this by placing tealights in small glass votives along the table or by adding tall candlesticks with long candles. You can also introduce a small wired string of LED’s for a festoon of light. Weave the lighting amongst the foliage or flowers for a stunning table setting. And, don’t forget the rest of the room. I like to add additional candles for a subtle glow and floor and side lamps to layer the light.

Who would be on your ultimate fantasy dinner party guest list?

Michael McIntyre – for happiness and laughter; Prince Harry – to find out all the goss!; Bradley Cooper – my celebrity crush; Jennifer Aniston – I think she’s just fab!

What’s your signature dinner party dish?

A good one which I used to cook and was originally passed down to me by my mum is chicken breasts stuffed with Stilton cheese, wrapped in parma ham and served with a cream and port sauce. However, as I no longer eat meat I tend to serve fish these days – I love pan-fried sea bass with cider braised mussels.

Summer BBQ or cosy winter supper?

Summer BBQ – I love cooking with marinades and you can do so many lovely fish dishes on the bbq. A favourite of ours is this Sunshine Tuna recipe; tuna steaks marinated with orange juice, fresh coriander, chili, garlic and then barbecued – pure summer on a plate!

What’s your food guilty pleasure?

I love a Gu Hot Chocolate soufflé – with raspberries pushed into the middle!

Woman leaning against kitchen island with dog

When you’re not being a mum, blogger, Instagrammer, brand consultant, holiday rental manager and events organiser (phew!!!), what do you do to relax?

Ha! For me, a quiet night in with a lovely candle burning, some mindless tv and some sweet and salty popcorn is pretty much the ticket!

For stunning dining tables to create your perfect dinner party, take a browse through our wonderful wood dining table collection. It includes Sarah-Jane’s stunning reclaimed wood dining table.

Big Ideas for Small Urban Outdoor Spaces

Clay coloured garden bistro table and chairs

Living in the city comes with a whole host of benefits, but outdoor space is not usually one of them. Having an outdoor area, no matter how small, is something to cherish, and with summer on our doorstep, now’s the time to make the most of your patch. Here are some creative ways to create an urban oasis in the heart of the city. Your neighbours will be green with envy…

Go Vertical

Vertical planters and ‘living walls’ are a clever way to bring greenery to outdoor areas without taking up too much room. By planting upwards, instead of outwards, you maximise the space you have for an outdoor table and chairs or a rattan sofa maybe, whilst giving you the chance to be as green fingered as your country cousins. And the best part? It doesn’t have to be expensive. DIY planters made from everyday objects or a simple trellis is a wonderful way to add plant life to your urban pad.

Mirrors

It’s a tried and tested interior design trick to use mirrors to create the illusion of space inside our homes, but did you know the same principle can be applied outside? Cleverly placed mirrors in small gardens, especially walled ones, help to bounce light into dark corners, giving the illusion of depth and space. It also adds a focal point to your courtyard, balcony or terrace. Just be sure to place the mirror with care and out of direct sunlight to avoid any glare and potential fire hazard.

Create Flow From Inside Out

Taking the floor level inside straight out into the garden or outdoor space is a proven strategy to create a sense of one bigger space. The natural flow from inside to out is achievable by using the same flooring and wide open doors or bi-folds. Another top tip to help make your balcony or courtyard feel like a natural extension of your living space is to position a pot with a tall plant right inside the doorway to your outdoors. It helps create a strong indoor-outdoor connection, making both appear more spacious.

Create some privacy

By adding a choice of tropical evergreen plants, you can create a lush secret haven in any type of small urban space. Bamboo is ideal for privacy and as it’s hardy and fast growing, you don’t have to be a master gardener to make it work. Place in a large container to not only contain its size (as we said, it’s a grower!), but a large planter will make your urban space look grander. Style with rattan furniture or a bamboo bench, such as the Hampstead Outdoor Bamboo bench or Bamboo armchairs for a classic colonial feel.

Go natural

To truly enjoy your outdoor haven you need somewhere to sit and relax. Keep it simple with natural reclaimed wood furniture or a rattan outdoor furniture; the perfect antidote to the hustle and bustle on your doorstep. For small patios, terraces and even roof tops, a laid-back garden sofa set with a low table or footrest, is ideal for lounging.

Or how about a sleep-inducing hammock for a real castaway mood? If space really is on the tight side, keep it super simple and create a cosy corner with a floor cushion tucked into a corner. The cushions can be kept inside and brought out when needed for added flexibility. A garden bistro set is also a great option for small areas as they can be folded away when not in use.

Whatever outdoor space you have, summer in the city has never looked so good. Don’t you think?

6 Tricks to Turn Your Garden into an Extra Room

Rattan corner sofa with matching coffee table and white cushions

We could all do with some extra living space, right? And with the sun shining and most of us spending more time at home, why not take the opportunity to organise your outside space and take your living and dining rooms outdoors? Whether you have a humble balcony, small patio, sunny courtyard or large garden with these tips you can create somewhere calm and beautiful to while away your days and nights. Let’s take it outside…

Work with what you’ve got

If you have a favourite tree, flower bed or even a potted plant, you want to make it part of your outdoor living room and arrange your furniture around it.

A garden sofa set under a tree will enjoy dappled sunlight or how about an outdoor corner sofa or rattan bench next to a large terracotta pot filled with lavender on a patio for a Mediterranean touch?

Zone your space

Just as you would in your kitchen, dining room or living room, use furniture to create a comfortable and sociable area to relax and dine.

An L-shaped settee or garden corner sofa has multiple benefits – ideal for seating a large group or lazing about on your own. Add a pair of armchairs, a matching coffee table and anchor with an outdoor rug and you have an instant outdoor area.

Keep it simple

An outdoor sitting room doesn’t have to be grand and elaborate or cost a fortune. A modest corner can be made into a snug hideout, whether that’s in a suburban garden, a sunny terrace or small city balcony. Create a cosy nook with soft throws and piles of cushions, and add a hanging pendant light or a simple string of fairy lights to take your space from day to night.

Create a ceiling or canopy

For a romantic and bohemian vibe outdoors, nothing is more dreamy than an overhead covering shading an area. What’s more, it can work in whatever size outdoor space you have, be it a balcony, patio, decking or lawn. If your outside space is lacking colour, choose a bright fabric or for an exotic Bedouin style covering, a sheer muslin drape gently blowing in the breeze will transport your imagination to faraway destinations. A natural slatted wood ceiling gives a beautiful dappled light – paint white for an instant Balearic vibe.

Go au naturel

Wicker and rattan is a favourite for garden furniture, and not just because it’s super durable and easy to look after. The natural texture works seamlessly in both classic and modern settings, blending in with the natural surroundings rather than competing with it. Another natural and sustainable alternative to wicker or rattan is all-weather bamboo and reclaimed wood furniture. Style with soft, neutral cushions, throws and table linens to achieve a chilled yet elegant atmosphere.

Dine al fresco

From long lazy lunches to dinners lasting late into the evening, nothing feels more like summer than eating al fresco. A stylish garden dining set instantly transforms your outdoor space into an elegant dining room and with a few added touches, it could well become your favourite room in and out of the house. Apply the same level of detail to your outdoor table as you would to your dining table indoors. Dress with natural linen, style with jugs filled with fresh flowers and accessorize with pretty festoon garden lights or hanging lanterns for a cosy, rustic look.

If space rules out an outdoor table and chairs, how about creating an outdoor drinking spot with a bar table? For a chic outdoor bar, add a high reclaimed wood table with an integrated ice bucket, like the St Mawes Bar Table, and a set of wooden or bamboo stools to bring happy hour to your outdoor space any hour you please.