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You don’t have to be a ‘Scrooge’ to want a nice tidy home around Christmas and sometimes having too many decorations and hundreds of different colours everywhere can ruin the look of your modern and minimalistic home. That said, you can buy minimalistic Christmas decorations if you know where to look.

Creating a theme

Firstly, you will want to decide on a colour scheme. Maintaining a simplistic Christmas style is all about balancing several colours, rather than opening up a box of tatty Christmas decorations that you’ve accumulated for years and years. By picking colours that go well together such as white, silver and gold, you can give your home a touch of bling without overdoing it. Or you can go with darker colours like purple black and silver; it’s completely up to you but you should only stick with several colours throughout if you want to maintain a simplistic style.

Do the important things well

When it comes to decorating your home for Christmas, there are a few areas that require special attention, such as your tree, your lights and your wrapping paper. These three elements together say a lot about your take on Christmas so pick the colours and designs wisely. We’d always avoid rainbow coloured lights if you love a modern and minimalistic style, whilst placing Santas, snowmen and elf on the windowsill is an absolute no go, all it does it makes your home look crazy and cluttered!

Don’t overdo it

It’s easy to get carried away at Christmas but if you work on the key areas of your home like the tree, the entrance and the walls, your home will look a lot more festive. As soon as you start adding decorations left, right and centre you’ll struggle to maintain that theme you worked so hard to accomplish.

You’ve probably picked up on this when you’ve been to a friend or family member’s house; appliances can say a lot about a person. If for instance, you have a filthy old microwave, a basic box-like fridge from the 80s and a kettle that’s on its deathbed, it would show you don’t particularly care about appearance. Nice looking appliances can give your home a certain style. Take a brand new barista style coffee maker; it paints the picture of a busy individual desperate for their caffeine fix in the mornings yet still sees the importance of functionality and style in their kitchen. If a kitchen has more than 20 new gadgets on the work surfaces it would paint the picture of an individual who loves new technology and is ready to embrace the latest innovations. Take a look around now at you kitchen furniture and see what it says about you.

It is sometimes challenging to get that high-quality product. It is even much challenging if the product is only found in limited places. There could be vendors of the product online but again, you are not sure of the quality. Home products such as oak fire surrounds can now be ordered online even though you need to research more about the manufacturer as well as the terms and conditions.

In your search for the product, it is always important to consider the history of the company. It is obvious that a company that has been in the business for long will work for a top company that has is known to produce high-quality oak fire surrounds.

The owner of the company is the lead producer and therefore oversees the entire production process. A buyer places an order, the manufacturer works on the order and customises the product as per the customer’s specifications. Delivery can then be arranged between the manufacturer and the customer. Even though the company is located in Birmingham, the products can be delivered to any location in the UK.

The products reflect the natural character of the raw materials. The products give you a nice way to bring nature into your home. The products are designed in such a way that they improve the uniqueness of your house. It feels good to walk in a house that looks appealing. It is even much better when you bring the natural environment into your house. You can make the finishing much better by laying it on a marble hearth foundation. The same company provides the hearths which are meant to impress you for many years. They are tailored to compliment your beautiful fireplace, giving your house an awesome look.

Your fireplace will look unique in that the oak is changed by different weathering effects and environments. This means the oak changes in terms of character, form, and colour and thus, the end product is unique and original every time. Colour and character may differ between boards and this is why some will appear lighter and others darker. A skilled craftsman, however, has mastered his art and will, therefore, know how to match the oak.

Danish oil, wax, dye and lacquer can also be used to manipulate the colour of your oak product. This ensures you get a product that matches or compliments your current décor. In other words, this is to ensure that theme of your house is maintained.

It is, however, the responsibility of the customer to specify the type of oak fire surrounds he is looking for. This will allow the manufacturer to make a product that matches all the given requirements. Colour, size, and character are all matched to ensure the customer gets a high-quality product. For quality products, you should specify the features you need in the product for them to be customised accordingly. Customer satisfaction will also satisfy the manufacturer and motivate him to produce many more quality products. With the right company, you are assured of products that will give you the best value for your money.

When you see the pictures of an apartment for sale or for rent, you may like it because it looks sleek and minimalistic, but wait until you get your belongings in there. It could soon look cluttered and creepy. To make sure that doesn’t happen, and to maintain a minimalistic style in your apartment, be sure to make use of the cupboards available. Your bedroom wardrobe should be the place for all your clothes, whilst there could be space under the bed for your laptop leads, cables, shoes and other items. Then the kitchen cupboards may be a little on the small side but do you need to buy a month’s worth of shopping? Why not opt for weekly shops, you’ll use up less fridge and cupboard space, and you’ll eat fresher food too. The main room with the kitchen and living room should be kept clutter free at all times, as that’s the room you’ll be entertaining guests in.

It seems to be a big trend right now; animal doorstops are cute, weighty and brimming with character. They are a great fit for living rooms and bedrooms and there are so many to choose between nowadays, no matter what animal you had in mind. Door stops used to be boring pieces of plastic, but now it’s all about soft animal doorstops. These tend to be filled with polyester and sand, whilst the outside is a relatively soft material like wool or cotton. They are strong enough to hold the largest of doors but they’re not usually strong enough to keep humans or animals out of a room. The soft material ensures your doors remain scratch free and it would take some force to break the material, so don’t worry about sand leaking out of the animal door stop in the future, it’s highly unlikely that will happen! 

Technology has changed so much over the last decade or so, we’re all using phones, tablets and laptops rather than desktop computers with a plug-in monitor, keyboard and mouse. Well, not all of us but you get the idea. So, with computers now being light and compact, do you actually need a home office? Well, technology may have changed but the purpose of a home office hasn’t. With a home office, you’re able to isolate yourself away from the maniacs in your house, concentrating on important tasks. Whether you use a laptop or desktop computer, privacy is always going to be important. Only consider turning that home office into a bedroom if you’re able to concentrate in other areas of your house. Otherwise, you may regret it when it’s gone.

The kitchen is a tricky place to create a colour theme, because when you factor all of the appliances into the design, it’s very difficult to find these in one particular colour. That’s why many people balance black and white in their kitchen and here’s how to do it.

Appliances

Most kitchen appliances come in a black finish, so you could pick up an oven, a microwave, a fridge and a hob in black, whilst your units, sink table and chairs can be white, creating a perfect balance between the two.

You can add a dash of colour to your walls or flooring, and the great thing is any colour work well with black and white. Consider this colour theme in your next kitchen if you haven’t already.

It’s amazing what you can do with state of the art technology. Over the last few years or so, there’s been a lot of talk about 3D printing in the furniture industry, and it’s no wonder why. Many companies now provide geocast oak beams, and these are essentially beams made to look like real timber, but they’ve been made using a 3D printed mould.

The results are astonishing and you really won’t be able to tell the difference. But why not opt for the real thing, why choose a ‘fake beam’?

Well… I don’t know if you’ve ever tried lifting a timber beam or hanging one on your wall, but it can be a bit of a tough task! They’re extremely heavy, but the geocast version isn’t. They simply hook onto the wall like a mirror or a framed photo, and they can be placed closer to your stove or fire because they’re non-combustible.

In my eyes, colourless walls shouldn’t exist. I don’t care how much you love a minimalistic decor; you have to have some colour on your walls.

Vibrant wallpaper

The best way to add some colour is by using wallpaper. It’s cheap to buy and easy to install, and there are endless colour options to choose between.

Photographs (not black and white!)

These will not only add character to your walls, they’ll give them life, and you can now get your personal photos printed for a special touch.

Paint

Adding a dab of paint can be the obvious choice in terms of getting colour. Paint’s only downside is that it peels, and of course that there are some hideous colours out there. Always take your time and choose a nice bright colour that matches your personality.

If you wish to transform any space in your home into a light and airy room, then roof lights are the perfect solution. Also known as skylights, roof lights help to provide light in areas within your home that are gloomy, allowing you to make the most of your living space.

If there are rooms within your home that do not provide much light or have small windows, then adding them will help to transform these areas completely. They help to provide natural light and are suitable for domestic and commercial purposes. (more…)