The Gibraltar Property Insight

in Features

No Excuses

We spend one third of our lives in bed, so creating a calming bedroom is necessary for relief at the end of the day. By creating a beautiful room, you can rest easy knowing that a third of your life is spent in luxury

1. Reign it in…  

Beautiful bedrooms are meant to be soothing, comfortable areas, and the best colours to achieve that are delicate colour schemes: neutral colours like whites and creams or a light colour palette like lavender and light blue. This doesn’t mean that your bedroom needs to be boring—if your favorite colours are bold colours, feel free to experiment with different ways to add interesting pops of colour. Try out some bold throw pillows; a busy duvet cover, comforter, or bedspread; or even an interesting paint colour or wallpaper on an accent wall or the ceiling.

2. Make sure you can move. 

One of the best ways to give your bedroom a restful and relaxing vibe is to focus on the ease of movement, or how well you can walk around the floor space without feeling cramped. Where possible, try to avoid a lot of extraneous bedroom furniture in your bedroom so that you’re not tripping over bookcases and coffee tables or squeezing past bedside tables to get to your bed. This is especially important in small spaces and small rooms, where the space is so limited that you need to make sure you can breathe. If you’re having an especially hard time, think about extra storage spaces you could implement, like drawers underneath your bed.

3. Choose the Right Size Furniture. 

When you’re ready to buy bedroom furniture, start out with a floor plan and a measured drawing of the space. Furniture should fit the room it lives in—this is particularly true for bedroom furniture. Don’t choose a heavy, large bed and dresser for a small bedroom. If the ceiling is high, a tall headboard will help to visibly bring it down to size. If your bedroom is large, choose furniture that suits a larger space, too. Add a chair and ottoman or place a piece of furniture at the end of the bed to help fill extra square footage. Furniture and accessories that are too small will look lost in a large room.

4. Layers of light. 

Rather than relying on just your overhead light or a table lamp, it’s a good practice to layer the lighting in your bedroom, which means including several different light sources that you can toggle on and off for maximum functionality and cohesion. You don’t need a chandelier to layer your lighting—think about the different simple light sources you can take advantage of in your bedroom (like built-in natural light, overhead lights, floor lamps, bedside lamps, table lamps, reading lights, pendant lights, dimmers, and wall lights) and pick a few to include.

5. Distribute the soft touches. 

All bedrooms have one large soft item in them—the bed—which is often the focal point of the room. To help balance out the visual softness of the bed, try including that softness one or two other places, which will avoid making the rest of the room feel overly “hard” in comparison. Layered curtains, area rugs, or plush throw blankets are great ways to spread the soft look throughout the room.

6. Look Up! 

The ceiling is the largest clean surface in your bedroom, and most amateur home decorators forget all about it—so it’s a huge untapped resource in any room. If you want to give your bedroom a special touch, consider painting or wallpapering your ceiling with a delicate colour or pattern. If you’re tired of DIY tips and want an especially elegant bedroom look, you could even think about having a molded ceiling done.

7. Go for a nook. 

Your bedroom should feel like a special
sanctum where you can relax. If you have the space and are looking for a little something more to make your bedroom feel like home, think about ways that you can make a private nook for yourself. A window seat, a loft, or even just a comfy chair and footstool all make for great places to tuck yourself up for some private time.

8. Follow your personal style. 

When coming up with bedroom ideas, don’t get so caught up in decorating tips that you end up with a bedroom that doesn’t feel right to you. Your bedroom should feel comfortable and tailored to your needs, so make sure along the way that you’re asking yourself what appeals to you. If you love something specific—be it greenery or upholstered headboards—be sure to make room for it in your design ideas.

9. Go Tech-Free

Try to keep your mobile phone, computer, television, exercise machine, or other tech out of the bedroom in
order to ceate a cherished place to relax and renew. Trust us: You’ll love having a room dedicated to reading, sleeping, and romance.

10. Invest in Linens

Outfitting your bedroom with beautiful and luxurious fabrics is a great way to up the comfort factor of your space. As a rule of thumb, don’t buy sheets that are less than 100 percent cotton or linen with high thread counts of 350 or more. For sheets that feel like they came from a 5-star hotel, send them to the dry cleaner for professional washing and ironing, which doesn’t cost much, but creates a crisp smoothness worthy of the Ritz. 


Bringing Holiday colour into your Home

We bring back so many wonderful memories from our holidays. Whether it is scent, colour, the architecture we have  experienced or the heady combination of all of these elements.

When we return home we often want to replicate those feelings, shades and atmosphere that our travels have offered us.

Whether you have travelled overseas or to a caravan park an hour a way, you can find inspiration everywhere. Hunt for treasures in shops that remind you of your time away and look carefully at the window displays, the colour combinations and the materials. Be inspired by the natural landscapes whether it’s the colours of the tranquil beaches or the textures within the mountains.

Scent plays a huge role in transporting you back to that blissful destination. Find a candle that captures the essence of that favourite location. Burn some essential oils or fill your home with fresh flowers that have a fragrance that reminds you of where you were.

To evoke a holiday spirit in your home, comfort is the key. You want to create a room where you can relax and unwind. Remember the textures, materials and the colour palette that was used in your holiday accommodation.

Joshua Hammonds, Marketing Manager at Hammonds Furniture, offers advice on incorporating a seaside holiday feel into your home.

Sometimes we go abroad and find an interior style that just speaks to us and that we really connect with.

Our research has found that over a fifth of people (21%) find a coastal aesthetic to be the most calming interior design style.

When it comes to designing our own living rooms, it is important that we create a space that makes us feel calm and meets our needs and bringing inspiration from the places we love can help achieve that.

Although you can’t bring the pristine beaches and sunny weather back home with you, you can bring some of the interior styles back, and use these to inspire designs in your home.

If you want to emulate the laid-back feel and beachy tones and textures you’ll find in a home or hotel abroad, then there are a few things to keep in mind.

Firstly, linens and textiles in neutral and blue tones are the way to go. You should also look at keeping the colour palette of your room light and fresh, with some pops of blue to bring in that coastal aesthetic.

Adding rattan style furniture, blinds and accessories is also a must, along with lots of tropical-looking, leafy plants. Incorporating furniture décor in other natural materials can add extra interest and texture, and help bring the outside in. Accessories that use driftwood and shells are an excellent choice, but choosing simple, rustic wooden furniture could be a more subtle option.

Keeping the interior focused around natural colours and finishes can make your room feel as though you’re on an island yourself, helping you create an inviting and calming space to relax in.’

Ruth Lavender, design expert at Benchmarx Kitchens and Joinery, comments ‘Taking inspiration from a holiday destination for your home’s interior can help to continue a feeling of wanderlust and evoke fond memories from globe-trotting adventures.

To capture that holiday feeling in the kitchen, I’d recommend opting for a calming cabinet colour such as Cambridge driftwood blue or Nordica blue. These cool blue hues have been developed to embody the colour of sea water, transforming any space into a tranquil setting that can be enjoyed at any time of the day. They blend seamlessly with whites and creams to create a light, airy combination, creating a relaxing seaside aesthetic.

If you want to create that pared-back feeling that is popular in beach-house kitchens, aim for clutter-free surfaces to make the space feel more open. Utilise clever storage solutions, such as corner drawers and tower storage units, to keep kitchen surfaces tidy – creating a truly relaxing atmosphere.

Aim to allow as much natural light into the room as possible, as this will help open the space further, making it an extension of the outside. Bifold doors and skylights are perfect for drenching a kitchen in natural light, providing an open feeling that is so often experienced in holiday destinations.

If you’re looking to take inspiration from a tropical holiday further afield, consider replicating luscious botanicals by incorporating forest green cabinets and natural materials. For a more subtle update, incorporate biophilic design through the introduction of houseplants such as palms, cacti, and succulents.

Incorporating an island planter full of fresh herbs is the perfect way to bring more greenery into the kitchen. Design hacks like this should ideally be considered early in the stages of planning your kitchen, when you can really think about how best to customise your layout to get the most out of it.’

Whatever has left a memorable impact on you, there are a variety of ways to capture the essence of what it special for you. Even bringing back a small element of your travels can invigorate your home.


New Property or Change Decor

Moving home can be many things:  thrilling, life changing and possibly necessary when jobs and schools are involved.

However, it is also hugely stressful, expensive and frequently filled with apprehension, wondering if we have made the right decision.  This is why staying and improving our present homes can provide a practical answer.

Howard Birch is director of bathroom specialist Aston Matthews. Howard thinks ‘With so many people working from home and with open plan living, it is increasingly hard for individuals to find a quiet spot where they can relax and unwind.  Rather than moving house to find extra space look at the bathroom and see if this can provide the sanctuary you need.

The bathroom provides a quiet zone where we can treat ourselves to some alone time – reading a book in the bath has become, for many, an important time-out from the pace of everyday life.

If you don’t have space for a bath in your bathroom consider positioning a freestanding tub in the bedroom. Many boutique hotels now do this and the plumbing is fairly straightforward. You will, however need to consider ventilation and the floor surface – tiles or floor boards under the bath are preferable to carpet. 

Alternatively, create a spacious bathroom in the attic. A traditional cast iron bath looks lovely under the eaves and will certainly provide a relaxing sanctuary as well as adding value to your property.’

Lucy Pascall, Director, Pushka Home 

believes ‘homeowners looking for an easy way to enhance an existing kitchen or for renters looking at ways to put a stamp on their new home, by simply switching out their existing handles for a new design, transforming the space without the need for a complete renovation; saving both time and money. For those who can, re-painting the cabinetry will also help to make the space feel brand new. Alongside the addition of new handles, homeowners will have cabinetry that will look completely refreshed and styled for a brand new look, complete with additional accessories and finishing touches for a beautifully pulled together aesthetic. 

When designing a bedroom scheme,

it’s important to also consider the finer details. Consider updating your existing pieces of furniture before forking out on brand new furniture items. For example, by changing your wardrobe door handles or switching out the drawer knob on your bedside table, you can personalise your furniture and make the space feel truly your own. The piece will  also be completely unique to you, meaning you will have a stunning piece of furniture that will wow guests as well as be an interesting talking point for when people come to visit.’

Kelly Friel is the Digital Product Manager at Zoro, home renovation experts. Kelly feels it is important to ‘try making your home more spacious instead of moving house, such as with an extension or knocking a wall through to create a more open plan area. If you are going to invest in creating more space in your home, make sure to plan the renovations fully and understand any planning permissions that you might need to acquire, as well as creating a timetable of when your changes will be done by. This can make the large task more manageable.

Small renovations can make a big difference to your home. These can be cosmetic updates such as repainting walls, doors, and ceilings, as well as finishing touches like wooden staircases and skirting boards. If you’ve been in your house for a while, the finer details may have become a little lacklustre and sprucing them up can really refresh the property.

Repainting is an opportunity to change up the colour scheme of your home, introducing new colours and shades to really brighten things up. Try new themes and features like accent walls to make your place feel like new. Then, you can turn your attention to any painting or brickwork on the outside of the property — investing in how your home looks from the outside can affect how you feel about the inside too.

Installing insulation in the walls can be a big long-term money saver. All of these changes can increase your property value when you come to sell, as well as improving your comfort and enjoyment of your house while you’re living in it.’

Increasing storage can provide a welcome boost and added versatility to any home. Packmate storage believe ‘As people spend more time at home, space has never been so important. When storage is limited, your next step should be finding easy, budget-friendly ways of making the most of the space in each room, helping you save valuable money and time!  

When on a mission to maximise your storage space, start by clearing away the things that are better kept out of sight and mind. For example, any last season clothes, soft furnishing, shoes and bags would fit perfectly into Packmate Storage Bags! It’s as easy as folding and packing them into your storage bag, vacuuming out the air and storing either under the bed, on top of the wardrobe or in a drawer until you need them again.  

Packmate Storage Bags make it easy to keep on top of your spring cleaning. They can be used to help get your home ready for every season, providing a safe and organised way of storing your belongings. These vacuum bags are easy to access as and when you need and reduce to around 50% of their original size. Providing useful extra storage for any room in the house, you’ll have more space to accommodate your family and friends during the summer and, dare we say it, plenty more room for your festive decorations.’

Aston Matthews:

www.astonmatthews.co.uk

Pushka Home

www.pushkahome.com/

Zoro home renovations:

www.zoro.co.uk

Packmate Storage: 

www.buypackmate.co.uk

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