How You Can Give Your Bathroom Its Sparkle Back

Is your bathroom feeling a little grimy and lifeless? It’s not a nice feeling, is it? Don’t worry though, giving your bathroom its sparkle back needn’t be hard work.

Repaint the Walls

Cleaning the bathroom is important (and we’ll come to that later), but sometimes the bathroom just needs a new coat of paint. The old paintwork will start to look tired and dull after a few years, so you’ll probably have no choice. Paint and tiles are usually the best options for bathrooms; wallpaper is more of a risk.

Wallpaper can look great, but it can often overwhelm a bathroom if the pattern doesn’t quite work, or if the room is small. Therefore, I’d recommend you go for the safe option and paint the walls instead. The color you go for should be something simple and light. Dark colors will make a small room feel even smaller.

Give it a Deep Clean

As I’m sure you already know all too well, bathrooms get dirty, and they can be a real pain to clean. That’s why so many of us put off the job until we can’t leave it any longer. The job is made a lot easier if you do it continually as you go along though. But how do you go about cleaning it if it hasn’t been cleaned for ages?

Start by cleaning the surfaces. Your window ledges, the inside of the shower, the toilet, sink and floor will all gather a lot of dirt and grime if they’re not cleaned regularly. To give the floor a deeper clean, you should have a professional do the grout cleaning for you. Then, you can clean the inside of the toilet, the shower, and all the faucets.

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Buy a New Mirror

Mirrors really do make a room feel bigger and give the space a new lease of life. They create extra light by reflecting it around the room. So, if you haven’t got a big, stylish mirror in your bathroom, you really need one. If you ask me, when it comes to bathroom mirrors, the bigger, the better.

You can find all kinds of mirrors, so there should be one out there for everyone, no matter what your tastes and style requirements are. If you want something a little different and quirky, why not have a look around antique shops, auctions and junk sales. You can often find a lot of interesting stuff this way.

Clear Out Any Clutter

Although we might not like to admit it, a lot of of us end up filling our bathrooms with junk that we don’t really need. When you’re short on storage space, you take the chance to fill up every inch of spare storage space you have. But a great bathroom shouldn’t be filled with clutter.

So, get rid of all the junk that’s filling your bathroom if you haven’t done it already. It’ll look a lot better for it, I assure you.

If you follow these simple tips, your bathroom will start to look better than it has looked for years!

Dogs And Fleas: How To Prepare For The Summer

Summer is flea season. In the warmest months, there is a significant rise in the number of fleas in the environment. Combine this with the fact that your dog will be more exposed to them because the sunshine will make you want to spend more time in the great outdoors. It can be difficult to keep your life flea-free when you have a dog. Luckily there are some steps you can follow to prepare you for flea season and protect your dog, family and home from these parasites.

  1. Stock up

If you live in an area with an especially high intensity of fleas in summer, it may be inevitable that your dog will get them at some point. It’s vital that you deal with the problem straight away to avoid them breeding and taking over your home. You can use your pet prescription to buy flea spot-on medicines in an affordable and easy way online. You can use many of these treatments to prevent as well as control fleas.

  1. Comb your dog regularly

Whenever your dog has been outside, it’s a good idea to use a flea comb through their hair. This will help to remove any parasites before they get a chance to set up camp in your dog’s coat or in your home. Place a white towel under your dog while you comb so it will be easier to detect if any fleas are present. This towel should be carefully shaken into a bowl of water, and then the contents flushed down the toilet.


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  1. Have more baths

Fleas are far less attracted to clean animals. Therefore, during the summer you may wish to increase the number of baths you give to your dog. You can purchase gentle shampoos formulated for canines from pet stores or your veterinary practice. Fleas will usually die in water so by bathing your dog more often you will also be getting rid of any fleas living in their coats.

  1. Vacuum (a lot)

Vacuuming is one of the most effective ways to keep your home flea-free. During the summer, you will need to vacuum at least once a week, more if you have evidence of fleas from your dog or around your home. You need to be very thorough with this task, so it is a good idea to make sure your vacuum is in good working order and to make any fixes before the summer officially starts. You should not only concentrate on the floors, but also the skirting boards, furnishings and both your bed and your dog’s bed.

  1. Wash your dog’s bedding

As well as vacuuming your dog’s bedding, you should also make sure it is kept clean. Attempt to wash it every couple of weeks so that the cleanliness is unappealing to fleas.

  1. Use insect deterrents

There are a number of natural ingredients that can help to keep fleas, and other insects, at bay. This is summer you may wish to purchase some cedar, lavender or peppermint oil sprays and some citronella candles.

We hope this information helps you to have a flea-free summer this year.

Image from Flickr.com

How furniture can help save space

Home design techniques will never become an out dated owing to the size of most households. Most households are small in size as compared to the amount of stuff that comes in. In such a situation, lack of proper organization of households can lead to clutter. The size of most households, if not well organized, cannot accommodate most of the basic stuffs that people bring in. In most cases, amount of stuffs coming in exceeds the amount of the same going out.

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Simple Summer Ideas And Inspiration For The Home

I love to change up my decoration to match the seasons, and create an entirely new feel in my home. In winter, I want to feel warm and cosy, but in summer i wish to let the light in and enjoy the weather! This year I’ve heard it’s going to be much hotter than usual which I am really looking forward to, so I’m planning on making my home look extra summery! I’ve also been preparing for it by getting in touch with companies like https://energyprohvac.com/ to come and install an air conditioning system into my home as it will be much needed, and I can also use it for when the winter comes back around too!

Anyways, as you may know, I’m currently working on my nature house project. Although we’re not all the way there yet, it got me thinking about ways I can make my home feel inviting for the season.

Summer Patterns

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I can’t get enough of nature, so of course I’d include patterns that make me think of wildlife and beautiful plants. Of course, you can have too much of a good thing. I’d use simple patterns with details such as leaves or butterflies in small areas of the house. A wall decal with a floral pattern would look fantastic on a feature wall.

I’d also use summer patterns on other areas, such as for a decorative table runner in the dining room. Small things like these I can switch and change with the season.

I’d also change the art displayed in my home too. I suggest picking bright, abstract floral paintings. The colour would instantly give the room a lift!

Decorative Bouquets

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Flowers immediately remind me of summer. There are so many fantastic varieties that you don’t get a chance to see when it’s cooler. I enjoy having the opportunity bring nature indoors and to decorate my rooms with flowers. If you’re not green-fingered, try ordering flowers from a site like SerenataFlowers.com. If you order fresh flowers, you can spend more time thinking about the vases you can use!

I often switch flower vases depending on the season. You could even redecorate them depending on the weather or even your mood! Vases are easy to decorate and paint. You could glue things to them such as shells to make them remind you of the beach. I’d even try an ombre effect on white vases so that I get to use some bright colours.

For outdoor plant pots, I’d decorate them with abstract patterned materials by using mod podge. Mod podge helps you to seal materials so that you can use beautiful fabrics outside. This way, you can cover your boring terracotta plant pots with colours and patterns that make you think of summer.

Centerpieces

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Centrepieces can turn your table into a work of art. It’s possible to make your centrepiece so that it’s unique to your home. I’d use a mixture of dried flowers, fresh flowers, candles, painted branches, shells and beads to create something spectacular.

Remember, if you do plan on making a centrepiece for your table, don’t let it get too big. I know it’s easy to get carried away but you don’t want to overpower your room. If you have a large room and a large table you can dare to big. If not, you may just end up making a room feel crowded.

Outdoor Furniture

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I think this is one of the most exciting parts of summer. Knowing that you’ll be spending lots of time in the garden. There are so many options to choose from for gorgeous outdoor furniture. There’s no excuse just to have a couple of plastic chairs!

For summer, I love the idea of being able to sit under a canopy on a beautiful wicker chair. I’d decorate it with cushions made from the summer patterns I mentioned earlier.

A hammock is also a good idea for creating spaces in the garden for summer lounging. If you don’t have anywhere you can tie your hammock to, you can opt for a free-standing one for the same effect.

The idea of making garden furniture from logs also appeals to me. You can create one-of-a-kind pieces of garden furniture quite easily. Stubs of tree trunks can make seats and logs can make tables, chairs and more. Let your imagination run wild.

Outdoor Lighting

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Lighting is important in summer as you spend so much time outdoors. There are almost too many options for summer outdoor lighting! Instead of buying lights, I’d like to have a go at making my decorative lighting. There are two simple options that I love for a candlelit garden.

The first is to paint clean, tin cans (the kind you get food in can work for this) in bright, bold colours. Next I’d use a drill to pierce holes in a pattern around the can. Then all I have to do is add my tea lights and place them around the garden! The candle light will shine through the holes creating a magic summer evening feel.

The other idea is to use mason jars. If you buy anything that comes in a mason jar, save it as they are so useful for many crafts. I’d decorate my mason jars with lace, ribbon and perhaps even glitter spray paint. Like the tin can idea, the mason jars will create an exciting effect. It all depends on the material or colours you use to decorate the outside.

I think both of these ideas are perfect for summer garden parties. You can make them in a jiffy with minimal effort so they are ideal for busy people.

For electrical lighting, I like the idea of decorating strings of fairy lights with different sized shells. It’s also a good excuse to spend a day at the beach so you can collect interesting shells.

Summer Scents

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When I think of decorating for summer, I’m often inspired by the scents and smells of the seasons. For an added layer of summer, decor, I’d use floral fragrances or scents that remind me of the sea. This way, when you get home, all your sense are full of summer scents, making it hard not to be happy!

You could add summer scents to your home by using candles, essential oils or potpourri. I might even try to make a summer fragrance with different essential oils. My home would smell incredible.

There are many more ideas out there that I’m sure will inspire my decorating efforts this summer. If you have any interesting ideas I’ve not thought of, please leave a comment and let me know.