There’s nothing better than helping our lovely clients to improve their living spaces, whether it’s giving them more functionality or simply creating a design they’ve always dreamed of! Our process allows us to work closely with you to create bespoke pieces that are perfectly suited to your space. If you’re considering a bespoke project…
When it comes to designing a home or certain space, people often think that hiring an interior designer is “too expensive” or they “won’t design something that represents me” – however that’s not the case. Good interior designers will work with you to design something that you truly love, and will help you budget your dream project without skipping any of the details. And that’s not all! Here are seven great reasons to hire an interior designer.
What is it about kitchens that evoke a mysterious magnetic attraction? In years gone by, the household kitchen was designed for preparing and cooking meals. However, over the past few decades, this one particular room, more than any other has slowly morphed into the epicentre of the home. The average kitchen wears many hats—it’s where the family congregate after school, the place to raid the biscuit tin, a children’s art museum on the fridge and above all a place to socialise and enjoy good food with family and friends. The kitchen was immortalised as the place to be in the song released in 1980 by Jona Lewie …”you will always find him in the kitchen at parties.” Whoever ‘he’ was, he was enjoying himself in the place where everyone else wanted to be.
Over the coming months, we’ll be sharing our knowledge on what it takes to help create the ideal kitchen space for your home. We’ll cover all the elements that need to be looked at including colour, style, textures, appliances and materials. A feature that every kitchen has irrelevant of size, is a work surface, this may be more prominent in some kitchens than others. Kitchens with a long central island will almost certainly have more worksurface than those without the island however the right worksurface is important irrelevant of size.
There are a number of countertops worth considering on the market and if you’ve ever gone looking, you may well have been confused by the differences between what look like very similar products. So, we wanted to shed some light on your choices and why you might consider them.
We love working with Corian®. It’s a solid surface used in kitchen worktops, islands and prefabricated sinks and is fashioned from high-performance Corian® and available in a dazzling array of styles and colours. It’s non-porous, so stains cannot penetrate its surface. The manufacturers advise that with proper cleaning, Corian® also resists the growth of mould, mildew and bacteria and due to the seamless look of integrated Corian® kitchen worktops, sinks, and coved backsplashes, it also means there are no crevices to trap dirt and bacteria.
Quartz is attractive for its durability and its consistent colour characteristics. This type of work surface offers an impressive colour selection in white, black or grey hues and is becoming a popular and functional choice in modern kitchen design.
Granite remains high on the list of trendy kitchen countertops for the 2019 kitchen. It’s often cited as the most durable natural material available and is known for resisting cracks and chips well. Trivets are a thing of the past in a kitchen with a granite work surface. Granite allows you to place hot pans directly on the countertop, you can cut right on the surface without damage, and spills wipe away easily.
When we think of marble, most of us think of luxury and style, and although it exudes elegance, it’s a functional and stable material, it has a great aesthetical and colour selection, it responds well to temperature and mechanical damage; the only blip is when it comes to stains, this is where you need to be careful.
Metals are all the rage in a 2019 kitchen. Trendy and fashionable it lends itself to more urban and modernistic design arrangements. The phrase may be ‘all that glitters is gold’, however who isn’t drawn to the shine of a metal surface? With new technologies and innovations, the age-old view that metal and rust go hand in hand is a thing of the past. Using a metal surface in a modern kitchen will take it to the next level.
For those who have a more traditional and natural idea of design in mind, the beauty of natural wood will always top their list. Using wood as a surface in your kitchen is never a bad choice and many are using reclaimed wood as an option for a countertop. It’s sustainable and Nature-friendly, and environmentally a more sustainable resource that granite because wood is renewable and using reclaimed wood is even more so. Offering irresistible charm and warmth, it’s also a great choice for the planet.
In our previous blog, we discussed open plan living and how room divisions could be created without the need for bricks and mortar. One of our suggestions was that of a living wall. For those who love the idea of bringing the outside in(and are not known for their lack of green fingered prowess), a ‘living wall’ brings that concept to the very heart of your home, or work environment. Plants provide an uplifting and calming effect and studies have shown that simply having a view of greenery increases productivity in the workplace, so maybe it’s time to ditch the painted walls for planted walls!
So how difficult is it to achieve? If you have a structurally sound solid wall, you can have a living wall. With the excitement surrounding this latest trend in home dividers, there are kits available making this a feasible option in home decoration. In principle, decide where you want your living wall, build the frame using treated 2 inch x 1 inch battens and mount it to the wall, attach the plastic planters to the fame working from the bottom of the frame upwards in staggered rows. Finally fill the planters with your chosen plants. Choosing the right plants is important, work out whether you want colour, scent or do you want plants you can use in the kitchen?
Plants that work well are:
Adiantum(maidenhead fern)
Galanthus(snowdrop)
Liriope muscari(lilyturf)
Pelargonium peltatum(ivy-leaved geranium)
Vina minor(lesser periwinkle)
Herbs such as Thyme, Oregano and Basil
Your living wall will need watering every 2-3 days and like any other living plant, will need to be taken care of. If you’ve chosen flowering plants, they’ll need to be deadheaded to encourage new blooms, and any annual plants will benefit from a liquid feed every couple of weeks to stay looking their best.
If you’re looking to truly bring life to your indoor space and are tired of plain walls, we’ve found some fantastic ideas to give you inspiration. Call Gary or Greg today at Lime Interiors to discuss how we can help you create your dream space.
So how do we achieve this open plan living? If the desire is ‘Separate but Seamless, look no further, we’re here to help.
Firstly, you need to consider ‘Zoning’ This is where you work out exactly what you want from your ‘living space’. It’s important to work out which space is for social interaction with family and friends, where do you want to work and study, which area is for calm reflection and where do you want to collapse in a heap with a glass of wine after a long day at work?
The only time the open plan living concept may not be quite so ideal, is when you need a little privacy to actual define a specific space without the restrictions of a brick wall. Thankfully, all is not lost and there’s no need to call in the bricklayer. The answer…is Room Dividers. These dividers allow us to section off parts of an open plan living space. They enable us to create little micro rooms without fully closing off areas, and still allow light to flood in to what could otherwise, if walled, be a dark and gloomy space.
We’ve pulled together some fabulous ideas on ways to divide rooms, let us know what you think.
Who would’ve thought there was a bedroom the other side of this divide?
Always remember that natural light makes a space feel larger than it actually is. So, if you have the desire for ‘bringing the outside in’ and budget allows, consider wall to wall, floor to ceiling patio doors, or bi-folding doors, both allow a seamless flow out to an adjacent outdoor space. Many of us find joy in collapsing on a comfortable sofa at the end of the day, so within your open plan living space, ensuring you create a seating area that offers a sense of almost privacy, is vital. This where the right type of furniture is important. A corner sofa can provide the ‘illusion’ of being behind a wall, it helps to create a defined seating area.
Everyone can plan a room, but it’s our passion for kitchen, bathroom and bedroom design and our ability to create beautiful spaces with a clear understanding of what the client needs, that makes us different. Give Lime Interiors a call today to discuss how we can help you create the open plan living space you’ve always dreamed of.
Lime Interiors Specialise in high end quality home renovations. We are based in St Albans, Herts UK. If you are looking for a bespoke renovation, please contact us.