Innehållsförteckning för February 2023 från Style At Home

Last year was all about watching my kitchen reno plans become a reality, and it’ll be some time until we have the money (or energy!) to tackle another big project. The garden – more like a mud pit after the building work – is next on the list but this year it will see a cheap and cheerful spruce up, with a bigger overhaul in 2024 – long-term goals! Luckily, if you’re like me and find it impossible to press ‘pause’ when it comes to decorating your space, even if you’re feeling the pinch, SAH is here for you. Helping you create your dream home on a budget has been our MO for over a decade. We scour the high street for the best-value buys, pull together savvy decorating ideas…

Dulux has announced its Colour of the Year 2023, Wild Wonder. The soft, warm yellow has a calming effect and is the perfect base to build a colour scheme around, making it ideal for walls and upholstery. Team it with light brown-tinted neutrals like mushroom and taupe, or create a colourful tonal scheme by pairing it with brighter yellows. It also looks fab with pink or blue if you prefer more of a contrast.…

Kitchen islands have become the modern day equivalent of the farmhouse table, with work and family activity all centred around the middle of the room. Whether your kitchen is spacious or on the small side, sizing up the space is key. Make it functional ‘Consider how you would like to cook and how an island might contribute to this,’ says kitchen designer Howard Miller. ‘Everyone is different; some people like a simple clutter-free slab they can use solely for food prep; for others the island is the centre of cooking activity or a social hub when entertaining.’ Consider kitchen size The size of the island should be in proportion to the overall size of the kitchen – don’t go for a large island in a small kitchen and vice versa.…

Finding ways to work extra storage into a small kitchen can be a challenge, but using the space around, above and in between kitchen cabinets can be a savvy way of squeezing more in. Make use of gaps With any size kitchen, there are often narrow gaps left between cabinets that can be put to work, especially when space is tight. They’re great for slotting in trays or, by adding a few hooks or a pull-out rail, you can use gaps to hang tea towels. Or try adding a few slot-in shelves and use the space for stowing bottles. Enlist end space Another under-utilised area is the space at the end of a run of units. With base cabinets, try adding a narrow rail which can be used for a…

Flooring can be an expensive outlay, so you’ll want to love it for a long time. Warm and welcoming, wood sets the scene beautifully in any room and comes in a wide variety of tones and timbers. Whether solid wood or engineered, reclaimed or wood-effect, there are plenty of options, with many suitable for DIY installation, though not recommended in humid spaces such as bathrooms. Solid wood Whether planks or parquet, solid wood flooring is made from single pieces of timber (solid all the way through) so can be re-sanded and re-finished, meaning it’ll retain its good looks for longer. Ranging from classic oak or modern beech to rustic pine and tropical iroko, some timbers can be installed as the structural floor (without the need for a sub-floor underneath). Engineered…

Stash essentials in a handy bench seat Turn a bookcase into a storage bench, to sit neatly at the end of the bed. Perfect for basketfuls of shoes or spare bedding. We added gold feet, made from door pull handles, for a pretty detail. Give it a twist Wallpaper the top and sides to match your decor. Make the most of ‘dead’ door space Add shelves to the back of a door. Use over-the-door hooks and a kitchen rail with S-hooks to keep accessories ready to grab and go. Give it a twist Cover the inside of the door with a wire grid notice board, to tie jewellery and scarves to. Keep beauty products to hand Create a hair styling station by using Ikea spice racks to make handy shelves…

COME ON IN! ABOUT ME I’m Rachel Simpson, 33, and I live here with my husband Shaun, 33, a professional Motocross rider and team manager, and our children Angus, two-and-a-half, and Orla, 18 months. Our home is a three-bedroom bungalow in Fife, Scotland. Shaun bought the house from his grandparents when he was only 17. MY CHALLENGE The kitchen was dark and gloomy, and divided into two by a peninsula with top-heavy overhead cupboards that made it hard to use the worktops. MY WISH LIST I wanted a bright space where I could socialise around the island, so I needed to maximise storage with a streamlined design. TOTAL £12,500 TURN OVER FOR MY SHOPPING LIST This house was built by Shaun’s grandparents as a self-build in the 1970s, so the…

Our living rooms are where we go to kick back and relax, but they can also be one of the busiest rooms in the house and home to an awful lot of ‘stuff’. Whether its books and games, media kit and music, or newspapers and magazines, keeping the clutter in check can be a challenge. With living room space often at a premium, investing in sleek built-in furniture, alcove storage and neat hideaway pieces can be a clever way of squeezing in maximum storage without overcrowding the space and most can be adapted to suit any size living room or layout. Finish by creating a curated look on open shelving for a stylish scheme. TAKE OVER ONE WALL Go for multifunctional TV and media storage that will house all…

During the winter months, our gardens are pretty short on colour, but there are plenty of ways to brighten up outdoor spaces that are easy to do and won’t cost a fortune. A cheery container makes a good starting point – use one from your own garden or pick one up cheaply at a charity shop. If it’s lacking in colour, a quick respray of paint will remedy that fairly easily. Fill with frosty-looking foliage and striking pink cyclamen to add a punch. YOU WILL NEED * Large container * Crocks * Potting compost * 2 x Cyclamen persicum * Small ivy plants * Euphorbia * Eucalyptus * Convolvulus * Festuca (two clumps) 1PREP YOUR POT Cover the drainage holes in the bottom of the container with a few crocks.…

TIME AT HOME VEGAN BLACKBERRY AND ALMOND CAKE TAKES 1 HR 50 MINS, PLUS COOLING SERVES 10 FOR THE TOPPING * 50g dairy-free spread, straight from the fridge * 85g plain flour * 35g light brown soft sugar * 25g flaked almonds FOR THE CAKE * 250g plain flour * 2tsp baking powder * ½tsp bicarbonate of soda * 225g caster sugar * 100g ground almonds * 130ml sunflower oil * 1½tsp vanilla extract * ½tsp almond extract * 200ml soya milk * 175g blackberries YOU WILL NEED * 23cm round springform tin, greased and lined with baking paper 1 Preheat the oven to 180C/ Gas 4. For the topping, rub the spread into the flour using your fingertips. Stir in the sugar until well combined, then set aside while…

HERBY TOAD IN THE HOLE TAKES 55 MINS SERVES 4 * 2tbsp sunflower oil * 1 red onion, cut into small wedges * 8 Cumberland sausages * 85g plain flour * 2tsp mustard powder * 2 eggs * 200ml semi-skimmed milk * 2tbsp mix of finely chopped thyme, rosemary and sage leaves, plus extra to serve 1 Preheat the oven to 200C/ Gas 6. Pour the oil into a large round cake tin and add the red onion and sausages. Transfer to the oven and cook for 15 mins. 2 Meanwhile, make the batter by sifting the flour and mustard powder into a bowl. Add the eggs and beat together to form a paste. Gradually stir in the milk, a little at a time, to make a smooth batter, then…

Enjoy a lie-in with this cosy bedding from designer Abigail Ahern at Freemans. Known for her eclectic style, Abigail’s latest line includes fringed cotton duvet covers, snug waffle throws and tufted cushions, and shaggy rugs for beside the bed.…

1 Revamp a dressing table Give a shabby piece of furniture a new lease of life by repainting it a jazzy new colour and adding sparkly drawer pulls and a mirror. Find an old dressing table or wooden desk at a charity shop or online. Start off by lightly sanding to get rid of rough edges and flaky paint, then wipe over with a damp cloth. Depending on which paint you choose, the surface may need priming first to give a longer lasting finish, then simply apply one or two coats of your chosen top coat in a bold, standout colour. Finish with some new handles. 2 DISPLAY PICS ON LEDGES Create an easy-change picture gallery to go above a bed. Using narrow picture ledges means that any artwork you…

When it comes to working out how much a kitchen island will cost, design factors, such as size, shape, materials and special features all play a part in the overall price. Go for a standard size Size is a big factor in the overall cost of a kitchen island. While adding a couple of extra inches to its size might not seem much, this will impact on the worktop costs, installation, painting and hardware, which can mount up. You can often save money by sizing your island unit to work with standard worktop sizes. This means there’ll be fewer fabricating costs when fitting the tops. Standard-size off-the-shelf islands are cheaper to manufacture, so are the best bet for bargain hunters. Simplify the design The more complex the design, the longer…

Colder weather and long, dark days and evenings see us spending more time indoors over the winter months. But if home is starting to feel a little cluttered and crowded now that all the festivities are out of the way, the New Year can be the perfect time for a seasonal tidy or declutter. Whether sorting paperwork, organising toy storage or blitzing the hallway, there’s plenty that can be done in a morning, leaving the afternoon free for cosying up in front of the fire. Beat the winter blues with light It might be dark and miserable outside, but there’s no reason for it to feel gloomy inside too. Over the winter months, lighting can help to set the mood and create warmth and cosiness in rooms where it’s lacking.…

A gallery of pictures and posters will add a splash of colour that’s guaranteed to brighten up any corner. For an alternative option to regular picture frames, these simple wooden poster hangers can be made at home and, with no glass required, artwork can be easily switched around whenever you fancy a quick change of scene. The hangers work by using hidden magnetic strips behind the wood with artwork sandwiched between two pieces at the top and bottom. There’s a loop for hanging at the top, while the bottom pieces hold the artwork taut. We made our hangers to suit A4-sized posters, but they can be easily adapted to suit smaller or larger posters and prints YOU WILL NEED * Junior hacksaw * 1m length of stripwood (around 25mm wide…

B&M NORDIC NOIR Mix neutrals and monochrome for a simple Scandi vibe Joe Browns SUMPTUOUS WOODLAND Style a luxurious scheme with richly coloured textiles and woodland prints Habitat CONTEMPORARY COCOON Team black, white and rust with natural textures and subtle details Primark COLOUR CLASH Create a playful scheme by combining bright hues and bold patterns…

I never dreamed when we bought this house that I’d be bathing my son in an old bucket in the garden at night,’ says Cassie, ‘but we didn’t have a boiler for a number of weeks, so during that time we’d fill the bucket with hot water from the kettle – luckily, it was summertime and Jenson absolutely loved it! Despite the lack of boiler during our building works, I’ve always been glad we chose this house. It’s a 1915 semi in Kent, and although it was only two bedrooms when we bought it in 2010, it had huge potential and we knew we could extend it. Plus, the location couldn’t be better – West Malling is an area we love, with a really nice village-like feel to it and…

Jordan and I were determined to get on the property ladder and decided the only realistic way of achieving this was for us both to stay living at home with our parents and saving,’ says Becca. ‘We spent nearly four years saving for a deposit so that in late 2019 we were in the exciting position to finally begin looking for our first home. Our goal was to find an affordable property we could renovate, but we didn’t want to spend too much on the work as we needed to make money to climb the property ladder. We were keen on central Brighton at first, but quickly realised space meant more to us than location. A studio flat there cost the same as a small house further out. There were…

COME ON IN! ABOUT ME I’m Charlotte Fisher (@thehousethatcharlottebuilt), a lawyer and actor, and I live here with my husband Sam, an accountant, and Henry the Cavapoo. MY HOME A five-bedroom 1950s dormer bungalow in Ashtead, Surrey. WHEN I MOVED IN We bought the house in February 2018 and started having plans drawn up. It was a cramped and dated bungalow and we didn’t move in until January 2019. AND NOW We added a whole storey to the bungalow and filled it with theatrical flair from my love of Art Deco design. STYLE TIP You don’t have to go for light colours in a small space – darker shades can help to make a room feel really cosy. When I bought this bungalow with my husband Sam, we were looking…

NEUTRAL WALLS MAKE THE BEST BACKDROP TO A VIBRANT SCHEME, ALLOWING ORANGES AND YELLOWS TO REA L LY POP SPLURGE Blow the budget with these top picks STEAL Grab a style bargain with these budget buys…

Increase light levels with pale colours Small bathrooms suffer when it comes to natural light. Often there’s no window – or only a tiny window. Counter this by ditching heavy blinds to let as much natural light in as possible. A pale-coloured or white scheme with light-reflective and glossy finishes will help to bounce light around the room too. Think big with tiles When it comes to small bathrooms, the bigger the tiles the better. Small tiles mean more grout lines, which make a space feel grid-like and boxed in. Wider tiles mean fewer grout lines, which helps to visually expand the space and make it feel bigger. Lighter-coloured tiles can also help too. Limit smaller, mosaic-style tiles to smaller areas such as in the shower or inside an alcove.…

BEST SUSTAINABLE DUVET PANDA THE CLOUD BAMBOO DUVET SIZES Single, Double, King, Super King COVER MATERIAL 100% bamboo FILLING 50% bamboo, 50% Nano-Microfibre, made from recycled water bottles TOG RATING 10.5 CARE Machine washable at 40°C and air dry PRICE £129.95 for a double Light and fluffy, this duvet really is, as its name suggests, as soft as a cloud to snuggle up in. Upon testing, its moisture and odour-wick properties worked well for our tester whose partner suffers from night sweats. They experienced uninterrupted sleep while both never feeling cold. Providing the down-feather experience in a more ethical package, both the covers and filling of this eco-friendly design are made from bamboo. Lightweight without losing warmth at 10.5 tog, it feels cool but cosy. What’s more, this sustainable duvet…

TIME AT HOME With colder days here and energy prices rising, many of us have been turning to electric heaters as a way of warming up our rooms without cranking up the central heating thermostat. But are electric heaters really a cost-effective remedy or responsible for pushing up our monthly bills? How much does it cost to run an electric heater? Different types and sizes of electric heater use different amounts of electricity. The best way to work out running costs is to find out how much you pay for energy per pence/kWh – you’ll find this on your utility bill. Our calculations here are based on the national average price per pence/kWh of electricity of 34p (as at November 2022). Electric heaters show how much energy they use as…

Tidy away hallway clutter in painted baskets, one for each family member. Tape a bin bag inside the basket to protect the inside. Give the basket 3-4 coats of spray paint. When dry, cut an initial letter out of card to use as a stencil, then spray using a contrast colour.…