Relaxing Destinations at Home!

Do you have destination places in your home? Wondering what a destination place is? Destination places are areas/corners/spaces in our homes that are especially dedicated for doing particular activities. It is good to have special corners done-up in your home for special activities. Now, the question is, what could be these activities? These activities are the ones that help us de-stress and refresh our senses everyday. Thus, the destination corners act as the mini-recreational spots that are easily accessible as they are present within the comfort of your four walls. In this write-up, let us discuss the different destination corners you can create in your home to add that special and soothing dimension in your life- 

Reading Corner
Image Courtesy - Google

A reading corner fulfils more than one objective in a home. Not only does a reading corner help you blend intellectual air to the whole room décor, but also it becomes a special and personalized corner to read. You can choose a reading chair, a beautiful lamp to have proper lighting and adding to the décor, have a rug thrown on your chair for cozy and comfortable reading. Leisure and pleasure should blend together at this corner of your house and give you an amazing, quiet and solitary place to enjoy reading!

Courtyard/Garden Seating
Image Courtesy - Google

When was the last time you enjoyed fresh air with a hot steaming cup of coffee with your family? Can’t remember? Now is the time. It is time for you to create a special place in your courtyard and garden area where you can sit together with your family in cool summery evenings to enjoy icy cold drinks after dinner. Be it the summer evenings, winter sun or rains…it is time you enjoyed with your family. Choose comfortable long chairs so that you can either lie down or sit, as you please and enjoy!    

                                  

Fireplace couch
Image Courtesy - Google

The winters when it gets too cold to bear, a fireplace seating is just the right place to cozy up with a hot coffee or a dessert. You may read a book, snooze or just gaze at the warmth of the place. Opt for a very comfortable chair with a leg rest too and a side table by the side to design your fireplace. Fireplace can also be a really romantic place to enjoy a quiet evening with your partner. Eat, drink, sleep, read, chat… you may whatever you enjoy and refresh your energy levels with the warmth of the place. Time to do up a fireplace seating!

Window Seating
Image Courtesy - Google

Sometimes doing nothing also means doing a favour to your mind and spirit. Try doing nothing by the side of a window. Just sit with a drink by the window side and enjoy the clear sky and the wind flowing in. It is a great therapy, we bet! Deck up your window with Diwali lights at night and let it be the centre of attention in the whole room. Window décor would lend an interesting touch to the whole room. As you sit by the window with a book may be….you can actually fix yourself some peace and relaxation. Try it! 

We hope you enjoy these relaxing destinations at your home!

[ Read More ]

Living alone? Learn about the bare essentials

What are some of the most important home tips one needs to keep in mind even while living alone?

First and foremost, there is never a set rule to decorate household. It depends on the taste and personality of people who live there. Think about the kind of look that you want to give to your apartment. It is a proven fact that maintaining very delicate furniture when one’s living alone and one has little time to take care of it all, is a tough thing to do. Also, make sure that the furnishings that you choose are not high maintenance and they do not cramp the space available to you.

Instead of proper beds, it is more convenient to have mattresses as they can be removed incase one wants to add more space to the room. Mattresses can be easily picked up and put anywhere as one wishes to. Also, instead of proper sofas, choose comfortable cane chairs and bean bags to avoid the over-done kind of appearance that will capture your place. Certain furniture items like side tables, center tables, chairs are absolutely unavoidable be it in any home so you have no choice but to go for them. A wise thing to do will be to go for sturdier and smarter furniture elements.

Make sure that you have spare bedding when living alone as there would be parties and sleep-overs for friends when one would need to have proper options for comfortable arrangements. One doesn’t want to feel embarrassed after all if one’s relatives or friends decide to crash in for sometime! Also, make sure that you have proper cook wares and crockery; obviously otherwise, hosting a party or even having relatives around would create trouble if your kitchen is not well-furnished. Don’t forget to have these basic things to make life simpler when living alone!

[ Read More ]

Protect your wooden furniture with Dulux

Wood furniture may be expensive to buy but easy to protect. Many people go for professional help while protecting their furniture from mildew, warping, attack of mould and algae. But the reality is, even if you don’t know much about waterproofing sealants or how to waterproof wood, you can still do it yourself if you keep the following few points in mind while doing it. Wooden furniture, if kept uncoated is porne to attack by water. The wood soaks water, expands, and when the water dries off, it contracts again. Regular such cycles produces cracks in the wood and leads to warping. As a result, the wood gets swollen, clapses and the dampness serves as a good breeding ground for algae and mould. Over a period of time, the wood becomes hollow and changes colour.

To prevent this, Dulux has a range of exterior and interior woodcare paints that will keep your furniture intact for a long time. Weathershield Ultimate Woodstain is suitable for exterior wooden surfaces like those of window panes, exterior joinery and main door. It is suitable for both hardwood and softwood and will protect them for as long as ten years if used according to the instructions. Use atleast two coats of it on the surface. It is water repellent and gives a satin finish. Weathershield Naked Wood, on the other hand will keep your timber wood safe and is ideal to be used on new and bare wood. Use two coats of it to protect the exterior wooden surface from blue stain fungi.

Dulux Trade Polyurathane varnish is a good choice to paint interior wood. It is available in satin, matt and gloss finishes. Other products are Danish Oil, Diamond Glaze and Quick Dry Varnish. So take your pick according to your choice and budget!

[ Read More ]

Bedroom Furnishing Essentials

Bedroom is a space which is extremely personal and is like a refuge after a long day of work. Thus, room décor for a bedroom has to be such that comfort doesn’t get compromised upon as ultimately this is what matters. Nowadays, there are many options in furnishings that combine comfort and utility. The markets are full of products that will pleasantly surprise us at the same time leave us asking for more.

To begin with, bed is the most important furniture item of a bedroom as the room wouldn’t be called so if there was no bed. The bed should be of optimum size and appropriate height. These days furniture items with low height are in vogue. Using a low bed creates a sense of space as the lowness gives a feel of lightness. Light design head boards are slowly replacing heavily carved head boards.

Another important furniture in a bedroom is a night table. A table at the side of the bed with a little lamp and space to keep essentials like an alarm clock, a glass of water and a book is extremely helpful and mandatory for a bedroom to have.

Closet is another important item in a bedroom. Though, a closet is just a space for storage but these days there are variety of materials available in the market which can be matched with the room décor and be used to manufacture a functionally rich and aesthetically high closet space.

A writing desk, a chest for resting television or music system on it and storing things underneath, a comfortable pair of chairs, and a dressing table are some other necessities in a bedroom space. Having a haven like bedroom calls for bright and well-coordinated room décor which is not just aesthetically pleasing, but is also ergonomic and is functionally rich. Make sure you choose the right furnishing and also, maintain the furnishing by frequent touch-ups by using the DIY - Dulux Synthetic Clear Varnish and Duco NC clear Lacquer.

[ Read More ]

WeatherShield Paint for Home Painting

If you are entertaining guests at home, most of the times you identify your house by the colour of the building or its exterior walls. Undoubtedly, a good exterior finishing goes a long way in casting a good impression of your house on people. So choosing the correct paint for house’s exterior is as important as selecting the right interior paint.

Many a times, we see people don’t get their exterior walls painted when they go for home repaint after 3-4 years. For such people, it is all the more necessary to select a good wall exterior in the first place. WeatherShield paint is an answer to such needs. Available in smooth or textured options, this high performance acrylic resin guarantees resistance against extreme weather conditions for up to fifteen years. Paint two coats of it on your exterior wall using a roller brush at an interval of three hours and your house will be bouncing back UV rays and the walls will be impervious to algae and mould. Ceramic bead technology in paints provides extra protection and hides hairline cracks. A stabilizing primer can be used to impart extra protection to the outer walls.

However one should be careful while applying home paints. Some paints contain lead and mercury particles and can be harmful when inhaled. So avoid skin contact and wear proper eye protection while brushing.

Painting a dream home is an exciting job but one should be aware of social responsibilities too. Don’t dispose off the left over paint in drains. Refer to the safety manual. Some localities have special procedures to release paint in the environment.

Dulux has a large variety of WeatherShield paints and you can select your favourite colours and type of paint depending upon the type of surface.

[ Read More ]

Living Room Design and Wall Design

Do you wish to change the look of your room? Are you bored of the plain solid coloured walls? Don’t worry, the paint industry can provide you with a plenty of wall design options. From murals, to wall stencils, faux finishes to colourful designs- there are numerous choices to pick from.

A wall design must be selected according to the dimensions and geometry of the room and personality of the inmates. First of all, let’s check out styles for living room design. A living room entertains all sorts of guests and people in a family. So the wall design should neither be too feminine (flowers, veins) nor too masculine (granite design or geometric). Ideally, one should go for a combination of neutral colours and wall stencils. Paisley print on a solid base, bubbles or polka dots, tree and branches, borders and strips add character to walls, while grisaille murals look elegant of big wall surface. The base colour and position of the design can be customized according to the placement of furniture in the room. 

Also, type of furniture and its shade should be considered while going for a living room design. For example, if sofa set, centre table, chair and racks in the room have pointed edges then a somber colour with floral wall print will harmonize the feel of sharp edges. Conversely, if the furniture is rounded or has soft edges, then strong colour and geometrical wall design will look good. Now for the shade — conventionally, people use shades of similar colours on the wall, but sometimes contrasts give a rich and dramatic effect. However, avoid using contrasts of two strong colours. Keep one colour dull while the other bright while going for contrasting designs.

For the rest, follow your heart and you will never go wrong!

[ Read More ]

Fiddle with Interior Paint Combinations and Wood Paints

What is the first thing that we notice when we enter a house? Colours of the wall catch our eye, then comes the interior design which follows the same colour theme. Or sometimes it is just vice versa! Therefore the right interior paint combinations are necessary to impart the kind of look which you have in mind.

The paint industry has been evolving and better products and a wide range of colours are available now to choose from. For example, if you want to create a rich and dramatic atmosphere in the room, go for red, peaches and family of pink and fuschia. Complement these with browns and other earthy colours for a homely effect or pale and white colours for balancing out the strong colours painted on two walls. However, never go for deep colours on all the four walls if the room is small.

Other interior paint combinations include green, violet and blue which blend well with beige and yellows. While painting house, another thing to take care of is the wooden furnishings. Wood Paints protect furniture from termite damage and decay because of water. Go for clear coatings or opaque paintings depending upon the interiors.

These days, satin finish coatings for wood are much in vogue. These are as durable as enamel and give the finish of emulsion. Other type of wood paints can be either glossy or matt. But for the main door, one should prefer a supergloss coat because its link bond technology gives the final finish a sheen look and it lasts almost twice as the normal wood paint would. It is also has anti-yellow properties and gloss retention formula. So choose the colours and company carefully before you get ready to paint your dream house!

[ Read More ]

Keep Cool with Heat Reflective Paint

The paint industry is undergoing a revolution and varieties that were earlier unthinkable of, have now become a reality. Ever thought of a paint that could keep you house cool? Well, now this is possible. Heat reflective paints, the latest entrant in the market have properties of re-radiating solar heat and hence controlling the temperature inside the house.

This results in lower temperature of the roof and outside walls upto 5 degree Celsius. Lower temperature of walls means less air conditioning costs. Hence if you invest in a good quality heat reflective paint, you can not only beautify your house, but also save on electricity bill! However, the amount by temperature controlled by the paint depends on the colour of the paint and the surface on which it is painted.

Among the best paints to go for in the market is Dulux WeatherShield. The solar reflectance index (SRI) of this paint is double as compared to regular exterior paints. Because of this, heat build up inside the house plummets and the premises remain correspondingly cooler.

In most cases primering of the wall is not required before applying this paint, but if the wall has been freshly plastered, then a coat of primer can be used. If you go for a darker shade for house exteriors, then at least three coats of paint are recommended after an interval of three hours. For lighter shades, two coats are enough.

So what are you waiting for? Choose the best paint and paint your world colourful. We bring you a wide range of products and solutions as far as painting your dream home is concerned.

[ Read More ]

SOFA PILLOWS/CUSHIONS

You can easily deck up and refresh the look of your space by choosing bright, decorative, creative sofa pillows/cushions. You should choose your sofa pillows matching your décor. These days vibrant colours with shimmery and shining sequence work in vogue. Colours of the cushions or pillows need to match with the sofa colour and the draperies. You can also go in for contrasting colours in cushions to enhance the décor and make it all the more fabulously colourful.

Patterns of the cushions and colours can be as per the kind of sofa you choose. You can actually jazz up your furniture using pretty and rich looking pillows. Also, the size of the cushion and pillows has to be taken care of. Just make sure that the cushions you choose to use are not too big or too small. You can definitely use cushions of all sizes together to create a fusion of style and comfort but make sure you do not neglect the comfort quotient. You need to put some big and soft pillows, just in case you decide to enjoy a nap watching T.V.

Also, do not have huge cushions and pillows if your sofa is light and small. Optimize the size of the pillows along with that of your sofa. Adding too many pillows also creates a feeling of congestion and totally takes away the pleasure of sitting on the area as there is no space to comfortably sit.

Do not overlook the aspect of quality along with the aesthetic quotient. The cushions need to be low maintenance otherwise you will have a tough time in managing the décor. Also, if you buy good quality of pillows as well as good quality fabric for the covers, then, you can expect the pillows and cushions to last longer which will be a comfortable thing for you.

[ Read More ]