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Tag: Incorporate

How to incorporate nature into your kitchen décor

One of the pleasures of summer is propping the back door open and spending a sunny day moving effortlessly between your kitchen and garden as you enjoy living and eating outdoors. But what if there was a way you could enjoy this feeling of connection with nature year-round?

We’ve put together ideas for how you can bring nature into the heart of your home with popular kitchen décor choices that ensure you get the benefits of nature in your daily life; a calmer, more relaxing space that is set up for easy cooking, dining and entertaining whenever you’re ready.

3 nature-based kitchen design ideas to inspire you

1. Creating a living wall

So what is a living wall? A wall where plants are hung vertically, either close together to create a block of greenery or arranged in separate planters or pots. For an easy way to add eye-catching vibrancy to your kitchen, choose low maintenance plants in a prefabricated wall hanging. All you have to do is choose where to position it so it will catch the most light.

Or, decide what your go-to herbs are when rustling up a meal and plant them in pots on the wall so they’re within easy reach, but without taking up precious worktop space. Creating a living wall was the third most popular home improvement decor trend on social media this year and could add £5,000 to the value of your home – so what are you waiting for?

2. Choose a green coloured kitchen

Want to add a natural feel to your kitchen but have a bad track record with keeping houseplants alive? Don’t worry! With its array of hues from deep and luxurious to zesty and energising, green is the colour of choice for kitchen décor with an outdoor feel. Green tones connect us with nature and create a calming feeling, so it’s no wonder a green kitchen is so popular with homeowners and house hunters alike; it is the fourth most popular home decor design choice on social media and could also add up to £5,000 to the value of your home!

Kitchen units, worktops, tiled splashbacks and of course walls are all opportunities to dial up the green in quantity and tone, depending on your style and the amount of light you have in your kitchen. If you want to include other elements of green, consider adding framed botanical artwork, a kitchen rug, glazed green pots or green pendant lights.

Looking for a trusted kitchen specialist? Find vetted, professional tradespeople by posting your job on Rated People.

FIND A LOCAL KITCHEN SPECIALIST

3. Invest in an outdoor kitchen

What better way to bring nature into your kitchen decor than by adding an outdoor kitchen to your garden? Whether you love the idea of a wood fired stove to enjoy freshly made pizza or you’re a barbecue devotee, investing in an outdoor kitchen will create the perfect setting for easy al fresco dining with family and friends, surrounded by nature.

Get inspired by outdoor kitchen design ideas, but make sure you consult an expert – an outdoor kitchen is an investment and needs to be planned well. If you do decide to get one, it’s a popular way to transform your dining at home and could add an incredible £11,000 to the value of your property.

Find a trusted gas safe engineer to ensure your integrated barbecue is up to scratch by posting your job on Rated People.

FIND A LOCAL GAS SAFE ENGINEER

February 18, 2024
Popular geometric features to incorporate in your home

Are you ready to jump on the latest rising trend? Geometric patterns are a fun and flexible way to add personality to your home’s interior design. You can be bold and bright with it or subtle and neutral depending on your personal taste. Plus, geometric patterns can work well in almost any room of your house. Whether you add geometric features to tiled kitchens, living room furniture or bedroom decor, this design looks sleek and stylish almost everywhere.

They can also add value to your home! Geometric interior design can be incorporated into flagstone floors (adding a value of up to £5,527) or colour blocking (worth up to £4,776).

Here are some more suggestions for how to incorporate geometric features into your home interior.

What does geometric interior design mean?

First, let’s cover what geometric design actually is. As the name suggests, this trend is inspired by geometry. Regular repeated lines and shapes have been used in architecture and interior design for centuries.

This is because they create clean and neat decor patterns that despite their long history, still have a fresh and modern look. Hexagonal patterns or repeated squares, triangles, diamonds and other shapes are all popular options for a geometric design.

Make tiled kitchens stand out

Kitchen decor can be tricky because you want your space to look good whilst still remaining practical. Using geometric shapes in your kitchen tile design could be the perfect solution. A geometric pattern on just a handful of tiles behind your hob, for example, can make a real difference, as can a geometric backsplash. They’re timeless and can lead the eye away from any cramped corners in your kitchen.

Revolutionise your bathroom design

The bathroom is another space where tiles are a great aesthetic and practical choice. Geometric tiles can offset wet areas, like the inside of your shower, and can add colour to an otherwise sterile white bathroom. When it comes to bathroom tiles, there is so much variety. You could go for beige diamonds, or mustard octagons.

For the best finish, hire a professional to take care of your tiling for you. You can find expert tilers by posting a job on Rated People.

FIND A LOCAL TILER

Explore colourful bedroom ideas

Or, if you don’t want to use tiling, you could opt to incorporate geometric designs in your bedroom by painting your walls, or using wallpaper and other geometric decor. If you’d like to inject colour into your bedroom design, a bright wallpaper would work well, such as gemstone tones on a patterned design. You could then buy matching pillows and blankets to create a sense of unity to your decor. Patterned rugs and curtains look great as well.

Spruce up your living room furniture

This trend also extends to furniture design. Geometric shelving units is very in style at the moment. Create a sophisticated finish with a geometric bookcase, with featured bookcase decor to match your aesthetic. The modular furniture look is a simple way to bring geometric shapes into your interior design.

Invest in geometric art

A more subtle way to introduce geometric design into your home is through artwork. A simple framed print is a nod to this style. Or take it a step further with geometric soft furnishings, fixtures and fittings like patterned cushions or hexagon door handles.

Starting a geometric interior design project

There are so many ways you can bring patterns, shapes and lines into interior design and replicate geometric features in your home. Pinterest, Instagram and Tiktok are always good places to look for even more inspiration. For help incorporating geometric design in your space, find a tradesperson on Rated People.

FIND A TRADESPERSON

September 18, 2023
Chequered elements to incorporate in your home’s design

Should chequered patterns be on your interior design checklist? Among other bold and maximalist design trends, the most popular of which you can find in our Trends Report, chequered elements are a favourite in online home design communities.

Chequered tiles, wallpaper, kitchens, bathrooms and much more are being liked, shared and recreated in homes around the UK. This is because chequered patterns are bold, adaptable and modern, taking shape both on statement cushions and statement walls. So, whether you use the British spelling of chequered or the American checkered, it’s definitely a design feature you should be considering for your home.

Let’s explore some popular ways chequered patterns are used in home design!

Chequered wallpaper designs

Wallpaper has always been an affordable and easy way to add personality to a room. Chequered wallpaper is no exception! Whether you’re using it to create a statement wall or to cover the whole room, your interior design finish will be modern and stylish with chequered wallpaper.

Choose the colours that best suit your tastes and preferences. For a softer look, go for a grey geometric wallpaper. If you’re feeling bold, go for a pink and white chequered style. This design choice is flexible in terms of budget too. There are a huge range of options available, from off-the-shelf options to bespoke wallpaper.

Whatever wallpaper you decide on, it’s so much easier to have someone else put it up for you, especially when it’s a pattern that needs to be lined up. Post a job on Rated People, and get a professional to take care of it for you.

FIND A PAINTER AND DECORATOR

Featured chequered floor tiles

Floor tiles are perfect for chequered patterns as tiles work best when arranged in contrasting colours. Choose the material for your geometric floor tiles from terrazzo, stone, ceramics, marble or porcelain, then decide on your colour palette. Keep your geometric tile pattern classic with a black and white colour scheme. Or go monochromatic and use various tones of one colour. Depending on the rest of your room’s design, you could go bold and colourful too.

What impact do you want to make with your chequered floor tiles? They could complement chequered elements elsewhere in the room, or they could be the star of the show and be your statement piece in that space. Once you’ve decided, a professional tiler can help you turn your ideas into reality!

FIND A LOCAL TILER

Getting started with chequered elements

While chequered patterns can seem a bit intimidating, you can make chequered interior design your own by choosing a colour palette and design feature that fits your style. From geometric soft furnishings to chequered bathroom design features, there are so many different ways to replicate this trend in your own space.

If you’d like help turning online inspiration into interior design reality, post your project on Rated People and find professional tradespeople to complete your home improvement for you.

FIND A TRADESPERSON

September 6, 2023
How to Incorporate Design Trends of 2022 into your Bedroom

Our personal chill-out space, the bedroom is where we seek sanctuary. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be stimulating. And this year’s trends for statement headboards, smart blinds and bold stripes will certainly see to that.

Here, Sonno lists some of the more popular bedroom design trends for this year and beyond, and shows how you can bring them into your bedroom, easily and without spending lavish amounts of cash:

Sensational stripes

They’re been trending on our floors for quite a while now and now big bold stripes are about the hit the bedroom too. Upmarket paint company Farrow and Ball have a red and white bold striped ceiling, others have gone for more a ‘ticking’ stripe. Is the former the modern-day four poster bed? Certainly, it feels like you have a canopy, lying in bed, looking up at such a bold pattern.

Supersized headboards

Not just big, but huge, upholstered headboards are big news in bedrooms these days. Especially bedrooms which are lux or eye-catching enough to become a focal point for the room. A tall panelled and tufted headboard in a luxury silver crushed velvet adds a touch of glamorous to any bedroom. Edges can be rounded, while patterns can be bold and mixed.

A blue hue

Pantone’s pick for this year is a vibrant blue named Veri Peri, while Dulux’s Colour of the Year, is the far more demure and pastel-like bright skies. We love them both. The latter is a shade guaranteed to make us feel relaxed and soothed while in bed. The former is more stimulating. Regardless of the shade though, blue has been a popular shade for bedrooms for a couple of years now – and that’s definitely not going to be changing for a couple of years now, we’d have thought.

Sustainable bedding

A bit of a no-brainer considering all the panic over climate change in recent times, sustainable bedding means buying covers made from the likes of TENCEL lyocell and bamboo. But it also means coveting covers made from organic natural materials, such as cotton, linen and wool too.

Recycled fabrics fit with this trend too. Bedding manufacturers should take note of a recent US study of 1000 people where 96 per cent of under 30’s said sustainable bedding was very important to them. It’s possible to check if your covers are sustainable by checking the label for certification from organisations such as the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and Fair Trade.

Smart furniture

Another entry that you probably expected to find in our list, smart furniture (ie gadgets that allow us to perform a number of functions while still in bed) hasn’t stopped at the bedroom door. Quite the opposite. The latest of which is the electrical blind which works via remote control (so we don’t’ even need to get out of bed to see what the weather’s like).

Other smart bedroom technology includes rising televisions at the press of a button and digital art frames where the picture changes every minute or two.

March 21, 2023
5 Ingenious Ways to Incorporate Your Pets Into Your Remodel

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October 12, 2022
Black-Owned Home Brands You Need to Incorporate into Your Space Right Now

Click here to read the full article.

News flash: When it comes to supporting Black-owned businesses, we’ve all just begun scratching the surface. Perhaps you started using a Black-founded food product while cooking or started reading some books that can help you become a better ally (keep on going!), but there’s even more to explore that you might not have thought of yet. One of those areas that’s so integral to our daily lives is home decor. We’re way overdue in diversifying where we shop for home goods, and to say you’re missing out on seriously covetable items that also tell a story is an understatement. Where we sleep, eat, and spend time with family is one of the most intimate and unique spaces of our lives, and what we choose to decorate with should reflect that.

A can of paint, a candle, or a throw pillow is so much more than just a material good. When you support a Black-owned business that makes those items, you’re directly putting money into that creator’s wallet and telling them they matter. While the item you buy is certainly going to up your interior design game, what’s more important is that you’re telling the world that their creativity is essential and makes a difference in the world. There are a lot of places to shop for home goods, but the bespoke items from these Black-owned home brands offer a special something that run-of-the-mill items can’t. It’s time we all put our money where our mouth is and support Black creators in all spaces, every day. You’ll definitely wish you discovered these brands sooner.

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Jungalow

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Interior designer Justina Blakeney started Jungalow as a home blog in 2009 but has since expanded into creating home goods that “bring good vibes home.” You can find her boho-chic furniture, decor, and more accessories at Anthropologie, Bed Bath & Beyond, and she even has a collab with Keds.

Clare

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Nicole Gibbons started Clare to take the hassle out of painting by delivering it straight to your door. The brand offers designer-curated colors, mess-free paint sell my house fast jacksonville swatches, and paint that’s non-toxic. They even have a feature called Clare Color Genius, which is a quick quiz that will tell you what paint to pick based on your preferences.

Bolé Road Textiles

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Inspired by the founder’s Ethiopian roots, Bolé Road offers luxe linens and accessories for every space in your home. From vibrant leather coasters to woven wall hangings, these pieces will add some instant character to your space.

Tactile Matter

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Your blank walls are calling for these vibrant prints.

Satya + Sage

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Fill your home with cozy scents with one of Satya + Sage’s delightful candles. They also offer oils and palo santo to complete your at-home meditation arsenal.

xN Studio

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xN Studio marries the style of the founder’s Ugandan and American background with practical, yet unexpected pieces rooted with meaning. Think mud cloth pillow covers, industrial-chic benches We buy houses Jacksonville, and yes, African print face masks.

Aishea Home/Etsy

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Etsy’s filled with treasures, and Black-owned home brands is certainly one of them. Based in Spain, this textile brand serves up one-of-a-kind Bogolan mud cloth blankets, Weighted blankets Melbourne wall hangings, and pillows that will add life to your home.

Domain by Laura Hodges Studio

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Interior designer Laura Hodges runs a curated shop of affordable home goods that includes a selection of ceramic flowers, pillows, and textiles.

Goodee

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Goodee is a sustainable marketplace that only offers brands with ethically sourced products made for modern living. Art-loving parents will swoon over the expertly curated kids section.

Bespoke Binny

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Bespoke Binny is a British-based business that uses colorful West African cloth to create eclectic items from lampshades to aprons.

54Kibo

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This contemporary African design site is a treasure chest full of asymmetrical mirrors, gallery wall art, and statement-making side chairs that will become an instant conversation starter.

AphroChic

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AphroChic was started by a husband-and-wife team in 2007 as a blog and has since grown into an expansive design site exploring culture, design, arts and more within the African American community. The shop section includes eye-catching home pieces ranging from cool wallpaper to stunning light fixtures that will add a special touch to your home’s design.

Pur Home

pur home cleaner best black-owned home brands

Once you’ve decorated your home, it’s time to clean it. This line of natural cleaning products is made with plant-based ingredients that will get your space sparkling clean without the harsh chemical smells.

Continue supporting the Black community by adding these books written by Black women to your reading list now.

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Our mission at SheKnows is to empower and inspire women, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

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June 20, 2020