Urban Groove

homeinteriordesign

Sleek, modern and funky. ‘Urban Contemporary’ is a style which is being used more and more often in new homes and renovations. The style combines stone-like tones, dramatic contrasts and clean defined lines to offer a sleek yet welcoming finish. 

I love that this style allows for a house to really be a home! Whilst the furnishings in this style are minimalistic, this style has plenty of room for personal items such as photos and trinkets, as long as careful consideration is given to their placement. The style also encourages a creative use of available space, using wall units, chunky ottomans and couches that incorporate storage to conceal everyday clutter, keeping your home looking tidy and spacious. 

versace

Ultimate Tiles are currently displaying a large array of stone look products that range from budget smaller format tiles, right through to upmarket 800x800 tiles. We also have an amazing array of stone and glass/stone feature mosaics, with just about every colour, size and format catered for.

This is also an area of our range which has frequent new releases. Tiles mimicking natural stone and its drastic variation are becoming more and more popular. Several new releases within this area are indicative of a sway in trends from the traditional ‘brown and cream’ style of neutrals to naturalistic stone-like greys and soft whites, complimented by natural wood or natural looking wood laminates.

Resort Style Living

Homes Result

I don’t think there could be much better than waking up to your own resort every morning. Sipping freshly brewed coffee while relaxing on a comfy chair overlooking a beautifully manicured outdoor retreat. 

It all sounds so inviting and yet somewhat out of reach, doesn’t it? For starters, no one at my house brings me freshly brewed coffee in the morning. They’re all either in bed or already at work when I get up. 

Then there’s the issue of our house not looking like a resort, sure it’s a lovely house, but we live in it and therefore we create mess and we don’t have a cleaner that comes through on a daily basis to clean up after us and make our beds. 

Coco Republic

I have worked out that I can pretend though. Rather than getting up after pressing snooze ten times, I get up early enough to potter and relax. I make my bed as soon as I get up as I’m still half asleep and then it doesn’t feel like I’m the one that made it. I get my own cup of coffee and relax on the couch for a bit before getting ready for work. I’ve also tried to adopt a ‘clean it up now’ attitude, because by the time I tell myself ‘I’ll clean it up later’ a few times I have a really big mess to fix, then cleaning up feels like such a huge chore. 

Selecting the right type of hard and soft furnishings for your home is also really important in achieving a resort style of living. Items that require a great deal of maintenance to remain looking great have to go. The point of resort style living is to not be a slave to the maintenance of your home and garden. Low maintenance plants and minimal grass are a great option while neutral tones, clean lines, natural fibres and well selected soft furnishings are extremely important for inside the home.

Domain

Medium to strong impacts between internal colours and finishes also compliment this style beautifully. Deep dark wood combined with light bright walls and lots of natural lighting gives a laid back, relaxed feel, without being too stark and clinical. 

Woven baskets, earthy toned cushions, candles and indoor plants provide the perfect finishing touches and are inexpensive editions to this stunning theme and soften any large contrasts between light and dark, giving you your very own resort.  

Top 5 Laundry Ideas

I think I would be safe in saying that the most hated room in every house is the laundry. Let’s face it, the laundry is a work room and holds all the things required for the jobs you never want to do, be it cleaning the toilets, the washing and ironing, or in my house, the vacuum and mop. 

It’s the room that always gets forgotten in the renovation process, the room that always misses out on the stone bench tops and the nice finishes and the room that very rarely is given any careful consideration or thought.

So... I thought for today’s post it might be interesting to explore a couple of laundry ideas that struck me as very clever and well considered. 

Anna White

1. Pre-Sorted Laundry Baskets

I quite often tip my whole laundry basket onto the floor, pull out all my darks (because that includes all my work stuff and is the most important), put them into the machine and then never do the others because it’s annoying to go through the whole process again. This idea means that a load of washing can be quickly thrown on as you walk out the door in the morning, or amongst all the other cleaning jobs you have to do on the weekend. This particular design also makes dryers and front load washers a far more practical height and utilises the space underneath beautifully. Your laundry baskets also look neat and tidy in the process! 

2. Overhead Cupboards

Six Sisters

We utilise the overhead space in our kitchens but very rarely do we carry this logical theme through into our laundries. Overhead cabinets in the laundry are great for storing cleaning products or all those random little things that don’t have a proper home. It’s also a good spot to store your chocolate stash because nobody will go in there to look! 

Appliances Online

3. Fold out Ironing Boards/Centres

I will happily admit that I do not iron. I perform the scrunch test on all items of clothing prior to purchase and have informed my partner that if he wishes to wear business shirts he can learn to iron for himself! I do however think that part of this is to do with the effort associated with lugging out the ironing board and iron, setting it up, ironing a few items, and then lugging it back to its home again. Fold out ironing centres have a spot to keep the iron, a power point, a light and a shelf for the other bits you may use when ironing. It takes out all the extra effort associated with ironing and keeps this section of your laundry neat and tidy! 

Housing Touri

4. Hanging Racks

These racks are handy for both drying and ironing clothes. I don’t particularly like to put my nice knitted wear on the clothes line to get blown around so hanging it in the laundry provides a great solution. It also gives you somewhere to hang the ironing if you get onto a real roll, which would never happen in my household. 

Creative Junkie

5. Sink Covers

The laundry sink is used occasionally but for the most part is a waste of bench space! Covering this area with a flat surface increases bench space hides the stuff soaking underneath. Another option is to have a stainless steel rack the fits over the top. It allows you to dry cloths, etc. without them going smelly, and dry the mop and bucket. 

So there you go! My top 5 awesome laundry ideas! 

Classic Country Charm

Sourec

There’s something so comforting and welcoming about a country kitchen. It reminds me of many school holidays spent with my Nanna learning to cook and trying to master the art of making pancakes. She had a wonderful kitchen that was certainly not modern but was filled with warmth and many little trinkets that were reflective of her and our family. 

There were a couple of key elements in her kitchen that, even as a child, stuck in my head as important parts of this style. Her bench was never clear of objects, there were always appliances, herbs and spices, recipe books and cooking utensils scattered around. She could never see the point in putting something away that she was going to need an hour or two later. 

Wood featured heavily in her kitchen and does in many country style kitchens. Nan’s cabinets were all made of wood with detailed panelling however I have in recent times seen many examples where the cabinets are in a modern cream with a beautiful wooden bench top which also looks wonderful. The room should also, ideally, have large windows and a lot of natural light providing warmth. 

Sourec

A country kitchen is the hub of the home, where meals are prepared lovingly and shared with the whole family around the dinner table. For this reason there was no television in Nan’s kitchen. Lunch and tea time were about spending quality time together and T.V. only provided a distraction. 

All of our meals were cooked on a reliable upright cooker, which by today’s standards would be considered quite small, but Nan always managed to create culinary masterpieces. Falcon/AndiCo have sensational cookers that I have always admired, and one day, when I have a kitchen big enough, I will own a 110cm Falcon cooker. 

Nan’s tiles weren’t a statement, but classic and complimentary to the rest of her kitchen. She was proud of her tile selection as they suited her house famously. They were warm, neutral and non-rectified and carried the theme of her kitchen throughout her entire house. The tiles in this style must remain rustic and natural in finish. Big format tiles generally don’t sit so well in this style as they are too modern for the classic charm this style oozes. Simple 100x100 or 100x200 tiles for the splashback are often the best option, with something stone-like and matt finish for the floor. 

Showcase

Though this style has been around for years, it is still one which is extremely popular as it constantly remains classy and attractive. Sadly, the supply demand for large, modern tiles has seen a decline in the range of products available for this style. Fortunately though, we do still have a reasonable range of 100x100 format tiles, a few options in 100x200, and a large range of stunning marble features they can be paired with.To view the options we have available, please visit us in store. 

Japanese Beauty

seasonalhomedecoration

Traditionally, baths in Japan are used for relaxing rather than cleaning the body, a tradition which is reflected in their bathroom design. Japanese bathrooms are created as a sanctuary defined by clean lines, minimalistic furnishings and the use of a multitude of natural products.

I’ve always loved this particular style for its simplicity and elegance. It’s also a style which can be duplicated with budget range products or the crème de la crème. It works well in large areas and small. It also lends itself well to areas which are generally quite dark. Such a large expanse of white gives light to the room, while any remaining shadows enhance the concept and add drama and depth.

trendir

This concept consists of four main elements; white walls, dark charcoal-black floors, natural timber vanities/detailing and natural stones. I also love how plants play a feature role in this style. They soften the distinct lines and strong colours, promoting a calming effect within the room and with such a large array of fake plants on the market it’s easy to find something which suits your application perfectly, without requiring any TLC.

Everything about this style is so simple, yet so effective. It doesn’t require lots of fussy little things to finish it off (and collect dust), just a few well thought out objects strategically placed around the  room. 

This style doesn't just give you a luxury bathroom (or home), but a sanctuary. Somewhere you can escape to after a long day at work, or when the kids are driving you absolutely mental.