Making Your House a Home

Plantation Shutters are among the most attractive statements that one could make about your home. They radiate warmth, an inviting atmosphere, lightness, and offer privacy at the same time. They boost the pleasure of residing in your home as well as augment its value when it’s time to move.

Plantation wooden shutters are really popular and the scope and choices to choose from are huge. But before you order, bear in mind that these shutters are permanent fixtures that are not easily changed, therefore, you owe it to yourself to choose carefully by having an eye to the long term.

Continue reading ‘Plantation Shutters And Questions One Wants Answered Before Acquiring Them – Part 1’ »

Interior designers today are highly-qualified multitasking professionals … it’s not just about pretty fabrics and gorgeous furniture any more – design professionals need to understand flooring, structures, plumbing constraints, heating systems, security features, electrical outlets and much more besides. One of the most important parts of an interior designer’s job is lighting, and this can one of the most technically challenging and complex elements of the profession. In this four-part collection of articles which I call “Notes from a London Interior Designer,” I draw on my substantial experience from working alongside some of London’s most celebrated interior designers to reveal the secrets of this fascinating field.

Water and light truly are a perfect match, particularly when the water is dynamic, maybe creating beautiful arcs in the air thanks to a powerspout, or cascading down an attractive rockery. One technique that many interior designers love when illuminating waterjets involves placing underwater narrow-beam fixtures at the location of each spout. The effect is to uplight the arc of water, causing it to shimmer and glisten fabulously. One can either specify an LED lighting system, or one can use a technique pioneered by some of London’s top interior designers, namely to install miniature fibre optic light sources in the water jet fixture itself. If you use a bubblejet system, the water outlet will be much deeper and therefore the lighting will make it appear almost as if millions of tiny candles are floating on the surface of the water. If a higher jet is needed for a fountain or cascade, London’s Best Interior Designers will choose to install the illuminator next to the jet rather than inside the water fixture itself. The result will be that the light illuminates the entire length of the water spray.

Continue reading ‘Notes from a London Interior Designer: Lighting For Special Occasions. Part 4: Positioning Lights’ »

Interior designers today are highly-qualified multitasking professionals … it’s not just about pretty fabrics and gorgeous furniture any more – design professionals need to understand flooring, structures, plumbing constraints, heating systems, security features, electrical outlets and much more besides. One of the most important parts of an interior designer’s job is lighting, and this can one of the most technically challenging and complex elements of the profession. In this four-part collection of articles which I call “Notes from a London Interior Designer,” I draw on my substantial experience from working alongside some of London’s most celebrated interior designers to reveal the secrets of this fascinating field.

Water brings texture, sound and magic to an exterior space – even the most plain dripping garden tap has certain design aesthetics – but interior designers know that only light can truly bring water into its own. London’s top designers will use a variety of vessels or modern contraptions to contain and channel water, many with links to history. For example, the Upper Lodge Water Gardens of Bushy Park, near Hampton Court and not far from Central London, were originally commissioned in 1710. The Earl of Halifax was no interior designer, but he did appreciate fabulous pools, cascades, basins and canals – all of which were featured prominently in the Water Gardens. Of course, some of us live in rather more modest London dwellings today, but even if you only have a small garden, an interior designer can help you create beautiful tumbling chutes or conduits, textured to glint in the morning sunshine and to beautifully project the noise of moving water.

Continue reading ‘Notes From a London Interior Designer: Lighting For Special Occasions. Part 3: Illuminating Water’ »

Interior designers today are highly-qualified multitasking professionals … it’s not just about pretty fabrics and gorgeous furniture any more – design professionals need to understand flooring, structures, plumbing constraints, heating systems, security features, electrical outlets and much more besides. One of the most important parts of an interior designer’s job is lighting, and this can one of the most technically challenging and complex elements of the profession. In this four-part collection of articles which I call “Notes from a London Interior Designer,” I draw on my substantial experience from working alongside some of London’s most celebrated interior designers to reveal the secrets of this fascinating field.

For special events, any exterior space – from the smallest veranda to expansive country gardens – can be refreshed and made delightful with a touch of lighting and a stroke of inspiration, thanks to the work of interior designers! Lighting can create a stunning environment for luxuriant large-scale entertainment or an intimate get-together involving a group of girlfriends. Imagine celebrating St. Valentine’s Day with a gorgeous picture-perfect outdoor dinner, or re-envisioning a magnificent ice-encrusted wintry pond for New Year’s Eve. Interior designers use the term “accent lighting” to reference the transformation of interesting structures or environments into compelling and arresting spectacles of light. Powerful full-environment lighting will create a mood of drama and intensity. Gorgeous coloured illuminators will bring real depth and texture to an outdoor space. And interior designers can use candles to create a stylish, intimate feel. London’s top lighting design professionals will rely on water illuminated at night to create perhaps some of the most creative and compelling high-end lighting extravaganzas. With the help of an interior designer, your dream for special occasion lighting can be fully realised.

Continue reading ‘Notes From a London Interior Designer: Lighting For Special Occasions. Part 1: Setting The Scene’ »