Top Tips For Lighting Your Bedroom*

Your bedroom should be a calm and comfortable space for you to relax and rest. The decor and lighting plays a huge role in the general ambiance of your bedroom and there are aspects of the room that should be carefully planned during the initial stages of design. Unless your bedroom is tiny, you'll need more than one light source, such as a ceiling light and a lamp. There are so many options where lights are concerned, so don't jump into anything too quickly.

Layering different types of lighting is usually a good idea because it allows you to use the room in a variety of different ways. For instance, you might want to add practical spotlights to the interior of your wardrobe so that you can see what you're doing when picking out your clothes. A lamp on your bedside cabinet will be perfect for nights when you want to snuggle up with a book before you go to sleep. Flexible LED strip lights make for a great addition to any bedroom! They can be used to softly emphasise or draw attention to things like a vanity area, a lavish window seat or even a luxurious headboard.

Be sure not to install any lights directly above your bed because your eyes won't like it when you're lying down. Going soft and subtle with your lighting is also a great option in the bedroom because bright lights can be quite harsh when it's early in the morning or late at night. You could consider adding a dimmer switch bedside your bed so that you can alter the mood in the room without having to leave your snuggly sheets.

Sometimes all it takes is a little thought and some creativity and you have yourself a stunning place that you can be proud of.

*This is a collaborative post with Inspyer Lighting

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Refreshing Our Home For Summer - 3 Changes I'd Like To Make*

I've said before that whenever a new season starts, I get this urge to change pretty much everything. Whether it's my clothes, makeup or even my home, I just always feel like a new season is the perfect time for a fresh start. With Summer officially starting today I thought now was the perfect time to talk about some of the things I'm hoping to refresh in our home for the warmer months.

Add In Some Colour

I am all about yellow at the moment. It's just the ultimate Summer colour isn't it? Whether it's more of a pastel shade for Spring, brighter than the sun for Summer or a deeper mustard shade for Autumn, it can work well all year round. Our living room has been the same for quite a while now but its always a room I'm never quite finished with and I don't think I ever really will be. To be honest that applies to the whole flat, when you're renting there's always going to be limitations. There's nothing I love more in the colder months than getting snuggled up with a blanket so our living room is always full of them but I want to inject a pop of colour this Summer and I think a simple change could be just swapping those for some brighter throws. I've seen some gorgeous pastel yellow and orange home accessories in places like Matalan, Tesco & New Look so I think I just need to go for it and pick some up. I think brighter colours like this will go so well with our sofas and the copper and gold accessories we already have dotted around. I've also recently added a new print to the wall from Desenio which is a stunning photo of Paris and it has pastel tones throughout, next up is a large mirror which I think will make the space feel so much bigger!

Finally Decorate The Bedroom

I want nothing more than our bedroom to be like a little haven that's actually really enjoyable to spend time in but at the moment I find myself sighing literally everytime I walk in there. It's just not what I imagined it being and going back to the renting issue, we're kind of stuck with it as it is. I'm probably making it sound worse than it is, it's just very basic and I honestly wouldn't know where to start with it. All I know is, we need some new furniture, a new bed would be nice and I feel like I need to completely re-think the colour scheme. It's kind of easy to ignore when I'm not in there but when I am, it's just all OMG. I long for the day I can walk into the room and think yeah this is what I wanted, maybe this Summer that day will come. Or maybe I'll have to wait until we move and then just start from scratch!

Change The Flooring

The final thing I've been thinking about for a long time is changing the flooring throughout the flat. Obviously it's a pretty big job and it's not like it all necessarily needs doing but the rooms that are carpeted, are just past their best! I think that kind of adds to the meh feeling I have for the bedroom and the office, it just needs a big refresh and I think flooring could honestly do that. I've never really known where to start with that though but I love the look of Engineered Wood Flooring. Leading experts Flooring 365 provide high quality engineered wood flooring to people in the UK, at competitive prices. If like me you weren't sure about anything to do with things like this, Engineered Wood is actually the most popular of all wood flooring options and it's long-lasting, moisture resistant and has the quality and design of solid wood flooring. There are lots of options available so it doesn't matter which room you're thinking of re-decorating, they'll have something suitable. I'd really love to get something a little different to what we have now, it would make each room feel so much more luxurious and it would certainly make life easier now we have a dog!

Hopefully we'll get a few things ticked off this Summer with our home, it's a constant work in progress for me. Do you ever feel like changing everything when a new season starts? What changes would you like to make to your home?

*This post is in collaboration with Flooring365

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6 Tools You Need To Decorate Your Home*

As every homeowner knows, all houses need a little TLC from time to time. That might be new tiles in the bathroom or a fresh lick of paint in the hallway. Believe it or not, the tools you use when decorating are extremely important; they could actually make or break the overall look. Here are six tools you'll need for your decorating project.

1. Masking tape is great if you want to finish the job immaculately, because it allows you to paint right up to the edges of the wall without going on the skirting boards, ceiling or adjacent walls.

2. You won't be able to paint without a roller. These come in two parts; the sleeve and the frame. Depending on the requirements of your projects, you'll be able to choose an appropriate sized roller. 

3. If you want to cover up your carpets and furniture so that they don't get splashed with paint, it's worth investing in a dust sheet. They make cleaning up afterwards a much quicker process.

4. Are you removing old, out of date wallpaper? If so, you'll need a decent scraper. This will allow you to remove any tenacious bits of paper and paste.

5. It's likely you'll need a step ladder for your decorating project so that you can reach the tops of the walls and the ceilings. This is especially true if you're cutting in and need to have a steady hand.

6. Paint trays are a great tool because they make it easier for you to run your rollers through the paint. This is handy if you're painting large areas and limits the amount of mess. 

When shopping for your decorating project, it's likely that you'll be able to find a handy kit that will include all of the main tools you'll need.

*This is a collaborative post with Lawsons

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Indulgent Bourbon Brick Brownies Recipe

I mentioned when I posted a photo of these Bourbon Brick Brownies on Instagram that they're definitely not one of the prettiest bakes ever, but I don't always think that matters. I bake because I enjoy it and at the moment I'm loving trying out some new recipes like this one, and to be honest though they're a bit messy, for a first attempt I'm actually pretty happy. They taste out of this world too. I've always struggled to find the perfect brownie recipe but this is it, so even if you don't want to include the biscuits, they'd be beautiful on their own or would be a great base if you wanted to experiment and add other ingredients. I'm thinking of using this recipe next with some lotus spread swirled on top! Obvs without the biscuits.

Ingredients:

100g butter

200g golden caster sugar

200g dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces

2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs

100g plain flour

18 bourbon biscuits (depending on size of cake tin)

Method:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees (160 fan) and grease and line a square baking tin. The original recipe I found recommended a 20cm one but I just went for what I had which was close enough
2. Split the bourbon biscuits in half. I've recommended 18 because if you do have an exact 20cm square tin, then that amount will fit perfectly but I only managed to get 13 in mine, so really it's one of those things you just need to work out at the time depending on your specific cake tin. You can then arrange them neatly in rows, filling side up, leaving a small gap between them. Chop or break up the remaining halves of the biscuits and set aside
3. Put the butter and sugar into a saucepan and warm over a medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Stir occasionally
4. Take the saucepan off the heat and add in the broken up chocolate and vanilla extract. Keep stirring until the chocolate has fully melted
5. Add in your two eggs and use a hand-held electric whisk if possible to beat them in until the mixture is thick and velvety
6. Sift in the flour, gently folding until combined and then add in the remaining broken up biscuits. Give it one final mix and then pour carefully over the bourbon biscuits in the tin
7. Place in the oven for around 40 minutes, I find I usually have to keep checking them towards the end as they can one minute still be too gooey in the middle but then the next they're ready to come out! If you insert a skewer it should come out a little sticky rather than completely clean
8. Leave to cool completely in the tin, this is so important as the brownie will firm up making cutting it easier
9. Remove the brownie from the tin, place a board/wire rack on top of it and carefully flip over. Peel off the baking paper and then cut into bricks!

These were just the ultimate brownies. Crisp on the outside but warm and gooey in the middle. I can finally say I made a really good batch of brownies! I'm sure I'll be making these a lot from now on, and I really hope you give them a try too!

Recipes - Buttery vanilla fork biscuits // Sponge cake with caramel icing

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