Year: 2022

The Chaise Longue – A Timeless Piece of French Furniture

One of the most popular items of French furniture is the ‘chaise longue’ – a classic piece that became a symbol of high society and opulence in the 16th Century. Although credited to this period in modern history, similar lounging styles of furniture can actually be traced back as far as ancient Egypt, Greece and Roman times – where day beds were designed for the sole purpose of eating. Other cultural references to the chaise longue can be found in the history of ancient Mexico and Africa.

Literally translated to ‘long chair’, the chaise longue is a multi-purpose piece of French furniture that doubles as a bed, recliner or chair. In form it should take the shape of a sofa, but with a backrest at one end only and traditionally, arm rests would also be a feature. Modern interpretations mean that the name now lends itself to many different styles of reclining chair, including outdoor recliners such as deckchairs.

With French furniture presently being so in vogue, the chaise longue can make a wonderful addition to any modern home. Newer manufacturing techniques also mean that the cost of these items are no longer prohibitive as they once were, when they were entirely crafted by hand and had to be transported fully assembled. The chaise longue is perfect for relaxing, reading, resting, watching TV or perhaps having a catnap, and as such, they are welcome in many areas of a house; living rooms, bedrooms, conservatories or even in the garden.

Historically, the chaise longue would be constructed of wood (shaped or wooden caning) or rattan, but during the Rococo period, these comfortable items went on to become real status symbols and the materials used and their decoration became more extravagant. They started to be designed in more expensive, hard woods and adorned with intricate carvings and tassels and cushions made from rare and luxurious fabrics. Nowadays, a variety of materials are used in their manufacture, including plastics, plywood and tubular steel.

If you are planning on adding a chaise longue to your home, it might also be worth considering other complementary touches of French furniture to your collection. You might opt for French furniture items such as a hand-carved French bed, or French style sofas and chairs. If you are looking for something simple, you could try a French mirror or chandelier – or at the other extreme, you could make a big statement with a French wardrobe, grand and beautifully decorative. Whether you want a home inspired by the French style, or just a functional yet beautiful piece of relaxing furniture, a chaise longue makes a classic addition to any room. In fact, you might enjoy it so much that you can barely tear yourself away!…

Some Space Saving Ideas for Bedroom Spaces

Here are some space saving ideas for bedroom areas. Sometimes, our bedrooms become junk depositories. So, the first step might be to clean out the junk.

Doctors advise insomniacs to use their bedrooms only for sleeping, although for couples another activity is allowed. But, many of our bedrooms are multi-purpose rooms. They serve as home offices, entertainment and work out centers.

Your room might be more like a one-room apartment than anything else. If you have other rooms in your house that can be used for some purposes, it will help with organization, which in turn will create more area for you to work with. But, let’s get back to that first step of cleaning out the junk.

Organizational experts recommend going through your wardrobes and drawers on a regular basis. We tend to accumulate a lot of clothing as the years go by. Outfits go out of style. Jeans become ripped to the point where they are unwearable.

Yet, many of us have difficulty throwing out dated or torn clothing. We think we might have time to sew up a rip or that the outfits might come back into style. Even though styles do sometimes come around, fabrics cannot survive for decades. They become worn or dry-rotted just hanging in a wardrobe.

That’s why one of the first of the expert recommended space saving ideas for bedroom areas is always to go through your clothing. Look at each item for wear and tear.

In order to figure out whether or not the item is still in style, try to remember the last time you wore it. If it has been more than a year, it is probably out of style.

Keeping clothes that no longer fit is another bad idea. Those items are just taking up space in your wardrobe. As a rule of thumb, you should throw out or donate any item that you have not worn in over a year.

One of the best space saving ideas for bedroom areas is to replace any of the doors that you have with sliders. Sliding doors provide several advantages. First, there is no need to allow extra room for a hinged door to open. There’s your space-savings.

Sliding doors also look neater. It is relatively easy to replace an existing wardrobe door with a slider. Even the bedroom’s door can be replaced with one that slides. The instructions for completing that kind of project are simple and relatively easy to follow.

There are dozens of other space saving ideas for bedroom areas. In all cases, the first three steps should be to move out non-essential items, go through the clothing and look at your doors.…

What To Pack For A Yachting Holiday

With the temperatures in the UK plummeting and reportedly the coldest Winter in 100 years hitting our shores, who can be blamed for setting their sights on warmer climes. For a true taste of luxury while everyone else is at home shovelling snow and wearing thermal socks, why not take a trip on a luxury yacht for a truly glamorous holiday!

From elegant ports to busy marinas, yachting holidays are available in some of the most beautiful parts of the world. This time of year, the warm temperatures of the Caribbean hold much allure, or head to the other side of the world for an Australian summer aboard a yacht. Thailand and the Indian Ocean have picture postcard scenery and are bathed in sunshine during a British Winter.

When packing for a yachting holiday, the golden rule is to pack light. No one wants to lug a heavy suitcase through the airport, and however luxurious your room is aboard the yacht, cabins are small and it will be a struggle to fit large amounts of luggage in. Plan your outfits carefully in advance so you are only taking what you need – remember that you’ll probably spend most of your time in swimwear so its better to pack more swimwear and less bulky outerwear.

Small touches can add a different dimension to your swimwear – a necklace, hat, or pair of sunglasses can change your look depending on how you style it. And when you’ve had enough of topping up your tan, a sarong or kaftan makes the ideal cover up for lounging on the deck. As they are light and don’t take up much space in your suitcase, why not include a selection – that way you’ll have one that compliments your swimwear no matter what you’ve picked to wear.

Linen is a great fabric for tropical holidays as it is light and folds down easily in a suitcase. Linen trousers make a fabulous addition to a yachting holiday wardrobe, and are a very versatile travel wardrobe staple. Team with a striped top to channel nautical-chic style, and complete your outfit with a pair of oversized shades and a wide brimmed hat.

A maxi dress is ideal for a glamorous break in the sun. Perfect for cocktails in the evening, add jewelled sandals, a woven fedora and your favourite items of jewellery to make a style statement in the sun. Fitting for both day and night, a maxi dress can also be dressed down for an elegant daytime look with flip flops, sunglasses and a day bag to hold your essentials.

Mosquito repellent is a necessary evil when journeying to tropical locations, but avoid extremely strong smelling ones as they are not usually an indicator of strength and can carry quite an unpleasant aroma. Sun cream is also important to remember, plus any sun block you may take for your lips. It’s much more fun showing off sun-kissed skin in your bikini …

Steel Garage – For Your Convenience

There are several different kinds of storage building needs that many businesses, homes, farms, industries, etc. have. A storage building is the place where the inventories or stocks are stored for future use requiring a safe and secure location. This is where a metal storage building comes into the picture. Whether big or small, metal storage buildings are easy to construct and they easily scale up and down depending on your requirement. Whatever the reason, storage buildings have their own requirement in terms of the building.

The best solution to storage building is steel due to the fact that, as a construction material, steel possesses all the required properties that as storage building must have, such as durability, strength, and last but not least, they are incredibly easy to construct with minimal equipment or experience. Steel buildings as a storage solution saves you time and money compared to conventional storage buildings. It gives a beautiful look to your backyard, building site, or current storage business.

Today garages are integral parts of our home. They are useful places to keep your properties safe and secure, be it your automobile or old furniture. Steel garage kits, also known as prefabricated garage kits, can meet all these needs. Steel garage kits can house a boat, truck or car, can be erected faster than traditional brick or frame garages, and are customizable and affordable built to last a lifetime. The entire metal garage kit is pre-drilled, pre-punched, pre-engineered to save you time and money. Compared to wood, stick or brick buildings, steel garages are more energy efficient, easier and faster to construct, and up to 50% cheaper to purchase.

These constructions will protect your vehicles and whatever else you need stored from the rain, snow, heat and cold. These kits are designed for a DIY installation, or they can be installed by a licensed professional.

Steel garage kits come in a variety of designs. You can design the garage the way you want it to be. This is a part of the prefabrication of steel garages. You can choose your own doors and windows and the dimensions. Different people have different garage requirements depending on the household, the vehicles you own, the things you plan to put in there, space constraints, etc. With steel garages, you have all the freedom that you would like in building your own garage. Many are designed to be covered by material suiting your tastes. Some are made to resemble traditional car garages, whilst others are designed to look like barns.…