Home Makeover-8- Kitchen Redesign

What does your kitchen interior look like? is it untidy? with chipped wooden surfaces, cupboards or drawers? or cracked granite, quartz surfaces, cracked glass lids for floating cupboards? Do you have a functional hood to suck up the excess smoke from your cooking? What is ventilation like in your kitchen space, is it stuffy or choking?

The kitchen is a place that signifies a high level of health and hygiene, as it is the space where all daily 3-square meals are prepped. Also, lots of time during the day is spent here, as cooking, eating, food storage and other related activities around the kitchen are continuous processes and part of our daily lives. Either to grab a quick cup of tea or coffee, or nipple on some chocolate in the fridge, either to prep a quick chicken sauce, pasta or noodles, or prepare a full 3-course meal for guests and family, the kitchen space is certainly a huge part of our family lives, hence, we need to pay more attention to it, and make it a more pleasureable space to spend time.

A few tips to prop up your kitchen appeal.

• Most of our kitchens have the conventional brown wood color for our shelves, cabinets and drawers. We can re-design these with so many other lovely colours to make this space more colourful.
• Choose a color theme for your kitchen and then design every item and element in the kitchen to fit into this colour scheme, it will give the space a feeling of order and harmony.
• If your kitchen is spacious, you can have an island fixed in the centre of your kitchen, this is functional and aesthetic as it increases the work surface area in the space whilst also giving your kitchen an upscale contemporary outlook.
• You can also have a kitchen hood installed over the cooker to trap and control the heat from cooking.
• Also have an AC installed in the kitchen to help better ventilation and make the general temperature in the kitchen cooler.
• Your kitchen surfaces can be made of wood, glass, oak, concrete, stainless steel, quartz, granite, marble, limestone, soapstone, tile, crystallized glass for high gloss surfaces, and many more. Here are a few tips to maintain your kitchen surfaces whichever material they maybe made of.
• Bright lighting is a necessity in the kitchen to aid detailing and precision in carrying out cooking, cleaning and other activities around the kitchen, it also helps lit-up the space and gives it a lift.
• Always put away kitchen utensils, pots, cookwares, plates, cups etc in designated cabinets, drawers and shelves to leave your kitchen surfaces looking clear, clean and organized. More tips on keeping your kitchen clean.

For some more kitchen and kitchen countertop designs visit

Home Make-over 7 - Toilet and Bathroom Re-design.

The bathroom is a significant space in your home, as it is a relaxation, refreshment, rejuvenation and grooming spot. You can spruce up your bathroom to have a calming, invigorating, serene, romantic and cleansing aura, thereby making your shower moments very memorable and worthwhile.

 We all know we cannot afford a treat at the spa regularly but you can make this treat a routine by creating the spa/sauna ambience right in your home. Have your bathrooms and restrooms re-designed  with a few tips like these;

Change your bathroom tiles and fittings if they look really drab and dingy. There are options for cheap and cost effective tiles and bathroom fittings that look really nice and appealing.

Introduce accessories such as fancy mirrors which will give you the pleasure of looking at yourself and also act as decorative ornaments.

Fix towel rails, holders and racks. Use plush laundry racks, bins, baskets etc.You can also install beautiful curtains and blinds on your bathroom windows.

Spice up the ambience of your bathrooms by placing potpourris, scented candles, flowers on very convenient surfaces in your bathroom.

Place fancy floor mats or little centre piece rugs on your bathroom floor at a spot not too close to the shower to prevent them getting wet, you can also place a lovely lampstand on a surface in your bathroom, as a decorative add on.

You can step up your bathroom re-design by using rich colored and boldly patterned tiles, wooden finishes, installing cabinets and shelf fixtures, glass shower cubicles.

All of the new changes in your bathroom would be 'sparked up' by having good lighting. This is definitely also a necessity in the bathroom considering the activities for which this space is meant for.

Simple and neatly groomed modern design bathrooms

 

Bathroom interiors graced with a glass shower cubicle, pretty cabinets and shelves, and wall finishing design done with waterproof wall paper.

 

More bathroom interiors spiced up with bold rich colors and bold patterned tiles.

 

You can also take your bathroom re-design to a new level by installing wood finishing, lovely mosaic tiles, and a pretty 'mix and match' tiling design.

Home Make-over-6- Throw pillows and More Throw pillows. Introducing Bean bags & Ottomans

You can never have enough throw pillows in a home, even modern office spaces use throw pillows at the reception, lounge and executive office areas.

Throw pillows bring in  a touch of softness, comfort, coziness and texture into any space. You can also use them to 'spice up' your space and make it 'pop' by having them in very beautiful,colorful textures and patterns. They can come in different shapes and sizes.

They come in  handy and very functional as relaxation and comfort elements when watching TV in the living room, bedroom or any other entertainment space in  the home, whilst chit-chatting with friends and family at the family lounge or guest area, in the childen's playroom and bedrooms.

A new twist to tweaking your space would be introducing ottomans and bean bags. Ottomans are best in your living room, lounge area, bedrooms, dining area whilst bean bags are best in relaxation and play areas like the children's spaces in the home, family lounge, private TV room etc.

Having a mix of throw pillows, bean bags and ottomans in different spaces in your home helps create a 'cuddle-up' feel and atmosphere around your home.

Living rooms beautifully adorned and spruced up with throw pillows of different designs, colors, and sizes.

 

Beautifully groomed beddings gracefully propped up with throw pillows to enhance the theme, harmony, comfort and cuddly ambience in the bedroom.

 

Throw pillows and more throw pillows, you can never have enough throw pillows in your home.

 

More beddings beautifully dressed up with throw pillows, in children's bedrooms as well as adult bedrooms.

 Images of bean bags. They come in different designs, shapes and colors.

 Images of ottomans in different designs, texture, shapes, sizes, colors etc.

Living rooms beautifully designed with throw pillows, an ottoman or a bean bag, which are add ons to complement the theme and harmony in the space and also create a cozy ambience.

Home make-over 5 - Lights

Lights when applied properly bring a subtle yet sensational appeal into your home. Lighting requires detailing and a lot of specifics inorder to be able to achieve the desired effect. Various types of lighting effects and elements can be applied to achieve different effects and ambience in your space. We have the popular incandescent bulbs and fluorescent lights, there are also chandeliers, standing and table lamps, spotlights, fibre optic lights, LED lights etc.

Take in the serene warm cozy ambience created in this space by the lighting effects. The general use of warm yellow lights, the down lighting technique from the ceiling, the reflections of the lights on the walls and the floor, finished off with the elegant  standing lamp. The general lighting effect certainly gives this space a face-lift.

Lighting effects can also be created in the outdoor areas of your home, such as the porch, the parking lot, the pool area etc. See the fascinating effect being created in this porch by the use of uplighting technique.

You can create a more sensational, appealing and desired ambience in your home using lighting effects.

Home Make over-4- Wall Papers.

Add some colour, texture, and style to an otherwise drab or conventional space in your home. Wall papers can totally transform and enliven your space, they are trendy and up-to-date style for wall finishing. There are other forms of wall finishings, but wall papers are simple, easy to install and cost - effective. They come in varied patterns, styles and colours. Choose a colour and pattern that suits your taste and your space to create the effect you want.

They are no restrictions to the space in your home wall papers can be used; the living rooms, dining area, bedrooms, even in the kitchen and bathroom. High quality wall papers last long and canbe wiped clean for maintenance purposes. They can only be used on very smooth walls, which requires that walls that have tex-cote paints must first undergo screeding before wall papers can be installed.

They must be used with some caution, as some patterns could be too dramatic and would not look right in your home, but would fit better when used for outdoor spaces like restaurants,bars, salons, spas etc.

Wall papers can also be stylishly combined to add a twist to the texture and patterns in your space. Be more adventurous and get some wall paper fittings in your home.

Wall papers of different colors,themes & patterns.

Wall papers used in combinations

Home Make-over 3- Accessories & Ornaments

More on your home make-over; home accessories and ornaments are elements  used to  adorn, accent and spice-up your home. They include art paintings and artworks, figurines, scented candles, potpourris, flowers, vases, lamps, potted plants, scented balls, picture frames, decorative wall mirrors, floating decor shelves, fancy wine racks and many more.

There is no restriction to which space in your home you can adorn with any ornamental element and accessory; from the living room to the dining area, the visitors lounge, kitchen, toilet and bathrooms, the porch, staircase, corridors, even the children's space is not left out. They also would love to share their space with friend's when they visit, with a sense of pride.

Every ornamental element should be placed in positions around the home which are strategic, and where they give accent to the whole space and add to the general ambience in your home.

Home Make-over-2- Furniture re-design.

We can change the look of that old, tired-out furniture either in our living rooms, dining area, bedrooms, corridor, lounge,at the relaxation area outside or next to the pool etc.

It would be most delightful to have a completely new set of furnishings if the existing ones are loosing their appeal and no longer complementing the space, but sometimes, this might be way-out of our budget. We do not need to retain the unappealing look of our furniture even when our budget cannot accomodate new ones. We can explore the option of having the existing furniture refurbished, and hence, restoring the new look of our furnishings and the appeal in our home.

1. leather chairs, wooden floors canbe sprayed to get back the shine.

2. Chipping-off wooden furniture surfaces can be changed and new surfaces installed.

3. Wooden consoles, stools, coffee tables, cupboards, wardrobes, kitchen cabinets, dressing tables, etc can be resprayed to give them a shine or to change the color/finish.

4. Glass furnishings can be wiped with a glass cleaner chemical substance to restore the sqeaky clean sparkle.

5. Carpets and rugs can be sent out to rug care specialists for cleaning and treatment to restore the freshness and   look.

6. Upholstery fabric covers can be changed to new ones to give your home a new look.

Picture showing simple furniture been revamped by respraying and change of colour. N.B: notice the change of knobs for the drawers and the inclusion of miniature stands at the base.

 

Home Make-over Tips.

Join us as we go over a few tips to enliven, revamp and spice up your space. Certain elements within our space once revised can change the whole outlook. These are listed below;

1. Paint Colour.

2. Furniture re-design.

3. Accessories and ornaments.

4. Wall paper/Accent wall

5. Lights.

6. Throw pillows and more throw pillows.

7. Beddings.

8. Toilet and Bathroom re-design.

9. Kitchen re-design.

10. The beauty of Plants.

11. Curtains and blinds.

PAINT COLOURS.

So today, we will be looking at paint colours. A few of us are experimental with the colour of paints we use on our walls, we stick with either the traditional white, off white or cream colour in most of our homes. There is nothing wrong with these colours, but we can be more experimental with some other colours which are also subtle and serene, more interesting, and still give your home that warm, cozy ambience it requires.

Considering the predominant weather condition here in Nigeria, where the weather is hot and humid, and the sun is high a large number of times all round the year, we will focus more on a few cool colours which will give our homes a soothing yet rich effect.   

 1. Parma gray: a soft, soothing blue that feels like the ocean and the sky and gives your home that cooling sea-breeze effect.

2. Citrony gray-green or olive: These colours are close to nature, but in a subtle way, hence it gives your home that 'garden' feeling.

3. Mustard yellow: Is a happy color, and has the ability to add a happy tint and warm pop of color to your space.

4. Beige: Is a colour of nature and is like the color of the desert. It is serene, calm and gives your home a cozy, warm, luxurious feel.

5. Peach: Is a hue of orange but serene, when used properly, it gives a luxurious feel to your home.

 6. Lilac and lavender: Is a soft hue of violet or purple, and connotes royalty. Lilac like light blue, can be relaxing and calming, and it can also be enchanting.