The 4Homes Blog » Design & Style

Which Crafts To Include In Kirstie’s Homemade Home?

Rich Payne — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:44:16 +0000

At some point in 2010, Kirstie Allsopp will be back with a second series of Kirstie’s Homemade Home. The lovely team that produces the show are keen to include arts and crafts that you, the viewers, would like to see.

This is your chance to directly influence the series, and to give a platform to a craft or skill close to your heart. It’s all rather exciting, quite frankly.

Post your craft suggestions in the comments form below, and they could feature in series two of Kirstie’s Homemade Home…

Five Quirky Rugs

Rich Payne — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:24:11 +0000

Britain loves laminate and wood flooring, but as we plunge headlong into the bitter depths of winter, a warming centrepiece rug may be in order. I popped on to the 4Homes Product Search to bring you five of my faves…

1. Stella Felt Rug By Michelle Mason

A fun and funky take on the oft-boring wool rug, the Stella Felt Rug instantly draws the eye. You could lay it over wood, tile or existing carpet, and it comes in a range of colours. Kirstie’s Homemade Home fans can rest assured that this rug is made in the UK from 100 per cent wool.
NotOnTheHighStreet.com, £350

2. Cut Out 1 Rug By WovenGround

Remarkably for a rug that looks like both a muddy island and a single-cell amoeba, this is a hit with the 4Homes team. We love the irregular shape, as well as the flexibility of being able to order it in a custom size. Cut Out 2 is also available, and both rugs can be slotted together should you so choose.
WovenGround, £260

3. Nani Marquina Do-Lo-Rez Rug By Ron Arad

It’s not cheap, but it is pretty. Really pretty. If blue isn’t your colour, you can also opt for varying shades of red or grey. Why not order all three?
Nest.co.uk, £2,342

4. Motor Club Rug By Fine Bedlinens

It might be aimed at the kids’ bedroom market, but I reckon this retro car rug could make a playful focal point in all kinds of interiors. Those with developed levels of taste and maturity may disagree.
Fine Bedlinens, £44.04

5. Pirate Rug By WovenGround

Made from hard-wearing synthetic material and designed to be as childproof as possible, the Pirate Rug should, in theory, provide hours of entertainment for the little ones, and a bit of peace and quiet for mum and dad.
WovenGround, was £110, now £99

All items were found using the 4Homes Product Search. Found something wonderful on there? Dislike any of our choices? Leave your comments below…

Five Contemporary Table Lamps

Rich Payne — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:32:57 +0000

The nights are drawing in and the clocks are about to go back, so now’s the time to think about low-level lighting to create a cosy atmosphere in your home.

Here’s five contemporary lamps that caught my eye, all found using the 4Homes Product Search.

1. Kartell Cindy Table Lamp

A much-imitated design classic, the Cindy Lamp by Kartell is a regular in interior design magazines and it’s easy to see why. Available in a variety of colours to suit any interior.
Heal’s, £125. I’m also told it’s available from www.design-conscious.co.uk with a free energy-saving bulb.

2. Flamp Lamp

A delightfully playful lamp-in-a-box, the Flamp Lamp has gone down a treat on the international design circuit. It’s effortlessly cool, unique, and a bit of a bargain. Should you wish to buy me one for Christmas, feel free.
redcandy, £35

3. Bonsai Table Lamp by Catellani & Smith

Handcrafted from brass in Italy, the Bonsai Table Lamp is both opulent and expensive. It’s beautifully sculpted, and each of those branches is flexible for varied effects. It might bust your budget, but if you can justify the initial outlay then this timeless piece of lighting design will last a lifetime.
T-House Interiors Showcase via mydeco, £898

4. ALMA Pawn White Glass Table Lamp

For all the minimalists among you (you know who you are), the creamy curves and dimmable light of the Pawn Glass Table Lamp will soften the stark lines of your modern home. It comes in three sizes, priced at £175, £284 and £492. Not cheap, but utterly chic.
allupandon, from £175

5. Halo Brushed Chrome Table Lamp

If chrome and curves are your thing and you’ve got a keen eye for price, the Halo Chrome Table Lamp is for you. Looks great and proves that elegance and flair needn’t break the bank.
Argos, £38.99

Have you found something you can’t live without on the 4Homes Product Search? Think we’ve missed something unmissable? Leave your comments below…

Five Fab Coffee Tables

Rich Payne — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:36:22 +0000

This Friday, rather than a property porn post I thought I’d utilise the 4Homes Product Search to pick out five very different bits of furniture I’d happily have in my home. Deciding to search for coffee tables was a direct result of me clutching a mug of the dark stuff at the time. We’re a spontaneous bunch in the 4Homes office.

1. The Budget Option

Style doesn’t have to cost the earth, and if you’ve got a chic, modern look to your home, this perspex lovely by Patricia Urquiola could fit right in.
Kartell Usame Coffee Table, £134.99, nest.co.uk

2. The Mad Men Option

The slick US drama set in an effortlessly cool 1960 Madison Avenue ad agency has some of the finest sets, wardrobes and props ever assembled for television. With this coffee table in your lounge, you can pretend you’re stepping into Don Draper’s office every time you walk through the front door.
Jude Coffee Table, £299, John Lewis

3. The Chunky Option

This solid pine number wouldn’t look out of place in the waiting room of a Swedish sauna. Its hefty construction isn’t overpowering thanks to a very simple three-piece design. The perpendicular legs also help make a very chunky coffee table feel light and modern.
Metro Large Coffee Table, £190.00, Fornisca.com

4. The Minimalist Option

Sculpted fibreglass and one-piece construction mean that this is about as minimalist as coffee tables get. Forget the practicalities (will it look as good covered in coffee stains?) and enjoy it for what it is.
Oracle Coffee Table, £495, Heal’s

5. The Unattainable Option

This exquisite table by two leading British furniture makers of the Art Deco era, Harry and Lou Epstein, is both beautiful and highly collectible. Its curves and finish are quinessentially of their time, while its quality of construction is more or less guaranteed thanks to the Epstein name. Drool all you like – it’s already sold to some lucky customer for the £1150 asking price.
Art Deco Epstein Coffee Table, £SOLD, thefurniturerooms.co.uk

All products were found using the 4Homes Product Search Let us know what you think of these choices using the comments form below…

DIYing This Weekend? It’s Going To Cost You

Lucy Searle — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:11:18 +0000

So, we at 4Homes have been banging on for some time about how you should improve rather than move, how DIY is achievable for all and how you should check out our very handy step by step A-Z of DIY & Building Guides and Design & Style How Tos to tackle anything from making cushions to fitting a new sink. All this in an effort to make your home worth more, make it look better – and save money in the process.

We don’t want to put you off. Oh no. While we’re enjoying our August bank holidays, the 4Homes team will lie back (metaphorically) and think of you all beavering away in the garden, laying a new deck, or up in the bathroom, replacing old taps. However, a word or two of warning. We’ve been told that we Brits pay a massive £1.5 billion to fix DIY jobs gone wrong. Worse still, 250,000 people suffer DIY-related injuries every year (I can prove that – I’ve got a damaged finger from the gardening I did last weekend).

So, while it may seem like a good idea to use the break to do that wallpapering or tile a floor, it’s also worth preparing properly to avoid those DIY disasters. Kensington Financial Management Consultants have rather handily supplied us with some tips to avoid throwing a spanner in the works:

1 Check your tools – make sure they are in good working order to avoid any mishaps. Check that equipment carries British or European quality or standard marks in the manual.

2 Know your limits – if you are unsure of the extent of the job, call in an experienced professional, which may work out cheaper as you won’t have to fork out for specialist tools.

3 Insure and be sure – check insurance policies to see what you are covered for in case of an accident (not as silly as it sounds…).

4 A rushed job is a botched job – take your time and don’t leave anything unfinished, or sharp tools lying around.

5 Finally, from the team at 4Homes – don’t do a thing until you’ve checked out our DIY advice pages.

Good luck – and let us know how it goes – at our Rate My DIY Disaster pages.

Apply For Series 2 Of Kirstie’s Homemade Home

Rich Payne — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 10:31:06 +0000

You heard it here first – Kirstie Allsopp is looking for contributors to take part in series 2 of Kirstie’s Homemade Home.

If you’re fed up with flat pack, had enough of the high street and want your home to ooze individuality, get in touch and you might be selected to get Kirstie’s help transforming your interior. Kirstie will enlist the services of skilled craftspeople from across the UK, to give your house its own signature homemade style.

You can find out how to apply for Kirstie’s Homemade Home here, and follow the programme’s makers on Twitter.

5 Student Essentials For University Life

Rich Payne — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:08:58 +0000

If your kids have recently picked up their A-level results and are gearing up for three or more years at university, don’t miss our top 5 bargain buys for new students.

Feel free to add comments below, including other products you think are essential for new students leaving home for the first time.

Cardiff Design Festival 2009: At The Cutting Edge Of Welsh Design

Rich Payne — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:24:50 +0000

At 4Homes we do our best to highlight the finest design events and talent from right across the UK (see recent post on the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair).

The latest event to catch our eye on the 2009 design calendar is the Cardiff Design Festival, which you can go along to at the start of October.

Organisers plan to build on the many successes of the Cardiff Design Festival 2008

The festival centres around a thoughtfully planned design trail, a traversing route through the city that takes in all the design highlights of the rejuvenated Welsh capital. These include ultra-trendy furniture store Momentum, set across four floors of a converted Georgian townhouse, and work from Angela Gidden of Attic 2, designer of various top sofas for 4Homes favourites Habitat, The Conran Shop and Liberty. Interspersing the festivities will be expert speakers, seminars and shows.

Mode sofa by Attic 2, handmade to order in Wales

The Cardiff Design Festival covers areas as wide-ranging as web design, fashion, graphics, branding, furniture and interiors. To find out more about the festival, please visit www.cardiffdesignfestival.org

Modern Crafts: The Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair

Rich Payne — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:18:37 +0000

I recently received an email from the organisers of the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair, a Manchester event set up a year ago to showcase cutting edge craftmakers in the north of England, many of whom struggle with the costs and logistics of exhibiting down south.

Stool By Howcroft & Jordan

The terms ‘cutting edge’ and ‘crafts‘ are rarely seen in the same sentence, but they should be. If this event proves anything it’s that there’s a wealth of new and established talent out there, making high quality, bespoke contemporary craft items.

Ceramics by Virginia Graham

Furniture, ceramics, jewellery, glassware and textiles will be on show, and all work is selected by a panel of craft experts so that only the hottest design talent makes the grade.

Glass Vase by Kathryn Pearce

With the recession biting and people like Kirstie Allsopp and Perri Lewis of the Guardian (amongst others) on a crusade to promote British-made quality craft products, the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair should be a huge hit.

The Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair runs from 23rd – 25th October 2009 at Spinningfields in the heart of Manchester. For more information, visit www.greatnorthernevents.co.uk or email press@greatnorthernevents.co.uk

Lazy Gardener Or Just Time Strapped?

Lucy Searle — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:53:46 +0000

I don’t know about the rest of you, but as someone who’s sitting painfully at her desk having strained her back lying on the sofa watching tv last night (damn the excitement of that Property Ladder episode!), I find my garden (which I plan to spend the afternoon in, recovering) is most often best enjoyed from a deck chair, rather than from above a spade.

It’s not to say that I don’t do my share of digging – in the past year, I’ve laid a deck on my own, levelled and laid my own lawn, created raised borders and planted out 20 containers. So not lazy, then. However, when my back isn’t strained, I often find I just don’t have time to keep the garden looking good.

So, pretty happy that someone’s just sent me details of a company called The Balcony Gardener. I’ll warn you – it’s not desperately cheap, but in terms of how much time and effort you’ll save, it’s a bargain. The company plants up and delivers good-looking containers to help you create ready-made gardens. Choose from contemporary, edible and English country, among others. And, if you have got time to do it yourself, check out our plant galleries and garden design galleries, all on our gardening pages.