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. read more

Permalink||(2) Comments

As far as I’m aware none of these houses have actually appeared in any films or TV shows, but they look like they could have. Click on the images to see the full listings, with lots more pictures. read more

Permalink||(0) Comments

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. read more

Permalink||(0) Comments

Since we launched Rate My Room on 4Homes, we’ve been inundated with readers’ photos of their gardens, kitchens, bathrooms and every other area of the home you’d care to think of.

By far and away the most popular of the Rate My Room galleries is Rate My Homemade Crafts, a photo gallery of user craft projects. This is due in no small part to the runaway success of the crafts extravaganza that is Kirstie’s Homemade Home. We’ve had well over 100 photos submitted so far, all available for you to peruse, rate and leave comments on. The selection ranges from the sublime to the (dare I say) ridiculous, but collectively they make for an entertaining few minutes’ browsing.

This morning I decided to try to choose my top five. Don’t be disheartened if yours didn’t make the cut – there’s no accounting for my own dubious taste. Here, in no particular order, are my five favourite reader craft projects.

1. Chopsticks Accent Lampshade by veryirie

What I like about this project is the way more light penetrates the shade towards the top (the thin end of the chopsticks), creating a nice natural gradient of colour. Its maker included basic instructions on how to make it yourself – sounds dead simple, although there may be a few raised eyebrows when you head to the checkout with 40 pairs of chopsticks in hand.

2. Carved House Sign by CharlieS

Pure, unadulterated envy – I make no secret of the fact that I’m hopeless at working wood, so this just makes me jealous. The level of detail is quite something.

3. ‘The Beat Goes On’ Mosaic by breezyb5

A combination of glass and ceramics, this mosaic tells a story of music in the 60s. Although the colours and design might not be everyone’s cup of tea, the effort and creativity that went into this project are self-evident.

4. Tomato Ball by Rowena

There’s three reasons I like this – firstly it looks very well made. Secondly, it would make an excellent living room football. Finally, there’s the description added by Rowena – ‘I crocheted this tomato ball for my 9 month old niece, who loves throwing it at her parents.’

5. Sushi Bar by Sushi Bar Craft Ornament

Not sure where to start with this one. There’s something delightfully daft about spending your weekend making a mini sushi bar, staffed and frequented entirely by teddy bears dressed in Kimono robes. I’m yet to see this one on Blue Peter, but the list of materials suggests it would make the perfect after-school project for our nation’s youth.

Feel free to leave your comments below, or go to the Rate My Room homepage.

Permalink||(6) Comments

Last night saw the first episode of Kirstie’s Homemade Home, in which Kirstie Allsopp does up a house in deepest Devon, using, where possible, local materials and craftspeople, and her own enthusiastic but untested craft skills.

So what did you think? For what it’s worth, I think it’s refreshing to have anything on tv that isn’t about making money from your home. I’m not nearly fresh-faced enough to believe that the programme will do anything to change the way we think about our homes – we’ve all invested too much (financially and emotionally) in the whole housing process for us not to look at a house as an investment, even if it’s a long-term one. And with savings rates being as low as they are, many of us still think it’s best to sink hard-earned cash into property rather than put it in a bank.

That said, having done up six houses myself, it’s great to see someone approaching a renovation in a way that doesn’t involve a) trip to DIY store, b) trip to giant furniture store to buy roomset and c) trip to supermarket to buy ubiquitous products to accessorise with. I’m not knocking any of these approaches – we all go to Ikea, for example, because their furniture is cheap, just about stays together AND you can buy a whole room’s worth of furniture that looks really quite good together. The only hassle is getting it through the check out.

However, that kind of room, while stylish, swish, modern and, importantly, affordable, is never going to be unique, individual and one-off – and that’s what really makes a home interesting. And while I don’t want to put anyone out of a job at these bigger high street or retail park stores, I do think it’s high time we all supported local British craftspeople who work really hard, for little profit and almost no national recognition. And if the show does nothing else but to inspire us to think a little bit more imaginatively about how we design and decorate our homes, it will have done a good job.

What do you think?

Permalink||(25) Comments

Just a quick note to say that Rate My Room, a new feature on 4Homes, launched today. It allows all of our lovely users to show off a bit by uploading photos of any aspect of their home for others to rate and comment on. Of course, this also means you to have a sneaky peek into the houses of strangers for ideas, inspiration, or just because you fancy a gander.

You can give it a try on the Rate My Room page. This is all new to us, so any comments and feedback from our users would be wonderful. You can leave comments below…

Permalink||(0) Comments

Last weekend I got myself down to the Homebuilding & Renovating Show at Birmingham’s NEC. As ever, the cavernous hangar of a venue was packed full of self builders and developers, as well as people looking to improve their own homes. The seminars were informative and expertly-chaired, while the range of exhibitors was absolutely vast.

Amongst the usual conservatory, bi-fold door and insulation companies, I picked out my five favourite products from the show. Here they are, in no particular order… read more

Permalink||(11) Comments

The most desirable home heating of the moment has to be the wood burning stove. That’s why we got in touch with the guys over at WilsonBailey to give away a wood burner from their Keralafish range to one lucky 4Homes visitor. It’s super-efficient and best of all, the winner can choose how it looks with various customisable options.

If you wanted to buy one you’d only get a fiver’s change from £1,600, so this is the real deal. To enter or to find out more, check out the wood burning stove competition here.

Permalink||(1) Comment

I popped into the V&A (Victoria & Albert Museum) over the Christmas break to see their ‘Cold War Modern: Design 1945-70‘ exhibition and would highly recommend it. Although not exclusively showcasing furniture, the exhibition included tons of design classics I’d never had the fortune to see for real… read more

Permalink||(2) Comments