Barrister Cream Wooden Dresser

Most of us own a fair amount of self-assembled and flat-pack furniture. In recent times, it’s become the most popular kind of furniture, with many of us spending our weekends assembling our new tables and chairs.

Unfortunately, self-assembly furniture sometimes gets a bad name for being boring or of poor quality. Here at Kaleidoscope we’re happy to say that we disagree: in fact, we’ve got some high-quality furniture for you that’s classy as well as being self-assembling. It really is the best of both worlds.

Our Barrister set is a fine example of classic, high-quality self-assembly furniture that will help to give your home a very upmarket feel. For the bedroom, we have the Barrister Cream Wooden 6 Drawer Dresser. In a cream painted finish, it boasts decorative moulding and timeless rope-style trimming around the drawers. Made from wood, as you would expect, it also has metal drawer runners and handles.

If you buy two pieces from the Barrister range at the moment you can save £50, so why not treat your living room to some elegance as well? The Barrister Cream Wooden Console Table is also in a cream painted finish with that timeless and distinctive rope-style trimming and metal drawer runners and handles. It’s practical too, with four drawers and an open shelf at the base.

8 Colour Changing Solar Lights

A garden without lights is a garden that’s being sorely underused. Carefully chosen and well-placed lighting not only transforms the look and feel of a garden, but enables you to use it as a relaxation and entertaining space in summer evenings as well as daytimes.

Choosing garden lighting isn’t something that can be done quickly, though. You need to give some careful thought and consideration as to what you want to use lighting for, what the layout of your garden will allow and also whether you’re going to install it yourself or call in the professionals.

Safety and security should be your prime considerations when choosing garden lighting. Good garden lighting can help to make your garden – and your house – a safer place. You could illuminate your garden’s entrance to make it easier to access in the dark – very important if you have stairs.

Floodlights with in-built passive infrared detectors are a good idea if you want to increase security. Think about putting one near the entrance into your house from the garden to deter unwanted intruders – if anybody comes near, then the light comes on.

Fairy lights are a fun and cheap way to inject a magical lighting effect into your home. Make sure you get fairy lights for outdoor use and follow the instructions very carefully – you don’t want to set fire to your plants (or any visitors!). These are especially lovely when you’re having special parties.

Shaggy Rugs

Accessorising your home is so easy to do and it’s cheaper and quicker than decorating but just as effective at changing your living space for the better. For example, if you want to give your room a springtime feel, cushions decorated in light floral patterns or in pastel colours add a soft and fresh touch; echo this with fresh daffodils in a strategically placed and gorgeous vase.

Mirrors and art are two ways to accessorise your home with both giving you a chance to get really clever and creative. It’s not just what you choose; it’s how you hang it as well. For example, group pictures and photos together in a symmetrical way to create a smart and formal look (perhaps for your dining room or home office).

Rugs are a great way to accessorise by creating a big effect with little effort. The right rug can really cheer a room up. Shaggy rugs create texture and interest, making them pleasing to the eye – and the foot! Our Shaggy Rug comes in a variety of sizes and even in circular form, with a colour to suit every room. It’s been a real hit with Kaleidoscope fans – and not just human ones. Nanny Jan from Bristol writes: “With two dogs who love to eat their bones and chews on it in front of the fire, it still looks amazing. Just shake and it looks as good as new.”

Heine Picture Frame

You’ll never regret taking lots of photos of your family. In fact, if you don’t have enough photos of your children when they were really small, chances are that you’re kicking yourself.

It’s wonderful to browse through memories of the old days – you know, before the kids got stroppy and wanted to stay out all night and your hubby started to lose more hair than a moulting hamster!

Thanks to digital photography, it’s so easy these days to capture those magic moments. Most of us have got half decent cameras on our phones too, so there’s really no excuse to get snapping. Don’t be scared to play family photographer: here are some handy tips to help you or any other budding David Bailey in the family.

Snap, snap and snap again – take lots of photos until you’re happy with the results. This is especially true if you’re taking posed photos.

Be creative and have some fun: the days of lining up the family in a formal, glum way are long gone. Get in close, take candid shots and even play around with the different colour settings on your camera.

Use levels and angles. Get down on the floor with the little ones or stand on a chair to take an aerial shot of a big family gathering.

Natural daylight provides the best conditions for taking flattering snapshots. If that’s not possible, then don’t be afraid to experiment with the flash – will your camera let you reduce it or even switch it off sometimes?

Garden Meerkats

Apparently, the oldest surviving examples of garden furniture were discovered in the gardens of Pompeii. How amazing is that? Of course, the weather was probably better in Pompeii than it is here in the UK, so they won’t have had the problem of wooden chairs going rotten with damp.

With the summer months nearly – nearly! in sight, it’s time to start thinking about creating a lovely and comfortable atmosphere in your own garden with some choice furniture.

Garden furniture comprises lots of items – chairs, tables, parasols and so on – and this week we’re going to have a look at choosing the right chairs.

Think about how many chairs you want to buy. Get one for each member of the family and then consider how often you have guests over. If you like to entertain friends and family on a regular basis, then make sure there will be enough chairs for everyone when you take the party outside.

Have a good look at the space that you’ve got. If you have a small garden and lots of people to seat, you may want to get a few different types of chair – perhaps a wooden bench, some chairs and some stools.

Do you like an upright chair, or do you prefer something more reclining? Picture yourself sat in the chair for a while, reading a book and enjoying a drink. What posture are you in? Make sure to match the chair’s posture with yours.

Underbed Storage Bag

However big your house is, there never seems to be enough space for everything, does there? Never mind where to store your fabulous shoe collection or all of those pots and pans – what about the kids’ musical instruments or your partner’s book collection?

It’s true to say that we expand to fill the space we inhabit, especially if we’ve been living in that space for a number of years. Often, when we do fill the space, we do it in quite a messy and haphazard way. Actually, there are some tips and tricks to help you maximise the use of your space and if you do them you’ll be amazed at how much you can store away – and neatly at that! Try these on for size:

Declutter, declutter, declutter. Be ruthless. Most of what takes up our space sits there most of the time doing absolutely nothing. Leave no cupboard unturned.

Consider buying some furniture with hidden storage space. Some beds have secret drawers in the base, for example, or if you have a frame bed, you can purchase low cost underbed storage bags.  There’s no need to spend loads of money. Just one or two such items can really help to create extra space.

Are you using the area under your sink in the bathroom and kitchen? These are often non-obvious areas which you can use to store toiletries and cleaning products.

Create a secret cupboard by stashing away bulky items such as golf clubs, skis, and musical instruments behind a decorative folding screen in the corner of any room.

Midsummer Black Wallpaper

Most of us love all of those interior design programmes on TV. But how many of us actually get stuck in to doing some interior design on our own homes?

You might think that doing some design around the house has to cost you lots of money. Yes, you can spend £300 pounds on a roll of wallpaper if you want, but you really don’t have to! It is more than possible to spruce up your house without spending a fortune. All it takes is a little research, time and creativity.

Choose one room to start with – the professionals might be able to do a whole house at a time, but they’ve been doing this for years. Think about what you don’t like about the room now and what you’d like to have there instead. Also, what’s the room used for? If it’s your living room and the kids and the dogs like to sprawl all over it, then you’ll want washable fabrics and dark prints.

Get hold of some interior design magazines for inspiration. What colours do you see that you want to use? You can create a change in the smallest way and still have a positive effect on your living space. For example, you might not buy a turquoise sofa, but a turquoise lampshade and matching wall hanging, or a painting which uses turquoise, can create the same effect.

If you’re after an antique or “world” feel, then check out car boot sales for old treasures and trinkets. This is something the professionals do and with good reason – you can find some beautiful old bargains for your home this way.

Reversible Faux Silk Curtains

In this cold weather, with the long winter nights still hanging over our heads, it’s likely that our curtains are going to spend most of their time firmly shut. That’s why it’s so important to have curtains that you love all over your house. You need something pretty to look at if it’s too dark to enjoy the view outside!

If your curtains are looking a bit tired, take a look at the Curtain and Blinds section of the Kaleidoscope website. Just like all our other products, our curtains are “Designed to be Different” and we can help you to dress your windows beautifully.

When choosing your new curtains, have a good look at the rest of the room and how it’s decorated before you buy anything. If the room in question is already full of furniture, pictures and other homeware, then you’ll want a quieter and more neutral pair of curtains to provide balance and calm things down. Equally, if your room lacks a little colour or vibrancy, then a boldly patterned pair of curtains can add some much needed liveliness.

Here’s a super Online Exclusive for you: Reversible Faux Silk Slotted Top Curtains. These are most dramatic and sophisticated. They feature a soft textured faux silk slot top and this is fully reversible so that you can create and change your look each season. Complete the look with their matching cushion cases – cleverly, the cushion cases are reversible as well!