When it comes to decorating your home this spring, stay far away from the nude, white, and earthy tones seen in our dreary homes throughout the winter. Throw in something exciting – the brighter, bolder, and livelier the better!

The trend this season still features the grey pallet but with a twist! Use strong colours like Yellowcake (a bright yellow), Charlotte’s Locks (a deep orange hue) and Pelt (a luxurious matte purple) to give a zing of colour to your space.

To achieve this lively, trendy, yet subtle look, make sure you get the balance right. Simply add a small splash of colour to your home but don’t overuse it. Introducing too much color can overpower the neutral tones and create a completely new vibe within the house.

HGTV

Pick your main wall within the room and start introducing your color here first. This could be something in your space that has an eye-catching feature on it like the fireplace, flat screen TV, or the wall right behind your bed’s headboard. Hang up an exciting, colorful work of art, paint one wall your fave color, or reupholster your headboard to make sure everything stays on balance with your new feature wall.

Experiment with textures like vinyl matt, silk, and sheen like from Kent Blaxill’s range at Dulux Trade paints to make sure you get the perfect texture, feel, and ambience in your room. Whichever color you decide to choose, whether it is a pastel or a dark earth tone, make sure you get the correct shade and style for you. Choosing the exact color can be tough, so make sure to use a colour matching service, to mix the correct paints together to create your ideal color.

Of course, there are other ways of incorporating color into your home without getting out your painting equipment and masking tape. By simply adding a few accessories like rolling out a new rug, tossing some gorgeous pillows, or whipping out an psychedelic tablecloth, you’ll have the right flow of color into your home in no time.

Creating the outdoor kitchen of your dreams requires a little more than popping down a few plastic chairs and firing up the barbie! Follow these essential tips before designing an outdoor kitchen to avoid any mistakes and troubles down the road:

Select Durable Surfaces

Make sure you choose heavy-duty surfaces for your outdoor kitchen to withstand all kinds of temperatures and climates. Stainless steel, stone, slate, tile, and stucco are all great countertop surfaces for your kitchen.

Don’t Forget the Essentials

Running into the house to throw something in the trash is something you don’t want to be doing at your next family barbeque. Don’t skip the essentials and plan a storage area underneath your countertops to store necessities like a trash bin, and baskets to hold napkins, glasses, sponges, and other cleaning supplies.

Keep Warm

Even the hottest summer days can have chilly evenings. This is especially true in locations like North Vancouver Canada, where the arctic winds can dampen the warmest real estate. The last thing you want to be doing is packing up and heading indoors. Install a big fireplace to keep warm and extend your outdoor party. If you aren’t in the business of installing a built-in fireplace, opt for a fire pit or a charnwood stove.

Focus on Lighting

Extend those long, gorgeous summer nights as much as possible with the right type of lighting and ambience. Soft overhead lights or twinkling chandeliers above the dining table or grilling area are key to creating the perfect intimate atmosphere outdoors.

Make Clean-up Easy 

Choosing the right flooring is vital for an easy-breezy cleanup. Tiles are the perfect choice for an outdoor kitchen since you can easily sweep up outdoor messes like garden debris, soil, leaves, and cut grass.

C&C Partners708 Design StudioArcha-DeckC&C Contractors  HighGate House Key ResidentialThompson Custom Homes

While there may seem to be no end to the winter weather, believe it or not the summer will be here before we know it! That leaves us just a few short months to get our gardens and patios in tip-top shape, ready for all the fun barbeques and parties to come!

Transforming your outdoor space isn’t as hard as it looks. Follow these easy steps to help you on your way:

Start From the Bottom: Retile Your Patio

Our patios have to withstand some harsh conditions and, as a result, they can start to look a little tired with time. If you have dirty, cracked or smashed patio stones, it’s time to replace them.

Instead of replacing only the damaged ones, create a seamless look to your patio and revamp the whole garden with new tiles. Companies like TactTiles have great patio tiles that are durable and also look beautiful. I personally love the look of a darker tile as it seems to last longer and doesn’t show off stains and dirt that easily.

JGS Designs

Play with Colors: Repaint Your Shed and Fence

Fences and sheds are one of the worst areas of the garden for looking tired and untidy. A simple way of rejuvenating them is by painting them. Red and brown are the most popular hues, but try experimenting with something different like a nice deep violet color like Cuprinol Summer Damson from B&Q. This is the perfect way to implement Pantone’s color of the year, vibrant violet.

Harmony Design Group

Be Your own Handyman: Repair and Clean Up

Rickety furniture, falling down fences and smashed plant pots will have your garden looking more like a dumping ground than an enviable sun trap. Clear your garden of all junk and litter, before finally getting around to those essential garden repairs.

Design Scapes Colorado

Spruce Up: Purchase New Blooms

Unfortunately, colder temperatures can damage and even kill our plants. When the spring rolls around, you’ll need to invest in some new plants to set your garden flourishing again. Choose colours that will complement each other make sure to check out a garden guide to when you should be planting.

Casa Smith Designs

Get Cleaning: Give Furniture a Good Scrub

The weather can be unpredictable so make sure you’re ready for any unforeseen sunny spells and clean your furniture now. Using a gentle detergent, remove any dirt and debris from your furniture and store it away in a shed or outbuilding. If you have outdoor wicker patio furniture, a good spray with the power wash will get rid of any dirt, dust, and leaves trapped in the furniture. If you don’t have an outdoor storage space, invest in some plastic covers. This way, you can keep your furniture clean and when the summer sun arrives, give them a quick wipe down and you’re good to go!

Historical Concepts