What bed size fits in your bedroom

The furniture industry lacks no imagination when it comes to design. So when it comes to choosing furniture for your house by going in to just one shop, the amount of options you have can be confusing. In this article I will explain to you what you should know before you make a decision!

First of all, you should measure your space both length and width. Take into consideration any doors either from the wardrobes, bathroom or entrance that need to have free space to open. Subtract those from the total size you have measured.

For example, in the following plan the bedroom is 4 m x 4 m but the wardrobe doors are 60 cm each so essentially the real space we have is 4 m x 3.40 m.

Once you have the "real" measurements it becomes easier for the sales assistant or you to make a decision for a bed. The nightstands are usually between 40-60 cm in width. The beds also come in many sizes so if you want a double one the choices you have for the mattress are:

140 x 200 cm - Perfect for a guest room or 1 person. For 2 people it might be too small.

152 or 160 x 200 cm - Most common double bed sizes. Ideal for 2 people.

180 x 200 cm - Great for two people when one or both is tall and wide, or they just like to have their own space!

What you should know however when you see a bed that you like is the actual size not of the mattress but of the furniture itself. There are beds that look like this:

(Naia bed truffle color by tvilum)

And there are beds that look like this:

(Diana bed by IdDesign)

So when you find the bed of your dreams just by having measured your space you know if it fits. In our case for example if we want the bed to be opposite the wardrobe then we can have 2 nightstands 50 cm each, a bed with a mattress 160 x 200 cm (if it's like the one on the first picture then its size is 168 x 208 cm. So in total we need 268 cm in width and 208 in length. 

You can also have a bigger bed just keep in mind that you need to have minimum 50 cm corridor on each side of the bed as well as 60 cm in front of the bed.

Additionally if you want to have a chest of drawers or a dressing table here is what you need to calculate:

For the chest of drawers: Apart from the width, you also need to know its depth. If for example the depth is 50 cm then you need extra 50 cm for when you open the drawers and an additional 40 cm to stand in front of it. So in the above case you could have the chest of drawers on the walls either left or right of the bed. 

For the dressing table you need again its width and depth in case it has any drawers. If however you do not have much space for one then here you will find a solution! 

Kitchen design Ideas - What you should know

When building or renovating a house or a flat there are so many things that you need to oversee and choose that it can be overwhelming. The kitchen is one of them and unfortunately there are many people out there designing houses and kitchens that it can be hard to find a good one. In this article (with help from George who has a lot of experience in designing kitchens) I am giving you some helpful tips on what to look for when someone hands you a design of your kitchen:

1. Keep your friends close and your appliances closer!

(photo source here)

Make sure that your basic appliances for cooking are all in the same area. These include the oven, the stove, fridge or even a thermomix. It will be more convenient this way when you cook.

2. Up and above(n)!

(photo source here)

If possible make sure that the oven is above the ground facing you. It therefore becomes much easier to put in or take out the food or check it while it is being cooked.

3. Drawing Under!!

(photo source here)

Following step number 2, it is also helpful to have drawers underneath the oven and the stove to keep all the essentials needed close to you!

3. Hide and don't see(k)!

For all the other small appliances  like a hand mixer, teapot, grills or toaster it is nice to have them behind a shutter so that you can pull it and hide them behind it. You can also store the sugar, tea and coffee if you use them often.

4. The pantry drawer (out of puns!)

(photo source here)

Your food / spices / sauces etc needs to be very organized so you can keep track of it and know what to shop and what has expired. For that reason a pantry drawer is necessary!

5. Give me some space!

Last but not least what you must remember is to always leave around 80-90 cm space between the counters themselves or them and the island or table. You need it to move around freely, open the cabinets or pull out the drawers.

Here is a kitchen designed by George for a couple's house:

So remember that you need to take into account all of the above when deciding your kitchen! It's not only the design but the practicality of it!

Clever ways for extra storage space in the house

There are houses which are too small. And there are also people who have too many things! Imagine those two combined! Truth is that we never seem to have enough storage space no matter what! Clothes, books, accessories, kitchen and bath stuff they all take some space. Here are a few ways to have extra space in your house:

1. A coffee table with storage space.

(Soley coffee table from Actona company)

(Supper coffee table by Ducal)

The last one is the one I have in my living room but in white color:

Whether it has a lift top or just a drawer having a coffee table that you can store items like magazines, books, controls, cd's or even coasters for the drinks it can be very helpful. Especially of you have unexpected guests and just want to look tidy within 3 seconds!

2. A narrow and tall chest of drawers in the bathroom:

(Buffer chest by Tvilum)

In the flat I live in there is only one bathroom and literally no storage space. It doesn't even have a cupboard under the sink! So we got ourselves a chest of drawers that is 116 cm height, 40 cm width and 50 cm depth. With 5 drawers, 4 of which very deep it has helped a lot.

The first drawer is our "pharmacy". Pain killers, sore throat sprays etc... In the second we keep all the shampoos, shower gels and "lady's stuff". The third and fourth keep our hand and bath towels respectively whereas the last but not least has our toilet papers which are a lot thanks to my mother-in-law who keeps providing us!!!

3. Stools with storage space.

These stools are convenient for 3 main reasons: they can be used in all sorts of rooms from the living room to the bedroom, they can store cushions, blankets or anything else you don't want lying around AND they are light to carry around so you can move them easily from one place to another!

You can also read here the article on how to organize your wardrobe to save space!

Which sofa best fits your space - Part 2

Following my previous post regarding small spaces and which sofas best fit (you can read it here ) I am now going to explain what you should know when you want to purchase a sofa but don't know if a 3+2 set fits.

First of all you should know how to calculate how much space you need for a 3 seater and a 2 seater.

Here is a simple plan of a 4x4 meters space to help you understand:

One of the things you should remember is to try to place the sofa with the most seats opposite of the tv as it is much more convenient than being sideways.

In this case the total size we need for the sofa is calculated in the following way:

For the 3 seater we add its length 2.27 m + the depth of the 2 seater 90 cm so the total is 3.17 m. Similarly we add for the 2 seat its length, the depth of the 3 seat AND the depth of the tv stand (50 cm usually) so we need 3.35 cm minimum. If you are going to leave some space in between the furniture then calculate a total of 3.70 m at least.

Most people tend to forget that we need to add the depth of each sofa and believe that they have more space than they actually do.

Some additional information you should know:

The space between the sofa and the coffee table should be about 35 cm.

The space between the coffee table and the tv stand should be at least 60-70 cm.

Your corridors should also be around 70 cm so you can move around at ease.

Feel free to ask if you have any questions!

Strawberries and cream dessert

Here is a dessert that is easy and so refreshing! You can serve it if you have guests or for a romantic dinner with your other half! Since it was a last minute inspiration I didn't take many pictures but I will give you as detailed instructions as I can!

Ingredients:

4 Glasses of milk
4 soup spoons corn flour
2.5 soup spoons of sugar
Honey (I use bee honey made by my uncle)
4-5 strawberries (depends on the size)
12-15 Lady fingers (Or crushed biscuits)
1 more glass of milk


How to:

1. Get the platter you are serving the dessert. Dip each lady finger in the extra milk for a few seconds and place it in the platter next to each other. Using a teaspoon drizzle some honey on them. Put it aside.

2. In a saucepan add the milk and wait for it to heat. Before it comes to a boil add the sugar and the corn flour. It is very important to use a whisk to stir everything in so that the corn flour can dissolve properly. Now be patient. You need to stir for some time constantly!

Once it starts thickening you know you are on the right track. Keep stirring until it boils and bubbles form. Remove from fire and wait a few minutes.

3. Pour on top of the lady fingers and give it some time to cool down. Slice the strawberries add them and drizzle some more honey on top. Leave it in the fridge covered and serve!

Enjoy!

Homemade remedies directly from your kitchen!

As a child I spent much time close to my grandmothers who somehow always seemed to have a remedy for every pain I had! Even more so they also had their own beauty tips which came directly from their pantry. Here are a few tips directly from them:

1. "When peeling cucumbers you can use the peels directly on your face"

Every time they peeled cucumbers I found my self covered in their peels. Although it was refreshing I didn't know what the benefit was. As it turns out the cucumber has many benefits: it helps the skin heal, is antioxidant (thus it can relieve your eyes from black circles) and it can hydrate the skin. So next time you are making a salad think twice before wasting the peels!!!

2. "Granny my tummy hurts" "Spearmint tea!"

And yes it helped! She would open the jar of dried spearmint, boil it in water and give it to us to drink. According to several studies in the past few years it can help with digestion and nausea issues as well as relax stomach muscles. Not to mention that you need it for tzatziki!  Enjoy!

3. Rosewater cleansing at night.

When I slept over at my grandma's house she always had a bottle of rosewater on her dressing table. Each night she took a cotton pad put some rosewater on it and apply it on her face. Believe it or not there is an industry in her village now where they make products from roses such as night creams and eye creams. They also have pure rosewater to be used as a cleanser!

4. Washing their hands with lemon.

She would take half a lemon and rub it on her hands. Sounds strange? Well lemon actually helped in a number of ways. It removed any smell left from cooking and cleaning, helped whiten the hands, could disinfect any wounds and had a refreshing smell.

So remember next time that your pantry holds many hidden treasures!

Modern 4 poster bed (Then and now comparison)

Being in the furniture business it's like being in the fashion industry. You get to see the latest trends first and like in fashion some trends come back after some time. The 4 poster bed is one of those trends.

If we go a few years back the 4 poster bed looked like this:

The pictures are taken from an old Ducal catalog. As you can see the bed was barely visible under all the flower and lace curtains, bed covers and cushions.

Fast forward to today:

No curtains and simpler lines. The Scandinavian natural colors are trending right now and the headboard is black so as to give it a more sharp and modern look. The use of fur like blanket and leather cushions however give it a more warm and welcoming look.

So even though the 4 poster idea remained it has been given a make over to bring it to the present time!