Lockdown Fuels Brits’ Home Styling Obsession

The house proud Brits have always loved to tackle a new DIY project around the home, striving to put their stamp on their homes. But the lockdown has created a boom in home styling and remodelling.

Kingfisher, the company that owns B&Q and Screwfix has reported a 21.6 per cent increase in sales, according to the BBC, as the nation has taken to daydreaming about their dream house whilst pouring over images on social media, striving to attain the perfect photo of their own home for the ‘Instagram effect’.

A recent survey by the Home Builders Federation has shown that almost 20 per cent of Brits have spent a significant amount of time tidying and rearranging a room in their homes to create a background for the ‘perfect’ photo to upload to social media.

38 per cent said they would not take photos of, or in their homes if they thought it didn’t meet the same high standards they have set themselves for social media images.

Nearly a quarter of 25 to 34-year olds take to social media the searching for home inspiration, far more than the 45-54 age group, with just 14 per cent. A quarter of respondents said that their lockdown had piqued their interest in interior design.

One in six Brits are likely to document a house move on social media, especially if the new home is a new build. The research has shown that the most popular first photo of a new home is the exterior.

Some interior design and decor jobs, such as Victorian plasterwork are best left to experts, so if you need coving specialists in London, get in touch!

Aspirational Design ‘Key’ For Hotels

Many people have been placing an increasing amount of focus on the interior design of their homes in recent months, given that we’ve all been spending so much time in our own abodes due to the Covid-19 pandemic, that’s hardly surprising.

But now that businesses are beginning to open up a little in the UK and holidays are back on the cards, hotels will need to do everything they can to attract guests.

An article for Hotel Designs recently noted that aspirational interiors are set to become a hallmark of successful hotels.

“We all want our hotels to be more exciting, comfortable and luxurious than our own home. We want to stay somewhere special, create memories and escape our normal lives and dreams,” the news provider noted.

This means that hotels need to offer something different to what we have in our own homes. Properties that have period decor can really enhance this by making sure that features like cornicing and plasterwork is shown off to full effect.

When these interior features are paired with period furniture and other design elements, a room can feel incredibly elegant. If your hotel caters predominantly for foreign clientele, they may be especially keen on having a quintessentially British atmosphere in their accommodation, the publication noted.

As an article for Boutique Hotelier pointed out last month, people are willing to spend more on hotel stays post-lockdown, which means that although you might not be able to welcome as many guests, your hotel won’t necessarily lose out on revenue.

If you need to carry out cornice restoration in London to bring your hotel’s decor back to its best, get in touch with us today.

Stamp Duty Holiday To Boost Property Market

Opportunistic homebuyers are likely to head to their nearest estate agents following the news there will be a stamp duty holiday for homes up to the value of £500,000.

Earlier this week (July 8th), Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak revealed a Mini Budget to help the economy recover following the disastrous impact of coronavirus.

In order to bolster the housing market, he increased the stamp duty relief threshold from £125,000 to £500,000.

This will take effect immediately and will continue running until March 31st 2021, and could see property buyers save as much as £15,000 if they buy a £500,000 house.

By being able to reduce the amount of money they have to raise in order to go ahead with a purchase, homebuyers are more likely to increase their budget, start their property search sooner rather than later, or spend more on renovating it, such as with cornice restoration in London.

Hiring professionals or buying materials to redecorate the new house will also help boost the economy, keeping people in jobs and encouraging everyone to spend more.

National head of residential property at Irwin Mitchell Jeremy Raj stated the changes to the stamp duty land tax (SDLT) “went further than most within the industry had dared hope”, adding: “There will be a real boost to the sector.”

He noted how important the property market is “in relation to the confidence and strengthen of the economy overall”, and suggested the SDLT holiday will have a “significant and immediate bonus effect” throughout the country, leading to greater transaction activity.

Tips to Help You Show Off Elegant Cornicing

The high ceilings and ornate cornicing of Georgian and Victorian era properties have an enduring appeal for many of us. Classic white may be the only decorating option for purists, but there are many colours and techniques to consider when painting your property.

Period homes lend themselves to almost any decor at all, whether that’s sophisticated and classic, or bold and bright, such as this Victorian flat in London. We have some tips for helping you transform your home with a lick of paint.

Look beyond white

Garish shades on the coving might only have limited appeal, but pastel colours from the darker end of the spectrum can appear elegant and appropriate. having the cornicing and ceiling rose in a shade darker than the ceiling creates a soothing cohesive effect.

Tone down fussy designs

If your style is more a modern, muted aesthetic, then ornately detailed cornicing might not fit your theme. By painting the mouldings in the same shade as the walls, the elaborate decoration will be toned down, working effortlessly with contemporary furniture for space with designer style.

Try traditional techniques

Sometimes, the old ideas are the best. To create a broader appeal with a period look, paint the picture rail, upper wall, and cornice in the same shade of while. Add a darker colour to the lower wall to make larger room with high ceilings feel cosier and more intimate.

Be bold with black

Small spaces, such as a hallway a corridor, can accommodate a dark colour that might feel overpowering elsewhere. By painting the ceiling, cornice and walls the same shade, a hallway becomes cocoon-like, and adjoining reception rooms will feel bright and airy in contrast.

Inject unexpected colour

You’re probably familiar with the concept of a feature wall, but how about a feature ceiling? For those with bold taste, try a bright red ceiling in an otherwise white or pale room, perhaps with matching red furniture.

If you need experts in Victoria coving in London, get in touch today!

Top Lockdown Interior Trends Revealed

It seems that everyone has turned into an interior design guru during lockdown in the UK. People have been taking inspiration from Pinterest, Instagram and multiple other sources in recent months in a bid to find ways to transform their abodes.

Living etc recently shared the top interior design trends to emerge during this period, according to a Google trends data study.

Hotel Follower analysed the Google trends from 20 March, just before the full lockdown was introduced, through to June. It found that line art is the interiors trend with the highest volume of searches.

However, the trend that saw the greatest increase in search volume was rattan furniture, with searches for this term increasing by an incredible 809 per cent in recent weeks, compared to earlier this year.

Living walls, love seats and using minimal line art to add interest to walls were named as some of the other top interior trends to emerge in the past six weeks.

However, while some people have been using this period as an opportunity to spruce up their homes with small changes or projects, others have attempted large-scale DIY, with varying degrees of success.

The BBC recently highlighted some DIY disasters that occurred in lockdown, including one man who decided he would attempt to renovate his bathroom himself, only to knock down a wall, break the toilet and flood the room.

Painter Colin McCann told the news provider that he has seen more DIY disasters in the past 10 weeks than in many years working in his trade. The message from tradespeople is to call in a professional if you don’t have the expertise to tackle a job yourself.

If you need help from coving specialists in London, get in touch with us to find out more about our services.

Whitley Bay Having Lockdown Victorian Property Boom

Once a coal-mining town, and then a Victorian seaside holiday resort, Whitley Bay in North Tyneside has again become one of the country’s most sought after coastal locations, according to a survey from property website Rightmove.

Chronicle Live reports that the historic town is the UK’s second most desired seaside location, following a huge surge in enquiries and interest since the beginning of the easing of the coronavirus lockdown.

Experts are saying this is likely due to buyers considering a change in lifestyle following an unprecedented start to 2020, and are now planning staycation options, as foreign travel continues to be uncertain for some time.

Local estate agents say that the interest is coming from arrivals from other areas of the UK who are buying up Victorian second properties.

Susan Usher, branch manager of Your Move in Whitley Bay, said: “The regeneration of Whitley Bay in recent years has brought people back who lived here in the past. It’s also very popular with younger families as they can send their children to outstanding schools and have beautiful beaches on their doorstep.

“It’s been quite staggering the number of applicants we’ve had in recent weeks, with a number of properties going for above-asking prices, both for luxury apartments and lovely Victorian homes.”

Commenting on Rightmove’s findings, Nick Henderson, director of Hendersons estate agents in Whitby said: “Since we reopened a few weeks ago we’ve been selling bigger homes a lot more quickly than before, as families are changing the way they live and are swapping a 10-minute commute into the office for a 10-minute walk to the beach instead.

“Holiday homes have always been popular, often apartments or cottages that have been refurbished to an incredibly high spec, but again there’s been a surge in recent weeks for these as people choose to make an investment now so they have somewhere for a staycation over the next few years instead of going abroad.”

If you love your Victorian home and seeking experts in plaster coving in London, come and talk to us today.

Make Sure You Research Period Features

If you’re looking for - or have bought - a period home that is in need of some TLC and renovation work, you might be keen to get cracking and start adding period features left, right and centre.

But before you rush ahead and make any major changes, it’s important that you research the property you own and find out what features would have been there when it was first constructed.

That’s the advice from Real Homes, which noted that while restoring period features is undoubtedly a lovely way to acknowledge the history of older homes, it’s important to stick to the features that would have been there in the first place.

“Get to know your home, the age it was built in, and the kind of people who lived there,” the publication stated. It also recommended that you start by repairing the existing features and “undo any well-intentioned mistakes that could affect the condition of the building”.

In doing so, you might stumble across some gems that have been hidden by other decor. We’ve all seen the stories of couples discovering beautiful fireplaces hidden behind false walls and so on.

If the coving and plasterwork on your ceiling needs some work, it’s best to call in coving specialists in London to get a professional finish and one that will match the period of your property.

For some inspiration on how beautiful a period home can be when you give it a bit of love and attention, take a look at what interior designer Clare Pater recently achieved in her property. One feature she insisted on in the living room was coving, because it “adds character”, she asserted.

Traditional Crafts That Deserve A Revival

There will always be something about crafting and making things by hand using centuries-old techniques that will be far more appealing than computer-controlled, mass-manufactured products.

Now more than ever, these British artisans need support and help to keep old crafts alive, keeping the stories alive, and the passion, skills, and work that go into each piece of work. We have some of the traditional crafts and skills here that need to be kept alive

Blacksmithing

Blacksmiths use fire, hammers, and an anvil to hot-forge iron and steel, shaping and forming the metal to make everything from gates and staircases to chairs, fire irons, curtain poles, doorknobs, jewellery and sculptures.

The skills needed to be able to use a 1,000C furnace, and all the cutting, shaping and bending tools take many years to perfect, but the results make it well worth it.

Calligraphy

Computer and smartphones have rendered the need to send handwritten letters pretty much redundant.

But the rarity of beautiful handwriting is part of its appeal. Calligraphy is an exacting but rewarding craft demanding knowledge of its history, an aesthetic sensibility, and a bold yet delicate hand. Modern, inventive hands are every bit as calligraphic as formal historic scripts such as gothic, copperplate or Spencerian.

Dry stone walling

There are over 125,000 miles of dry stone walls in Britain. Some are ancient, dating back to 3,500 BC, while most surround fields and were constructed in the mid-1800s, in the wake of the Enclosure Acts.

It was neglected for many years, but dry stone walling is making a comeback. Your only tool is a sharp-edged hammer, but good wallers aim to cut stones to shape as little as possible. It's arduous but satisfying work, generally undertaken in beautiful surroundings, and the result is something natural that properly looked after, should stand for centuries.

We are specialists in traditional Victorian plasterwork in London, so contact us today if you need expert help.