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5 projects to transform your home in one (brush)stroke

One doesn’t have to be an expert to create an impact at home! A few licks of paint in the right colour will give your home a new lease of life. ManoMano has a range of ideas for you: whether you want to fool the eye and make a room seem bigger, hide flaws or showcase some key features. So let’s get started on our new projects to transform your home today!

1. REFRESH A ROOM – OR TWO!

The most straightforward project to start with and add character to any room is with a fresh coat of paint. 

We recommend combining or contrasting colours in each room to create a mood that best suits your style and way of life. In a bedroom, for example, a warm beige wall will make the space extra cosy, whereas a moss green one will invite you kick back and relax. 

While dark colours generally make rooms appear smaller, adding one darker wall in a living room, for example, will open the space up visually. 

If you feel inspired to add even more colour, we recommend repainting your hallway or the often-neglected toilet room to set them apart from the rest of your home.

Why not try some of our wall decorating tips or consider making your own customer wallpaper with a DIY print roller for added creativity?

Wall painting inspiration & home interior inspiration

2. FRESH PAINT FOR TIRED FURNITURE

Grown tired of your coffee table? Or perhaps you want to keep that sideboard passed down through the generations, but it doesn’t work with your living room décor? There’s no time like the present for new projects to transform older pieces into a new contemporary design pieces.

  • A touch of magic: choose the right colour and finish to repaint your old furniture.
  • Another great technique is repainting shelves, so they stand out from the colour of your walls. 
  • Don’t forget the dining room! Give your table a fresh coat of wood paint.

3. PAINT YOURSELF A HEADBOARD

You can create a headboard using only paint and a paintbrush.

Before you begin, mark out the space you want to paint. We recommend approximately 20 centimetres on each side of your bed and 1 meter above it. To make your bed really stand out, go for darker colours. 

And if you’re feeling particularly inspired, try playing with shapes and colours to create a more original headboard.

Tip: For clean lines, use masking tape to draw out your headboard; you can remove them once the paint has properly dried.

Paint your own headboard. Block colours.

4. LET YOUR MIRRORS SHINE 

As tastes in home décor change over time, mirrors are often left in the shadows. As luck would have it, there are lots of painting tricks and techniques out there to make sure your mirrors stay current. 

  • We recommend painting the frame in the same colour as the wall upon which your mirror hangs. This technique ensures your mirror is blends into the décor and it also helps make your room appear larger.
  • If vintage is your thing, opt for metallic paints in either silver or gold. 

Remember to protect the surface of your mirror with tape hard-to-clean paint traces will ruin the effect. 

5. ADD A SPLASH OF COLOUR TO YOUR KITCHEN

Are you desperate for projects to transform your kitchen but not quite prepared to undertake major renovations? Consider repainting your kitchen, where the sky’s the limit: splashback, furniture and floors! 

6. LET CREATIVITY RUN FREE WITH CHALKBOARD PAINT

While it’s common knowledge that children love drawing on walls, not every parent enjoys this creative outlet in the home. Consider transforming a designated surface or even wall into an endless blank canvas with chalkboard paint. Armed with some coloured chalk, kids can create to their heart’s delight: this paint is washable! 

Chalk paint to transform wall into chalkboard.

TIME TO PICK UP YOUR BRUSHES (and rollers) AND KICK START YOUR VERY OWN PAINT PROJECTS TO TRANSFORM YOUR HOME! Looking for painting materials? Visit manomano.co.uk to view our wide selection of paints & painting accessories.

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Expert Advice

50 Brilliant Ideas To Keep Busy At Home

Whether you’ve found yourself stuck at home solo, partnered up or with a family, you are not alone in wondering how to keep busy in the coming weeks. Whether it’s for a house in the countryside or a flat in the city, we’ve got lots of ideas to keep busy at home during this period. The next few weeks are an ideal opportunity for finally tackling your home and garden (or balcony!) DIY projects. So go on, make the most of this time to create, repair, organise or even redecorate your cozy living space.

A breath of fresh air, a splash of paint

Creative painting projects for the whole family

Painting a wall often feels like the beginning of a new chapter. What’s more, it’s often just the ticket when you want to breathe new life into your living space. Start by choosing the wall you want to paint and then pick out the colour you want. We’ve got more clever painting tips and projects below for a range of styles and desired effects!

Bringing the outdoors inside: how to create a garden corner

Indoor gardening

A convenient and timely trend, creating your own garden corner indoors serves as a daily reminder of nature’s beauty – and bounty! Here are some ideas for keeping your plants fit and fabulous:

Fun projects for kids off school

Drawing & colouring are a great pass time

Keeping children busy is a whole new job in itself! Here are some projects that can help you pass the time while having fun with your family.

Landscaping inspiration for your garden

Birdhouses are a great addition

For those who are lucky enough to get out in their garden, it’s the perfect time to set up your outdoor space. Here are a list of ideas to keep you busy and prepare for Spring!

Get a jump on your spring cleaning & repairing

Spring clean your home

Now that a new – and hopefully sunny – season is upon us, it’s time to make our homes shine bright! Here are some ideas for successful spring cleaning & repairs:

Décor-enhancing ideas for every room in the house

Wall decoration ideas

DIY not quite your thing? You can still give your space a personal touch with these brilliant decorating ideas to keep you busy at home!

Armed with these 50 inspirations and a little motivation, remember: YOU CAN DO IT!

Looking for materials for your projects? Visit manomano.co.uk to view our full selection of home & garden products.

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How to Add Pantone’s Colour of the Year 2019 into Your Home

Pantone have announced their colour of the year 2019 as ‘Living Coral’. This vibrant and warm colour with a peachy orangey hue has inspired all kinds of interior design ideas for the up and coming year. We’ve put together some some of the ways in which you can inject the colour of the year into your home, so that you can find the best way keep your space up to date with the trendiest colour pallette.

 

Chair and table

This chair and table is a wonderful way of injecting brightness into your furniture. It would look especially good in your garden on a sunny day against the backdrop of some vibrant green grass.

Coral wallpaper

If you’re searching for a more prominent way of having ‘Living Coral’ in your home – look no further. This environmentally friendly wallpaper has a straight match pattern meaning it’s easy to measure out the width. You’ll start by putting it on 1 wall and then end up with this shade on all 4…

Hanging pendant light

This lampshade is a more delicate alternative to the vibrant and eye catching ‘Living Coral’. Should you want to introduce these pinky orangey hues into your colour scheme but have them toned down for the time being – this gorgeous pendant lamp will satisfy your colour craving.

Roman blinds

This roman blind is a great match to Pantone’s colour of the year. We love the balance of the transparent and opaque colours on the body and rimming of the blind. It even seems as if this colour scheme is the perfect combination of reds and pinks and would create ‘Living Coral’ when mixed together.

Toilet pedestal

Gone are the days of plain white and grey bathrooms. Be bold to add a splash of colour where you can for some added vibrancy to your bathroom. We’d suggest starting with something along the lines of toilet pedestals as they are a great non-committal way of doing it.

Vibrant toilet seat

Give your bathroom a trendy makeover with this tropical patterned toilet seat. Pair it in your bathroom with some real life palm leaves, and see your corner of the jungle come to life!

Indoor herb garden

If you’re a foodie, plant-fanatic or simply love the environment, you’ll love having an indoor herb garden in your home. If you’re not sure on how to get started, check out our guide on how to grow an indoor herb garden.

Patterned wallpaper

For those with a super stylish nature, take a look at this coral wallpaper which is patterned with subtle metallic flamingoes. This would go perfectly with a vintage style room paired with antiques – ‘Living Coral’ really is versatile!

 

We hope you picked up some inspiration on how to incorporate Pantone’s colour of the year into your home in a way which suits you. It’s beautiful vibrancy can be added to your space in so many different ways, so don’t hesitate to bring out the brightness in 2019 and start it off with a bang!

 

Pantone Colour of the Year 2018

Pantone Colour of the Year 2017

 

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Top 10 Interior Design Trends 2019

Here’s the heads-up on the top 10 hottest interior design trends of the upcoming year so that you can be prepared and in the loop of what to expect in 2019. This post will help you plan ahead on how you can incorporate these into your space and give you an idea on the kind of things you’ll be seeing in all the interior magazines and catalogues. You saw it here first!

Scalloped furniture

https://www.sweetpeaandwillow.com/brands/handmade-with-love-furniture/ariel-upholstered-bed https://www.houseology.com/eichholtz-messina-sofa https://www.swooneditions.com/connie-contemporary-style-white-sideboard awc=5703_1544200179_1c04a3b2b93f2b1660d3edd3061a4ef7&utm_source=affiliate_window&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=228839

https://www.anthropologie.com/brands/bethan-gray-for-anthropologie

A huge trend this year is the scalloped edge. You’ll be seeing this design all over interior magazines and catalogues due to it’s elegant ability to fit in with both modern and 70s feel that everyone is excited about at the moment. This elegant design would fit in easily with so many home designs due to its simplicity and addition to the art deco feel. Bringing back rounded edges into interior design is looking big in 2019, not only with this particular design, but also with rounded back chairs and carpets in the home which makes 2019 the year of the ‘curvy trend’.  

Scales

https://www.dwell.com/collection/favorites-from-a2-designers-b7f79989/6133571570783465472

This ‘scalloped’ graphic pattern has also been adapted to lots of different surfaces all over the face of 2019’s interior design’s up and coming trends due to its original and eye catching nature. Similarly to the curved and scalloped edges which we see emerging, scales fall also into the ‘curvy trend’ that you’ll soon be seeing everywhere. It’s alternative name (when tiled) is ‘mermaid tiles’ – should you want to have a look for yourself!

Velvet

http://www.northerninteriorgirl.co.uk/tag/trend/

Although this trend was still extremely apparent in 2018, it’s also heading head first into 2019 and not slowing down any time soon. People have been head over heels with velvet on everything including furniture, so it is a firm safe option if you’re afraid of short lived trends. It’s plush and cosy feel is too intriguing to re-sit.

Concrete bathrooms

http://www.visi.co.za/bathroom-trend-cemcrete-cement-finishes/ https://www.beckyshea.com/

This super sleek design does not only provide you with lots of sleek space in your bathroom, concrete also provides a waterproof and durable surface to work with which is extremely easy to manage. This industrial-style trend fits in perfectly with the modern minimalist style but also leaves you the flexibility to layer and add accessories which will also go with it.

Dark kitchens

https://www.livingetc.com/whats-news/the-latest-kitchen-trends-for-2018-2019-197615

The emerging trend of darker toned kitchens is a sleek and sophisticated upgrade to the older greys and whites that have been found in kitchens of the past. Having a two tone kitchen like in the images above compliments the colour of your surface, making the whole appearance more minimal and muted. Along with this, not only are they easier to maintain, but they also deter from the plain cupboards and gives you more of a focus on the intricacies of your kitchen decor.

Brass taps

https://www.manomano.co.uk/garden-taps-and-accessories/outside-polished-brass-tap-inlet-1-2-bsp-outlet-3-4-male-standard-1-2-hose-end-4069418?model_id=4069418

This trend is a more specific example of the emerging brass and gold tones that are becoming more and more apparent in interior design. Touches of this bright metal is an eye catching addition to what may be a cool toned or colour matched room which needs a bit of brightness. As shown, brass taps work beautifully in kitchens when complimenting darker or navy surfaces giving a new twist on a 90s classic due to a bit of mix and match.

Warm, blush and muted tones

https://www2.hm.com/en_gb/home.html http://www.indecortrends.com/10-painting-colors-that-will-be-trend-in-2019/interior-painting-color-trends-7/

This trend has come along with the re emergence of the 70s/80s interior boom which we’ve been seeing lately. The influence of the era’s warmer tones have influenced the interior design world more and more, to the extent that 2019 will be the year of the orangey pinks, guaranteed! Although these colours could seem hard to incorporate, no need to worry – they also pair well with neutral colours and tones for a calming palette and are excellent at emphasising other colours which you can integrate into your space at your own pace.

70s trend

https://www.primark.com/en/homepage https://www.sarahdavison.com.au/projects/manly-residence

This has been around for a while now and had taken a step back for a few years but is on the rise and heading straight for trendy interiors in 2019. You’ll see it in the form of sustic reds, oranges and beiges, carpeted wooden floors, rugs and plenty of fringing. What is great about this particular trend is that you have the freedom to layer and play around with it to see what works for you. Experiment with different colours, textures and shapes from the high street, online and even antique or thrift shops.

Terrazzo

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ba3b-i9Bqjo/?utm_source=ig_embed https://www.grahambrown.com/uk/terrazzo-blue-wallpaper/104534-master.html#q=terrazzo&lang=en_GB&start=2

Terrazzo is a confetti type looking pattern, made out of chips of marble, quartz, granite and glass which is set in cement or resin to appear playful and eye catching. Dating all the way back to mid-century design in Italy where it was used for flooring due to its durability (and a short comeback for flooring in the 70s)  – it’s here to show its face again 2019. And not just to be used for surfaces, these unique patterns are here for the new year in all sorts of different forms, not only as walls or surfaces but also as prints of shower curtains or even candle holders!

Matte surfaces

http://www.garciacumini.com/products/wall-waiter/ https://www.decoraid.com/blog/best-kitchen-renovation-trends-2019

The use of matte colours creates an incredibly sleek and sophisticated feel to your space which is modern and clean. It’s intriguing due to its silky smooth appearance and clean lines which can mostly be found in kitchen designs. Matte colours are now here to stay, in 2019 you’ll see much fewer white shiny and glossy finishes and more matt and powdery darker ones.

 

We hope you now have a better idea of what to expect in this coming years hottest interior design trends, if you’ve been inspired or use one of these trends in your own home, please let us know by tagging us or using the hashtag #manomanouk!

 

 

Home Renovation Tips on a Budget

Creative Room Dividers

 

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10 Unique Christmas Trees

If you’re looking for a Christmas tree this season, look no further – we have you covered. Here are our top 10 unique christmas trees to get you feeling festive. These trees will leaf you seeing stars (at the tip of your tree), you’ll be bauble-ing on about them for the rest of December!

Tinsel tree

Prevent getting your tinsel in a twist with this bright and brilliant tree. If you decide to coordinate any other decorations along with this one your whole space will appear magical! Adding some extra shiny baubles or glittery wrapping paper for the presents underneath will completely light up your space for this sparkly time of year.

 

Super slim tree

A slim line tree is a perfect alternative should you have not much room in your place for a traditional tree. It can fit perfectly in tight spaces, so even if you’re paying loads for a London box flat or are mid in the moving process and there are boxes everywhere – you’re still tree to celebrate this Christmas season, there’s no excuse!

Pre lit tree

A pre-lit tree will save you the fuss of getting your own lights and putting them on yourself. No more worrying that they’re not wrapped around evenly or that you don’t have a range of colours. Jive to all your favourite festive tunes with this tree which technically doubles up as a disco ball all in one!

Half tree

Another space saver – the half tree. Give the illusion of a full one by placing it in a corner of the room. Less mess and the same amount of festive goodness from a full tree. Or, alternatively, if you like things in halves then this is the tree for you. To each their own!

Snowy Tree

Get into the seasonal spirit by finding yourself this frosty number. If there’s no snow on christmas day, it’s ok. There’s snow need to worry, you’ll still have a white Christmas no matter the weather.

Coloured tree

This 2ft treat will add the right pop of colour to any room. If you you have a blue colour coordinated space of your home then it will add a slight festive pop without causing too much of a fur-ss.

Silver tree

This glitzy tree is for lovers of all things silver and shiny. This stunning piece is sure to stand out in your home this Christmas and catch all your guests’ eyes. Get out all your silverware and tinsel for this one, it’s going to have some competition.

Fibre optic

Fibre optic trees? They are as cool as they sound, promise. This means that the tips of the branches light up and switch colours for a more delicate luminous effect. Although, as we are wanting to include some pretty crazy trees in this post, the bottom example tree provides you with ultimate fibre optic goodness – the brightest and most colourful tree around.

Upside down tree

Did you know that you can buy upside down trees? Maybe you’ve learnt something new today, maybe not. Either way, this tree is a super quirky alternative to your traditional right way up green alpine and is sure to bag a few comments. Why not!

Tropical tree

Who said Christmas trees needed to be alpine? If you would much rather be somewhere warmer on the 25th, this tree is your answer. As a plus, there’s less branches to cover meaning less fuss! Don’t go chasing the tropical sun, chase this tropical tree instead.

If any of these trees tickled your leaves, they are all available on our website ManoMano.co.uk, should you be intrigued by this weird and wonderful range. Merry Christmas!

 

8 Tips to Make Your Tree Last Longer This Christmas

DIY Christmas Tree Shelves – Alternative Christmas Tree

 

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