Playroom Seating for Kids

Kids love to be adventurous, and they particularly like to have a playroom that is comfortable and fitted to their needs. The playroom is the area of your home where you can let your imagination run wild and transform the area into a fun, colorful and outrageous safe haven where kids can let loose and have fun. Kids love soft things to sit on; sofas are okay, but most playrooms aren’t big enough to accommodate them. Many parents opt for the kiddie table found in almost every playroom in America. You know the one; the tiny table with a set of wooden chairs that you would dread to sit on if they were big enough to seat you. There are many comfortable seating options for kids, so don’t be afraid to explore them. Here are a few fun alternatives kids will love:

Everyone Loves Bean Bag Chairs

Think back to your childhood and try to remember your absolute favourite thing you loved sitting on. Was it a bean bag chair? Bean bag chairs aren’t just a kid’s favorite; adults love them too. From bright colors, to denim, to leather, to camo and zebra print, bean bag chairs come in various shapes, styles and patterns for everyone to love. Bean bags can be pulled around with ease, and you don’t have to worry about it getting damaged when thrown, hit, or jumped on.

Image Source: BeanBagBoss.com

Plastic Chairs: More Comfortable than their Wooden Counterparts

Of course not every parent is a fan of using bean bags in their child’s playroom, and that’s okay. Those that really hate the idea can opt to purchase plastic chairs. More comfortable than their wooden counterparts, these chairs are used in many play areas, schools and daycares. They are easy to clean, great to move around without breaking your back, and of course it doesn’t matter how many happy accidents your kids have with their pens. In fact, a little felt-tip pen and crayon can help to add to the authenticity of your child’s den, helping to add a personal touch to the room.

Image Source: Ebay.com

Pillow-top Benches

Wooden benches are not necessarily for the garden, in fact, by adding benches inside a child’s play den you can help to create an outdoor vibe in the heart of your home. Kids love adventurous ideas and the more creative you can get, the better. In fact, you can even spray paint the plain wood and create a more personalised effect on the bench.

Image Source: HomesIHaveMade.com

Whatever you decide, the key ingredient to furnishing your playroom is thinking like a child. Be bright, be bold and most of all choose seating arrangements that will allow the kids to be able to play in comfort.

Affordable Ways to Kit out a Guest Room

If you have a spare bedroom in your home, it can be a great idea to set it up as a guest room, which can be used if you have friends or family coming to stay. By using your spare room as a guest bedroom, you will not only benefit from a very practical and useful space in your home but also eliminate the risk of the space inadvertently becoming a junk depository.

Setting up a guest bedroom in your home doesn’t have to be a difficult or costly. All you need is a pretty basic space that can comfortably house a guest at your home. Remember though, that this room will only be used on occasion, so simple, basic, yet comfortable are the qualities you should be aiming for in order to avoid spending more than you need to.

Tips to create a comfortable guest room without spending a fortune

There are a number of steps you can take in order to create a practical, comfortable guest room within a pretty low budget.

Freshen up the room with a lick of paint: simply giving the room a repaint will help freshen it up. Once you’ve done this, you can start looking at other areas of the room such as furniture, curtains and lighting. Opting for a warm neutral colour such as biscuit or cappuccino is an excellent idea for your guest room. If you want to liven the walls up a little, buy one or two framed prints for the walls, which you can pick up really cheaply from a range of homeware retailers.

Buy a basic bed: bear in mind that your guest room will only be used on occasion, so you don’t need to buy the most expensive bed on the market. Choose something basic but not low quality. Also, buy a good foam mattress for the bed, as this will be affordable for you and comfortable for your guests. You can then dress the bed up to make it look inviting, using things such as throws and cushions.

Look at curtain and fabrics: when it comes to curtains and fabrics such as pillowcases and duvet covers, you can keep things simple. Again, choose warm, inviting colours but don’t spend a fortune on exquisite designs and manufacturers. Consider the colour that you have used on the walls in order to make a decision with regards to the fabric colours you should use.

Lighting: the lighting requirements for your guest bedroom also only need to be simple. A basic lightshade for the ceiling will be fine – you can colour co-ordinate this in line with your walls and fabrics or go for something like glass in order to add a touch of class to the guest room. Also, make sure you invest in a lamp for your guest to use. Whether or not you will need two lamps will depend on whether your guest room is a double/twin or single room.

Other furniture: there are some other items of furniture you will need to look at. One or two bedside tables are important so that you have somewhere to put the lamps and so your guests have somewhere convenient to place their belongings. You might want to add a small dresser with a mirror if the room doesn’t have en suite. Your guests will also need somewhere to put their clothes, but rather than paying a fortune for a solid wardrobe, you can consider one of the very practical and pretty sturdy canvas ones available these days.

By following these steps, you can help ensure your guests feel welcome and comfortable in your spare room, without breaking the bank.

Advice for Creating an Attractive Rental Apartment

Renting out a property is one of the most lucrative ways you can make money. After you’ve found a tenant, you will have a guaranteed stream of income for however long you’ve set the tenancy.

Of course, before you begin renting out your apartment, you need to make it look attractive to potential tenants. There are obvious ways in which you can do this, and there are also innovative ways to do it too, which will put your apartment over and above others on the market. This article goes through a few of the options available to you.

Get the basics done

On a basic level, your apartment should be clean and uncluttered when you’re showing potential tenants around. If you or others are currently living there, make sure everything is neat and tidy before you show others around.

It’s important that they can project their own ideas and sense of self onto your apartment – which will be hard to do if everything’s a mess. If the apartment is vacant, make sure it’s thoroughly clean. This will save you cleaning work before the tenants move in, too.

Give your apartment a facelift

This can really help spruce up the overall look of your apartment – particularly if you’re trying to sell it instead of rent it out. If the paintwork looks like it needs a new coat, you can do this yourself over a weekend or two.

If the bedrooms look dull, buying some bedroom accessories will do wonders to improve the overall look of the rooms. An integrated TV cabinet, for instance, will make a potential tenant imagine his or her own screen inside it, bringing them a step closer to wanting to rent your property.

Be smart about advertising

If you’re not with an estate agent and you are handling the rental all by yourself, being smart about how you advertise the property will definitely get you ahead. Savvy wording in any ads that you place will attract a certain type of tenant, for instance.

If you lie about the property and gloss over any shortcomings, this will turn people off at the viewing, as they’ll then see you as dishonest and envisage problems with you as the landlord further down the line.

On the other hand, if you’re honest and upfront about any downsides to the property, they will be more willing to work something out with you and more inclined to have you as their landlord in the long run.

Outdoor Living

Happy Monday! Did you have a nice weekend? Spring is finally here & we spent our entire weekend outside. One of my favorite things about spring weather is being able to eat all of our meals outside. & once the kids are in bed my husband & I love evenings on the patio with wine and cheese!

After we move and get settled in our home (at the end of May), I hope to start shopping for new patio furniture. I’d love to set up an outdoor entertaining space with an oversized wooden table mixed with modern style chairs. Any ideas?

I’d also love to set up a cute children’s seating area. I thought it might be fun to have a mini children’s picnic table. Harper and Rex would be able to dine together and with their friends. I’d also LOVE to finally have a swing set for them. I remember playing for hours as a child on our swing set & I know they’d really love one!

Our new yard will have lots of trees and finally some shade, so I’d love to hang a hammock where I can relax and read a magazine on cooler evenings.

Ok, so there are a lot of wants, but outdoor space will be as important as indoor space once we move and I cannot wait to begin enjoying a fabulous new yard. Here is a peek at our new space:

Leann Rimes & Eddie Cibrian New House

I’m pretty neutral when it comes to Leann Rimes & Eddie Cibrian’s relationship… but seriously LOVING their new home! They purchased it for a cool 3 million. Sounds like a smoking deal since it sold in 2006 for almost 6 million! Located in Hidden Hills, CA the home has six-bedrooms and nine-bathrooms in it’s 8,642 square feet.

My favorite room in the spanish style home is the SPECTACULAR dining room. Those huge rounded windows are sooo beautiful. I can only dream of hosting a dinner party in a dining room like that! via truliablog.com

Valentine’s Day + Dayna Decker

Our Valentine’s Dinner = 4 lbs of crab legs + Chardonnay + RED roses (not pictured) + a beautiful Gold Dayna Decker Candle. I received this Atelier candle last week and it is soooo luxurious! It’s a stunning decor piece for my dining room & the Ambrosia Cassis scent makes my home smell fabulous!

Next, I’d love to add the sexy Couture 16 oz. Candle to my collection. I think it would be perfect for my anniversary gift!

Green Living in Ontario

This home is currently for sale in Ontario Canada for 3.9 million. I love the fact that it has an artists studio with a heated workshop. (a dream of mine!) I also loved the beautiful spa-like indoor pool!

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Glam up your pots!