Do you ever walk into a home, and notice how much more luxurious it feels than your property? We know, we know: it’s hard not to feel a touch of envy. It’s important to remember, however, that luxury doesn’t necessarily have to mean expensive. Or in other words, it’s not something that only the rich and famous get to enjoy. There are plenty of cost-effective ways to seriously boost your home’s luxury credentials, as we’ll see below. Incorporate the recommendations into your home, and you might just find that your home becomes one that other people feel jealous of! 

Kerb Appeal

You should always start as you mean to go on. If the outside of your property is substandard, then it’ll be hard to magically feel all luxurious once you enter the home. Getting the front yard into shape is one of the best things you can do for your home. Get things off on the right foot by adding a high-quality gate to the front of your property. In the yard itself, it’ll be all about adding plants and trees — for the luxury touch, go with the “more is more” approach, and make it as green as possible.

Light and Spacious

If you booked yourself into a luxury hotel, then you’d be pretty disappointed if you found yourself in a crowded room, wouldn’t you? That’s not what luxury is all about. Luxury should be light and spacious! So take a look at your home: does it follow that theme? If not, then look at making some changes. Even if you don’t possess the largest house in the world, it’s always possible to make it more spacious. Clearing away the clutter is a good start. For the lighting, look at letting natural light in during the day, and using atmospheric side-lighting once the sun sets. 

Stylish Floors

There are many ways to add touches of luxury to your home; for example, adding a work of art will have this effect. However, the effect will be dampened if the home isn’t up to scratch. In some cases, you can seriously boost your home’s luxury just by changing some of the infrastructure, such as the flooring. Amtico flooring will look much better than a carpet that’s beginning to lose its vibrancy, for instance. You can also look at changing out small things like door and wardrobe handles: it’s a subtle change, but one that makes an impression.

Artwork and antiques

A piece of art or an antique can make your home feel more cultured and sophisticated. This doesn’t have to be anything too expensive – it could be something as simple as painting by a local artist or an antique mirror. When it comes to valuable or fragile ornaments, consider showing them off in a glass cabinet such as one of these Luminati display cases. You can add small antique ornaments to windowsills, empty shelves or coffee tables to liven them up. 

Upgraded Linens

Luxury is all about comfort, so it’s worth asking the question: how comfortable is your home? If you’re using tattered old towels and bedsheets, then the answer will probably be: not very. Of all the small things you can buy for your home, none will have as big an impact as upgraded linens and fabrics. Indeed, these are one of those things where it’s worth paying slightly more than usual, especially since you’ll be using them more or less every day. You’ll especially feel the quality of your plush towels on those cold winter mornings, too. 

Ax

* Collaborative post

We’re living in pretty uncertain times where more and more of us are being asked to stay at home to slow the spread of a worldwide pandemic and protect our own health as well as others’ health. Now, this can be a pretty surreal and odd experience for many of us. Usually, we’re rushed off our feet. Trying to fit in breakfast, commuting, working, trying to keep up with social commitments, trying to keep up with family, trying to fit some sort of exercise regime into our daily routine… the to-do list goes on and on.

So, now we’re stuck with none to little of this left to do, many of us are finding ourselves with a whole lot of free time on our hands. This can be daunting. But at the same time, if you’re engaged, what better to do than to plan your wedding? This will help to keep you indoors, take your mind off negative things and give you something to really look forward to.

Here are a few steps you can take!

Consider Rings

If you haven’t got rings sorted yet – perhaps you haven’t proposed or been proposed to yet – then now’s a great time to browse rings. Take a look at different metals, gems, shapes, cuts and more. There are a number of different factors to take into consideration and you can really mull over them. Get started by browsing stunning sparklers that come in a wide variety of styles.

Venues

Wedding venues tend to be the biggest outgoing you’re likely to have when it comes to your wedding. They’re pivotal to the feel of your big day. First, you can browse locations. Do you want to get married close to home or far away? Close to home generally means more people can attend. Far away (particularly overseas) tends to result in a smaller party but can have stunning views and scenery, as well as (often) preferable weather. When you know the location, you can look at what’s on offer, comparing one venue to another. Most will have plenty of pictures on their website, as well as virtual tours.

Consider Photographers and Videographers

Get browsing websites and social media to take a look at a variety of wedding photographers, wedding videographers and their portfolios. You can find someone who shoots in your style when it comes to posing and editing, and whose previous work really impresses you. There are so many people out there that it can often be difficult to whittle down your options. But while you have more time on your hands, it’s really worth browsing and seeing the different options available to you.

Consider Your Catering

With weddings come lots of hungry mouths to feed. Have you considered what kind of food you’re going to provide your guests with yet? Sit down meals tend to be preferred for small scale weddings. Meanwhile, buffets tend to be the most popular option amongst larger parties. Still, if you have a buffet, you can still have a theme and it’s good to consider what theme you’re interested in before browsing your options.

These are just a few areas of wedding planning you might want to work on while you have the time on your hands!

Ax

* Collaborative post

Moving house might seem like a daunting process – whether it’s your first home or you’ve lived in several homes previously. Not only will you need to view new houses, put in an offer and get an offer for your home, but there are certain things that you need to organise in advance so that you’re feeling ready for move-in day. 

To help with this process, here are 8 things that you should do ahead of moving out! 

 

Declutter, Declutter, Declutter

 

This is a good step to take, even before you put your home on the market. Over the years, you’ll accumulate so many possessions – and whilst it’s nice to hold onto those cherished items, it’s also a great time to get rid of things you no longer need and either sell them, give them to a charity shop or throw them away. 

Also, When viewing houses, buyers are looking for homes that they can imagine themselves in – and a house full of things might not be the best way for them to envision this.

 

Hire A Moving Company  

 

Ahead of moving day, it’s also worth looking into moving companies in your local area. To Learn More about which company suits your requirements, it’s a good idea to look into what their service entails, prices and more by asking for a quote. You can then compare and contrast the various companies, finding the right one for your budget and timeline. 

 

Buy Packing Materials 

 

Once you know what your move-in date is, it’s time to get everything in order within your home. By purchasing packing materials, such as cardboard boxes, duct tape, etc. you’ll be able to start packing all of your items. 

However, before you buy these, check that the moving company you’ve hired doesn’t offer this service – as some may include this with the moving fee – a nice bonus that saves you the worry about having to buy the materials and pack them for yourself.

 

Get Packed!

 

Now comes the (maybe) stressful part – the packing. A process that might seem to take forever, it’s important that you do this far in advance. You don’t want to be packing on moving day.

So make sure you begin this at least a few weeks in advance. You can then leave an ‘essentials’ box that you can pack at the last minute – with everything you need right up to the day.

 

Take Metre Readings 

 

Before you move out of your house, it’s essential that you take the final metre readings – as well as notifying your suppliers that you’re moving. This will ensure that you won’t get charged for the next homeowner’s usage. 

Usually, you’ll be able to stay with the same electricity and gas companies, and they will be able to switch your location for you – you just need to tell them in advance so that they can get it sorted. 

 

Get All of Your Mail Redirected 

 

You don’t want your mail being sent to your previous home once you’ve moved. So getting your mail redirected asap should be one of your top priorities. Arranged at least 6 months in advance, it will ensure that your important paperwork won’t fall into the wrong hands. 

 

Notify Insurance Providers

 

As well as informing utility providers of your change of address, it’s also a good idea to notify your insurance providers. This is so that they can discontinue the service at your current address and redirect the information and payments to your new address. 

 

Double Check Your House on Moving Day

 

Once your items are all packed up in the van, have a final sweep of the house to make sure that you’ve got everything. Without doing this, you might end up leaving something behind. And although you can go back and pick this up from the new owners if you’ve relocated nearby, if you’ve moved further away this can be more difficult.

“I’m dreaming of a green Christmas.”

That’s how the song goes, right? Sustainability is a massive part of modern culture and, although most of us absolutely love Christmas, even the festive period is not exempt from a more eco-conscious effort. The reality is Christmas is a time of excess, and that excess is probably as far away from sustainable as you could imagine.

With that in mind, if you’re interested in making your Christmas a little greener this year, we’ve come up with a few simple ideas that will make an awful lot of difference to your festive footprint.

Experiences over material gifts

There once was a time where businesses like Red Letter Days were absolutely huge — providers of experience days vouchers for things like hot air balloon rides and indoor skydiving. That sort of thing has been in the background for a while but is now making a comeback as a unique, memorable and sustainable gift idea that trumps the usual material efforts.

Buying an experience over a physical gift has a number of benefits. While sustainability is our primary driver here, experiences also tend to be a sure fire hit present, not to mention something that shows some serious thought and care.

Reduce your food waste

Christmas usually means moving a notch or two up on the belt buckle, or just not wearing one altogether. Fancy food is everywhere you turn from around Christmas Eve through to New Year, which is no doubt enjoyable but also rather wasteful.

Say you’re preparing for a party, do you really need to buy five tins of Cheeselets? And when it comes to Christmas dinner, scale down instead of up when you’re working out portion sizes. Think about it, after the mince pies, chocs and cheese, have you ever been hungry after Christmas dinner? Unnecessary food tends to bring unnecessary packaging waste with it too. 

A tree is for life, not just for Christmas

It’s not unreasonable to think that buying an artificial tree is the most sustainable way to go about your decoration planning. After all, you can reuse it and it saves us chopping down real ones, right? Thing is, a lot of people are only using their plastic trees for a few years before throwing it out for being too tatty, which sort of defeats the purpose of getting one.

If you go a buy a real one from a local farm, chances are they’re growing the trees in a sustainable manner. Plus, your real tree doesn’t have to be disposed of after Christmas. With a little effort, you can replant your tree and keep it going for the next few years, which all in all seems a lot eco-friendlier.

Buy less of everything

A pretty simple but solid mantra to head into the festive period with. Less gifts with a focus on better thought out presents and less food waste through better portioning will really make a difference. Even if you’re not too bothered about the environment, think about your pocket. Christmas costs an awful lot of money, with people often having to seek out ways to afford all the fun.

If you think about what you’re buying carefully, you’ll likely find you have no less of a Christmas but a much greener, and cheaper, time.

~A~

* Collaborative Post 

Well here I am finally sitting down to get some stuff off my chest. I know I’m not around here much at the moment but I simply can’t do it all, and after the drama I had with the crazy person when I was in labour with Bear, I simply fell out of love with this world, and that person tarnished the wonderful online space I had built for myself.

So my time is now spent building and growing my small business Ada & Alfred. My dream job, my passion.

If you’ve been around a while you’ll know I began my small biz journey on this website and just over a year ago I rebranded and closed down the Lamb & Bear shop.

I’m still super happy with my decision to make that change. My designs were evolving, my ideas were evolving and well, my kids were growing up and I didn’t want to concentrate on baby leggings any more.

After the launch of Ada & Alfred, I worked hard to build up a new customer base, a bank of designs and work out the manufacturing etc. I wasn’t expecting miracles. I knew it would be tough. But alongside any income I got through blogging, benefits and orders on the shop I was managing.

Fast forward to the present and I have to say things aren’t too good.

As you can see from the blog I haven’t spent much time around here over the last few months, because every spare minute I’ve had has been on the business. The start of this year was amazing. Order numbers were increasing and I was being kept super busy printing in my little studio.

I couldn’t believe it. It was going somewhere!

Well, so I thought.

May, June and July have been dire. Sales have plummeted. Literally nothing.

I know from talking to other small businesses I’m not alone, and everyone is feeling the strain of quiet sales.

My problem is I don’t have another source of income. As a family we are still feeling the strain from our redundancies in 2015, and only now is my husband is fully qualified in his new profession. We decided I would stay at home with the boys and work around them, because quite frankly we wouldn’t of been any better off with me in work and paying for childminders etc.

Plus we both wanted one of us at the school gates.

As my husbands wages have slightly increased over the last year it seems we’ve hit a threshold with benefits and my tax credits have literally halved. This is a big shock to a family who heavily rely on them to put food on the table and diesel in the car.

But, it is what is and we have to get by. Something I’ve had to do my whole life.

We are lucky to have extremely supportive parents who wouldn’t ever allow us to get into trouble, however we are fed up of not being in a position to treat ourselves to a holiday, new shoes, a splash of paint in the house.

It’s incredibly difficult to stay positive about the future of my business when overnight the income I make can just disappear. I mean, where do I go from here? I’ve had more texts from my bank warning I’ve gone over my overdraft in the last month than ever, and I’m at the very last bit of money in my business account.

I try my hardest to reach out to influencers/celebs on Instagram in the hope they will help promote my little business and I’ve had a little success here and there. I even gifted Mrs Hinch back in April, but alas my items are most likely packed away amongst a million other gifts in her storage unit. It was worth try I suppose. I’m still keeping everything crossed she comes across them eventually.

The problem with gifting items is I have to pay for them, print them, then pay to post them. I’m at a loss if they don’t get shared. So it’a always a risk to send out gifted items.

I didn’t mean to come here and plaster all this negativity on the blog, but this is my place to document  and I’m hoping one day (when my sales are booming) I’ll look back and be proud I didn’t give up.

When I’m treating myself to some new make-up or even buying Disney tickets in Florida for our dream holiday, I can remember how tough it was, but how hard I worked to grow my business.

I’m not going to give up the shop, I’m way too stubborn for that. But it is getting to the point where I have to decided if I need to find another income from somewhere alongside this. I really hope not, as the shop needs me 100% to be successful, but at the same time I need money in the bank to pay bills.

My little bear cub starts preschool in September so I’ll have 3 1/2 days a week to work. I’m going to plan as much as possible over the next month ready to hit this business head on when I have some more child free time.

If you don’t follow my business on social media I’d be super grateful if you could head over and give me some love. We all know what a bitch Facebook and Instagram can be at the moment. And don’t get me started on paying for ads. They reach NOBODY.

If you’ve made it this far I can only apologise for ranting, but also thank you for listening.

I’ve always stayed positive in time of hardship, and although I’m still smiling, on the inside I’m genuinely starting to worry about how I’ll pay my bills next month. BUT I live each day as it comes, always have, so for now, everything’s fine and I will carry on putting everything into my shop.

Alex x

* Collaborative post.