Personalize Your Home To Fit Your Lifestyle

h1

Picture credit – Pexel

If you’ve lived in the same home for a long time, you might start to notice that it’s no longer the best fit for your lifestyle. Your family might have grown meaning you need more bedrooms and bathrooms. You might start a job or hobby which means you need you need extra office space, or you might require more storage. Rather than adapt your lifestyle to fit your home, you can make your home fit you instead. Here are some of the ways you can go about it.

Extend Your Kitchen

It used to be common for homes to be built with a smaller enclosed kitchen, with larger dining and living space for entertaining. These days most people prefer to go with open plan areas as suggested by articles like this www.schroederdesignbuild.com/10-benefits-of-an-open-concept-floor-plans. Large kitchens which feature islands give us the ability to entertain right from where we cook. Modern day entertaining tends to be a lot less informal, and this newer style of open plan living reflects that. Bigger kitchens also make your job as a home cook much easier too. If your family has grown and you now cater for more people on a daily basis, upgrading and extending your kitchen can be a good way to go. You could either extend outwards or rejig the layout inside and use some space from the living area.

h1a

Picture credit- Pexels

Utilize Your Loft

If your loft is currently home to a million spiders and a few Christmas decorations, then you’re missing out on all-important space! Converting your loft will give you a brand new room and additional space. Articles like www.theguardian.com/money/2007/jul/25/homeimprovements have suggested the benefits in doing so Even if it’s only used for storage, having a functioning room will allow you to organize things more neatly. You could buy big sets of drawers and cupboards to go up there to store the things you’re not currently using. This should free up space around the rest of the home too.

Build a ‘Garden Room.’

Instead of adding an extension onto your home (or if you have already done this) a great way to gain some additional space is to have a garden room built. If you have a larger garden and can spare the space, then this is a great option. Unlike regular draughty old outbuildings, a well-built garden room will be fully insulated making it suitable to use all year round. They can have electricity and plumbing run to them, making them a properly functioning space. You could transform one into a home office, studio or guest room depending on the kind of space you’re after. My previous post http://www.sillydrunkfish.com/2016/09/make-your-guest-room-comfortable-for.html may give you ideas for how to make your guest room cozy once it’s done!

Add Ensuites

Instead of squabbling over the family bathroom every morning, adding an ensuite or two could make life much easier. It wouldn’t have to take up much space, especially if you opted for a shower cubicle rather than a bath. Sacrificing a small corner of your bedroom would be worth it if a lack of bathrooms is an issue.

Rebuild From Scratch

For a truly personalized home, you could even consider building from scratch. That way you get it customize it to exactly what you want, with a layout that works for your life. You could look at house plans from a site such as https://www.thehouseplanshop.com/country-house-plans/house-plans/18/1.php or speak to an architect to design something completely unique to you.

When you personalize your home, it allows you live your life much more easily. It eliminates the stress of running out of space, or not having enough rooms to fulfill each aspect of your life. Whether you choose build on what you currently have or start again from scratch, personalizing your home means you can live in a place that’s perfectly suited to you.

How To Relieve Foot Pain After Wearing Heels

Wearing high heels make an outfit look good and give a woman a taller appearance.  However,  wearing high heels occasionally takes a toll on the spine, ankles, knees, hip and feet.  When a woman wears high heels, it causes the body to lean forward and increased the amount of pressure on the forefoot.  This poor alignment may lead to muscle overuse and back pain.

highheels

If you experience lower back pain, it is better that you avoid wearing high heeled shoes.   Here are some recommendations to consider to lower the negative effects of wearing high heels :-

* Avoid wearing heels for long periods of time

*  Stretch your leg muscles before and after wearing them

*  Avoid pointed toe shoes

*  Spend more time resting and less time on your feet.

*  Prop your legs up with a foot rest.  This would help the venous system return blood from your lower body back to your heart and bring down some swelling.

foot-rest10

 

 

Weekend Is Time For Relaxation.

Nothing makes me happier than shopping at my favourite stores, having coffee with friends, lazing around at home and watch a good movie or having a good massage.  After a hectic week at work, it is time to do some things that make my soul happy.  Tomorrow I am going out with my girlfriend as she is keen to check out some music production equipment and then we are going to have lunch at our favourite restaurant downtown.  Hope you have a great weekend too.

shop-quote

How To Make The Transition Into Fall

Prom Dresses London

Summer days are over and  the cooler weather is here.  Now is the time to start thinking about Fall fashion.  You can ease the transition period with some new pieces of clothing to your existing summer wardrobe.  Don’t worry about having to maximize your credit card in order to look good this season.  With some careful selections, you should be able to prepare yourself for this coming season.   Check out these few key pieces from H&M.

t1

Ruffles are in this season. Wear this blouse under a dress or layer it with a light sweater.

t2

Pair this floral summery skirt with a plain top.

t3

Wear your summer shorts with a sweater or a jacket.

How To Reduce Swelling In Feet, Ankles And Legs

Swelling in feet, ankles and legs are very common and have a tendency to happen in women who are pregnant and people who spend a lot of time on their feet.  Being overweight, leg infections, long rides on the airplane which cause inactivity for long periods are some of the factors that cause swelling.

swollen

The symptoms of swelling can range from a mild discomfort to painful and possibility causes limited mobility when the swelling is severe.  Effects of gravity can make the swelling worse.

Here are some ways that can be done to reduce swelling on the legs, feet, ankles and knee, without the use of drugs.

  • Try to exercise your legs whenever possible. Walking and stretching the legs can help to pump the fluid from legs back up to the heart.
  • When travelling on a plane for an extended period, try to get up and walk a bit or stand.
  • If you are overweight, try to lose some weight to reduce the force on the lower limbs.
  • Try raising your legs above the heart with a foot rest when lying down.
  • Reduce the amount of salt in the diet.

swollen2

Please take note that if swelling continues to persists for an extended period of time and if it interferes with your quality of life, then it is important to see a physician.

How About Some Gingham

Prom Dresses London

Gingham is major fashion trend this year.  Are you a fan?  How do you wear it without looking like a tablecloth or Bo Peep?  Some good tips I found is to pair a gingham top with plain bottom and vice-versa.  A gingham dress is fine but keep everything else plain.  Below are some of my favourite styles.  Have you stocked up on this print?

g1

g1

g3

images via Pinterest

Big Love For Big Cuff Blouse

Prom Dresses London

They are big, they are oversized and they are quirky.  Can’t tell you how much I love these tops with exaggerated sleeves.  They definitely give a stylish edge to the simple tops.  Here are some of my favourites :-

cuf3

Balloon wrapped top from Pixie Market

cuff1

via Pinterest

cuff2

Jumpsuit with Frill Sleeve from Asos

Current Wishlist

Once I have done checking out herco at wwbw.com, I hopped over to my favourite store for some retail therapy.  I am so in love with the current pinstripe shirt trend.  Can you believe it that I have not bought anything in that design at all?  So after seeing all these gorgeous tops from Zara, I cannot wait to check them out at their store.  Here are what I want :-

z1

Poplin Striped Tunic. I love the buttons on the sleeve

z2

Off-the-shoulder poplin top.  I love boatneck lapel and the huge cuff.