A place for everything! Imagine a fabulous storage solution like this from Hammonds.

Did you know it’s quite the norm to wear just 20% of your clothes 80% of the time? Which means the majority of items in your wardrobe hardly ever get used! Amazing isn’t it? Richard Hammonds, chairman of Hammonds Furniture has a wealth of knowledge on storage and we’re delighted that he’s sharing some of this with us.

Remember, we’re giving away a fabulous sliding wardrobe, courtesy of Hammonds, in a very exciting facebook competition. There’s still time to enter, so if you haven’t done so yet, do it now!

So, back to Richard, ‘When it comes to your wardrobe, it’s important to avoid cramming too many items onto a single rail. Not only does this make it harder to find what you need but it can also leave fabric creased and damaged. And don’t use your wardrobe to house old luggage, personal mementos, and everything else you can’t find a place for!’

So if you’re planning to declutter, you’re going to need a big sort out. ‘Take a good hard look at what you have. Does it still fit? Can it be altered? Will you ever wear it again?’ asks Richard.

‘Now organise your storage by grouping clothes and shoes into three categories: Spring/Summer, Autumn /Winter and Special Occasions. If you haven’t enough space, a great idea is to rotate your wardrobe seasonally, making sure you store out-of-season clothes away properly. This means they’ll need to be dry and clean with jewellery removed and pockets emptied. And remember to check on stored clothes regularly.

‘Now clean your shelves, drawers and cupboards thoroughly from top to bottom before putting back only those things that you know you are going to use.

‘Finally pack up everything that you don’t intend to keep and get it out of your home immediately! That way you won’t have second thoughts.’

Richard does have one more tip though. ‘It takes a bit of effort to keep things organised – if this doesn’t come naturally to you, set aside time every six months to declutter again.’

Fantastic advice. Now to the rest of your room. Get the walls looking fresh and bright following the advice from Dulux’s Marianne Shillingford that we shared in January. And at your windows? Roman blinds are a great choice for the bedroom. The soft fabric adds a cosy feel and they’re available with a blackout lining too – perfect for getting a great night’s sleep.

For a truly elegant look, take a look at our shutters. They’re ideal for the bedroom – a great way to stylishly block the light, although they will also filter it beautifully when the louvres are tilted.

And if you are looking for a luxurious feel, our gorgeous range of curtains could be for you.

The perfect backdrop for a vintage inspired room - Dulux Colour of the Year Fire Cracker 4 21/436.

All this week Marianne Shillingford, Design Director at the Dulux Design Service, has been offering her tips on detoxing your home.

Vintage is a key trend that’s been around for a while now and is set to continue to be popular over the coming seasons.

It’s a style that’s sure to appeal to the many hoarders out there – the perfect excuse for not only keeping all your old stuff but also displaying it around your room, stylishly of course!

But when it comes to vintage style, it’s important not to over clutter. By all means scour second hand shops for knick knacks and seek out family heirlooms but the trick is to not to take it too far. You don’t want your room to become a shrine to the past, or just look messy. Instead choose some key pieces – ones that you love or that have importance to you – and let these take centre stage. Then mix and match with up-to-date items to provide contrast and also a little modern comfort!

Explains Marianne: ‘Your home should tell the story of you. The beauty of hiring a Dulux interior designer is that they will work with you to help create a living scrapbook in your home. They can help you make the most of what you’ve already got and create a feature of the things that really matter, like collections of old toys, souvenirs from favourite places and pictures of the ones you love. They’ll suggest colours to uplift the look – perhaps the Dulux 2012 colour of the year on the walls to make this look, a fresh, fun and fabulous spin on ‘Vintage’ chic.’

Back to Hillarys and we’ve gorgeous vintage inspired fabrics within our Roman and Roller blind ranges. Elegant shutters would also look fantastic against this vibrant shade.

Remember, there’s still time to enter our facebook competition to win a design consultation from the Dulux Design Service.

Make the most of natural textures available to you and complement with a subtle shade on the walls like Dulux Heritage Georgian Grey

Texture is a key trend for the year ahead that you may have begun noticing towards the end of 2011. Exposed brick and stone work, stripped floor boards and open beams are perfect for adding interesting texture to a room. Set off with chunky knits – throws and cushions – textured blinds – we have a lovely Roman fabric called Bosworth available in four beautiful shades that will go with this look. You can even get textured wallpapers – great if your walls are less than perfect!

If you like the idea of this trend for your home it’s worth listening to this advice from Marianne Shillingford, design director at the Dulux Design Service.

‘It’s not what you put in – it’s what you leave out that really matters so much in successful interior design. 

‘This room is pared down and perfect with the addition of just a few well chosen pieces rather than lots of needless ornament and decoration. Expert interior design advice from Dulux, will help draw on a buildings strengths, recommending colours and materials that breathe life into a space and fill it with interest rather than dominating it.’

There’s still time to enter our facebook competition to win a design consultation from the Dulux Design Service.

Have you got a theme for your Christmas decorations this year?

Getting your home ready for Christmas sounds straightforward enough. Sort out a tree, add a few twinkly lights and a wreath plus maybe some more shiny bits dotted here and there and that’s it – nice and easy.

Of course there’s so much more to it than this. When it comes to the tree do you opt for a real one or a fake, and if you’re going for a fake one are you a traditionalist or do you prefer something more contemporary – white, black and pink have all be on-trend in recent years.

Are you a wreath person, or is this a little too traditional for your taste? Do you love tinsel, or is that a little too tacky (sorry tinsel lovers) for you. Is vintage style bunting more for you? And how do you feel about novelty lighting? You know the kids will love it but you’re not quite sure…

Perhaps you think I’m making too much of this. But if you’re a true home-lover you’ll know how important it is to get everything just right, especially at this time of year.

So, to help, I’ve put together a few inspirational ideas for your home this festive season.

Like contemporary living? Then how about a fresh and airy look? Silver venetian blinds add a gorgeous sparkle, with the pale green walls and off-white furniture creating a feeling of space. Here a white tree suits the mood perfect, finished with simple silver baubles.

Prefer a cosier feel? This gorgeous room simply oozes style, with simple grey walls, wood floors, pale furniture and deep purple Roman blinds. When working with grey be careful things don’t appear too cool. The simple silver tree features baubles that contrast with the rest of the room.

Or are you a traditionalist? There’s nothing better than a real tree (although don’t put it up yet if you still want needles in place for Christmas day). And a real tree suits this look perfectly, offering classic style that’s timeless. Roman blinds again perfect the perfect backdrop.

If you’re short of ideas, I hope this has been helpful. Enjoy your decorating!

Everyone's a winner with our advent calendar!

Advent calendars seem to have been in the shops for what seems like months now. If, like me, you’ve put off buying yours until ‘closer to the time’ you’re probably having a slight panic now because, of course, you’ve only gone and forgotten. But don’t worry! Enter our competition instead.

Every day between now and 24 December, we’re giving away a fabulous range of goodies including iPads, iPod shuffles, vouchers for made-to-measure blinds and much, much more in a very lovely facebook advent calendar.

Unfortunately not everyone can bag themselves one of these great prizes. But the beauty of our advent calendar is that everyone is a winner with vouchers offering free upgrades and accessories for blinds you buy from us behind every door.

We’re giving away free stylish metal chains on roman or roller blinds. Free shaped hems on roller blinds. Free poles and pulls on roller blinds. Free beading or braiding on roller blinds and free beading on roman blinds. Plus there are money off and 10% off vouchers too!

So today I’m going to take the opportunity to encourage you to think about ways to personalise the blinds for your home. Take a roller blind for example. This is often thought of as a functional blind that’s ideal for a kitchen or bathroom. But add sparkly beading or braiding and you instantly have something a little more glamorous that will work just as well in a living room or bedroom.  Or why not simply add a twinkle to your bathroom window?

Co-ordinating beading on stylish Roman blinds gives them a boho-chic edge, just perfect if your tastes are a little more eclectic. And of course a sleek metal chain can co-ordinate with door handles, light switches and other accessories such as curtain poles (if you have them) in your room.

Your advisor will be more than happy to show you all of the accessories in our range – and don’t forget to make the most of your free vouchers. You’ll be pleasantly surprised with the end results I’m sure.

Win this gorgeous Charnwood Country 4 woodburning stove in our facebook competition.

Times are increasingly hard at the moment with household budgets being squeezed to the limit. So you’re probably like me and on the lookout for money saving tips, and if these can be super stylish too, all the better!

Woodburning stoves are currently experiencing a resurgence in popularity. This is in part to do with the trend towards creating a warm and welcoming home. Gone are the days of minimalism, instead think vintage style or the modern rustics trend that combines the best bits from country style and contemporary convenience. We’ve recently launched two capsule collections in our Roller blind and Roman blind ranges that reflect these trends beautifully. But it’s also in part due to the increasing cost of gas and electricity. Everyone’s aware of the huge price increases in keeping our homes warm over recent years to the extent that this now accounts for a significant chunk of our incomes.

The brilliant thing about wood is that it is cheaper and more sustainable than coal, gas or oil.  But these aren’t the only benefits of a woodburning stove. They’re also incredibly energy efficient. 70-90% of the heat from a woodburning stove stays in the room compared to an open fire, which loses around 80% of its heat up the chimney. And that’s no use to anyone!

Now let’s talk about the looks. A real fire burning in a room is so welcoming – throw in the stove and you really are making a style statement.  Woodburning stoves come in all shapes and styles from traditional to ultra-contemporary. And don’t think black is the only colour option. Cream, red, blue, grey, green and many more are all available to suit your room.

We’ve teamed up with the lovely people at Charnwood Stoves to offer you the chance to win the fab Charnwood Country 4 woodburning stove in a fantastic facebook competition. You’ve got until 11 December to take part. So if you’ve not entered yet, do it now!

And if you’re hankering after a cosy approach to your interior décor scheme, arrange an appointment with your local Hillarys advisor and take a look at our Family Favourites Roller blinds and Modern Rustics Roman blinds.

Win a woodburning stove similar to the one in our gorgeous roomset!

Now the evenings are really drawing in and the leaves are pretty much gone from the trees, spending time indoors is fast-moving up my list of things to do! Yes, I’m not ashamed to say that one of my favourite pastimes during autumn and winter is getting warm and cosy indoors, enjoying evenings snuggled up in front of the TV.

A new trend increasing in popularity right now is ‘Modern Rustics’ – you probably recognise the name as I’ve mentioned it once or twice here in my blog. And this trend is just right for creating a lovely, welcoming environment perfect for this time of year.

Modern Rustics takes all the best bits from country style. Think traditional fabric designs such as checks, florals and even chunky textures and combine with natural materials – wood flooring and furniture, and natural finishes such as exposed stone and brick. 

The trick here though is to give them a modern twist to bring them bang up-to-date in terms of both style and convenience. But how to do this? Well don’t get too concerned as it really is quite easy!

Exposed stone, brick and even beams if you’re lucky enough to have them in your home are perfect for getting that country look. For a more modern appearance, combine with neat plasterwork on selected walls and paint in a fresh tone.

Original floorboards, or replacement ones (there are loads to choose from out there in the shops) look great. If yours are looking a little worse for wear but you can’t afford brand new ones, try a lick of white paint. Stone floors, both new and old, look amazing too. Scatter with rugs to warm things up a little.

At your windows, choose from the blinds in our lovely Roman blinds capsule collection, which we’ve called ‘Modern Rustics’. Traditional checks in fresh, modern colour combinations, abstract leaf designs, chunky textures and contemporary florals are all there. Sofas and cushions that pick out the key colours from the designs will look brilliant, and remember this look is all about comfort so go for a squidgy styles with loads of cushions!

So what about the perfect finishing touch? Woodburning stoves are all the rage right now. They can be exceptionally clean burning and energy efficient, and with fuel prices going up and up all the time, they’re great for your pocket too. We’ve teamed up with the lovely people at Charnwood Stoves, based on the Isle of Wight, to offer you the chance to win the fabulous Charnwood Country 4. How exciting!

Want to find out more? Then take a look at our facebook page right now. And good luck too!

The clocks went back yesterday, which means even darker evenings and the feeling that winter has well and truly arrived.  If you’ve not thought about it yet, now’s the time to turn your attention towards getting the inside of your home all cosy and inviting. 

So where to start?

How about the walls?  Choose a rich colour for your walls and you’ll add instant warmth to a room. Deep reds and berry tones, pumpkin orange and golden shades are all ideal and bang on-trend for the season ahead. Textured and patterned wallpaper are perfect for adding an extra dash of luxury.

Throws and cushions are essential elements of a room you want to spend time relaxing in. Throws look great tossed over the back of a sofa and are wonderful for snuggling under too. Cushions make chairs appear even more inviting, pile as many on that will fit.

During the autumn and winter months, rugs should feel warm and soft under foot.  This isn’t the time of year for sisal and jute – indulge yourself and go for thick-pile luxury. 

Lighting isn’t just about creating a mood, it’s essential during the darker months when many of us rarely see daylight while at home. Ceiling lighting is therefore essential but it can be harsh during the evenings when you want to be more relaxed.  So complement with lamps dotted around the room –there are so many options to choose from to suit every home.

Let’s not forget about the windows. Blinds are crucial at this time of year. You want to maximise the light coming into your room during the hours the sun is up but then block the outside world out once it’s cold and dark.  Fully-lined Roman blinds are perfect – the soft fabric neatly fold up when they’re opened but is great at helping reduce draughts coming into the room when closed. We’ve more than 140 fabric options plus gorgeous beaded trims to add a sparkle.

There's loads you can do to personlise your blind, such as adding beading as we have done here.

If there’s just one thing we can take away from the current trend for vintage style, it’s that today’s interiors are all unique and individual. No longer is there one look that everyone aspires to or one ‘must-have’ piece of furniture that sells out no sooner than it arrives in the shops. Not at all. Instead our homes are much more individual than they’ve been for a long time. We’re actually scouring flea markets, antique fairs and charity shops on the lookout for unusual items and when we find them we’re adding our own touch by painting them or with accessories.

We’re really pleased that our range of blinds reflects this trend for personalisation. Did you know we have more than 850 blind fabrics to choose from? But that’s not all. There are so many individual touches that can be made, which extends the range even further. So you can be sure there won’t be thousands of homes around the country with exactly the same windows as you.

Fancy a shapely bottom?

If a straight bottom edge is a little straight laced for you, take a look at the shaped bottoms available in our Roller blinds range. Two also come with poles. As well as these there are eyelets, pulls and braids including a lovely beaded range that adds a sparkle. With such a choice there are loads of possibilities for your windows.

How about a sparkly Roman?

Beaded braids are available on our Roman blinds too in a range of colours designed to co-ordinate with the fabrics beautifully.

Wood you believe it!

Gone are the days when having wood venetians at your windows meant choosing from a range of natural stains. Now we offer painted shades and colour washes in distressed whites, sophisticated greys and comforting creams. Plus tapes for an extra dash of luxury and metal pulls if you prefer too.

Let’s mix things up a little

Our new Harmony blinds cleverly combine a wood valance and bottom rail with a venetian blind slat and they are finished very neatly with stylish tape, usually reserved for our wood venetian blinds only. 14 co-ordinating and contrasting variations are available to create a practical yet unusual and elegant blind for your home.

Get the layered look

More than one blind at a window can be a practical choice, especially if one is a blackout blind. But combining two blinds at one window can look super-stylish too and it’s completely up to you to decide the combination you prefer.

So be inspired to try something a little unusual at your windows. There are so many options, it shouldn’t be hard to find something unique.

Vibrant yellow accessories bring a neutral room bang up-to-date.

At this time of year the world of interiors seems to be awash with gorgeous autumnal tones. Rich reds, warm browns and pumpkin plus berry shades of pinks and purples are everywhere. But if you’re looking for something a little different to this for your home, give yellow a try.

Yellow is making a subtle entrance into all aspects of home décor. If you haven’t spotted it yet keep a look out in the shops and interior magazines as hints of this most cheerful shade are appearing everywhere. Could it be the colour of the season?

There are lots of benefits to yellow. Everyone knows it’s a happy sunshine colour that’s full of energy. But did you know it stimulates the intellect too?

So, how do you use it in your home?

If you’re not up for painting all the walls of your room a bright egg-yolk shade, take a look at some of the other options out there. From rich mustard or ochre, all the way to sulphur and chartreuse, there will be something that suits your style. And remember, you can always use a bold tone on a single feature wall.

Or try using yellow as an accent. Add warmth and interest to a simple black and white colour scheme with a few splashes of bright yellow scattered around. Cushions, vases and maybe a lamp will be more than enough to get the desired effect.

Hints of vibrant yellow are perfect for setting off a lovely subdued shade, such as grey, duck egg or soft green, all of which are so on-trend right now. And if your neutral room of browns, taupes, beiges and mushrooms is now appearing a little dated, you’ll find that a few yellow accessories will instantly make it more fashionable.

Aquas and turquoises are a brave colour choice for any room in the home but if you do take the plunge the effect can be breath-taking. Brighten things up with white woodwork then throw in just a couple of yellow pieces for a fresh appearance. Shades of chartreuse will look great, as well simple bright yellow.

We’ve lots of lovely yellow blinds in our range, perfect for acting as an accent, a subtle backdrop or the focal point of the room. In our room pictured above we’ve combined Roman blinds in a lovely sunny shade called Arlington Sunbeam with matching shelving and complementary cushions for a quick update of a neutral room. Perfect for the season ahead.