The Future Of Millionaire Luxury Accommodation

Posted on November 24, 2015November 24, 2015 by josh andrews

The rich and powerful have always had their own retreats. Whether you consider the famous Stanley Hotel and Jekyll Island from previous centuries, or Dubai, Monaco, Ibiza for the new-age, all have their place in the hearts of millionaires. Luxury accommodations, fine cuisine, exotic locations, and excellent service can be expected at these exciting locales, and the wealthy certainly know how to get their money’s worth. Knowing that some of the most fabulous artistic and architectural marvels throughout history have been the result of “money to burn,” what could the future possibly hold for well-heeled travelers? How about an airship?

Halo – The New Luxury

Costing a mere $330 million, the Halo is the vacation of the future. Millionaires who get tire of their yacht can stay on the Halo, instead – and stow the yacht in the cargo bay. Yes, the Halo is that big.

Halo is designed by the same company that has designed some of the most magnificent superyachts and homes on the planet, and now, with Halo, Andrew Winch Designs strives to lift the wealthy far above the bonds of Earth.

As large as 4 football fields, the Halo may be in the air as soon as 2025. They’ve already successfully test-flown a prototype, so the way is paved for purchase and construction.

Amenities

The Halo will feature a series of open-air decks as well as cargo space for the owner’s cars and motorcycles. Much of the floor is transparent, to allow free viewing of the landscape passing beneath. It will have a descending deck that can be lowered to the ocean or earth, so the owner can launch from wherever they want.

It will also have a ballroom, and 20 bedrooms. Enjoy screenings of new movies in the cinema, relax in the spa, and get in shape in the gym.

What kind of furnishings will be on the Halo?

Well, you can expect comfort and style, as well as some of the most modern materials in existence. With an eye to reducing the amount of weight in the ship, most furniture will be made of carbon fibre, which is not only lightweight, but very comfortable as well. Most interiors will be custom made, with furnishings molded and upholstered to fit their respective areas.

It is expected that much of the furnishing will be done by 3D printers, expressing high-tech visions of furnishings designed for the most dramatic living spaces. It is anticipated that technology will work hand in hand with design as new pieces are created.

Many of the new furnishings will include screens and circuit boards. For example, kitchen counters will have build in screens to display recipes. These screens and the technology supporting them will be solar powered.

Other furnishings will be made of recycled materials, such as food packaging and polyethylene.

With space-age materials, expert design, and an eye for the future, the new Halo can be expected to be the newest millionaire hang-out.

Furniture That Goes Well With Tall Planters

Posted on November 16, 2015November 30, 2015 by josh andrews

Tall planters make a dramatic statement in the home or garden. They are more available than ever, too, because of a number of reasons. Advancement in the use of materials have made large planters more light weight and easy to transport, and new manufacturing techniques have lowered the prices on these great items. You may have added one or more tall planters to your deck, your contemporary garden furniture collection, or home. If so, you may have some decisions to make about what kind of furniture to place in those spaces. Here are some suggestions for choosing furniture that goes well with tall planters.

Contrast

One strategy is to plan your furnishings as a contrast to tall planters. Most of the time, this type of planter will also have tall plants in them, such as palms, or topiaries with ivies growing through them. In these cases, don’t try to compete with the scale of the planting. Use it to define your area. Groupings of smaller armchairs, with a side table between them, will look cozy and welcoming. You will see this used in hotel lobbies, where the management wants to create gathering areas. The tall planters and greenery overarch the area, filtering light and reducing noise.

This can be a very effective technique in small spaces. You may think that a tall plant would be out of scale in a small room, but the key to getting the most out of your room is to use all of the available space. By drawing the eye upwards, you create a sense of volume in the room. Then, you can group your furniture beneath for a welcoming sitting or dining area.

Complement

If you have large rooms, then you can complement the size and presence of the planters with larger furniture. For example, in bedrooms, a four-poster bed flanked by tall fern trees in attractive vases will look very exotic.

In the den or media room, large sectionals and/or recliners will provide scale with the taller plants in the room.

On the deck, a bank of benches that also serve as retaining walls look great with tall planters framing them. The bulk of the benches complement the plants.

Styles

In general, just about any style of furniture will go with this type of planter. However, wicker and rattan look especially nice, when you are looking for contrasting furniture. This lends itself to a more outdoor atmosphere, and adds to the natural fee of the spaces.

For complementary furnishings, overstuffed, plush furnishings fit quite naturally with the aura created by tall plants and planters. It invites you to relax and feel the comfort in a secluded spot.

Furnishings with straight lines and rigid, metallic and glass construction should be paired with more modern styles of planters. There are beautiful obsidian or metal planters that can sport arrangements of unusual plants that would look nice with modern furniture. But, with more traditional furniture, fit the lines of the planters with the lines of the furniture.

Choosing Mattress Covers For Your Baby

Posted on October 15, 2014November 4, 2015 by josh andrews

Choosing a mattress cover for your baby may not be as simple as selecting the best coordinating colour in the store. It also may not be right to reuse the mattress materials that were in your old crib left from when you were a baby. You’ll want something that is not only safe, but something that will be easy to wash and then dry on a pully clothes airer .
A lot has been learned about infant safety, and one of the most stringent rules has to do with materials that are used in infant bedding. Your mattress and the mattress cover can present a real health threat to your infant. In fact, doctors are now saying that many of the cases of SIDS in this country may very well be due to the off gasses emitted by infant bedding.

Foam Stuffing

Most baby mattresses are filled with polyurethane foam, which is made from petroleum and several chemicals. Some additives, such as benzene, toluene, and formaldehyde can be toxic. In some cases, the chemicals used to fabricate the foam are hydrochloric acid or hydrogen cyanide. Care should be taken that the foam in your infant’s mattress is not made by processes that use any of these chemicals, and that none of them are in the foam itself.

Waterproof Coating

Most baby mattresses and mattress covers are made of some waterproof substance. Quite often, this is vinyl. However, vinyl is made of polyvinyl chloride, or PVC. This is one of the most toxic substances used in the plastics industry. Vinyl itself is made from the by-product of the production of PVC, and is tempered with plasticizers to make it soft, like cloth. PVC itself is very rigid and hard. The plasticizers, called phthalates, have been associated with premature births, early onset puberty, reproductive damage, kidney and liver damage, cancer, and asthma. In some mattresses, the phthalates may make up as much as 30% of the weight of the vinyl surface. These chemicals can leach out of the fabric and be inhaled by the infant, or absorbed through its skin.

Some phthalates have been banned in the last few years, but there has been no recall of infant mattresses that were manufactured with these chemicals. No new mattresses can be manufactured with some of the phthalates, but there are still some classified as reproductive toxicant that are allowed in manufacture.

Fire Retardants

Fire retardants are required on all PVC materials use in mattresses, because PVC is very flammable. The unprotected PVC burns at an alarming rate. The fire proofing chemicals used on PVC are polybrominated diphenyl ethers, otherwise known as PBDE. This has been known to cause hormone disruption, immune suppression, memory problems, cancer, and behavioural changes.

So, what can you do to protect your baby? Choose a firm mattress and cover, so that your baby won’t accidentally suffocate. Make sure it is not made with any of the chemicals mentioned above. The foam in the mattress should be very dense so that it is firm enough. For waterproofing, simply put clear plastic wrap over the surface, and cover it with safe, clean cotton sheeting.

Custom Fabric For Your Home

Posted on April 23, 2014February 29, 2016 by josh andrews

Furnishing your home is an important job, nobody likes to have unfinished rooms and areas still in the style of the previous owners. That’s why it’s important to make sure you make your house your own. There’s noting quite like having everything finished and looking just how you like it, even down to the coasters on your table.

You may find though that when your home starts to get decorated, things never finish, ongoing decoration is something that I think happens to everyone. You’ll be walking through a shop and then you find something that you like and decide that an addition to the room is appropriate. There are some special touches to your room though that you may not have thought about. One thing I find when decorating, is that my local shops just don’t have enough choice. I like being able to look at a wide selection of the same item, I find with places like The Range and Dunelm Mill that they have a lot of different items but not enough actual selection between products like colour scheme. But there are places out there that do have a wide selection, the internet is where it’s all at!

There are all kinds of places to buy customised items online, here is a look at a few of them.

Ebay

Of course, ebay is a great place to purchase original and also out of production furniture. It’s not all second hand things on ebay either, there are a lot of new products on there. Once thing you have to be cautious of though is falling for fake merchandise. There are so many items available for purchase that you might just get yourself something that isn’t quite authentic. If this does happen I believe there are channels you can go down for a refund back from paypal / ebay.

Ebay has such a vast array of items that you should be able to find whatever you are looking for. There aren’t many times I’ve gone on there looking for something and not come away with what I wanted (or something else) So I highly suggest using this for your purchases.

Inchyra

You only have to visit Inchyra to know that your going to be in for high quality items. They originally started as a linen company, producing some great linens with some fantastic designs. they then took that idea, and started combining their linens with household items such as cushions, towels and aprons. Inchyra now sell a whole range of home items, from kitchen to Bathroom, but not just fabric items. Inchyra’s products have a particular style that I believe would fit with any home theme.

Mollie and Fred

Mollie and Fred is another rather unknown website, but they manage to sell some great items on their website. I think they are less producers, but just enjoy buying and selling great items. They have a wide selection of homeware and some great gift ideas, but I would say that this site is definitely dedicated to a younger crowd. They have some interesting product lines that I think are definitely worth a look, so check it out.

Installing Gates Onto Your Property

Posted on October 6, 2013February 29, 2016 by josh andrews

Having gates installed onto your property can give your property a whole new look, I know it seems like a small addition but gates really do make all the difference. It’s not just about asthetics either, gates add an extra level of security to your surrounding land, if your property is encapsulated by walls and the only entrance point is your drive, using gates is a great way to keep unwanted people out!

The style of gate and functionality can add to how well they appear from the outside. For instance, you can have double gates that open in the centre, you could also have a singular gate that swings out or inwards, or the least popular is a rising gate, that could lift up to allow your car onto your property. Now choosing a gate is entirely down to you, but you have to decide on a few key factors. A singular gate will take up alot of space when it opens, you’ll decide wether you want it to open inwards or outwards and if you have enough space to allow it to do so. Imagine you have 3 cars on the drive, is there enough space to allow the gate to open? Or if it swings outwards, will it be taking up space on the road? These are the deciding factors for this type of gate.

The next thing is the size of the gate, if you have a large gate will it be hard to move it? Perhaps you could have an electronic system to automatically open the gate. The next thing would be the material, I personally am a big fan of wooden entrance gates as opposed to metal, I find that the thicker wooden beams make for a much more aesthetically pleasing gate, but that’s just my personal preference.

The decision is really yours, what suits your property is up to you, have fun out there.

Buying Second Hand Furniture in the UK

Posted on March 14, 2012December 17, 2014 by josh andrews

Second hand furniture is furniture which has been previously owned and usually previously used. Many people choose to buy secondhand furniture for their homes for a number of different reasons. There are many benefits to buying secondhand furniture over new furniture, including price, variety, style and uniqueness. Regardless of the reason for purchasing secondhand furniture, there are many places in the UK where you can find great pieces and great deals.

But first, let’s look at the reasons that you might want to buy secondhand furniture.

Price

You may wish to buy secondhand furniture because you have a modest or limited income, but still require (or want) certain pieces for furniture for your home. Secondhand furniture can often be found with a great discount and often very limited drawback when it comes to quality. Experienced secondhand furniture shoppers often report finding secondhand furniture in almost new condition for half, or more, the retail price of the same furniture in new condition!

Furniture, especially good quality furniture, is notoriously expensive. However, we require furniture to store items in our home, to give us a place to sleep and sit, and so much more—this is why secondhand furniture is such a great choice, because you can purchase the furniture that you want without emptying your bank account. Let’s look at a few important furniture pieces and compare their prices new and used.

Blanket boxes are large boxes or chests which are primarily used for the storage of blankets, comforters and other bed linens. Blanket boxes are great ways to attractively store essential blankets and linens, but a sturdy good quality blanket box can be quite expensive. Although you can find cheap blanket boxes for around £70-80, these boxes are often made of inferior wood, particle board blends, and are not likely to withstand heavy usage or the test of time. A good quality blanket box will cost you around £400-500, without taxes. Unfortunately, this price is simply out of the range of many people’s budgets. Thankfully, blanket boxes of quality can be purchased secondhand for much more reasonable prices. Blanket boxes which cost about £400 new can be found for £100 – 200 used at online secondhand shops and marketplaces like Ebay and Vivastreet—if you’re an experienced secondhand bargain hunter, you can probably find an even better deal than this!

Variety, Style and Uniqueness

Another reason many people choose to purchase furniture secondhand is because there is a better chance of finding a wider variety and styles of items. Furniture stores which sell new furniture often sell the same types of pieces, sometimes factory made, over and over again. While these pieces may be of a good quality, they are often generic, boring, and overdone. Secondhand furniture can often be found in a much wider variety of styles because secondhand furniture comes from all over, not just one specific store.

Lounge furniture, primarily sofas, couches, chairs and other seating furniture often suffers from the aforementioned generic appearance. Many companies have one or two different styles of lounge and living room furniture, which may or may not be available in a few different colors, but that’s about it as far as style is concerned. Secondhand lounge furniture runs the style range from crazy retro 60s chairs to classy elegant modern tables, and there’s no limit to the amount of styles that secondhand lounge furniture comes in. This range of styles also applies to material and color. Secondhand furniture allows you to seek out truly interesting pieces which really suit your style, whether that piece is a secondhand blanket box or a secondhand lounge chair.

Who doesn’t love it when friends walk into your home, take a look at your furniture and say: “Wow!”? Secondhand furniture has the unique benefit of being able to be—well, unique! Because secondhand furniture can come from a wide variety of places, there’s no telling what you might be able to find. While your local furniture stores might sell the same-old same-old when it comes to home furniture, secondhand furniture you purchase might be from a store miles away, or even another country! You might find a homemade piece which no one else in the world has, or unique pieces which were locally made for only a few people.

For example, let’s talk about lamp tables. Lamp tables are tables which are primarily meant to sit in lounge rooms, dining rooms and offices and hold up table lamps. Lamp tables, at first thought ,may sound boring. In fact, the type of table that comes to mind is probably the generic four-legged wooden table which adds nothing to the décor of the room and is very easy to overlook. Secondhand lamp tables, however, can be found in such an amazing and unique range of styles that people won’t just be admiring your lamp—they’ll be admiring the table!

For example, you could just go to the local furniture shop and buy a generic lamp table for oh, £100 or so. The quality won’t be too bad, but nothing special either, and it is basically just a piece to rest your lamp on and forget about. Or, you could browse through a secondhand shop (online or not!) and find yourself unique retro bright orange velvet lamp tables from the 1970s which will pop in any lounge room or office space! And If bright orange candy retro velvet isn’t your style, you could always go for a secondhand Georgian style lamp tables, which add an impeccable touch of class to any room.

Buying secondhand furniture is a great choice, no matter your income. Whether you’re looking for a great deal on price or just something truly unique and fun to add to your home, don’t be afraid to pop into your local secondhand shop and take a look around.

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