Paint is a great way to quickly alter the way a space looks, on ceilings, floors and furniture.  It is the perfect environment for shinny paint as well, which is often not the case. A gleaming floor in a shade that is reminiscent of nature itself will transfix visitors, as will a fun colour on the ceiling. But if you are trying to keep it all simple, white is one of the best choices for the furniture. While it may also be nice to switch out some light fixtures, a ceiling fan and maybe some screening, if the area is enclosed, don’t turn your nose up at these ideas. For they can make a huge difference, and can be accomplished on a very tight budget. But if you are lucky enough to be able to do both, then the changes can prove tremendous.

However, before you cover the house in cotton wool, there are a number of ways in which you can protect your home and reduce the risk of any potential problems. Not only will this make you feel more at ease, it may even save you money in the long run as your years of no-claims increase, so the cost of your home insurance policy will decrease.

In fact, going the extra mile to protect your home may even reduce the price of your initial quote since companies will automatically place you in the ‘low risk’ bracket. Read on for our top tips on how to safeguard your home against disaster.

Firstly, think carefully about what may happen to your home and what is unlikely. If you live near a river for example, flooding is a possibility and you will need to take necessary steps to reduce the damage. Have a comprehensive flood plan in place should the worst happen and invest in products that will help. Silicone sealant around door and window frames can prevent water getting in, as can sandbags or plywood. Move all expensive and sentimental items upstairs to prevent as much loss as possible and contact your local Environment Agency for assistance as soon as you can.

The idea of an intruder in your home can be terrifying, especially if you have young children or live alone. Research by security experts Secure One found that on average, a home in Britain is broken into every 37 seconds, with many properties being targeted by random, opportunist thieves.

Take the necessary precautions to deter potential burglars, including fitting alarms, outdoor security lights and timers on your indoor lights. You could also hide valuable items in a safe, or consider putting up ‘Beware of the dog’ signs (thieves are less likely to target a home they believe has an animal in it).

The riskiest time for damage to a home is winter, when icy temperatures and cold weather can cause huge problems. Take sensible precautions in the colder months and prepare well in advance to ensure that you don’t get caught out. Insulating pipes, clearing gutters and repairing small cracks breakages in the roof/walls are all important tasks, but make sure to do them in the warmer months, after all, no-one wants to be outside doing repairs when its freezing and wet!

The most sensible precautions, however, are the most obvious ones. Installing and checking fire alarms, not leaving electrical items on unnecessarily and carrying out regular maintenance work to guard against wear and tear are all essential processes. It may seem obvious, but forgetting to put standard safety features in place may mean that your insurer will refuse to pay out should the worst happen, or will significantly raise the cost of your policy in the future.

While the chances of something happening to your home are minimal, it’s important to remember that the risk is always there and having the right insurance in place is vital to protect yourself and finance any repairs and replacements.

Do your research thoroughly before committing to a policy and review your insurance every 18 months or so to check it is still relevant and covers everything that you need it to. You can’t prevent life’s disasters from happening altogether, but you can minimise the risk and long-term damage by taking the correct precautions. Check your policy today, and sleep a little easier at night knowing you’ll be well looked after.

The key to getting the water travel and exploration theme so that it flows instead of ebbs is by doing it in small doses. A few wonderful touches will do ya. Consider a grand lantern style light for over a dinner table, or perhaps decorative pillows with catchy patterns reminiscent of sailing flags and special boating knots. Want less color, more spin, try hand woven throw blankets in neutral shades, but with designs involving anchors or lighthouses.

As you can see it can be done tastefully, and turn out to be a fun setting all rolled into one. Well, as long as you don’t get carried away, and actually hang a dingy from the ceiling, or create seating out of old crab traps. There are a ton of things to skip, but that doesn’t mean this is a style to avoid altogether.

We advise you to trace the outline of each picture onto construction paper, and then cut it out. Lay these mock frames out in several different arrangements on the floor to see what looks best. Once you have identified what you like, measure the distance between the items and then tape the mocks to the wall. Once the faux pictures are on the wall you can confirm that it looks the way you want it to. Otherwise, you are just winging it, and that can have real repercussions. In pencil, lightly mark the corners of the construction paper frames, and remove them. Now you are ready to actually place the nails and do the hanging.

Of course prior to that I was familiar with wicker rocking chairs that were sat right out in direct sunlight, and dainty tables set out alongside loungers in the garden. But, it was not till I had my first flat, and a roommate that wicker crossed into my inner dwelling. Low and behold it was not in a small dose either. The roomie, Lori had a complete matching bedroom set, including wicker stand alone mirror, wicker dressing table, wicker end tables, and wicker headboard.

Since, I have enjoyed placing wicker items in and about a home, and can see how versatile it can be first hand. Mostly, I admire it because it can transcend so much, and remains inexpensive. Now that is beautiful.

You see, we have begun the process of switching roles, my parents and I. Though they still live in their own home, independently, my sister and I have found it necessary to do spot visits to ensure they are eating well rounded meals, and getting out and about on a regular basis. Neither of them are slipping mentally, it is just that we want them to stay that way and feel they benefit from these checkups. Although, on the flip side my dad has made it abundantly clear that he does not appreciate being treated as a child and is still the head of the family.

In response, we were not willing to halt our more frequent contact and have agreed with them to have them visit us more often. Therefore, making the guest room fulfill their needs, and to suit their choices was increasingly important. Obviously, like any doting, and possibly from time to time overbearing adult child I was on the case about any back pain they may have been experiencing, and what might have caused it. All the while acting as super sleuth and preparing to diagnose things by myself. Or, in a more extreme case, shuttled them to the doctor for his prognosis and guidance. This would have stirred up a lot of emotions and conflict to be sure, as it would definitely be deemed another way in which I am taking control of my parents lives.

Turns out, mother nor father have any back complaints whatsoever. They are merely familiar with the Sealy backcare elite from my sister’s home. The unfortunate part here is that I once again jumped to conclusions, and did admittedly treat my parents as though they were something they are not, children.  The lesson here is clear, but whether or not I learned it only time will tell.

One of the projects that we not only smitten by, but actually replicated was a paint on canvas one. To do it yourself, all you need is a medium to large size canvas, some masking tape, and at least two colours of paint.  Oh and paint brushes of course, let’s not forget about them.

The artwork we saw completed on television only involved two colours, and they were simply differing shades of grey. The final product looked sophisticated and expensive, so we followed that theme with blues, and then liked what we made so much we made another in blue and green. So, we warn you, this is slightly addicive.

Place the tape in a criss cross design over the canvas. Next, paint nearly all of the exposed canvas one shade, and the remaining fragments another. Once the paint is dry remove the tape to reveal a modern artwork that is not only one of a kind, but also ridiculously inexpensive.

As such, the worst of the bunch are said to be the cause of much despair and grief.  On a whole, those not waiting on their new couches or beds can expect to spend as many as five days waiting for their goods. Along with the annoyance, and inconvenience of not only asking for time off of work, but requesting the assistance of family, friends and neighbours to wait on their behalf. It could be said that it is only a matter of time until this delivery time debacle is corrected, as the competition will require things to become more reliable. I am a believer that this is exactly how it will all play out. In the meantime, I am happy not to have been messed around with my furniture deliveries, and that of my electronics.

As such, last week when the honey and I shot over to the weekend market last Saturday we both set out alone. Then at the designated time both met back up with our loot in hand. It is a well established agreement that we have regarding this activity that we spend no more than a certain amount, and we conceal any disapproval we might have for the others find.

Ironically, we both reappeared with a single arm chair, from the same vendor, and same set of chairs. This has never happened before, bit the delight was  not lost upon the passer byers as we giggled. And as soon as that came to a close, we desperately ventured into the discussion of cost.

Obviously, both of us over the years has contended that we are the better haggler, and here in front of us would lie the proof of the matter. And then at the last minute before divulging the info, we had a change of heart. We decided to leave that aspect of our relationship a mystery to be debated over the next several years.

It is temperature and weight sensitive so carefully moulds to your body’s contours, allowing for more natural sleeping positions. This helps to relieve pressure from any sore points, making this a great mattress for people with back problems. Memory foam mattresses have also been proven to reduce the risk and severity of pressure sores which result from spending large amounts of time in bed. Memory foam easily retains heat so for those who easily get chilled, this may be the perfect solution.

However, there are disadvantages to this bedroom technology. They can be quite expensive when compared to the price of coil mattresses or pocket sprung mattresses. The material is also quite combustible, so it not suitable for people sleeping by candle light or bedroom smokers. Due to the fact this mattresses takes a few minutes to mould to your body shape, if you are the type of person who rolls around in their sleep a lot, this may not be the perfect mattress for you. It may disturb your sleep making it difficult to get comfortable.

Some people say the memory foam mattress has a strange odour that is difficult to mask, almost a chemical odour. The beds also need swapping around a lot to make sure there is even wear. Due to the fact memory foam retains heat this may make summer nights uncomfortable.

If you do suffer from back problems, or have to spend lengthy amounts of time in bed, the advantages of the memory foam mattress will obviously outweigh the negatives. So, when considering the type of mattress you need for your bedroom, put in some research as they can be the best investment you can make in the bedroom. If you are looking for a new mattress, a new bed or cheap bed frames visit our friends at dreams.co.uk, dreams have a fantastic range of beds on offer all at great prices.