Home Improvement Ideas From Let Me Build It!

The term “magis” means in Latin “for the greater glory of” and designer label Magis is all about designing products that worship every room of the house, using the latest functional and sleek storage solutions.

Since its founding in 1976 by then unknown Eugenio Perazza, Magis has embraced the creativity of an international design team that includes names such as Richard Sapper, Jasper Morrison, Stefano Giovannoni, Marc Newson, Konstantin Grcic and Achille Castiglioni.

The company elegantly combines simple design with sophisticated style, with a very heterogeneous range of products that covers every room of the house.  The company in fact promotes a return to simplicity, using modern innovative technology, taking three or four years to turn a single complex project into a deeply creative and clever technical success.

Some of Magis’ most recent works include the “Fuoritema” creations, which include new and previously untouched themes, such as products for pets.  Magis’ Me Too Collection, launched in 2004, includes children’s designer furniture, involving nine designers for more than 20 objects.

One product in this line, Chair First, a chair made by air moulding, was awarded the well deserved and prestigious Compasso d’Oro.  Other notable contributions include Stefano Giovannoni’s Bombo Stool, a huge international hit, and the Magis “Bottle” wine rack project, which won a number of design prizes.  Bottle has also been a part of many museum contemporary collections in both New York and London.

You’ve dug deep into your old, dark bathroom cabinets for the last time, only to come up empty-handed. Where is that spare bar of soap or the shaving crème? One of the fastest ways to make your bathroom more accessible and enjoyable is to rip out those old cabinets and replace them with new ones.

A bathroom cabinet dates a room, so if yours are from a bygone decade or even a bygone era, you may be creating more work for yourself than is necessary. Today’s bathroom cabinets come with all sorts of conveniences and amenities to make your life easier and the mornings much more pleasant. 

Slide-out drawers and racks allow you to reach everything, even that extra soap bar at the back, with ease. Built-in organisers keep everything in it place and easy to find and recessed lighting means even on the darkest winter morning you can see the things you need. New bathroom cabinets are also a wonderful way to update your decor. Choose from every kind and colour of wood imaginable or consider more modern touches of chrome, steel or glass. 

Pre-built cabinets, in standard sizes, can save you quite a bit of money. If your bathroom is an odd size or has non-standard angles, consider installing pre-built cabinets for the bulk of your transformation and adding one or two custom pieces to fit into those odd corners.

Whatever you decide, you’ll love the transformation of your bathroom once the new cabinets are installed. As an added bonus, the ability to find everything easily will get your mornings off to a much better start.

You want a new look in the bedroom but can’t afford to replace your entire bedroom set.  One option that might meet your needs is to just change the headboard—or add one if your current bed doesn’t have one. The headboard of a bed sets the design theme for the entire bed, and often the entire room. A light, airy, open-weave white metal “princess” style headboard can be replaced with a chunky wooden headboard stained dark brown, and the feel of the entire room changes.

Headboards can also give you extra storage space. Some are up to a metre thick, with lift-up tops and hidden storage below. Others offer small shelves for books, tissue boxes, or other necessities. Then there are designer headboards that make a statement about you. Are you a musician? Order the headboard that’s a curved music staff with notes on it. For kids, Disney or cartoon characters dancing across the headboard can welcome them to bed when they’re tired.

A “new” favourite is old headboards that have been refinished and re-purposed. Brass headboards are a perennial favourite, but antique doors, WWII hospital bed headboards, and even old window frames have been beautifully refinished and fitted onto bedframes to create a unique look. The best part of these is that you’re not creating any new manufacturing waste in their creation—it’s the second part of the reduce, re-use, recycle trilogy.

You can find headboards that create a mood or atmosphere, as well. Loved that honeymoon in the Tuscan hills? Look for a headboard in shades of terracotta, olive, and brown, with touches of gold and blue. You’ll start relaxing the moment you enter the room. A well-chosen headboard can not only finish off your bed, it can also make a statement about you.

If someone told you that could save hundreds of pounds each year by taking out a few minutes to put some preventive measures in place, would you do it? Of course you would. Yet many of us do not think about such things when shopping around for household insurance. Instead, we focus on what we have to have by law (or by the bank’s requirements) and how quickly we can get through the process to move on to more important and enjoyable things.

However, taking those few minutes can save a great deal of time, money and headache. Taking preventive measures is generally fairly easy and you will be glad you made the effort.

Home insurance companies give you policies hoping you will never use them because that is how they make their money. Of course, you also hope you will never use your policy because it means there has been some kind of tragedy or at least an inconvenience that has caused damage to your home and contents.

However, taking these few steps can save money through lower premiums because it reduces the risk. 

Take precautions against fire by ensuring your smoke detectors and fire extinguishers are in proper working order. To reduce the risk of theft, use a security system and do not leave valuables out for everyone to see. It also helps to keep trees and shrubs away from windows as they provide cover for potential burglars. Last but not least, the fewer claims you file means that you pay less in premiums each year.

Adding a wooden gazebo can really enhance the use and fun you get out of your garden.
What are the advantages of a wooden gazebo, and what accessories can you include?

* A wooden gazebo provides you with an extra outdoor room, adding value to your property.
* A wooden gazebo can be used all year round, right through from winter to spring and summer.
* A gazebo can include a relaxing wood-surround hot tub for those chilly evenings.
* Gazebos come in all shapes, sizes and colours, including either a tiled roof or a sturdy canvas canopy.
* It is now a breeze to arrange a romantic evening for two with champagne in the hot tub in your cosy gazebo.
* A wooden gazebo can be designed with any furniture and dining configuration you prefer.
* Gazebos can house a state-of-the-art barbeque for entertaining stylishly on those summer days with friends.
* A gas heater can be included to get year round use.
* Gazebos don’t require planning permission if they are freestanding in your garden.
* A gazebo made from wood in the style you choose can be installed on an existing patio.

These are just some of the wonderful advantages to having a garden gazebo that can be a visual asset to your home while increasing its value. You will find endless uses for the garden gazebo, and enjoy dining outdoors more.

Just as you wouldn’t imagine having a bathroom without a bathroom suite, you equally wouldn’t expect to have a bathroom without a bathroom mirror. These items are useful in many ways and if you haven’t yet decided what type of bathroom mirror you should be looking for you should give some thought to what will work best for you. For example, you can buy heated bathroom mirrors, which are harder to steam up than standard ones. The big advantage with these is that the mirror is never misted up and therefore doesn’t have to be wiped before you can use it.

A well-chosen bathroom mirror can finish off a bathroom and make a statement in ways that many other items cannot. You will find that a good mirror will become the focal point of the whole room, so it is better to purchase something attractive rather than a basic and plain model. In this sense it is worth investing what you can into a good bathroom mirror. Some have additional features such as lights and once again this can solve two problems for you. Not only will you will have a nice mirror to look at, but you will also have a neat solution if you need more subtle lighting in your bathroom.

Always remember that it is worth shopping around, not only to get the best design, but also the best price; UK Bathrooms have a wide range of bathroom mirrors in stock at affordable prices and can help you make the perfect purchase.

In any busy household or even for people living on their own in small studio flats, space is at a premium. In fact wherever you live, over a period of time you’re likely to naturally to fill up whatever space you have and saving it is something of an art form.

Bedrooms in particular, often suffer from a surfeit of furniture, which can very quickly leave you feeling oppressed as you have to negotiate your way around dressing tables, wardrobes, chests of drawers and most of all, beds, when you’re often half awake and not in the best of moods.

It is in situations such as this where you can save space by choosing a suitable bed. Pick one like a divan bed, which looks and feels like a normal bed, but has space underneath to store blankets and sheets, instead of having them lying around.

As for the kids, why not try a bunk bed, they’ll love it? As well as keeping them amused you’ll be halving the space taken up by the bed, although there may be some arguments over who gets the top one.

Sofa beds used to be a real pain, with clanking metal frames that seemed designed to take your fingers off when you tried to open or close them. Now, however, the technology has caught up with demand and they’re the height of fashion as well as a joy to use.

Even if you’ve got the smallest bedroom imaginable, there’ll be a bed out there that’s just right for your decor and your needs.

When looking for house insurance quotes there are several ways to set about it.  Most insurance companies will have a call centre that you can contact for a quote, but the downside of this is that they can only give house insurance quotes for their own products.  However, going direct to the company does have some advantages as often they can give discounts and incentives for you to sign up. 

There are several companies that act as insurance brokers and will search different insurance companies on your behalf to get you the best quote.  This just takes a phone call to the broker or a visit to their website.  However, some brokers do work on commission and may take a fee for recommending particular policies, so it is still worth shopping around. 

A third option is to use a price comparison website.  The advantage of this is that it can show you at a glance different prices from different companies.  There may also be discounts for signing up for a policy online.  However, not all comparison websites show all insurance companies and there are several popular insurance companies that do not allow their products to be listed on comparison sites.

Shopping around for house insurance quotes is essential.  It does not matter if you have already had a cheap quote; there is always another one out there that can give you a better deal.  Some policies come with gifts when you sign up, such as shopping vouchers or cash back deals, and it is worth taking these into consideration when you make your decision.

Many older homes have artexed ceilings – that is, ceilings that have been treated with a water-based coating that has then been textured and painted. Quite fashionable in its day, nowadays ridding themselves of the artex “look” is one of the first tasks many DIYers face when remodelling a home or building. While removing artex is fairly simple, in cases where artex was applied pre-1980 (and may contain asbestos) or was applied to cover a damaged ceiling, it may be wisest to leave artex in place and plaster over it.

The first task in plastering over artex is preparing the surface. Loose and flaking bits must be removed, along with all of the bigger stipples. It is strongly advisable to wear protective eyewear (goggles) while doing this to avoid injury.

Once the surface is prepared, two coats of diluted PVA adhesive (1:1 water/PVA) should be applied; leaving an hour of drying time between each coat. Do not be tempted to skip this step and go straight to skimming. Artex is extremely porous and without the PVA, your plasterwork will be a disaster. The PVA coats will seal the Artex, thus giving you more time to work.

Once the PVA coats are dried, it’s time to apply your skimming plaster. Plastering is a difficult art, so work in manageable areas. Mix your plaster using a wooden stick or mixer drill, adding the water first and then slowly adding the plaster until you have a creamy consistency. Because plaster dries quickly, always work in a cool room.

Bathroom accessories come in numerous different types in the modern world. From toilet roll holders to towel racks to towel rails, bathroom shelves, tumblers, toilet brushes, robe hooks and soap dishes, bathroom accessories are a permanent fixture in every household.

Soap dishes are, as the name suggests, small dishes that are designed to hold bars of soap. Soap dishes were invented for a purely practical and logical purpose. When wet, bars of soap become notoriously slippery and thus after use they are very difficult to keep in one place, such as on the side of a wash basin or bathtub; therefore the soap dish was invented to keep the soap in place whilst still located near the area where it is most likely to be utilised. Some wash basins actually come with their own soap dish already built in, usually in the form of a small groove near to the tap area. Usually coming in an oval shape (although there are other variations in existence), soap dishes are made from various substances including metal, ceramic, plastic and glass. Soap dispensers can vary in price from very cheap plastic versions to surprisingly expensive designer models.

For soap variations such as foam soap or liquid soap, a soap dish is not used, with those usually being kept in soap dispensers, which are essentially plastic pumps that squeeze out the liquid or foam soap when a handled is pressed. This kind of soap is most often the favoured form of soap used in public facilities.