Archive for the ‘home office’ Category

The return of the nesting bird paperclip holder

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010
Create a nest out of paperclips

Build a paperclip nest

We love it when we find items we’ve previously featured reduced to super fabby prices.

Remember the nesting bird paperclip holder?

This quirky little piece, which would look great on a desk, was reduced by Objects of Design from its original price of £32.50, to £24.50, before being dropped a further 50% down to £12.25.

We couldn’t possibly resist that, so a white nesting bird is now winging its way towards our desk.

Get yours before they all fly away!

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Clever ceramic notepad

Monday, January 11th, 2010
Eco-friendly notepad

Eco-friendly notepad

Never worry about running out of paper again, with this ceramic, re-usable notepad.

This eco-friendly item is designed to look just like a notepad, but is made of ceramic. It comes with a wipeable pencil, which is tucked in the slot at the top, and you can write your shopping lists or notes on it.

The pad measures 20cm by 14cm and can easily be cleaned with a dry or damp cloth. As well as the pencil that comes with it, you can use china markers or dry wipe pens safely on the ceramic surface.

If you’d like to go for this paperless option, then find it at Soulful Toaster for £12.

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Illustrated Living special discount offer

Monday, November 23rd, 2009

illustrated-living1

The lovely folks at Illustrated Living are offering readers of Fresh Design Blog 10% off all orders placed betweeen now and the end of December 2009.

To take advantage of the discount, all you need to do is enter the code ‘FRESHXMAS’ at the checkout, and 10% will be deducted from everything in your basket. Free shipping is available on all orders over £75.

The Now Panic and Freak Out tea towel, which we previously featured, is back in stock in their online shop, but there are plenty of other gorgeous home and interior goodies to get your hands on too, including stylish kitchen equipment, tableware, cushions and posters.

Here are some of our favourites:

Unusual cable and cotton lights

Unusual cable and cotton lights

These unusual cable and cotton lights look like a fun way of adding creative lighting into your home, especially as you can either hang or drape the cable and use it wherever you want in your home.

The box arrives with 35 colourful cotton spheres in it, which you can arrange onto a cable loop as you want. They provide a decorative focus point when not lit, but when they’re switched on, they offer an interesting glow.

The cable and cotton lights are £34.95 for a set of 35.

Retro phone

Retro phone

This purple trim phone is styled on the original 70s Trim Phone, but has a modern retro feel to it.

The twist dial has been replaced by an easy to use push button system and it’s in a gorgeous shade of purple, plus various other colours too. It’s priced at £34.95.

Red felt placemats

Red felt placemats

These fun red felt placemats in the Enchanted Forest design have butterflies, flowers and birds cut into them.

A set of six is available for £19.95 and they’ll add a touch of colour and interest to your dining table.

Gruffalo breakfast set

Gruffalo breakfast set

For the children in your life, Illustrated Living also have a great range of Gruffalo inspired items (the Gruffalo book, by Julia Donaldson, was recently voted the best children’s bedtime story book by listeners of Radio 2), including this four piece Gruffalo children’s breakfast set, £14.95.

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Rodrigo Torres paperclip and pen holder

Monday, November 2nd, 2009
Chip the paperclip holder

Chip the paperclip holder

It’s not long since we featured the nesting bird paperclip holder, but already we’ve found something similiar that equally deserves a mention.

Designed by Rodrigo Torres, this polished stainless silver bird - called Chip - is also magnetic and is the ideal storage facility for paperclips, but it’s got the added bonus of offering somewhere for you to rest your pen too.

The little open eye socket area is the perfect place for your favourite pen. Use those moments of procrastination at your desk to decorate the polished silver bird with an array of paperclips!

The Rodrigo Torres Chip magnetic paperclip holder is £28 from Utility.

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Nesting bird paperclip holder

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
Create a nest out of paperclips

Create a nest out of paperclips

Keep your paperclips organised and in one place, with the help of this bird paperclip holder.  There are three different colours available - black, red and white - and it would look great in a ktichen, study or home office.

The birds are handmade in Mexico, from 100% recycled aluminium and have magnets hidden inside them, which help pull in the paperclips. As the paperclips build up around the base of the bird, you can have fun creating birds nests out of them!

You can find the nesting bird paperclip holder at Objects of Design, for £32.50.

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Notorious Kitsch glam chrome phone

Thursday, October 1st, 2009
Chrome phone

Chrome phone

Forget cordless and hands-free - make a statement in your home with a glamorous chrome phone.

Based on the traditional European 1930s style telephones, this stylish phone would have looked just the part in a hotel lobby, but now you can give it a home in your house. The phone is compatible with UK phone lines, but if you don’t want to put into active use, it would look great used as a home accessory.

The chrome phone is available from Notorious Kitsch for £59. If chrome isn’t your colour, they also do a rather lovely red phone too.

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Paperwork recycled paper basket

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
Paperwork recycled basket

Paperwork recycled basket

This contemporary basket is a lovely example of how effective recycled products can look.

Made entirely from recycled rolls of magazines, the basket can be used for storage purposes or for a waste paper basket (kind of appropriate).

Although the exterior design and shape will be the same, there’s a lovely unique aspect to them too, as the colours will depend on exactly which magazines have been used to craft the basket. The one shown is a lovely array of multicolours.

The Paperwork recycled basket is available from Mocha for £27.99.

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Making Your House Into A Fabulous Modern Home

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

space2logo

Sponsored post by Space2

There is something special about the experience of furnishing a home, from choosing the bedroom furniture, to working out where all the kid’s toys are going to be stored.  Not forgetting the teenagers with their endless studies and the ever-growing need nowadays for a home office.

Bedroom Furniture

space2-bedroom-furniture

One of the main areas of a house, which can create the perfect space to relax in, is the bedroom and it is one of the easiest to produce an instant effect in. The recent design trends of smooth sleek surfaces in black, red and white gloss can create chic and modern bedrooms. One of the ways of getting the balance right within a bedroom is offsetting the colours with your chosen wallpaper or paint and enhancing them with the furniture.

If we look at the design trend of bold print wallpaper, the visual impact on a focus wall is impressive, however if you combine the colour of the wallpaper with key bedroom furniture pieces, the impact is breathtaking.

Choosing the correct furniture to balance the bedroom design is of great importance, as nothing looks worse than mismatched pieces in a modern room; this look is fine for an eclectic feel, but not for the individual who wants sleek lines, high gloss and statement style.
 
A great solution to combine all these requirements is modular bedroom furniture.  The Belgian architect De Koninck invented this fantastic idea back in 1932, the idea was to have furniture that could be added to or changed, dependant on the individuals needs. De Koninck started using wire frames, but luckily, with today’s manufacturing process, we have moved beyond this to create ideal bedroom storage, with interchangeable doors to suit the latest style.

Children’s Bedrooms

jesper-kids-pink-and-white

Staying with bedrooms, children’s bedrooms can be stylish too. The modular style can be used to great advantage here, especially if you like to buy furniture that grows with the child.  However, stand-alone units can add instant appeal to a child’s room, with striking pink for the little princesses or for the little princes, boyish blue.

These styles of furniture work very well to create a child’s room instantly, and adding soft furnishings such as curtains and bed linen with aspects of this colouring can benefit the feel of the whole room, giving the child a space to play and sleep which is designed perfectly for their visual needs and relaxation time.

Teenage Bedrooms

florian-kids-bedroom-lime-silver1

As children reach their teens, they may have grown out of the pink and blue phase and as they aspire for their independence, the decoration of their room will be of importance, especially when they have their friends over.

However, regardless of what they put on the walls or the choice of colour they want, using modular bedroom furniture with its large range of fascias, can ensure you match teenage ideals. 
 
Another area for the teenager’s bedroom is the computer, a focal point of many of their lives. Even if their bedroom does not have a computer in it and you use space elsewhere, there are great home office ranges available to suit every space in your home. 

Home Office

calgary-black-gloss

There are many desk designs available to suit whatever space you have and your individual taste. For those going for the modern edge, for example, the gloss ranges help create a workspace with functionality and sleek lines.

For those who are fortunate to have a room dedicated as a home office, the decoration and the furniture can be designed to meet your needs perfectly.  The wall colouring needs to be subtle, so as not to distract from the work in progress. 

A good way of choosing the colour for your office is to purchase your desk, filing cabinet, and shelving first - in fact, all your home office furniture requirements. Then by using the colouration of the wood grain, go a few shades lighter on the wall if you’ve got dark wood, or a few shades darker for the wall colouring if you’ve got light wood. 

If you’re choosing a modern gloss theme, opposite shades work very well, enhancing the office furniture and making working within your home a joy.
 
In essence, creating a house into home which is beautiful, relaxing and above all else functional is all about enhancing your space with colours that balance and complement each other. By designing your home in such a way, you are making the choices which suit you and therefore, making your house your home.

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Laura Ashley orient print magazine file

Saturday, September 19th, 2009
Orient print magazine file

Orient print magazine file

I love storage solutions and it’s even better when they come in gorgeous designs.

With its cheery red colour, and oriental floral print, it’s not surprising that this magazine file caught my eye.

It’s available from Laura Ashley and, as they’re having a ‘mega weekend’ (until 20th September), there’s 25% off the usual price - so it’s now only £3.75!

In fact there’s 25% off all their home furnishing products, so it’s well worth having a nose around their website.

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