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Archive for the ‘Top 10’ Category
Friday, May 3rd, 2013
Flamingos – especially pink flamingos – have been featuring in a range of home decor products for a while. Here’s a round-up of 10 of our favourite flamingo design home ideas.
1. Limited edition flamingo and flowers canvas print by Chloe Croft, £90 from Rockett St George.
2. Living flamingos cushion, £9.99 from Argos
3.Cole and Son flamingos wallpaper, designed by Una Lindsay, £67 from Heal’s
4. Flamingo and rose mug, £18.50 from Lou Rota
5. Bold contemporary design flamingo lampshade, £57 from Katie & The Wolf
6. Flamingo design tall slim milk jug, £27.50 from Fenella Smith
7. Flamingo wall sticker, £16.95 from Rabbit and Gold
8. Large flamingo print, £35 from Graham and Green
9. Contour indigo flamingo wallpaper, £19 from Debenhams
10. Pink and turquoise flamingo cushion by Jorja Wilkinson, £39.95 from Iapetus
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Posted in Top 10 | 1 Comment »
Thursday, October 11th, 2012
Media company, Cision, have recently updated their rankings of the Top 10 Interior Design Blogs in the UK and we’re pleased to discover that Fresh Design Blog is now at number five!
There are lots of other great blogs listed too, so here’s the full ranking to explore:
1. Easyart Loves
2. Bright Bazaar… because beige is boring
3. A Rowan Tree
4. This Home Sweet Home
5. Fresh Design Blog
6. Inspiration
7. Moon to Moon
8. Light & Space
9. Abigail Ahern
10. Inspiration for Decoration
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Tags: best interior design blog, best UK interior design blog, bloggers, Cision, interior design, interior design blog, Top 10, top blogger, top UK interior design blog
Posted in Miscellaneous, Top 10 | No Comments »
Saturday, December 31st, 2011
We’ve written hundreds of blog posts on Fresh Design Blog this year, covering topics such as interior design ideas, bargain buys, designer furniture, home accessories, decorating options, wallpaper and lots of gorgeous pieces you could add to a modern or contemporary home.
As part of our end of year review, here’s a look at our top 10 most popular posts written in 2011!
1. Taking the prime spot, our most popular post this year was the one looking at the Top 10 free online interior design room planning tools.
2. Second in line is the gorgeously colourful funky Marrakech patchwork sofa, designed and sold by Couch GB. What a brilliant design!
3. It’s good to see that so many of your love the bookshelf wallpaper as much as we do. Our piece featuring ideas to help you create a feature wall with bookshelf wallpaper is the third most popular post this year.
4. Wallpaper always features a lot in our top posts – here it is again, in the form of the Mandara contemporary silver tree wallpaper, which is our fourth most popular in 2011.
5. One of our favourite annual gardening events, and a great place to pick up new contemporary garden design ideas, is the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Our piece on Diarmuid Gavin’s Irish Sky Garden comes in as the fifth most popular 2011 post.
6. We’ve featured a variety of striking mirror designs this year, and even run a mirror competition. This contemporary handmade rolled art glass mosaic mirror has clearly caught the eye of many of you, as it’s taken the sixth spot.
7. We love quirky home accessories – and clearly so do you – as Morris the memo holder horse and the floppy disc sticky notes, which are both perfect for use in a study on a desk, came in at number seven.
8. Wall art in many forms, including 3D, have been popular in interior design again this year. The colourful gentle roe 3D MDF wall decoration came in at eighth place.
9. Our ninth most popular post was the stunning round driftwood and glass coffee table.
10. And finally, one of the best room dividers we’ve come across, the B&B Italia soft wall room divider, wins the award for our tenth most popular post in 2011.
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Tags: 2011, best art, best coffee table, best mirror, best sofa, free, fresh design, Fresh Design Blog, funky, interior design, interior design blog, most pageviews, most popular, most popular posts, quirky, Top 10, top 10 interior design
Posted in Top 10 | No Comments »
Friday, March 4th, 2011
From practical and functional, design conscious and elegant, to fun and quirky, salt and pepper sets have come a long way over the years. If you’d like to make a design statement on your table, create a talking point at dinner parties or add a bit of fun to your kitchen, then we’ve gathered up our top 10 salt and pepper sets.
1. Alberto Mantilla Hug Salt and Pepper Set
 Hugging pair This cute little pair of salt and pepper shakers celebrates the art of hugging. Made from porcelain and designed by Alberto Mantilla in 2003, from the award-winning New York design company, Mint, the black and white pair fit together in the embrace of a hug when not in use.
The Hug salt and pepper shakers are £20 from Cool and Collected.
2. Robert Welsh Stainless Steel Salt and Pepper Set with Bamboo Stand
 Sleek and stylish salt and pepper set This sleek and stylish stainless steel salt and pepper set is designed by Robert Welsh.
It’s the perfect addition to a contemporary dining table and comes with a bamboo wooden stand.
The Robert Welsh salt and pepper set costs £32 from John Lewis.
3. Salt and Pepper Robots
 Wind up salt and pepper robots We’re increasingly seeing more robot trends in homeware products and this pair of salt and pepper bots is a great example. The white robot has salting duties and the black one deals with the pepper and they can be wound up, so that they waddle across the table to deliver the goods.
Fun for adults and children alike, the salt and pepper bots cost £11.99 from Totally Funky.
4. Alessi Lilliput Salt and Pepper Set
 Funky magnetic salt and pepper set Alessi are renowned for producing modern and contemporary homeware and accessories and, amongst their range, they do a variety of weird and wonderful salt and pepper sets. It’s hard to choose only a few to feature (we could easily do a whole post just on Alessi condiment sets), but one of them has to be the Lilliput salt and pepper set.
Designed by Stefano Giovannoni and made from thermoplastic resin (with an 18/10 stainless steel base), the quirky salt and pepper characters have magnets on them, so they can be attached wherever you wish on the steel stem.
It’s definitely an unusual cruet set to have in use and can be enjoyed by any age.
The A di Alessi Lilliput salt and pepper set is available in a choice of colours, including orange, green, blue, black and white and yellow. Most of the colours cost £21 from Amazon, but the yellow version is currently on offer for the super bargainous price of only £14.67.
5. Lobster Salt Shaker
 Stunning lobster salt shaker In this case, you only get the salt shaker, but it’s quite a show stopper!
The realistically designed metal lobster, with it’s accurate detailing, is 10cm long and the salt is dispensed through a few holes on the top of its body (it is filled easily via a stopper underneath).
To get this amazing creature on your dining table, head over to Distinctly Living, where the lobster salt shaker costs £18.
6. Rubik’s Cube Salt and Pepper Mills
 Bring the Rubik's Cube to the table These wonderful Rubik’s Cube salt and pepper mills are designed in the shape and style of the favourite 1980s iconic retro puzzle. There’s no puzzle to solve to get the salt and pepper out though, just twist the top to get the grinder into action and your favourite condiment will be dispersed.
The Rubik’s Cube salt and pepper mills are sold separately for £11.99 each, or can be bought as a pair for £19.99 per set from Firebox.
7. Triangular Shaped Salt and Pepper Set
 Sleek stainless steel salt and pepper set If novelty salt and pepper shakers aren’t quite your style, but you do like good design and unusual shapes, then how about this triangular salt and pepper set?
Made from 18/8 stainless steel and hammered by hand, this pair of shakers are crafted into triangular shapes that are easy to hold and use. They’re refilled at the base and won’t tarnish.
The triangular shaped metal salt and pepper set is sold by Indigo Flair and costs £24.50.
8. Alessi Birds of Paradise Salt and Pepper Set
 Birds in a tree This weird and wonderful brightly coloured salt and pepper set is made from thermoplastic resin and features a small tree with two birds hanging from it – one offering salt and the other pepper. This one is guaranteed to be noticed if used on your table when entertaining!
The birds of paradise salt and pepper set is £31 from Alessi.
9. Bud Matryoshka Russian Dolls Salt, Pepper and Toothpick Set
 Russian dolls cruet set Matryoshka, or Russian Doll, designs have been a favourite trend in homewares and fashion in recent years and here they’re immortalised into a salt, pepper and toothpick set.
Designed by Bud, the three piece Matryoshka set is in graduating sizes and is available to purchase from Dotmaison. The usual price is £20, but they’re currently on offer for £16.70.
10. AIGA Wild Boar Design Ceramic Salt and Pepper Set
 Wild boar animal silhouette This salt and pepper set is handmade from cream coloured earthenware and is styled in a slim, cartridge shape. Both the salt and pepper shakers are decorated with a black wild boar silhouette design. It’s perfect for the minimalist, who doesn’t want a flamboyant set, but appreciates style and design.
The wild board salt and pepper shaker set is designed by Aiga Siceva-Sattler and is part of the Wildlife ceramic tableware collection. It can be purchased from the AIGA store and costs £29.
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Tags: AIGA, Alessi, Amazon, best salt and pepper sets, condiment, Cool and Collected, cruet, Distinctly Living, DotMaison, Firebox, grinder, Indigo Flair, john lewis, Lilliput, lobster, pepper mill, quirky salt and pepper, robot trend, Rubik's Cube, russian doll trend, salt and pepper, salt mill, set, Totally Funky
Posted in Kitchen accessories, Top 10 | 3 Comments »
Sunday, February 20th, 2011
 Redesign a room layout If you’re thinking about redesigning a room and altering the layout, then it’s sometimes hard to work out whether your ideas will really work and if everything will fit in well. This is particularly so with rooms such as bathrooms or kitchens, when you’re considering totally re-arranging the existing layout.
One of the best ways of seeing whether or not your ideas are actually viable, and to get an idea of how they might look, is to put together a proposed layout of your room. If you don’t fancy drawing this all out on paper, then there are a wide variety of very useful free room planning tools online, many of which are simple and easy to use.
Some of the tools are useful for an initial play, to see how you could move key items around in a room. But if you want to get a more accurate idea of how things could work in your particular room, you will need to take measurements and input these into the room planners. Don’t forget to also take into consideration where windows or doors are located and which way they open!
There are online room planning tools run by individual brands, which use examples of their own products to help you plan a room, plus generic tools that guide you as to what size bath or sink you’ll require to meet your plans.
We successfully used one of the generic room planners to re-design our bathroom, completely altering the original layout. Using our measurements, it was very useful to see the maximum size of bath and shower unit that could fit in, whilst still giving enough space in the rest of the room.
Once you’ve produced your perfect room plan, you can usually save it, download it or print it out. If you’re employing a builder or contractor to do the work, then the room plan will be useful for them to get a better idea of what you’re looking for and find products that match the required sizes.
10 free online room planning design tools
1. Mydeco – Mydeco have several free online design tools available, including a useful 3D room planner, which is great for aiding clearer visualisation as to how your room could look when the layout is altered.
2. Floor Planner – Floor Planner offers a useful tool (the basic option is free) to create new floor plans and room layouts.
3. Bathroom Accessories Guide – This back-to-basics tool uses ‘graph paper’ and simple measurements to show you what sizes of bathroom furniture may fit into the room you have available.
4. Sweet Home 3D – Free online interior design tool that allows you to create 2D plans and see previews in 3D. It’s available in a range of languages.
5. Autodesk Homestyle – Useful free drag and drop room planner tool that allows you to easily create floor plans, plus add decorating ideas too.
6. Ikea – Room planning tools from Ikea, including a kitchen planner.
7. Model Rooms – Free online room planner tool to help you design a new interior layout.
8. B&Q – B&Q have several free room planning tools on their website, including a bathroom planner, kitchen planner and room designer tool.
9. Homebase - Free 3D kitchen planner tool.
10. Magnet – Online kitchen planner tool that helps you create a 3D model of a kitchen.
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Tags: free, interior design, layout, online, plan, planner, planning, room, tool, Top 10
Posted in Interior ideas, Top 10 | 8 Comments »
Saturday, November 20th, 2010
Save money on your Christmas shopping today!
Christmas shopping can be a pricey and time-consuming business, but if you shop online and buy carefully, there are savings to be had. Lots of online stores have got discounts and special offers available at the moment, to help spread the cost of your Christmas shopping, as well as save you having to traipse around busy shops.
We’ve rounded up 10 of the best places with money saving offers to help ease the cost of your seasonal shopping!
1. House of Fraser have a host of different offers available on home and kitchen, seasonal and electrical items, including money saving discounts, 3 for 2 offers and buy one, get one free offers. Check out the offers page on their website for all the latest deals.
2. Habitat have up to 30% off – their clearance section has great offers on candles, lighting, chairs, bedspreads, photo frames and more, all of which would make great gifts.
3. Whittard have up to 25% off everything, exclusively online. It’s the perfect place to Christmas shopping bargains on tea and coffee gifts, china or gift hampers.
4. Debenhams have up to 25% off in their Christmas Spectacular – but it’s due to end on Sunday 21st November, so be quick.
5. Thorntons have a range of great offers on, including 3 for 2 on various Christmas gifts and some extra special discounts and buy one get one free offers.
6. Marks and Spencer have a 3 for 2 offer running across a lot of Christmas gift ideas. Don’t forget to check their daily deals too or their offers page for all the latest discounts and money saving buys.
7. Oliver Bonas have up to 50% off in their sale, with bargains in homeware and gifts.
8. Very have up to half price on gifts and gadgets, plus VAT free deals on furniture.
9. Leekes have special 3 for 2 offers on homeware, cookware and gifts to help you save money on your Christmas shopping.
10. Tesco has some great offers and deals of the week on homeware, furniture, gifts, entertainment and wine, to help the cost of Christmas go further.
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Tags: Christmas, Debenhams, Habitat, House of Fraser, Leekes, M&S, offers, Oliver Bonas, save money, shopping, Tesco, Thorntons, Very, Whittard
Posted in Seasonal, Top 10 | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, October 27th, 2010
It may seem early to think about how you’ll be decorating your Christmas tree this year, but with products in the shops already, some of the good buys are beginning to sell out.
For those of you planning to decorate your tree in silver and white, or if you’re looking for a few decorations in these colour to add to your existing Christmas decoration collection, then here are 10 of the best new silver and white Christmas tree decorations available!
We’ve found special baubles, bargain sets of baubles, decorations with a handmade look and contemporary pieces to add a modern feel to your seasonal decorations.
There’s something for everyone, so read on and see what takes your fancy!
1. Matt white pyramid bauble
This modern matt white pyramid bauble reminds me of the style of some of the contemporary pendant lights.
It’s a really effective piece and would look fantastic hung on a Christmas tree.
The white pyramid bauble is £10 from Heal’s.
2. Deer Christmas ball bauble
Add a contemporary touch to your Christmas tree, with this deer design bauble.
The cream coloured earthenware Christmas tree ball bauble is decorated with a black silhouette of a deer on one side, with a small silhouette on the other side.
This unusual bauble is £11 from AIGA.
3. Starburst round bauble
This unusual round bauble is called Starburst for a good reason!
The silvery white special bauble would make a great addition to your tree and costs £5 from John Lewis.
4. Origami polar bear Christmas tree decoration
This cute little polar bear isn’t made from paper, as the origami part of its name suggests. In fact, it’s carved to produce the origami look, which is very effective.
The white bear has a small hanger on the top of its back with ribbon strung through for hanging. It would be special piece to bring out for Christmas and treasure year after year.
The carved origami bear costs £12 from the V&A Shop.
5. Beaded snowflake hanging decoration
Even if we aren’t blessed with a white Christmas, this pretty beaded snowflake decoration can add a wintery touch to your Christmas tree.
The beaded snowflake hanging decoration is £5 from Graham and Green.
6.Round crackle glass bauble
You can’t beat a good glass bauble and if it’s got a crackle effect, then it’s even better.
These clear glass round crackle baubles are available in a choice of two sizes. The small bauble is £2 and the large £3.50 and they’re sold by Lombok.
7. Felt feather tree decoration
I’ll be honest, I thought this was a leaf when I first saw it, but leaf or feather, it’s a dainty piece to add to your Christmas tree.
Made from silvery white felt, the decoration has a lovely stitched effect running through it and, if you love the handmade look, this would be perfect.
The felt feather decoration is £4 from the V&A Shop.
8. Sparkly star tree decoration
Every Christmas tree needs a star and this one has just the right amount of sparkle.
The five pointed three dimensional star is sprinkled with glitter to make it sparkle under your Christmas tree lights.
The star decoration is £3.99 from The Contemporary Home.
9. Frosted silver hanging hearts
This pair of frosted silver hanging heart decorations are made from glass and hang from a contrasting velvet ribbon.
They’re a bit vintagey in style, but would look lovely used alongside contemporary decorations for an eclectic mix.
The pair of frosted silver hanging hearts cost £10 from Cox and Cox.
10. John Lewis mini glass baubles
In addition to all the gorgeous, one-off special baubles, every tree needs a good set of baubles to use to fill in the gaps year after year.
This super set of 27 mini glass silver baubles from John Lewis is a great starter kit and perfect for smaller Christmas trees. The baubles come in three different finishes – glittery silver, matt silver and shiny silver.
Best of all, they’re a great buy at only £4 per box.
Update December 2012: Check out our new post featuring more gorgeous silver and white Christmas tree decorations.
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Tags: AIGA, bargain, Christmas, cox and cox, decoration, felt, Glass, graham and green, Heal's, john lewis, Lombok, Not On The High Street, The Contemporary Home, V&A Shop
Posted in Seasonal, Top 10 | 5 Comments »
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010
  
Cushions are a wonderful home accessory to have and add interest and colour to chairs, sofas and beds. But for that extra special touch, why not opt for a 3D cushion?
There are some wonderful contemporary 3D cushions available at the moment, suitable for a wide variety of budgets, and they add extra dimension to the standard cushion. Plus, many are soft, cuddly and very touchable.
We’ve rounded up 10 of our current favourite 3D cushions.
1. Zinnia Blossoms Claret 3D Cushion
This striking claret red cushion is decorated with 3D zinnia blossom flowers made from felt.
The cushion is filled with feathers and measures 45cm by 45cm. It’s available from John Lewis for £30.
2. Black 3D Flower Cushion from M&S
This wool blend, felted fabric square cushion has a stunning 3D floral design on the front.
The black one is gorgeous, but it’s also available in red or green. You’ll find it for sale for £35 at M&S.
3. John Rocha 3D Felt Ripple Cushion
This lovely cushion by John Rocha features a 3D ripple effect.
It’s made from felt, in a striking green colour, and costs £32 from Debenhams.
4. Blue Folk Rosette Cushion from M&S
This blue folk style 3D appliqued rosette cushion is rectangular in shape and the floral rosettes are finished off with multi-faceted beads.
It’s £19.50 from M&S.
5. Scrap Pack 3D Cushion from Cushlab on Bouf
Children old and young will love this fun 3D cushion. It’s made from the off-cuts leftover from the rest of the Cushlab cushions and features a selection of quirky characters.
It’s full of dimension and interest, measures 40cm by 40cm and each one is unique. Find it for sale from Cushlab on Bouf, for £120.
6. 3D Rosebud Cream Cushion
This delicate cream cushion is adorned with a multitude of small 3D appliqued rosebuds.
The square cushion measures 43cm by 43cm and is available from M&S for £29.50.
7. John Rocha Yellow Pocket Cushion
In a cheery yellow shade, this designer 3D pocket cushion by John Rocha would add a splash of colour to your sofa.
The cushion measures 48cm by 48cm and costs £30 from Debenhams.
8.Pink Round 3D Flower Cushion
This circular felt cushion has lots of 3D flower petals on the front. Although it’s classed as pink, it’s more of a deep pink or red shade in colour.
The round flower 3D cushion is available from John Lewis, for £30.
9. Grey Organdy Rose Head Cushion from B&Q
This grey mix organdy rose head cushion is made from polyester and is, surprisingly, available from B&Q.
If you love the 3D effect of cushions, but only have a limited budget, it’s ideal as it only costs £10.98 from B&Q.
10. Cream Felt 3D Cushion from Asda
This cream felt 3D cushion looks like a designer piece, but is actually sold by Asda.
To get this cushion on your sofa woud cost the bargain price of £9 from Asda.
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Tags: Soft furnishings
Posted in Cushions, Soft furnishings, Top 10 | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
Worktop savers serve a practical purpose of helping protect your kitchen worktops from becoming scratched, burnt, stained, bashed or damaged. They’re usually made of durable materials, such as toughened glass, granite, wood or marble.
Although some are a bit boring and unoriginal, others are fun and quirky – here are 10 of our favourites!
1. Joseph Joseph spatula worktop saver
Joseph Joseph do a wide range of excellent worktop savers. This multi-coloured design celebrates the humble spatula, to great effect. Buy it from John Lewis for £15. 2. Ella Doran smarties worktop saver
This colourful smarties design is by Ella Doran and features round smarties and hearts, in a rainbow of colours.
3. Metro granite worktop saver
For a sleek and stylish look, this Metro worktop saver is made of dark granite, etched with a contrasting square design on one side.
It’s available from Argos for the sale price of £9.99.
4. Union Jack worktop saver
Add a patriotic feel to your kitchen, with the help of this Union Jack worktop saver.
The design is cleverly made up of fruits, such as strawberries and blueberries, and it’s available to purchase from Colloco Homeware and Gifts, on Not On The High Street, for £17.50.
5. Joseph Joseph breakfast worktop saver
Another great design from Joseph Joseph is this breakfast themed worktop protector, designed by illustrator Bo Lundberg.
6. Black and white floral bloom worktop saver
Bring the classic monotone look to the kitchen, with the help of this black and white floral bloom worktop saver. 7. Cupcake worktop saver
If you love a good cupcake, then this vintage cupcake design worktop saver may be right up your street.
It’s available from Lakeland for £7.99.
8. Oval polka dot worktop saver
It might be smalller than some worktop savers (15cm by 30cm), but this one is just as durable. If you’ve got a smaller kitchen, or not too large a worktop to protect, then this nifty oval worktop saver may do the trick.
Decorated with polka dots, in vintage shades, it’s only £3.99 from Denny and Sons.
9. Conversion worktop saver
You won’t be stuck for a cooking conversion ever again, as this practical kitchen worktop saver is packed with essential conversion information. Whether you need to convert ounces to pounds, ml to fl oz to cups, or °C to °F, they’re all here.
It was designed especially for Lakeland by Joseph Joseph and costs £9.78. 10. Chilli pepper worktop saver
If all things hot and spicy are your cup of tea, or you want your worktop saver to tone in with red or terracotta colours in your kitchen, then this chilli pepper worktop saver could be ideal.
It costs £9 from Leekes.
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Tags: Argos, chopping board, Corvus, Denny and Sons, Ella Doran, Glass, House of Fraser, john lewis, Joseph Joseph, Lakeland, Leekes, Not On The High Street, protector, saver, worktop
Posted in Kitchen accessories, Top 10 | 10 Comments »
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