shadow

Hospitality

3 Ways To Warm Up Your Home’s Aesthetic

Posted on: by: Comments: Leave a comment

We want our homes to feel warm and welcoming. When we come home for the day we want to feel comfortable, safe, and secure. Much of this obviously relies on how calm and collected we are and our families are throughout our daily lives, but we can also structure and design our surroundings to have a positive impact on the way we feel.

By choosing the right color schemes for different rooms in your house, for example, and making sure that they are consistently implemented throughout the home we can subconsciously invoke different moods as we walk from room to room. Blue is often soothing, new, and trusting, If we’re looking for warmth on the other hand, we’ll want to invoke reds, browns, and oranges.

Aside from establishing basic themes however there are also a few different fixtures you can add to a room to really drive the point home. If you’re looking to make a certain room particularly warm and cozy, here are a few things you could add to help boost the appeal:

A Wood Stove

A traditional wood stove or even a pellet stove alternative is a great way to go. Not only will it pump out tons of heat and make the area that surrounds it quite warm, it also has a visual appeal that will bring you back to your childhood (if, of course your family had a wood stove when you were young, our you knew someone who did).

One thing to keep in mind about a wood stove is that they do create a distinct smell when you use them. It can be a bit strong, and as such some people are simply not a fan of the smell. I personally find it somewhat soothing itself, so it’s a bit of a matter of personal preference.

An Electric Fireplace

Another route you could go these days is with an electric fireplace. They’ve come a surprisingly long way in recent days, and now you can find models that are quite realistic. The great thing about electric fireplaces is that you get all of the warmth and even some of the visual appeal of more traditional alternatives like a wood stove, but you don’t have the smell, you don’t need wood, and you don’t have an actual fire in your home.

You can find them in a number of different styles and designs as well. From inserts for a traditional fireplace to wood stove-like designs to even wall mounted designs. One cool way they’ve been implemented is as a TV stand, making them a functional piece of furniture. You can see a few of these few options at this site, and see if it’s something you’d want to consider for your home.

An Infrared Heater

If you’re into the warmth aspect but don’t care much about having a visually appealing centerpiece, an infrared heater can go a long way and save you some money at the same time when compared to the previous two options we’ve discussed. You can find them for relatively cheap money and they look rather sleek, so you can easily blend them into a corner of your room.

They’ll put out plenty of heat to give your room a little extra warmth to really make it a cozy place to spend your time. There are of course other types of space heaters you could use instead, this is just one of the more modern technologies that seems to be preferred these days.

Do you have any other ideas along these lines? If so, please share! I’d love to hear what you have in mind.

Futon or Sofa Bed – Which Will You Choose?

Posted on: by: Comments: Leave a comment

Have you ever had a call from family or friends saying they are coming for an overnight visit and your first thought was, “Oh no! Where will everyone sleep?” No need to panic. Even if you don’t have an extra bedroom or beds, there are sofas that double as beds and don’t take up too much room or “break the bank”.

There are a couple of choices to consider, the first one being a futon. This looks like a sofa that is actually a mattress or cushion, covered with a futon cover that sits on a wood or metal frame and converts into a bed. You sit or sleep on the same cushion. Some benefits of a futon are:

1. Is great for a small room or apartment.

2. Can open up quickly and easily then folds back up easily.

3. Two people can sleep comfortably.

4. Comes in different sizes and can choose mattresses with various thickness

and sizes.

5. Is light in weight and easy to move.

6. Is reasonably priced.

A second option to consider is a sofa bed which is an actual sofa with cushions and has a metal or steel frame that pulls out into a bed. Here is a good article about sofa beds. Some benefits of a sofa bed are:

1. Looks like a regular couch so no one knows a bed is inside until you

remove the cushions.

2. Can use it in a room you don’t want to look like a bedroom, yet have the

option of extra sleeping space.

3. Can find all sizes, styles and designs to give your room the look you desire.

4. Can easily sleep two people.

To make the right choice, you need to ask yourself, “How much space do I have and do I want a more casual or more stylish look?” To answer your question, let’s look at the downsides. The sofa bed is heavy and difficult to move, so you would need someone to help; they are much more expensive than a futon; and the mattresses are thin and not very comfortable. The futon doesn’t look as nice as a sofa bed; doesn’t have as many choices in design, colors or style; and is not as comfortable as a couch. After careful research, hopefully the choice you make is one that works best for you and your guests for years to come.