The Fired Earth summer sale runs from June 19 to July 17 and they are offering up to 25% off selected wall and floor tiles, kitchens and bathroom and even 50% off special purchase and discontinued tiles.

Kitchens

• Fired Earth’s kitchens are handcrafted from the highest quality, responsibly sourced materials and work well in contemporary and traditional spaces.
• Now is a great time to think about updating yours, as there’s 15% off all freestanding and fitted kitchens - including the new fitted Bastide (in our picture) and Moderne collections by Charles Smallbone - and rising to 25% off if you spend more than £10,000. (Offer excludes worktops and appliances for fitted kitchens.)

Tiles

• Fired Earth is well known for its collection of stunning wall and floor tiles and there’s never been a better time to buy them - with up to 25% off selected tiles from the hugely popular Tile Basics collection; in fact, you can now buy tiles from just 27p each, as the Architecture tiles have been reduced by 25%.

Bathrooms

• From truly chic wet rooms through to the most romantic bathrooms imaginable, Fired Earth has pieces to suit every taste. The summer sale offers savings of up to 25% off a huge range of products.
• For example there’s 25% off Bastide bathrooms, including the Washstand 1170 - reduced from £2,495 to £1,871.25.
• There’s also 25% off the Bastide dual control shower and accessories, which are reduced from £1,565 to £1,173.75.

Plus there’s also 15% off selected wood flooring, all Lloyd Loom furniture and hand-woven rugs.

For more information on sale products and prices, please visit the Fired Earth website.

Tel: (0845) 366 0400

In today’s chaotic world a sense of peace and harmony is more important than ever. Our environment has a considerable impact on how we think and feel and the right surroundings have the ability to help us relax, rest and refocus.

All these things enable us to be more productive, creative and improve our problem solving capabilities. So what better time than spring to freshen up a home or work environment.

A great way to create a naturally comfortable and serene environment is to get more in touch with nature.

With this in mind, here are a few tips on how to introduce a little of the outside, inside:

Plants
Not only do plants energise a bland room, they’re proven to help reduce stress and absorb toxins.
So why not harness the mood-boosting power of gardening and make the most of your indoor space with an indoor window herb garden.

Water
You may wonder how you can bring running water indoors, but there are some amazing minimalist indoor water fountains, which can be the perfect answer.

Not only will an indoor water feature be visually stunning, but also it is believed that water has natural healing properties.

Scents
With the ability to transform our emotions and heal our bodies, smell is one of the most powerful senses. So with this in mind you could introduce a little aromatherapy at work or home to soothe, uplift, energise, relax or even stimulate the body.

Real Wood
A real wood floor is one of the biggest natural statements you can make in a room and the warm, natural tones and texture of wood emulate the outdoors.

The variation in styles and colours of wood flooring is now greater than ever. Take a look at wood flooring from1926 Trading Co for some great examples at prices that won’t break the bank.

Featured here is their Karhs Wood Flooring (Kahrs Walnut Atlanta, City - American Naturals Collection).

Light
One of the great things about the outside is natural light and in the darker months of the year, you may find the lack of light is affecting your mood.

Floor-to-ceiling windows and skylights are two great ways to encourage every beam of natural of light into a room. If you look out to a green space or garden, large windows will create the illusion that the outside is part of the inside.

So there you have it, five simple ways to bring a little more of the outside in and make indoors a more inspiring and positive environment.

Web: http://www.1926woodflooring.co.uk/

The Bamboo Flooring Company is proud to supply premium grade bamboo flooring and accessories at competitive prices.

Given that they carry extensive stocks, they are able to supply their complete range of flooring and accessories on a next working day delivery basis.
The company imports direct from the factory in China, so there is no ‘middle man’, which means customers can enjoy a better price and service.

Bamboo flooring is one of the hardest natural materials available for flooring and is an excellent alternative to hard wood products;
it has a higher fibre rating than any hard wood, which gives it exceptional hard-wearing qualities.

This natural bamboo flooring solution is available in six different styles, which will compliment any interior design:

Pictured here is Carbonised Vertical bamboo flooring 96mmx960mmx15mm. Priced from £18.34 sq metre.

From ultra contemporary chic through to a more traditional classic style, natural bamboo flooring will give you a truly unique look.

Because bamboo is a rapid growing grass and not wood, it can be harvested every 3-5 years, unlike 15-25 years for most wood; this makes bamboo a very environmentally friendly product for flooring.

Web: http://www.bambooflooringcompany.com

After a few years playing with painting floorboards black, or in vivid colours, blondes are definitely back.

With blonde floorboards, the natural grain of the wood is able to really shine through, so the calming effect and visual elegance of pale wooden floorboards, are once again the preferred option when it comes to creating a perfect foundation for any room in the house.

The exclusive floors from the Danish company Dinesen, are made of either Douglas fir or Oak. Douglas is in greatest demand and is used in the vast majority of floors produced:

• The Douglas floorboards are made in lengths of up to 15 metres, widths of up to 45 cm and thickness of up to 35 mm. The Douglas floorboards may be treated with lye and white soap, or with white oil, which brings out a light expression.
• The Oak planks can be made in lengths of up to 5 metres, widths of up to 30 cm and thickness of up to 30 mm. The oak planks may be finished with a white or natural oil and maintained with the white or natural soap. A finish with white oil gives the oak floorboards a pale, greyish look, whereas the natural oil will maintain the light brown tone of the oak.

The variety of finishes of Dinesen floors, give the floorboards a natural and soft look, which enhances the wood allowing you to enjoy its structure and grain. It is also very easy to clean and maintain.

The expression of the floorboards may even be changed over time, by switching from the white soap to the natural soap in the care of the floor.

Dinesen floors are not kept in stock but made to order, so that customers receive a solution tailored to their particular requirements.

Web: http://www.dinesen.com

The Fired Earth summer sale runs from June 13th to July 12th and there’s up to 50% off selected tiles and bathrooms!

This sale is the perfect opportunity to take advantage of fabulous savings on beautiful wall and floor tiles, bathroom collections, kitchens and wood flooring.

The hot seasonal savings include: Up to 50% off tiles* and bathrooms* 25% off kitchens* Up to 25% off wood flooring.

Tiles
Fired Earth is perhaps best known for its distinctive wall and floor tiles.
Savings in the summer sale range from 15% off, up to fantastic
half-price offers.

Bathrooms
From truly chic wet rooms, through to the most romantic bathrooms imaginable, Fired Earth has pieces to suit every taste.
The summer sale savings include 50% off all sanitary-ware (excluding the new Versailles collection, which is discounted by 25%). There’s also 15% off baths, 25% off all taps and showers and half-price savings on selected accessories.

Kitchens
Fired Earth’s kitchens are made from the highest quality, responsibly sourced materials and work well in both contemporary and traditional spaces.
The summer sale offer is 25% off all pieces in the Fired Earth’s beautiful New England kitchen collection. (In our picture) Bastide, New England and Jura collections. There’s also 25% off Lloyd Loom furniture.

Wood flooring
Wood flooring has undergone a renaissance in recent years and Fired Earth’s range includes cherry, maple and walnut flooring, as well as traditional oak, all of which is sourced from sustainable forests.
Savings in the summer sale include 25% off engineered boards and 15% off solid wood boards.

*Applies to selected items while stocks last.

Web: http://www.firedearth.com
Tel: (0845) 366 0400

The Council of Mortgage Lenders recently reported that over 900,000 borrowers would now be in negative equity, as a result of the downturn in the property market.

They added that three in four of those have an average shortfall of between £6,000 and £8,000 so many homeowners now find themselves unable to move.

While a stagnant market could make you feel like you’re stuck on the same rung of the property ladder, why not make plans for when you can sell? Investing in some home improvements now could help claw back some of the value your property has lost.

There have already been a few small indications of recovery in the market recently - both Nationwide and Halifax have reported an average 1.5% rise in house prices in May, compared to almost 18 months of decline. Therefore now could be the perfect time to get your property into shape and ready for the recovery.

Adding significant value to your property, doesn’t necessarily mean spending a fortune on extensions, brand new kitchens or loft conversions; there are simpler and less expensive methods that could add considerably to your selling price.

So if current market conditions have left you unable to move, maximising the potential of your home is the next best thing. With a variety of ways to make improvements, to suit a range of budgets, it is possible to regain some of that lost value and prepare your biggest asset, for when the property market recovers.

Even if moving is a long way off yet, you can still enjoy the improvements you make whilst you live there!

Scroll down for some examples:

Install wood flooring
Installing wood flooring is one of the easiest ways to increase your valuation. The warm, natural tones of oak brings a touch of style and elegance to any home and can really enhance the existing decor.

A recent study by Woodcare showed that wood flooring could add 5 to 10% to the value of your home, whilst a survey of estate agents suggested that properties with wood flooring also sell faster.

It is much more affordable than ever before, with high quality oak flooring from top brands, now available for as little as £30 per square meter. Take a look at the superb range available at 1926 Wood Flooring, with styles and colours to suit all tastes:
http://www.1926woodflooring.co.uk

Give your kitchen a facelift
A new kitchen can also add 5 to 10% to your valuation, but it isn’t always necessary to replace everything, in order to have the desired effect; if you are happy with the layout, then you could consider either re-finishing or re-facing the existing units.

The cheapest option is to re-finish your kitchen by painting all your cupboard and drawer fronts, which is an excellent option if you want to compliment any other redecoration of the room.

Re-facing is also becoming more and more popular and simply requires the purchase of new cupboard and drawer fronts, rather than entire units. Also a new worktop to match your newly regenerated units, will really finish it off.
For further information, take a look at this guide:
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/kitchencabinets

Re-decorate
It may sound straightforward, but it‘s easy to underestimate the impact that simply re-decorating a room can have. A fresh coat of paint on the walls, doors and skirting boards, can vastly improve the feel of a room and if you do it yourself, the only cost involved is for the materials.

Take your time researching and testing colour schemes for different rooms and remember that lighter, neutral colours provide the illusion of spaciousness and allow potential buyers to easily imagine living in that space.
There are plenty of tips in this useful guide and an excellent colour designer, from the Paint Quality Institute here:
http://www.paintquality.co.uk/deco/power/index.htm

Premium flooring specialists Solid Floor launch a large selection of exciting new ranges, at the newly refurbished Marylebone showroom from May 2009.

The innovative ranges include:

Solid oak: Reclaimed style planks: A magnificent floor that recreates the look of a country house with a modern twist. These oak floors are burnt, stained and oiled to achieve a unique selection of colour tones.

Woven vinyl flooring: An exclusive product that has the feeling of a textile with all the benefits of vinyl, it is modern, durable and simple to maintain.

Seamless flooring: Poured resin floors offer a super-slick finish for those who like a smooth, clean look. These can be installed in any colour and can also be used to create floor art.

Leather flooring (in our picture): This new range is made from recycled leather and available in 12 colours and patterns. Stylish and durable leather flooring options are ideal for modern homes.

Art floors: Art floors offer a completely unique flooring solution; customers can choose a favourite image or create their own abstract designs to be created using a resin floor.

Rugs: The current range is being extended to include the stunning Limited Edition rugs, in a range of stylish colours and patterns.

Concrete flooring: A new range of high performance textured and patterned concrete floors are now available. This flooring allows traditional exterior finishes to be used indoors for striking effects.

Solid Floor offers a unique tailored approach to flooring and service; every project is carefully managed alongside the designers and architects, to ensure floors are installed perfectly, on time and within budget.

Solid Floor Marylebone is at 61 Paddington Street, London W1U 4JD.
Web: http://www.solidfloor.co.uk

Founded in 1898, Dinesen is Denmark’s leading manufacturer of exclusive wooden flooring and produces quality floors for buildings in both Denmark and abroad.

It has now become very fashionable to lay floorboards of variant widths, which creates an interesting and different look, to the clean and calming floor where all the planks are uniform.

However the recent trend of using floorboards of different width is not really new at all; tapered floorboards are an age-old tradition and only a few companies are able to deliver this exciting flooring solution.

Before the use of machinery in the processing of floorboards, only the edges of the plank were sawed off. This resulted in a tapered floorboard. A floorboard, which was wider at the root end than at the top end - the floorboards were then laid root against top.

Today, Dinesen still manufactures tapered floorboards, although machinery is used now, but a great deal of craftsmanship still goes into each floorboard, as every single knot in the wood is checked.
The company has produced tapered floorboards for many prestigious projects to maintain the original interior.

The floorboards from Dinesen may be found in castles as well as modern residences; some of their clients prefer the majestic look of the tapered floorboards, to the clean lines of parallel floorboards in their modern homes.

Quality is the be all and end all for Dinesen, and each floor is custom-made in close consultation with their clients, who include a number of international designers and architects.

Web: http://www.dinesen-floors.com

Dinesen is Denmark’s leading manufacturer of exclusive wooden flooring, producing floors for modern houses and apartments, castles, museums, churches and galleries, located both in and outside Denmark.

Floors are an essential part of interior design and the Dinesen floors create a distinguished foundation for beautiful rooms, complementing contemporary, modern and antique furniture.

Quality is the be all and end all for Dinesen, and this is why each and every floor is custom-made in close consultation with their clients, who include a host of international designers and architects.

Dinesen uses either Douglas fir or oak to make their solid plank floors:

The Douglas fir is in greatest demand and is used in the vast majority of floors produced; Dinesen floors can be treated with soap, oil or varnished depending on the surface desired.

The Dinesen planks are very versatile, as the long, unbroken lines create purity and calm; the Douglas planks are up to 15 meters long and 45 cm wide.

The family business was founded in 1898 and has grown into an international company that supplies solid oak and Douglas floors around the globe.

Web: http://www.dinesen-floors.com