Welcome to the Blogs

Well I’m delighted to have been invited to participate in the Problem Solved Blogs and I hope that you find the contents of the pieces I write over the coming months both useful and informative.

To introduce myself, I am Tim Foley, owner of the website www.kitchensfitted.co.uk and aside from our very popular forum that assists those buying and fitting kitchens and our website articles detailing how to fit a kitchen, we provide and install bespoke quality surfaces nationwide.

Your average household light switch is hardly the most exciting of items, but  not so at Candyqueendesigns.co.uksells , which sells  a wide range of unusual light switches, printed with a variety of designs, and fitted with themed rotary knobs to give a striking and dimmable switch. Each switch is priced at £24.99, and you can even send in your own photographs for a switch personalised to suit you.

Here at ProblemSolved it’s great to welcome another new blogger to our site in the form of the interior designer guru, Andrea Maflin.

Having run her owned interior design consultancy since 1993, Andrea has worked with a multitude of prestigious clients such as Harvey Nicolas, the Savoy Hotel in London and the Curzon Cinema Group.

Welcome to the world of Maffers. This is what my dearest of friends call me, only acquaintances know me as Andrea. When you get to know me a little better you will realise that my life verges on a sort of madness. I’m juggling my work life that can at times be very full on (well that’s the polite term for it) while my private life can be as hectic as well!

Stickers don’t usually tend to be associated with glamour – more something you’d tell the kids off for when you find them stuck to your new paintwork. But that all changes with these new self-adhesive wall stickers from Purlfrost. Better known for its window film, its wall stickers come in a choice of patterns, colours and finishes and can be easily applied to glass, metal, plastic or walls. A smart and affordable way to bring liven up your interior, these seasonal Leaves stickers cost £12.99 for a pack of 14 leaves.

Fast, affordable and framed art, delivered direct to your door, takes all the hassle out of filling blank walls - making Easy Art an ideal solution for time poor professionals. There’s an enormous choice of art prints available, spanning a varied range of styles and subjects. This Martini print by Steve Forney from the Art Nouveau range costs just £25.95 unframed – to frame it just click on the frame you like and it will pop up, letting you see online how your framed print looks. Prices start from £5.95 for unframed prints.

A fun and surprisingly handy website, Yahoo! Answers provides an interactive platform to indulge in one of man’s best virtues; curiosity.

With helpful categories such as the home and garden, health and computers to the more adventurous and opinionated such as politics, social sciences and parenting, Yahoo!

Who’d have thought that an old plastic bottle could produce something as striking as this decorative “fabric” by Michelle Brand?

For centuries great historic houses have used trompe d’oeil to add decorative splendour to interiors. Continuing this tradition but with a modern twist, Illusions of Grandeur cleverly combines the mural designs of older houses with the state-of-the-art technology of today. Enormous detail goes into each design, with reproductions completed on latex-based paper, silk, linen or acetate using fine art printing techniques. The results are quite spectacular.

The kind of social business initiative we should all sit up and take notice of, Hammersmith & Fulham Mind has just launched Look Interiors (interior decorating), Time To Green (gardening and landscaping) and Sweep Kleen (carpet cleaning). A professional trio of services operating across London, these all plough any profits made back into assisting those with mental health problems. It will also provide training and work opportunities for people recovering from mental health issues, allowing them to gain skills, on-the-job experience and financial remuneration.

Want to invest in some art without parting with a fortune?

With a new season upon us we’re all looking for the latest looks and trends to ensure our home stands out from the rest. Being bland just doesn’t cut it and interior experts Justin Ryan and Colin McAllister teamed with Ambi Pur, experts in home fragrances, have a few things to say to ensure you keep ahead of the game:

“This autumn sees us mixing traditional and modern themes throughout the home. Aye, even in the kitchen!

It’s a melting point of creativity at Paint Saints.co.uk, where you can browse and commission the work of over 500 artists, be they painters (PaintSaints), gardeners (GardenSaints), chefs (ChefSaints), fashion creators (ScissorSaints) and more. A free introductory service, Paint Saints works in everybody’s favour: the “Saint” gets a steady stream of commissions; and the customer has a useful and original source for birthday presents, special occasions and artistic inspiration.

Fancy a cheeky mojito?

Better known for its range of exquisite, hand-made personalized gifts, Aspen & Brown has recently unveiled a new Home & Garden Collection. Decorative ironware to delicate glassware, smart storage to vintage enamel – the collection is highly eclectic with prices starting from as little as £2.95. This Botanical Metal Wall sconce brings an unusual decorative touch to the home. Featuring delicate flowers and leaves, it holds two candles and is easily wall mounted – and it costs just £19.95.

For the last fifty years, Northolt Village in North West London has been home to the family owned timber door business, Todd Doors.

An acknowledged expert in its field, Todd Doors has a vast showroom boasting a display of over 300 doors, combined with a choice of over 1,000 ironmongery designs, ranging from the increasingly popular satin chrome finishes to the designer “dual” finish range.

For the last word in all things relating to lighting, Light-My-House.co.uk offers a vast range of lamps to serve all possible purposes.

One of the most iconic designs of the 20th Century, these Louis XV style chairs from Postmodern Designs are made from clear, transparent and coloured polycarbonate, and are moulded to give the maximum support and comfort. And Post Modern Designs is offering to give away four chairs (worth £672) to a lucky Really useful reader.

If your average happy snap just doesn’t do you justice, why not commission a funky modern portrait from YouAreArt.co.uk?

For a rug that is unique to you, as well as environmentally friendly, visit The Natural Rug Store. The first online rug store company in the UK to offer customers the facility to build bespoke rugs from scratch, its Rug Builder allows you to choose from a massive range of natural materials and colours, then have your rug bordered, piped or double bordered with cotton, leather, suede, wool, linen, tapestry, picallo and more – in whichever size you would like.

An independent family-run business, Knots has been working in the trade of rugs for three generations now, and offers a wide range of both traditional and contemporary styles. And to make way for its new and world exclusive Florence Broadhurst rugs, it is holding a massive sale with 10 per sent off everything in store, and savings of up to 40 per cent on a huge range of Missoni Home, Art Deco and plain modern rugs, as well as traditionals such as Persians, Kilims and hand-made silk and wool Tibetan rugs by Tashi Murik.

If summer’s arrival has left you pondering how best to keep your home cool, it is well worth considering the benefits of bespoke wood shutters, and there are few places better to go for these than Plantation Shutters.

Established since 1982, the Plantation Shutters’ range has evolved to include a number of unique features - hidden fixi

With a well-deserved name for good quality, design-led lighting, furniture and homeware accessories, The Conran Shop more than makes the cut when it comes to summer sales. It is offering up to 75 per cent off over 1000 lines available to buy in store and online ,  with pieces such as this Balance Shelving unit reduced from £ 245 to £150.; its Strips Four Seat Sofa down from £2,385 to £1,015 and its Barcelona Chair from £1695 to £1,269. But quick, the sale ends 8th July.

Those with an eye for high design should beat a path to Covent Garden and the wonderful Aram Store, where there are discounts of up to 70 per cent on selected items. Lighting, furniture and accessories by top designers such as Alvar Aalto, Ron Arad, Zeev Aram and Eileen Gray (Aram Store holds global rights to produce and sell Eileen Gray furniture) all form part of the collection.

Another one worth adding to the summer sale hit list this month is the Online Sale taking place at Purves, where there is up to 50 per cent off furniture, home accessories and gifts. Chairs, tables, lamps and corkscrews and a whole host of design-led accessories from part of the collection reduced to clear with pieces such as this brightly coloured, toughened glass Joseph Joseph clock down from £28 to £18. Call 020 8838 0200. The Purves Sale ends 20th of July

An excellent investment when the temperatures rise, shutters allow fresh air and sunlight to come into the room without compromising on security or privacy; and Shutterly Fabulous offers an unrivalled design and installation service.

At Shutterly Fabulous, each part of the shutter panel and frame is coated in a UV protective paint to resist fading, whilst the wood used for manufacture is kiln dried to ensure no warping occurs. And, you can take heart that all shutters are made from premium grade solid hardwoods such as Poplar or Elm.

If you’ve jumped onto the trend for bold and colourful wallpaper, you’ll want to show it off to its best advantage. Colour co-ordinated soft furnishings undoubtably help but, for a more thoughtful touch, these invisible light switches from Forbes & Lomax are an excellent buy. Made from a thick transparent acrylic face plate, these allow your wallpaper to show through and are available with a selection of different switches including Rocker Switches, Rotary and Button Dimmer controls. Prices start from £26.

Hot on the home design calendar this coming month is the annual Grand Designs Live London 2007 (8-10 June 2007). Crammed full with over 650 exhibitors, it gives you access to six shows for the price of one, with GRANDInteriors, Build, Gardens, Kitchens, Bathrooms and The Design Shopping Arcade bringing you the best and most innovative designs around. And Grand Designs Live is offering to give away a pair of tickets to the first 25 readers who email their contact details before 5 June 2007.

The kind of social business initiative we should all sit up and take notice of, Hammersmith & Fulham Mind has just launched Look Interiors (interior decorating), Time To Green (gardening and landscaping) and Sweep Kleen (carpet cleaning). A professional trio of services operating across London, these all plough any profits made back into assisting those with mental health problems. It will also provide training and work opportunities for people recovering from mental health issues, allowing them to gain skills, on-the-job experience and financial renumeration.

Since the heyday of William Morris, the merits of wallpaper as a design focus in the home have been little appreciated. But that all seems to have changed recently: muted stripes are out and bold prints and colours are most definitely in. The good news is that it’s not just the expensive designers experimenting; good value companies such as FOCUS are also producing some vibrant new prints. This Nikita Red is priced at just £19.99 per roll, and is sure to revive tired walls.

The long-awaited Daily Telegraph/House & Garden Fair (27th – 30th June) starts today at the Olympia Exhibition Centre (tube: Kensington Olympia) offering a showcase of the UK’s finest contemporary interior and garden designs. There’s masses to see but it’s well worth keeping an eye out for Amy Kent and her bespoke hand-knotted rugs.

If you love that turquoise coloured dress, and think it would work on your walls, this new MatchStik from Crown Trade Paints can help you find the perfect match. A hand-held electronic device, it allows you to take inspiration from the world around you - be it a car, flower or an item of clothing - and have that colour reproduced exactly at your local paint store. A whole new world of interiors at your disposal. The MatchStik is available on loan from Colourzone stockist paint shops, call 0870 241 6457 for details.

If Kate Moss is wearing it and interior designers are using it, monochrome must be in. Keeping in line with trend, Hyder International has launched a range of black and white accessories. This florally inspired triple fold screen is a fabulous addition to the bedroom or lounge, updating the traditionally utilitarian accessory of pre-war Britain into a distinctly modern and decorative accessory. But before you baulk at the thought of boutique prices, take heart – the screen costs from just £49.

If you’re more beast than belle when it comes to photos, This is Venture can help.

The latest and the finest of the UK’s contemporary interior and garden designs will be on show at this year’s Daily Telegraph/ House & Garden Fair at London’s Olympia. From the bazaar to the bedroom, lighting to lifestyle, fitness to furniture and more, this is an excellent source for ideas and inspiration, and a fun day out.  And, as a special offer to readers, Really Useful Blog readers can buy a special advanced rate ticket for £13, with a second ticket then available for just £7.

Unsightly holes or blue tack stains on walls are a sure fire way to make your room look unloved when it needn’t. Offering a handy solution are these Command Picture Hanging Strips from 3M™. Quick and easy to put up (no hammer, no nails), the strips feature a double sided adhesive allowing you to hang pictures and coat hooks etc with a weight of anything up to 2kg. And when you want to move a picture, there’s no oily residue or damage left behind. Phew. Priced at approx. £2.99 per pack (four sets per pack for small size; three sets per pack for medium size) at your local hardware store.