Eclectic Home

A lifestyle blog about eclectic style, beautiful home decor, cleaning & crafting

My perfect summer bathroom: bright, breezy, rustic-coastal

Next year, I'm buying my first house. I've rented properties for the last 14 years and I've never had a landlord that allows their tenants to redecorate. As you can imagine, I'm bursting with excitement at the idea of putting my own stamp on my home. I cannot wait to choose paint colours, put up shelves, go wallpaper shopping, change faucets etc. In fact, I've already created mood boards on Pinterest for my ‘dream’ home. So, when I spotted Designer Radiator Showroom had launched a competition asking people to design their dream bathroom on Pinterest, it only made sense to enter. The prize is £250 to spend at DesignerRadiatorShowroom.co.uk. Pretty awesome, right? I knew what I wanted instantly: a bright and breezy, rustic-style bathroom with a beachy, coastal ... [Read More]

INSPIRATION: 5 loft conversions you’ll love!

Whether you’re planning to extend your family and need an extra bedroom, or you’ve always fancied a second bathroom, a loft conversion is one of the most straightforward ways to add extra space to your home.  Below, we share some of our favourite loft conversions to help inspire you! 1) Kids Play Room If your family home is a little overcrowded and your garden is small, consider converting your unused attic into a kids play area.  The room can be transformed into a study/homework area as your children grow older. 2) Walk-in Wardrobe & Dressing Room Fed up of cramming your suits into small wardrobe?  Want to showcase your designer handbags so you can pick the perfect one to match your outfit?  Then consider transforming your unused loft space into a walk-in wardrobe and ... [Read More]

Bathroom inspiration: glitz and glam

Who says that bathrooms have to be plain and boring?  This area of your home is used countless times per day, making it one of the most important spaces in your home.  Forget dull colour schemes, drab patterned tiles and uninspiring accessories - let’s liven up our bathrooms with plenty of glitz and glam.  Create a bathroom fit for a diva! Today's blog post has plenty of ideas;  perfect if you're looking for a little inspiration - Luxe tiling - Transform your bathroom by installing shimmering tiles.  We love the glittering gold wall (below left) by Polish interior designers Anna Maria Sokołowska and Marta Piątkowska from Dragon Art.  The second bathroom (below right) features a glittering mosaic of copper and bronze tiles, plus a coordinating panel on the wall.  The overall effect ... [Read More]

Four super smart storage ideas for kids bedrooms

Is your home bursting at the seams with children's books, toys, clothing and accessories?  Perhaps you have another child on the way, and space is already at a premium?  Maybe you've spent all weekend decluttering, throwing away anything that isn't essential, but STILL cannot find space for child-related paraphernalia?  Never fear.  To help you, we've rounded up four super smart storage ideas for kids bedrooms. 1) The only way is up: Put your walls to work and do not leave any single space unused.  Take inspiration from Ikea, who've built upwards, adding storage shelves over the child's desk to keep books, folders and schoolwork tidy.  They've also fixed a partitioned box to the wall for displaying trinkets and toys.  The chrome rail keeps backpacks, medals and other "hangable" items ... [Read More]

Overhauling your bathroom? Here are some tile ideas to tempt you…

Fancy updating your bathroom but not quite ready to rip out all the porcelain?  Overhauling your WHOLE bathroom is quite a big commitment, but simply changing your bathroom tiles is a quick and easy way to give the space a much-needed update without causing too much upheaval.  Here are four different ideas to keep you inspired: 1)  Bright and bold: The bathroom is the perfect place to mix, match and clash colours.  I love these bright turquoise tiles and the bold pink accessories.  (Credit: IKEA) If you feel coloured tiles are too much of a commitment (especially if you're subject to changing your mind often) then opt for simple white tiles instead.  Pair with accessories in your favourite prints and hues.  Use this space to experiment with colours and patterns.  Mix and match as ... [Read More]

Genius recycling tips for the home

I’m a religious listener of Podcasts and I’ve just finished season two of Start-Up.  Although the content of the podcast is stellar and the story throughout the season is captivating, it was actually one of the adverts that caught my attention in last week’s episode.  A representative from the Ford Motor Company spoke about their bio-materials team, a group of engineers who are passionate about recycling everyday waste and turning it into car components and accessories.  The team take junk items like old money and cigarette butts, plus waste by-products like wheat straw fibre and and rice hulls and use them to develop renewable materials for their cars. I’m not kidding, they make electric harnesses, storage beans and seat cushions from this every day junk!  Their ultimate goal is to create ... [Read More]