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A modern staged kitchen

Add Value to Your Holiday Property with a Refurb

Get Your Design Right From the Start

Open Plan Kitchen Family Rooms

As the UK holiday market is so hot since covid it means the competition for bookings has increased. If you want to gain a good ROI then you need to have great photos to attract high quality bookings.

Kitchens are a great place to invest your money. Think about perhaps knocking together rooms to create an open plan family style kitchen diner as these are desirable. Having an island with bar stools makes the room a more social space and ideal for entertaining with a dining area next to it. Also if you have room the addition of a sofa adds another great dimension to the family kitchen room.

Families that holiday may want to have a separate lounge and TV sometimes if kids want to watch their programmes and you want to watch Netflix!

Holiday Property Bathrooms

Look to make an en-suite bathroom for a master bedroom that is an asset. The addition of a second bedroom and en-suite is also a real boon. Space at a premium? Consider a Jack and Jill style bathroom. This is one that serves both as family bathroom and en-suite via two doors.

Holiday Property Outside Space

The garden is an area that is also used extensively in holiday lets. Think about having a large deck or patio area which is low maintenance and offers an “outside room”. Furnish the area with good quality table, chairs and parasol. A BBQ is desirable and if you have ample space consider an outdoor kitchen space. Self-catering is an option If you are staying in a holiday let.. The more stylish the offering to eat at the holiday home the more appealing it may be. Especially to epicurians.

Flooring

Choose hard flooring for the ground floor if you are allowing pets. You can always add rugs to create extra cosiness and for warmth underfoot. Timber style tiles such as the ones in the picture above are an excellent choice and can be used with underfloor heating. If using carpet choose a loop pile carpet which is hard wearing and more modern looking than cut piles. Cut piles tend to attract more dirt like a velvet does. Keep flooring in neutral tones.

Electrical

It’s best to re-wire older properties. Get the wiring checked by a qualified electrician. You can get a safety certificate which lasts 10 years. Old wiring can pose a fire risk as older properties were not designed for the loads we use today. Take advice from an electrician on whether you need to upgrade your motherboard.

Plumbing

As with electrics you’ll need to assess whether the heating system you have is adequate for your guests and the number of bathrooms you want to install. The last thing you want is a boiler that can’t keep up with the demand for hot water for your guests. Think about replacing any old fashioned radiators for heated towel rail styles in bathrooms. Make sure you get your Gas safe engineer out to get your boiler serviced and have a safety certificate ready before you enlist an agent. Having all your paperwork ready to go will ensure you get your first guests in all the more quickly.

Curtains or Blinds

When it comes to window treatments you must consider safety. Child safety is paramount in a holiday let. If you have new curtains or blinds your need to ensure they meet contract safety standards and are installed properly. If in doubt we can help by specifying and installing your window treatments are part of your project.

Stage Your Holiday Property To Get Fab Photos

When you finish refurbishing and furnishing your holiday let, don’t forget your guests are attracted by photos. Enlisting the help of a property stager means your property will have the competitive edge with style. It’s those finishing touches of styling and artwork that can really make a big difference. If you have an eye for design and have time on your hands then this is for you!

If not and your property is in Devon then contact us for a free quote.

We love to help owners get their properties booked up fast.

Email info@spinriverdesign.com for a FREE quote today.

All About Wood

Bespoke Timber Flooring
Bespoke Timber Flooring

Today’s blogpost is a guest post from Wood and Beyond a company in London specialising in timber flooring! Enjoy!

 

Wood flooring is often seen as a complicated flooring solution to buy due to the various options and configurations that are available. As you will read further down this visual guide to wood flooring, it is quite straightforward when your options are displayed correctly. Woods: Timber that is used for wood flooring is made of two groups. One is called hardwood and the other softwood. Hardwoods tend to be the more expensive option as it is made of slow growing trees and takes longer to process into floorboards. These are also the more hardwearing of the two so if you are looking for a durable flooring solution, the decision has been made for you. In the vast majority of cases, hardwood is used extensively for flooring and structural timber frames. Softwood is used when budget constrains dictate a low cost solution and durability of the floor is not a concern.

Type:

Often the most confusion part is the type of wood flooring and the dilemma of which type suits your interior the most. Often the answer is a practical one as each type of wood flooring is better at home in a different environment. There are two types, one is called real wood flooring though its actual name is solid and one is called engineered wood flooring. Solid wood flooring – These are the most common planks of wood flooring that are featured across many properties and in particular period homes across the entire UK. Each board is made from complete wood such as Pine, Walnut, Oak and others. Its best character by far is durability that is expected at 100 years of service life when care is adhered to. On the other hand, it is unsuitable in damp areas such as the kitchen, bathroom and conservatory limiting your interior design on occasion.

Engineered Wood
Engineered Wood Flooring

Engineered wood flooring

These are the ‘new kid on the block’ that has been introduced only in recent years. Solid wood is still used, however only as a top layer. Below this layer lie three to four layers of syntactic material. The result is a type of floorboard that looks precisely as you would imagine wood flooring would look like, however does not share the same properties as solid wood. Its biggest attraction is its suitability in damp areas and ease of installation due to lighter nature of the boards. On the other hand its service life will not match the likes of solid wood and sanding (a process that remove a 1mm layer of ‘old’ wood) is possible fewer times compared to the previous type.  The decision to fit one type over the next normally revolves around where the wood is to be fitted and budget constrains, as engineered boards are more affordable due to the lesser use of solid wood. Your interior designer will be able to explain further if you are unsure. Grade of plank: The layer of solid wood, which is also the top layer for both types, is divided into levels of grade. It is an indication to the visual side of the plank, nothing to do with quality (a common misconception). Your choice of one over the other depends on your design taste and budget, as the higher grades will cost slightly more.

 

Solid Wood Flooring
Solid Wood Flooring

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grades:

Grade one – prime grade: Prime grade wood flooring are cut from the middle of the tree which means that the floorboard will have the least amount of colour variations between the planks and knots are very few in between.

Grade 2 Timber Flooring
Grade 1 Timber Flooring

Grade two – select grade: Select grade wood flooring are cut from the second ring from within the core of the tree which means that the floorboards will show some colour variations between the plank and some knots can be expected.

Grade 2 Timber Flooring
Grade 2 Timber Flooring

Grade three – natural grade: Natural grade will feature sapwood and black knots of up to 30cm in size. Compared to the previous two grades, price difference will become more substantial making this grade very popular when fitting wood floors on a tight budget.

Grade 3 Timber Flooring
Grade 3 Timber Flooring

 

Grade four – rustic grade: Floorboards will feature sapwood and black knots of 35cm. There might be unlimited colour variation between the floorboards. Rustic is the most affordable option.

 

 

Grade 4 Rustic Timber Flooring
Grade 4 Rustic Timber Flooring

In the past the species of wood (Pine, Walnut, Oak etc) would have determined the colour of the board. While this is still true, flooring technology has allowed for special colours to cover the planks and thereby meet the precise shade to compliment your interior.

 

 

Examples of bespoke colour include:

Bespoke Timber Flooring
Bespoke Timber Flooring

 

Bespoke Timber Flooring
Bespoke Timber Flooring

Bespoke Timber Flooring
Bespoke Timber Flooring

 

We hope that this guide will help you in your journey to buying wooden flooring be it on-line or from your local high street chain. Contact your interior designer for further options and considerations.

Guide and images by Wood and Beyond. London based company of solid wood flooring and engineered wood.