What needs to be considered when you create your own spa?
First you need to think about what space you have and what will realistically fit. If space is not an issue then a pool is a must! As well as a lap pool you may want to consider your heat experiences. These can be quite space hungry when it comes to provision of plant for your steam room for example or for a vitality pool with water features and jets which need pumps and filters and so on.
Next you probably want to think about your whole spa journey so that means somewhere for you to change and shower, access to your heat treatments, your treatment room and finally your relaxation area.
Lighting is key to setting the mood in each area and is something your designer will want to consider with you when creating your spa ambience.
Your designer can guide you through the plumbing, drainage and electrical needs for each area.
Also you should ensure provision for adequate storage of towels and products. Your spa treatment room will also need to house any equipment your spa therapist will be using regularly. A basin is needed by your therapist as well as the specialist treatment couch. If you want to be able to have full body wraps and treatments such as this you may want to think about having a shower located within your treatment room too.
For manicures a desk height table and comfortable seating will be needed and for pedicures you will need to be seated comfortably so that your therapist is also comfortable working on your feet, possibly on a stool. A stylish raised chair on a platform is one way to achieve this which is much prettier than standard solutions on the market from spa retailers.
Your spa designer can guide you through the intricacies of designing a home spa that fulfils you personal needs, and is not only aesthetically appealing but is modelled to run smoothly to ensure your spa experience is first class!
Interior Designer Rachel Davies trained with world leading 5 star hotel spa designers ESPA International before setting up her freelance business Spinriver Design in 2009 in Cornwall then moving to Exeter. She now works in the UK and Europe to design unique modern homes.
This photo above is of Surf Haven Bali is courtesy of TripAdvisor
Woo hoo I’m all excited not just because I have an awesome summer holiday in Bali to look forward to but my spiritual path seems to be opening up right now just as the Age of Aquarius dawns : )
(This photo on the right is of Surf Haven Bali is courtesy of TripAdvisor)
Yes I have so much to tell you at the moment. I’m being coached over the internet via Skype or web by the amazing Kristin Sweetly Morelli who is a US based entrepreneur. It’s an 8 day immersion course and I am on day 6 of learning how to work with my energy. Already the difference in my approach is effective and has really brought about a boost in my creativity. Not only that I feel that all my passions in life are finally linking together in a holistic way that serves me practically too. Astrology, Feng Shui, Yoga, Surfing and Social Media & Health Food are all passions of mine along with Interior Design. For the last couple of months I’ve been doing some soul searching and had my husband and my birth charts above my desk for me get a deeper understanding of both of us (we happen to have the same birthday, both Sagittarius only I’m a year older!!). There are huge things going on Astrologically at the moment – today is a full moon in Aquarius. If you want to know more about this I recommend American Astrologer Kelley Rosano’s blog and YouTube channel. My interest in Feng Shui has led me to Google about space clearing and low and behold the world leader in Space Clearing (one art of the Chinese practise of Feng Shui) lives in the UK! She is called Karen Kingston and she spent 20 years living in Bali where the practise of Feng Shui is ingrained in their culture!
I can’t wait to go to Bali and find out first hand all about Feng Shui and energy in space. One of my goals is to de-clutter my house and get it flowing with good energy (chi) and I’ve realised from the coaching course I’m on, I am not alone. It’s one of the things that people seem to struggle with most. This is what I’m going to concentrate on – helping as many people as I can as quickly as I can be the best they can be in their homes by de-cluttering and designing their dream homes. Would you like to join me on my journey? Please leave a comment for me below, I’d love to know how I can help you and the most inspring challenge/comment I will respond to personally for free! Come on over to my facebook page here and post a photo the room you need help with!
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 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
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 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 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 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
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
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.
Feng Shui “cures” include windchimes, crystals and mirrors
Feng Shui has often been associated with quantum physics. It’s an ancient Chinese Taoist practise which is widely practised in the East today – indeed in countries such as Taiwan and Malaysia it’s common practise to consult a Feng Shui Master before buying or constructing a property for business use. Good Feng Shui practise can create opportunities for growth and reputation as well as beneficial working relationships; inside and outside the organisation.
Literally translated “Feng Shui” means “Wind Water” and is really a science of energy or Qi (Chi). It can therfore be applied to anything from urban master planning, to architecture and interior design – right down to details of colours and materials for best effect. Energy flows in lines, this can be waterways, roads or fields of energy created by the edge of structures such as rooves. Lillian Too is a prolific author on this subject and has practised Feng Shui in business – formerly the Chief Executive Officer of a Bank in Hong Kong (the first woman to hold such a position in Asia).
For example colours have associated wavelengths in energy terms – with yellows, oranges and reds having long wavelengths and blues and violets having shorter ones. These wavelengths have a physiologial as well as psychological effect on our bodies and minds. Long wavelengths serve to simulate and energise whereas shorter ones calm.
Placement and orientation of furniture and posessions comes into play in Feng Shui – there are different schools of Feng Shui practises Compass School ones, Chinese Four PIllar method and the Pa-Kua Lo Shu formula used in Taiwain. However all the tools and symbols remain the same; the White Tiger, the Green Dragon, Red Phoenix and Black Turtle being the four key celestial animals as Feng Shui is all communicated in an allegorical manner.
Just now I’m having the pleasure of a two storey apartment block being erected a few metres from my garden and the corner of the building is pointing at the middle of our house. This creates a negative energy field known as a “poison arrow” in Feng Shui. There are various rememdies for this which I’m reading about since I’m no expert in this field – it’s a huge subject! It’s possible to mitigate the effects of poison arrows in various ways – wind chimes, crystals and mirrors are all used in Feng Shui but you need to look into the type of building you have which way it “faces” – a buildings back door is the direction it faces. The direction of the front door is then the “sitting direction”. Once you have this you can then work out various zones of the building and each room and remedy it accordingly. I’ve used a downloadable Feng Shui compass on my smartphone to get this initial information called FengShuiCompass which is free.
I’m now installing windchimes and luckily we have built our garden shed in line with the arrow and have bought a palm tree which will screen it a bit too.
My back garden with building site directly behind!
Are you inspired by astrology, Feng Shui or looking at space in terms of its spiritual dimension in our lives? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this – come on over to my facebook page and write on my wall here http://www.facebook.com/SpinriverDesign
Click the picture above to play the YouTube video on my favourite sustainable inteiror design product at the moment. Subscribe to my YouTube channel, like me on facebook at www.facebook.com/SpinriverDesign for more tips and articles and ask any interior design questions free on my page!
This is the social media site of 2012 for anyone in the design world to get involved with right now. It works like a giant mood board and you can simply “pin” any image you find from anywhere on the internet to it in your own tailor made collections or “albums”. You can follow people that you like the albums of – or you can simply “like” or “comment” on individual images known as “pins”. Have a look and follow my pins by clicking the red button above all my other social media icons on the top right here! If you want an invite to Pinterest because you can’t wait to get on there (there is a waiting list that takes a couple of days) then send me an email and I’ll invite you! rachel@spinriverdesign.com http://www.pinterest.com
If you are looking for inspiration for an interior scheme it often helps to have some images gathered that you are aspiring toward. Interior designers use images to create mood boards and give clients an impression of the type of interior style they are going to design for them. One of my favourite sites for images such as this is Houzz.com. You can create “ideabooks” which are albums of pictures that you can name by your project or just a topic such as “chillout spaces”. I’m daydreaming about replacing our open tread 1970’s wooden staircase at home with something contemporary and here’s some images of stairs that I’ve gathered which I find cool, hope you like them too. Please leave your comments!
Lighting is key to any scheme and there are some great bargains out there at the moment. A real steal is this Arco Reproduction lamp from Dooleys (the original being designed by Achille Castiglioni in 1962) keenly priced at just £119 with solid black marble base and chrome finish it’s just perfect in my lounge window and has filled the void the Christmas tree would have otherwise left!
For pendant lights, chandeliers and more try Heal’s sale at the moment. A great find is this glamourous crystal style pendant light from Heal’s priced at £44! If you are looking for an uber contemporary pendant with an adjustable drop maybe for a dining space then try the Ligne Roset Bloom Ceiling Light from Heals by Japanese designer Hiroshi Kawano at £114.75
There’s some really cool lighting for children out now including this retro red phone box lamp. Makes me feel quite nostalgic – I remember people using these regularly!!
Expecting a baby girl then this pretty balloon light with teddy could be perfect and is on sale at £31! http://www.KidsRooms.co.uk
Nursery Balloon Light with Teddy
If it’s reclaimed lighting you’re after be sure to head over to http://www.skinkflintdesign.co.uk for all sorts of retro 20th Century pan European lighting and they’re based in Falmouth!
With love and light have a Happy New Year wherever you are!
As energy prices hike we are all becoming more aware of the need to make our daily lives more efficient by being greener.
One way to benefit from lower electrcity costs is to install solar panels on your home but not all of us are fortunate to have the capital to do this. A smaller step would be to re-assess the current lighting in your home. For example do you have any old GU10 spotlights in your kitchen? These are pretty energy hungry – it would be much more efficient to change to good quality LED GU10. Another great bulb to use is the mini spiral which greatly reduces energy consumption compared with its GLS counterpart.
Do you leave your appliances on stand by overnight? This is another step you can take to reduce energy consumption in your home.
Have you got adequate loft insulation? Are your walls insulated? If not there are grants available to help with this for certain people – ask your energy company about this they may even have schemes to help.
