Cross Team Properties

The range of beds available has grown enormously with the expansion of interior design industries. A brief scan of the many interior publications, from books to magazines, and television programmes devoted to design attests to the increased time and money we invest in our living spaces. The collection of beds now available includes a variety of French style beds.

Other designs include real leather beds in all colours of the spectrum, and wooden sleigh beds in a number of finishes. When deciding on the décor for a bedroom it is best to start with the large items, such as beds and wardrobes, and then move on to the smaller accessories, such as linens and lamps. Naturally, the linens and lamps accompanying French style beds should be French style as well.

The greatest design faux pas, to quote the French, is to mix themes. There are few interior crimes more cringe-worthy. Homes with French style beds, Mexican style paving, Tuscan style kitchens, and English style rose gardens are blinding examples of bad taste.

As any interior decorator will tell you, décor is an art, not a free-for-all. Maintaining the balance between daring interior choices and gaudiness requires an eye for style and colour.

Ensure your interiors are chic, not cheap, by selecting a few dramatic feature items – your French style beds, say – and a few fine accessories – your lamps, cushions and linens. Nothing says too much like too much and in bad taste at that!  Less is more, especially when it comes to styling your home.

Whether you want one because you feel you need the extra space, or for you and your partner share it, the double mattress makes for a great sleep. The popularity of this mattress has grown so much that it has filtered down to kids beds too. Given the variety of shapes and makes of beds, the success of this particular mattress size has almost created itself as a benchmark in bed size design.

From metal beds to sleigh beds, and even including faux leather beds, the double mattress has become a prerequisite when ordering a bed. And it is not just confined to the normal ranges of beds that we’re accustomed to, the very space age aero beds also have this mattress size as a must when ordering. It just makes for better sales for the manufacturer and added comfort for the end user.

With the market very aware of this specific size one has no problem finding trimmings, bedding and especially kiddies bedding for this size of mattress. In fact, if a manufacturer were to overlook this specific size, they would be pretty hard pressed to crack a market that is already so hugely competitive.

It has indeed become the benchmark for comfort as well as a sort of staple requirement in bedding. Prospective home buyers would sooner look at the size of the bedrooms in a home and compare it with the size of their bed than to be concerned with things like cooking space. It would seem that the bedroom has gained in stature and importance, and so too has mattress size for that matter.

Blackout roller blinds offer the best combination of practical convenience with complete peace of mind because of their 100% privacy promise that prevents onlookers seeing through the window of your room or office to disturb you or have a vantage point over valuables that you would prefer to keep hidden.  Therefore, purchasing blackout roller blinds means that you can still leave the light on in a room during the evenings without someone seeing your personal or work related activities.

Blackout roller blinds are able to prevent light getting through from the outside because of the blackened strip at the back of the blind, which blocks any light from inside the room penetrating to the outside and vice versa.  Blackout roller blinds are also the most versatile type of blinds that suits many types of window frames because of their sheer flat fabric, which can easily be rolled up to allow more or less daylight into the room.

Since blackout blinds are lighter when compared to Roman blinds, for example, that are used often for living rooms, roller blinds allow the window frame to be sufficiently covered with minimal effort and are particularly well suited to small or medium-sized windows that experience some degree of direct sunlight where you require a discreet window shield.  Roller blinds are often cheaper than Venetian or Roman blinds and therefore provide a cost-saving alternative to more expensive styles of window blinds.   

When it comes to choosing a bed, there are many factors to take into consideration, not the least of which is sheer space. The bigger the bed the better, as a rule, but it has to fit comfortably into the room. What’s more, remember that if you choose something like a divan bed, for storage purposes, you’ll need space to pull the drawers out.

Next on the wish list is the type of bed frame and mattress. Metal beds, leather beds and wooden beds have their own individual merits, which are largely aesthetic, but things such as headboards and manoeuvrability might be issues. For example, platform beds do not come with headboards and wooden beds are usually fixed. Metal beds normally have wheels or rubber casters attached so they can be easily repositioned.

Bunk beds are great as children’s beds, while sofa beds can be used in almost any room in the house and are especially ideal as guest beds. As an added bonus, they can also fit in well in the living room if you choose a more up-range model. In a spare room, it’s possible to purchase a cheaper foam-based version, which is ideal for occasional use as they are less durable.

Futons can be classed as sofa beds, because they normally incorporate a ‘clic-a-clac’ frame design that enables them to be converted from bed to sofa and vice versa, within seconds. What’s more, they can also be stylish attributes to any bedroom.

Choose between open spring, pocket spring, natural latex and memory foam for mattresses, depending on your individual requirements.

Using your Bedroom to Maximum Effect

Bedrooms are more than just a place to relax and sleep in; for many people, bedrooms also function as great storage spaces.  This is more than just drawers and a cupboard to keep your clothes and linen in.  Used to the right effect, bedrooms can store much more.  The benefit of bedroom storage is that it uses space to its best advantage.  You can also choose what to store in the bedroom close to you as opposed to a box in the garage or in the loft.

Under Bed Storage

Storage under your bed uses this often empty and large space.  You can buy or build special under bed storage boxes that can either slide on the floor or sit on a series of small wheels.  You can also buy beds with inbuilt storage boxes underneath the mattress.

Furniture

Cupboards, drawers, bedside tables and wardrobes can all function as great ways to store your clothes and other objects besides.  The aesthetic whole of the bedroom can be preserved and enhanced when you build furniture according to a similar design template or in the same colour.

Shelves

You can also put up shelves anywhere in the bedroom, provided the walls are sturdy enough to support the weight and there are no electric or water pipes beneath the walls likely to be damaged by the wall fittings.  You can either put your objects directly on the shelves or alternatively look into constructing your own shelve boxes.

If you have trouble getting your kids to sleep at night you should consider adding blackout blinds to their rooms.

Blackout roller blinds are ideal for bedrooms because they shut out the light and make it appear dark even when it is still light outside.  This is perfect when it is summer time and you need to get the kids into bed at a decent hour.

Blackout blinds don’t have to be expensive either.  Cheap blinds are easy enough to find and they are available in lots of different finishes and colours.  Whatever colour scheme you have in your children’s bedrooms, you will find blackout blinds that will fit in beautifully.

Blackout roller blinds can also be made to measure if necessary.  Sometimes you can buy them “off the peg” and trim them yourself if need be.  But on some occasions you may have windows that are an unusual size, and in this case made to measure would be a better option.

Some kids are harder to get to sleep at night than others.  But if you have more trouble during the summer than the winter, it could be because of the light coming through the curtains or blinds you have now.  With this option you can be sure that you will have 24/7 blinds that will be ideal throughout the day.  They will stop sunlight coming in and even make a room darker for a baby’s afternoon nap if need be.

There are a huge number of sofa beds on the market today and they all offer added flexibility in terms of additional sleeping space and comfort.

All sorts of materials are used in the construction of sofa beds, from leather and cotton to attractive suede effects and polyester covers. You can choose the style and material that best complements your home.

Sofa beds can be purchased as two or three seater beds for the living room or smaller fold out sofa beds for guest rooms. You can also find them as chair-beds, which tuck nicely into the corners of a box bedroom, leaving valuable space in the middle of the room rather than it being taken up by a rarely used bed.

Foam mattress sofa beds are the cheapest form and are usually small in size with a few loose cushions. These are not terrible durable, as a rule and should only be used as occasional beds.

‘Clic-a-clac’ sofa beds are much sturdier, with a metal frame that clicks into place as it is converted to create either a bed or a sofa. The only drawback with these sofa beds is that they are not really suitable for the living room, because the metal frame will be visible.

Futons fit in well just about anywhere and are, in addition, very stylish, being made from good-quality materials as a rule and perfect for small apartments with their contemporary look and dual functionality.

Choosing a mattress to suit your specific needs is one of the most important decisions you make. Considering that you’ll be spending much of the next ten years of your life lying on it, this is hardly an exaggeration. The quality of your sleep has a direct influence on your well-being, and depends on your mattress.

The conventional open spring mattresses apply uniform resistance, which is fine if you have no trouble sleeping, sleep on your own or with a partner of about the same weight. But pocket spring mattresses are worth considering if these don’t apply.

Pocket spring mattresses have springs docked separately in the fabric, acting independently to body weights.

Foam memory mattresses react to body heat by differentially softening and moulding slightly to your movements. Maybe foam memory mattresses work psychologically as well, drawing on faint memories of going to sleep in your mother’s arms.

Always allow mattresses to aerate for a week after unpacking to get rid of the chemical aroma, and use the handles on mattresses to rotate them.

The support provided from the springs is more important in mattresses than the number of layers of man-made polymers and natural fibres, and the actual construction of the springs is more important than how many of them there are. Tests by consumer groups have show wide variation in support.

It might also be a good idea to buy mattress covers if your mattresses don’t already have them.

Guests turning up unexpectedly can be a real cause for concern if you have limited space in the house. A good way of accommodating them is by having a sofa bed ready and waiting. The sofa beds of today are stylish and flexible and come in a range of designs, styles and materials.

With cotton covers, suede and other effects and a range of different styles, you can easily choose a sofa bed to suit the decor of your home. The traditional sofa of two or three seats is very popular and can be folded out to create a full-size and comfortable bed. Alternatively, you could go for a smaller chair bed or corner sofa bed, depending on the space available and the layout of the room.

The least expensive form of sofa bed uses a foam mattress with loose cushions and a base that folds out onto the floor. Though they are designed for occasional use only and are not terribly durable, they are ideal for guest rooms.

Sofa beds of the ‘clic-a-clac’ frame variety click over and fold out to create the bed and can be used as regular sofas too as they are usually more durable.

Futons are another popular guest bed option, although they don’t usually look too good in living rooms, as the metal frame is normally visible. Also there is no disguising the fact that they are clearly a fold-up bed, but again they are ideal for bedrooms where they can save enormously on limited space. Some futons can be very stylish and even include extra space beneath for storage.

Metals beds can give a bedroom an instant modern feeling. Their often sleek design combined with a variety of possible colours, functions as an understated, though expressive means to enhance the bedroom space.

Although not particularly new as a type of bed, being widely used in the Victorian age for example, metal beds always tend to look modernistic and would fit well in minimalistic, glass and metal environments. Nonetheless, they can also function well as replacements for old beds that have seen their best days, fitting in a relatively ornate traditional room.

Although metal beds can have cast iron, brass, zinc or aluminium frames, they often have wooden mattress support beams. The great advantage of this metal and wood combination is the sturdiness of the overall frame and the flexible support provided for the mattress.

Metal beds can come in many different shapes and sizes, from single, small double, double, king size and super king size. The frame can be either cast low, with only the head and foot of the bed featuring vertical metal bars or posts, or have side bars as well. The frames can be cast in austere or curving lines that have a highly aesthetic finish.

Another great benefit of a metal bed is that it is often relatively lightweight. It can be taken apart and transported much more easily than some other types of bed, in case of a house or flat move.