Top Tips On Making Your Home Office Productive

We all need somewhere to take care of all the admin of life. Whether it's your tax returns, somewhere to keep track of all the family's doctor appointments, important letters, or documentation relating to your home-based business. Having a home office at your disposal certainly makes things run a little smoother.

But when organisation and modern life collide, it's not always easy to create a workspace that is both productive and easy to work with. Backache, poor lighting, toys, even repetitive strain injury, all of these things are productivity killers, and the best way to combat them is to design your home office with productivity in mind.

Unsure of where to begin? Read on for some top tips to make your home office super productive.

Planning A Tween Bedroom

Around six months ago Mr H decided, on the spur of the moment, to move Holly from one of the smaller bedrooms in our house to what was the main bedroom until we completed our loft conversion. In one fell swoop he created several weeks of chaos, which resulted in a massive coup for Holly as she has a huge room complete with en-suite. Of course this now means that both rooms need redecorating, a task that is often put off in our house as Mr H absolutely hates any form of DIY.

However it's been quite a while since the big move and every time I go in Holly's room all I can see is holes in the walls, mismatched colour schemes and remnants of when it was our bedroom and then the spare bedroom, all mixed in with an eight year old's bits and pieces. It's definitely time to get it sorted.

With that in mind I have put together, along with Holly's input, some ideas for decor and furniture that she would need for her new bedroom.

Things You Can Do With Conkers This Autumn

So it's officially autumn, the leaves are changing colour and the conkers are falling. If your children are like mine, their pockets and school bags will come home bulging every day and you'll have more conkers than you know what to do with! I thought I'd put together some ideas I've come across for activities you can do to put these autumn chestnuts to use, from home decor to craft activities.

Flooring and your family – what’s best?

Isn’t it great having the budget and the green light to change up a room in your house? There’s so much to think about: the colour scheme, wallpaper or paint? Are you changing the floors, or updating your window dressings? It’s exciting to think of a room like a blank canvas – and you’re the artist, ready to unleash your creativity!

Most people have an idea of the colours they want and the wallpaper or paint they’re going for, but did you know that a lot of home re-designs, miss out another important factor? That’s right! The floor! It can be difficult to know where to begin, particularly if you have a busy household – well, here you’ll get the lowdown on the different types of flooring for your family home and their pros and cons! Let’s get started! Remember, if you’re looking for a reputable flooring company, check out discountflooringdepot.co.uk!

Carpet

Practical Home Decor Tips for Active Families

We try to an active family that enjoys spending time outside regardless of the weather. Living like this keeps everyone fit, blows away the cobwebs, and ensures everyone is ready to sleep, at bedtime. However, keeping the dirt and wet outside can be tricky. So can making sure that the whole family has enough warm clothing close at hand. But, with a bit of planning, it is relatively easy to do.

Create a Lobby
In the winter, you need somewhere to keep everyones coats, umbrellas, boots, shoes, and the pram while they dry out. A lobby is an ideal space for this. It should be simply decorated using materials that can easily be wiped down. Gloss walls, tiles on the floor, clean line easy-wipe bullnose baseboards like the kind you can buy from the Skirtings R Us website are the perfect combination.

Creating a Dream Bedroom for Your Child

Children love their bedrooms. The older they get the more this is the case. For them, it is a personal space in which they can play, read, watch videos, chat with friends and really be themselves. So, it is important to decorate your child's rooms the way they like. Generally speaking, the more personalised the decor is the happier they will be. Below are a few ideas to help you to create a dream bedroom for your child.

Customised prints
Firms like Hello Canvas enable you to take any image and have it turned into a print that can be hung on the walls. They are a really easy way to create truly unique artwork for your child’s room. If you want to you can scan a drawing or painting they have created and have that turned into a print for their room.

Extending Our Home With Crystal Living

We have recently undergone a loft conversion and, whilst it's still in the finishing touch stages, we are absolutely loving the extra space it has given us. Of course, once you've completed one project you're always thinking of the next and so when I was invited to Crystal Living in Cheshire to have a look at their range of luxury glass extensions and have one designed for my house, I was really excited to see what they would come up with. Prior to the event we were asked to send over photographs of the room we'd like to see extended and ground floor plans for our house so that the designer could plan it exactly to our dimensions.

Planning A Loft Conversion

At the start of the year Mr H and I made a big decision about our home, and that is that we wanted to extend. For us it was a matter of moving house or adding more space to our current home and once we'd talked to an estate agent we decided we just couldn't justify moving at this time. Plus we love our home and although the bedrooms aren't very big and we don't have a huge amount of space downstairs, it is the first home since being together for thirteen years that we've actually felt settled and happy in.

So we made the big decision to extend our mortgage and add a whole new floor to our house. We already knew it had great potential, as the loft space was huge and we had a double height staircase meaning there was enough room for a new one up to the next floor. It took us a while to find the right builder we felt totally happy with, but once we did it was all go.

So, of course, I envisioned it all in my head - where the furniture would go, what colours we would have, the style of the room - and utilised Pinterest and various home decor stores such as Esprit, to collate all my ideas. Now we are a few months down the line and the bedroom is pretty much finished, so I thought I would start the big reveal with the initial ideas I had.

A Star Wars Bedroom For My Boy

Jack's bedroom is one room in the house that I'll admit, hasn't had a whole load of attention. Whilst I spent hours planning Holly's fairy bedroom, personalising and making it perfect, Jack's bedroom was more of a second thought when we had the time. Whilst it is personal in some respects, it probably isn't rally him anymore and as the time is coming that he will need a larger bed, the time is also coming that he will need more grown up theme, one that can grow with him.

Like many boys his age, Jack is into superheroes. Captain America, Iron Man, Spiderman, you name it he loves it. But recently he has taken a love for Star Wars, and in particular Darth Vader. He's not actually watched the films, as Mr H and and I feel he is too young, but he has watched the Clone Wars animation series and he now owns several figures.

A Better Night's Sleep With Bruno

There has been a lot of talk about the EU, immigration and how recent developments will affect our lives within Europe. For the most part, I have kept out of it, however I was surprised when I read that over 50% of people have had sleepless nights due to worrying over all the changes.

With that in mind, let's welcome a new friend, all the way from Germany - Bruno.

Home Decor: Updating Our Bedroom

For the last few years our bedroom has been a pretty bland box. Apart from a touch of purple in the Next bedding and curtains, the rest of it remained magnolia and cream. Not exactly exciting. Eventually we plan on having fitted wardrobes across one wall to try and make up for the lack of storage space, however in the meantime I wanted to add a few touches that would bring it to life whilst we save up for the full makeover.

The bland, and messy, before

Next bedding with some fun pillowcases

Autumn Crafts For The Home

I can't believe I'm saying this, but it seems autumn is upon us. After a non-show summer, it's time to dig out the jumper, boots and winter coats in preparation for rustling winds that billow our hair around our heads and have us battling the elements as soon as we stop out of the house. Last year I really enjoyed bringing the outdoors into the home and adding some fun and cosy elements to recognise the changing of the season. With falling leaves, conkering and the harvest festival to look forward to, not to mention the C-word just around the corner, why not enjoy the season from the comfort of your home?

Home Decor On A Budget

Ever since we moved into our new house nearly three years ago,  have been on a mission to transfer it from bland box to a home styled to our tastes. Once we'd spent all our money on carpets, landscaping and wardrobes, though, the coppers were pretty empty and we've had to do everything bit by bit with money being set aside on the odd occasion we haven't spent it over the month. Because of this I've become used to budgeting when it comes to home decor and not going overboard on my spending - a pretty home is not worth being in debt for!

Picking The Right Tool For The Job

Are you wanting to get a bit more hands on in your home and maybe save yourself some money whilst you are at it? DIY isn't just for big burly men anymore, by starting with some small repair projects and working your way up to the big creative stuff at your own pace, you can become your own handyperson, saving money in the process.

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Home Decor: Planning My Kitchen

Since we moved into our house just over two years ago we have been working our way through each room, filling in those magnolia walls and adding our own stamp. So far we've tackle the front room and Miss H's bedroom and have gradually been adding bits here and there to the others.

One room I am really excited to bring to life is our kitchen. Originally I was going for a teal colour scheme but with yellow becoming popular recently, I decided that it was perfect for creating a beautiful sunny kitchen and with some pops here and there it wouldn't be too intense.

Review: The Cosatto Story Bed

For a couple of months now we have been using the Story bed, created by our friends over at Cosatto. After sharing our initial experience in the video below, today I wanted to update you on our thoughts and feelings after fully putting the bed to the test.

This Week's Story - Youtube Sneak Peek #2

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram you may have noticed some sleepy time photos being shared of J in his new bed. As part of our role as ambassadors, we have been sent the Story bed from the lovely team at Cosatto and I have been so excited to share loads of photos of this beauty!

A photo posted by Hollybobbs (@hollybobbs) on Nov 11, 2014 at 12:00pm PST

Giveaway: The Ideal Home Show At Christmas

Earlier in the year my mum and I attended The Ideal Home Show at Event City in Manchester. We had never been before and weren't really sure what to expect but we ended up having a great day, helped greatly by a sighting of George Clarke!

Round & Round The Garden: A Year Later

Last year I shared my garden project, Round & Round The Garden where Mr H and I tackled our empty, muddy space into the garden we could be proud of. It was a labour of love and over the summer it was transformed. Of course, a garden is an ongoing project, so I thought I would share an update on how it is doing, a year later.

Home Decor: A Fairytale Bedroom

Six months ago I wrote about my plans for H's bedroom. After living in our new house for eighteen months we have slowly been working through it room by room, getting rid of the magnolia everywhere and adding our own touches. It is still an ongoing process but when we moved Little J into Miss H's toddler bed in May and bought her a new mid-sleeper bed I knew the time had come to get on with my ideas.

It has still taken another three months to finally get it all done, and there are still a few bits to finish off, but I want to show you the result of months of planning, preparing and creating.