The days of entertaining in grand dining rooms with chandeliers and settings for thirty are long gone – for most of us! Instead, with living-space at a premium, sharing food with friends now calls for a bit of inventive room planning.

Thankfully, since the designers have caught up with the way we live now, furnishing a small space needn’t mean compromising on style. Here are some ideas for creating an elegant entertaining space that will make your guests feel like they are in that grand dining room after all…

Choosing your table
The right table can be an instant space-saver. Opt for an elegant, slim design for a table that needs to be out permanently without dominating the room.

For a family, an extending dining table is compact enough for regular use while adapting perfectly for special occasions. A solid oak design is ideal if you need something solid enough for everyday meals – and that still feels sturdy when extended.

Hayton Solid Oak Extending Dining Table

If you don’t need your table to be out all the time, why not opt for a folding design that can be easily stowed away? The folding glass table from Responsive Designs combines glass and chrome to help create a sense of light and space – ideal for a small room.

Thinking outside the box

Take another look at your dining space. You might find there are more possibilities than you’d first thought. For example, a bay window can frame a circular dining table beautifully, and provide a focal point for the room without taking up valuable space.

If your entertaining style is more casual, why not seat your guests on bar stools in the kitchen – that way you can chat away as you cook (or rope them in if necessary!).

Julien Bowen Consort Dining Set

Light and colour

One benefit of a small dining space is that you won’t need to work hard to create a cosy atmosphere! Avoid dark colours or overly bold patterns on walls, and opt instead for light neutrals. Keeping things co-ordinated and uniform will stop a small room feeling cluttered. Lighting is an important factor – make sure corners aren’t lost in shadow by using two or three lighting points.

More ideas?

There’s no reason why your dining furniture shouldn’t reflect your style just because space is tight. A compact dining space can easily combine comfort and on-trend design. We’ve put together a range of small space dining furniture solutions from Ascendi – why not take a look?

This need no longer be the case when it comes to your Ascendi Leather Bed, if you follow our quick cleaning guide below you’ll be able to keep your leather bed looking new and inviting for many years to come.

For a quick fix, a soft cloth dampened only with water will do the trick, but for a more thorough clean, you will need to use a good quality water based foam leather cleaner, which can be bought from most furniture specialists and supermarkets.

With light coloured leather dye transfer from clothing can sometimes be a problem but using a good quality leather protector will help to combat this. Very dark colours/black leathers won’t show this problem.

You should follow your cleaning with a good water based leather protector which will act like a ‘scotchgard’ and inhibit dirt and stains from being absorbed and make cleaning easier the next time.

Dry leather simply needs rehydrating with water; oils and waxes should not be used as the natural oils do not dry out of leather. Wiping over with a damp cloth regularly will help to do this.

It is important to maintain a regular cleaning regime cleaning dirt off the surface regularly and inhibiting the absorption of body oils into the leather with a protector is the best way of doing this. The only ‘moisturiser’ a Leather Bed needs is from water!

There are also, however, several products that you should steer clear of when cleaning your Ascendi Leather Bed.

DO NOT use anything containing oils, waxes or silicones, as they tend to leave residues on your leather, which will eventually lead to them destroying the finish and cracking the surface.

This includes:

• Wooden Furniture Polish
• Most Car Cleaners
• Baby Wipes
• Saddle Soap
• Fairy Liquid

Using incorrect care products is usually the cause of deterioration in the leather, as most products contain waxes and oils or silicones which do not do the leather any good.

REMEMBER! The only ‘moisturiser’ a Leather Bed needs is from water!

Oxford Single Leather Bed by Kaydian Design

]]> http://yourstyletrends.wordpress.com/2010/09/20/a-guide-to-caring-for-your-leather-bed/feed/ 0 yourstyletrends Oxford Single Leather Bed by Kaydian Design http://yourstyletrends.wordpress.com/2010/05/01/high-gloss-living-dining-room-furniture-2/ http://yourstyletrends.wordpress.com/2010/05/01/high-gloss-living-dining-room-furniture-2/#comments Sat, 01 May 2010 16:45:34 +0000 yourstyletrends http://yourstyletrends.wordpress.com/?p=69 ]]> High gloss is the very latest and trendiest innovation in interior furnishing. From retro to chic there are all sorts of designs to suit every household’s desires and needs. Easy to maintain and never failing to provide that “wow” factor, high gloss contemporary dining sets are a must have for any vibrant singleton, couple or family, of any age. Those in the know are going wild for high gloss interiors which are quickly working their way onto the high street. Here are two of our favourite designers to catch on to the trend: LPD and Julian Bowen.

LPD’s Accent range has been an unmitigated success drawing on contemporary designs in practical and affordable terms. The range focuses on occasional furniture, with sleek coffee tables and sideboards, all with that irresistably stylish high gloss finish. Building on the success of this range, they have now launched Luna Bedroom and Novello Dining, high gloss collections designed to fulfill the needs of contemporary living spaces.

Julian Bowen’s Dakota High Gloss is a stunning range of contemporary dining furniture which combines high gloss frames with beautiful upholstery. Each product has been carefully researched to ensure that both design and price meet the home owner’s satisfaction. This is a highly distinctive range that is economical and sound, whilst at the same time undeniably chic.

Julian Bowen Dakota High Gloss Dining Set

High gloss is versatile, affordable and will leave your guests green with envy. For those of you yet to be convinced by modern trends, now is the time to be won over. High gloss contemporary designs will have you wishing you made the break sooner. They are, without a doubt, in a class of their own.

Lena Faux Leather & Chrome Black Dining Chair

Here we’ve picked out a few examples from Responsive Design’s latest collection to show you what’s out there.

The new Lena from Responsive Designs is a sleek leather and chrome dining chair which ingeniously doubles as a stylish bar stool. Its leather finish, together with strong lines, combines elements of the classical with the contemporary to create a striking and versatile design.  At the pricier end of the spectrum, this design is both sophisticated, unusual and bound to impress.

Lodovico Aluminium & High Gloss Plastic Lime Green Dining Chair

With high gloss emerging as the ultimate style trend in contemporary furnishing, the Lodovico does everything it should and more. Retro, funky and attention-grabbing, this design comes in a range of colours from black to lime green, depending on your nerve.

Richmond Walnut Stripe Dining Chair

For a slant on the traditional this wood and chrome design, christened quite fittingly Richmond, provides a touch of the old with something new. The wood design is elegant and suited to fit any dining room or kitchem combo. Affordable and practical, this desigh will jazz up any lacklustre interior furnishing.

There’s so much on offer that it would be a crime not to take a look and, you never know, you could soon be dining in contemporary heaven.

View our contemporary dining chairs selection of ranges.

Kings and queens of bygone ages were well aware of this and throughout history beds have stood as something of a status symbol. The ancient Romans regarded beds so highly that they even designed beds in which to eat, as the saying goes, sleep till you’re hungry, eat ‘til you’re sleepy. Designers came up with all kinds of styles for beds from brass framed to four-poster to appeal to the demand from the nobility to impress.

Around the early 1900s leather beds appeared on the market as the ultimate symbol in luxury and modernity. The appearance of these sleek, modern beds on the scene marked the beginning of something quite special in bedroom furniture.

The exceptionality has not worn off, like the enduring quality of this material. Nothing can surpass hiding away from bleak winter nights amid puffy, feather pillows, in a voluptuous leather chocolate-coloured sleigh bed, indulging in a little luxury from the past. This masterpiece has lost neither its romance, nor its class.

For the unbelievers of vintage, there is a large range of contemporary leather bed designs out there, in every colour, to suit every taste. What’s more, contemporary leather beds fit with ease to the modern, high-pace life style, as they are simple to clean for all those Romans among us who are partial to a breakfast in bed.

Certainly, if  comfort, style and longevity are your priorities, then choosing to invest in a leather bed will be a decision that’s not regretted.

Verona Leather Sleigh Bed

To view a wide range of contemporary leather beds go to www.leatherdiningchairs.co.uk

Among the wide range of dining sets available online, the oak dining set is definitely a favourite, having excellent reputation for its stability, reliability and solidity. At the same time it can give your dining room a touch of traditional or contemporary quality and versatile practicability in order to create your perfect family dining room.

Oak dining sets are available in a variety of table sizes. Similarly the dining chairs that compliment each set are available in different colours whether plain fabric, floral, oak, faux or 100% real leather. Extending tables are the best solution for occasional guests or family celebrations. Oak dining tables are manufactured with carefully chosen solid oak to provide high quality and style.

Oak dining sets remain as popular as ever, as they represent quality and versatility – providing your family with the dining style they desire.

Made of Perfection – Made of Oak

Hayton Oak Dining Set with Crofton Leather Dining Chairs

An impressive combination of high-gloss shine and elegantly upholstered dining chairs with stunning designs makes a blue print for contemporary trends in dining room furniture.

A High-Gloss dining set can elevate your dining room to sheer perfection, combining beauty with passion for quality to give a totally unique look. Dining sets are complimented by a whole range of related high-gloss furniture pieces including sideboards, coffee tables and mirrors – to complete the look of contemporary dining room.

If you are looking for a breathtaking glamorous design, want to impress your dinner guests or require modern styling for your family dining, High Gloss Finish is a perfect solution for your up-to-date style dining room.

Add a Touch of Glamour – High Gloss Dining Sets

High Gloss Dining Set

If you are looking for breathtaking glamorous design, and want to impress your dinner guests or require modern charm for your family dining, High Gloss Finish is a perfect solution for an up-to-date style dining room.

Anyone who likes furniture with a touch of class will appreciate and enjoy the modern styling of Glass and Chrome dining sets. Add up to the minute styling with clean lines and a stunning combination of glass and chrome to update your dining room.

Clean lines, warm tones and ingenious simplicity define our third contemporary interior design style. Contemporary Elegance makes a dining room look simply perfect and timeless.

Versatile Classics add a touch of traditional styling that would suit every dining room. This design trend combines both style and practicality into a new fusion that you will never get tired of and that your family will love.

Julian Bowen Santiago Dining Set