Friday, July 5, 2013

WE MOVED OUR BLOG

Interior Design Style Blog

We moved our blog to http://www.interiordesignstyle.net/blog/. See you there!

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Designing a Cleaner Friendly Office Space

In Sydney new office buildings and businesses are sprouting up all the time. If you are starting up in a new office space (or wanting to renovate an old one) it’s essential that the interior of a workspace is designed to be cleaner friendly. It’s important because, as multiple studies have shown, a clean working environment increases productivity, employee morale, reduces the amount of sick days needed and boosts a company’s image.


When considering office cleaning, Sydney has a range of good commercial cleaning companies. Such services can end up being quite expensive and this may hurt small or newly established businesses. However, commercial cleaning doesn’t need to be expensive! There are a number of ways your office space can be designed to be cleaner friendly and reduce cleaning costs.

Below it shall be discussed how certain types of flooring, the organisation and installation of specific office furniture and employee involvement can all help reduce your commercial cleaning bill!

Sensible Flooring

If you have the opportunity to design the interior of your office space, be smart in what kind of flooring material you choose. Of course, sensible flooring will depend primarily on what type of business you are running and the facilities in your office.

If your office is going to cop a lot of wear and tear from employees you may want to have a durable carpet that can withstand the continual scuffing of feet. Also, choose carpet that is dark, has a pattern or is ‘flecked’. This will help reduce the noticeability of any marks or stains on the floor. If you want to splurge a little, invest in stain resistant carpet. Carpet that is designed for heavy use requires less cleaning.

So, avoid thick, soft, light coloured carpets. They will show up marks more often and under heavy use will often begin to deteriorate and contribute to a build-up of loose fibre and dust. Thick woolly carpets can also be a greater harbinger of germs and dirt and will require cleaning more often.

If your office is going to have a small employee lunchroom considering installing tiles or anything with a smooth, flat, shiny surface. If an employee makes a spill or a mess it’s much easier for them to clean and wipe up it up.

By choosing suitable flooring you can reduce how often your floor needs to be cleaned with expensive cleaning products. Your commercial cleaners will also thank you for taking the initiative of having easy to clean floors.

Installing and Organising Office Furniture

If you are running a business that generates a lot of paperwork consider installing filing cabinets and filing trays on employee desks. Getting piles of paper off the ground and the desks makes it much easier for commercial cleaners to vacuum the floor and clean work spaces.

It’s a great idea to place a wastebasket near each desk or workstation. This makes it easier for your employees to dispose of their rubbish and less likely to leave it on the floor or on their table. Reducing the amount time your cleaners have to clean reduces your cleaning expenses.

With the layout of your office, try and avoid squashing everything together. Having a cluttered work environment doesn’t just promote untidy work habits, but it also makes your space much harder to clean. The more nooks and crannies you have, the more you encourage mould to grow, dust to collect and increase the time it takes for cleaners to navigate around everything.

Keep the office layout simple and open promotes a friendly atmosphere and makes it’s easier for cleaners to move around and clean more efficiently.

Educating Your Employees

Another way you can reduce your cleaning bill is by educating your employees in matters of hygiene.

Try and encourage your employees to use the wastebaskets around the office. A lot of commercial cleaning services are always pushed for time and, therefore, having to not pick up after employees makes their job quicker and easier.
Also, with many employees choosing to eat at their desks, try and encourage them to wash their hands after eating, especially before using their keyboards and mouses. This will reduce the amount of times you need commercial cleaners to perform an IT cleaning service.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Why use Crystals in the Home?

Kitchen appliances are time saving and necessary for a high functioning modern family however they can also produce low level radiation. All household appliances generate electromagnetic energy, or an electromagnetic field (EMF), that can impact our health and relationships. Correct placement of crystals around the home can absorb the electromagnetic field and re-balance the energy in the living space.

Crystals and Home Appliances

Home devices such as digital cameras, computers, large televisions and kitchen appliances all give off electromagnetic energy and radiation that can be reduced by crystals. This is not to say that Bosch dishwashers, refrigerators and electric juicers are bad for your health, on the contrary, they make life easy and sustain your family.

Crystals and geodes are not only delightful ornaments in the home they can also protect, cleanse and clear the home of negative energy. Much like the ancient practice of Feng Shui, crystal placement through the living space engenders balance, harmony and positive energy.

Kitchen Crystal Tips

  • Clear or smoky quartz can be purchased in clusters or single pieces and can reduce radiation from kitchen appliances.
  • Zeolite is a microporous mineral composed of aluminium, silicone and oxygen. It works in the kitchen to absorb cooking odours.
  • Rose quartz and amethyst are two crystals commonly used to foster balance and harmony. Rose quartz crystal is usually light pink in colour while amethyst ranges from mauve to dark purple. Either one of these can be placed in the dining area to encourage peaceful family meals.

Bedroom Crystal Tips

  • Rose quartz is associated with encouraging romance and a large geode can make a pleasant bedroom ornament.
  • Amethyst is regarded as possessing power to neutralise negativity while you sleep. If you suffer from nightmares or sleep disturbances place a small crystal under the pillow.
  • Place clear quartz on any appliances or power outlets near your bed it will absorb some of the electromagnetic energy.
  • Tiger’s Eye is believed to induce spiritual well-being and be helpful in healing from injury and sickness. Place some close to your body, either on a necklace while you sleep or next to the bed.

Crystals in the living Room

Since the living room is usually the busiest room in the house and a lot of different energy passes through this space a large amethyst geode can generate protection.

  • A large rose quartz geode placed in the lounge room is helpful in aiding communication between loved ones and encourages warm and loving energy.
  • Green fluorite helps remove negative energy from the area.
  • Clear quartz crystals placed on or under the television or entertainment unit absorb electromagnetic energy.

Crystals that reduce Electromagnetic Energy

  • Clear Quartz
  • Smoky Quartz
  • Rose Quartz
  • Amethyst ( also a form of Quartz)
  • Citrine (Citrine is a rare form of Quartz. Make sure you are not buying heat treated Amethyst)
  • Fluorite
Quartz is one of the most abundant minerals found in the Earth’s continental crust.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Investing in Luxury Bedding

Whether shopping online or at a local retailer, bedding shop experience provides a showcase of fine luxury fabrics in different colors and patterns from all over the world. Luxury fabrics like Egyptian cotton, high thread count percale or sateen, and smooth silks are sold as single sheets, sheet sets, or bed-in-a-bag sets to fit most any size bed from crib to king. Luxury bed linen is sold out with coordinating pillow shams, comforters and quilts to complete the look. The various parts of the bed which turn it to luxury bedding have been explained.


The duvet was originally created more for warmth than luxury. Eiderdown, which is harvested from Eider Ducks, is what the traditional duvet is stuffed with. Duvets that are still made in the traditional manner, with Eiderdown, are definitely luxurious bedding. The duvet is meant as a substitute for blankets and comforters and, as Eiderdown is not easy to clean, duvets are generally covered with a duvet cover.
Bed sheets are either normal or luxury. The quality of the bed sheets can be measured in different ways. The thread count and thread’s country of origin are important criterion for measuring the quality of bed sheets.
Matelasse is a type of luxury bed linen which means padded in French. When used with luxury bedding, it is a thick, hand quilted luxury bed linen that contains no padding within the garment itself. Although usually made out of 100% cotton, there are other materials that sometimes make their way into Matelass.
The coverlet is used mainly to decorate and is often placed on top of a duvet or other thick covers. Besides being used on a luxury bed, the coverlet is also used as a throw blanket. They are generally quite thin, and are not suitable for keeping warm. Coverlets have been mostly replaced by duvet covers in most luxury bedding ensembles. They can be purchased individually, or as part of a luxury bedding set and is available in a wide variety of designs and patterns.
A luxury bed linen not only gives the bedroom an elegant look but also drastically improves the quality of sleep. Although luxury bed linens may are more expensive than standard linens does not mean an average customer does not invest in it. The fact that most luxury bedding sets last at least 10 years or more, or are even handed down as heirlooms from generation to generation, makes it a worthwhile investment.

The most fashionable luxury bed linens that are available on the market today are sheets which provide sophistication and comfort to the bed. The higher the thread count, the more expensive and luxurious the sheets are considered to be. A complete set of luxury bed linen consists of all of the sheets needed, pillowcases, shams, a dust ruffle and a duvet cover. The best quality bed linens should be bought at a specialty linen store. Luxury bed linens have a wide variety and there are many top manufacturers that have luxury bed linens for sale.

Friday, December 2, 2011

You can enjoy your outdoors with comfortable café chairs

Eating outdoors or having your coffee in an open place is a great experience to have. Whether it’s a fresh air, people watching, hustle and bustle of the streets; all can be done from the comfort of your seat that are placed in the open cafes. One of the key things that contribute to a great outdoor experience is the comfortable furniture. To serve this purpose, comfortable café chairs is the best option.

In different cities, there is a majority of persons including youngsters, small children, families and many more, who want to enjoy and have fun in the outdoor cafes. In some parts, there are also some people, who are crazy for eating outdoors regardless of they are seated at a small wrought iron café table and the chairs for two or large sized aluminium booth with benches. Outdoor restaurant can make or break the experience of eating outside, so it becomes necessary to select the best café chairs for your cafes. The menu of the café from inside to outdoors cannot change but the seating arrangement can easily be changed. Outdoor dining is often spur-of-the-moment and is unassuming, which can play a key role in the making the surroundings more enticing. With proper seating arrangement, your visitors can easily get a place to relax, unwind and take complete pleasure in the view.

There are numerous seating arrangements that can be sleek and contemporary, informal and modern or elaborate and conventional but the most important point that has to be kept into mind is that the furniture should complement the décor of the restaurants. Outdoor café chairs can help build a style statement about an eatery and can help to bring the attention of the potential customers. The restaurant owners also make sure that scrumptious meals are offered at reasonable prices. Along with this, they also ensure that the meals are in decent serving sizes and the surroundings are comfortable and have stylish seating.

When you are making the seating arrangements for your restaurants then you should consider who the most common visitors are. If the common visitors are the business groups then the seating arrangements should have a strong air of elegance about it. On the other side, if the visitors are more often the students hen durable, easy to clean and bright future should be used.

Many resorts, hotels and spas, use different type of furniture for their outdoor furniture. In some cases, they opt for rattan style pieces that reflect a relaxed atmosphere. Some of the restaurants also choose large umbrella style seating arrangements that add extra tropical element.

With a wide range to choose from, there is a endless list of furniture that includes bar stools, cafe style table, chaise lounges, chairs and benches that are made using aluminium, wood, plastic, rattan, wicker and resin. You can also select different designs and colors of the furniture according to the décor of your restaurants. The furniture is available in different colours like greens, blues, creams, black, pewter, bronze, silver or copper. Before purchasing the furniture, clear all the questions that you have in your mind. The questions are like what materials are more comfortable to sit in, what wears longer, what is easier to clean and what prices to expect. Once you have been cleared with all the questions in your mind then you can select the suitable furniture that matches with the décor of your café.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Which Desk is Best? – Furnishing a Sydney Office

Furnishing an office in Sydney can be excellent fun but there are so many options that your head may start to spin like a revolving chair. This short guide will provide you with a breakdown of some of the options for office furniture in Sydney that are available to you when buying chairs and tables.

Workstation

Traditionally offices were laid out with cubicles and workstations. There are both benefits and disadvantages to using this method of desks. The obvious benefit over other styles is privacy and noise prevention, but this does however also pose a problem. When attempting to stop your staff from becoming distracted by the many possible websites online, it is difficult to do so when they are all in individual desks. The benefit of noise reduction does mean that conversations can be held more easily in the office.

Office Desk

The office desk can be used either in an individual office or as one of many in an open plan office. If you do not have the luxury of having an office each, then an open plan office is a good option. Whilst it does mean that a disturbance anywhere will disturb everyone, it does allow for easier monitoring of your staff members and will help to build stronger relationships between your staff members. An open plan office looks modern and professional and induces hard-working staff because they feel more monitored by each other and by the manager.

Boardroom Table

Every office needs a boardroom or meeting room and they require a large table. This table needs to be big enough for a group meeting and also flexible for use for interviews and presentations. Choosing the right boardroom table is dependent on the number of people who will attend meetings and the space available. Remember that if a table is too large, not allowing space to move around the room, then it will make both staff members and clients uncomfortable when they are required to use it.

Executive Chairs

When it comes to buying office chairs in Sydney there are three distinct types that are necessary to have. The first of these is the executive or managers chair. This chair must tell of professionalism and respect. A professional chair has more of an impact on clients and business partners than you would expect and it will also demonstrate authority to your staff members.

Client Chairs

The client chair should ideally match the chairs of the businessman but be on a smaller scale. It is important to create a distinction between customer and staff member through the use of chairs; yet it is also essential to make the client comfortable. Find a matching chair which is still comfortable but visibly different to establish clear boundaries which are defined by the furniture.

Meeting Chairs

Meeting room chairs need to be versatile and easily manoeuvrable. Brainstorming and differing numbers of meeting attendees will require different positions from the chairs so make sure they are lightweight and easily moved to prevent any injury or inconvenience.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Best Practice Carpet Design- Save Money and Customize Your Flooring

There are two primary issues in commercial carpet installation and design- Cost and appearance. Both can be extremely expensive, and the results, sad to say, can be pretty mediocre. The experience of buying an expensive carpet and then having to pay for customization as well as maintenance and cleaning can be a pretty thankless one, and very frustrating.

The trouble is the nature of most commercial carpets. Broadloom is incredibly expensive, and very difficult to maintain over the product life of a carpet, which can be up to 10 years. Add to this the basic costs of repairs and cleaning, and you’ve got a sort of office administration equivalent of a black hole, consuming time and money.

The new generation of carpets- Cheap, tough, and cost-efficient

Fortunately for long-suffering building managers, there’s a new option on the market, a revolutionary new type of commercial carpet which is in a much higher league to the old style high maintenance carpets of the past. The new type of carpet is a new range of carpet tiles, which don’t have underlay, are extremely durable, and fully customizable thanks to new manufacturing technology.

These carpet tiles are truly different. They’re not stitched together but glued, creating strong solid surfaces instead of the natural weak points in carpets created by seams. They’re also extremely easy to replace, taking seconds to remove and replace as distinct from the major production issues related to replacing broadloom carpets. They’re long-life, low or no maintenance flooring, and they’re becoming extremely popular in very demanding environments like airports, public spaces, and other very cost-conscious places in which carpet represents a high upfront cost.

Custom carpets to order- Digital carpet design with a few clicks

The new carpet tiles are the result of a complete revamp of carpet manufacturing technology, concepts and methods. These are truly “digital” carpets. They come in countless different designs, all of which can be made to order. The technology includes visualization software which allows people to pretty much design their own custom carpets using basic parameters. It’s also possible to create new designs in consultation with the manufacturers.

The result is a ready-made custom design or in fact multiple designs, if you need different layouts and motifs for different parts of your office. This is the new best practice in commercial interiors, getting high quality custom designs at significantly lower costs.

In terms of product life, these carpet tiles can achieve extraordinary savings on everything from the initial installation, basic maintenance and office cleaning to replacement. The net costs of all aspects of carpeting are reduced from the start, saving huge amounts of money over large areas and perhaps equally importantly reducing the “headache value” of managing commercial carpeting to zero.

Looking for carpeting solutions?

If you’ve been suffering from “carpet costing syndrome” the new carpet tiles will make an instant and very positive difference to all your issues. The high values of these new carpet solutions are measurable in dollar terms, and you and your budget will be feeling a lot happier. Check out the carpet tiles, and see what’s possible.
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