PALE COLOURS, or at least a consistent color scheme, also give an impression of space. Buy furniture that is the right size and proportion to the room. A compact sofa in a small living room will work much better than an oversized one that just highlights the shortage of space.

REAPLACE FLOORING THROUGOUT Using the same flooring throughout makes a space seem larger and isn’t necessarily an expensive job. If your floorboards are in good condition, rub down and stain them for a cost- effective solution. If not, try reclaimed wooden ones or parquet flooring from salvage specialists Carpets are coming back in favor too, especially natural like sisal and wool. Stone or polished concrete are also popular choices, but may not be suitable if you have a young family.

MIRROR Mirrored surfaces are a great way to make a space seem bigger, and they also help to bounce light around the room.

INSTAL A WET ROOM A spacious downstairs toilet or small second bathroom is great to have, but think about whether the space could work harder. Turning them into a wet room maximizes their usefulness. A wet room is fully waterproofed, so you don’t need a shower tray, meaning you can squeeze everything into a smaller space. It should cost around £4,000, plus the cost of the suite.

Make the most of unused rooms There is no excuse for rooms that don’t pull their weight, but it’s easy for parts of the house to become unofficial dumping grounds. Clear up the clutter and look to incorporate dumping rooms, larders and rear porches into other rooms to make more efficient use of the space.

PUT IN A DOWNSTAIRS CLOAKROOM A second loo is practically an essential, especially in a bigger family house. There may be space in a roomy downstairs hallway or you can even squeeze a space- saving macerater loo into a reasonably large cupboard under the stairs. If you’re thinking of selling in the future, it’s definitely a huge advantage. Sid O’Bagi, sales manager at Keatons estate agent in London’s Kentish Town, says families, in particular those with young children, find a downstairs toilet a must.

CREATE AN EN SUITE Small box room or rooms off bedrooms that don’t have independent access are ideal candidates for transforming into an en suite. The nearer the room is to the water pipes and soil stack, the easier the refurb will be. Distance isn’t necessarily an obstacle. Saniflo toilets (saniflo.co.uk) can be installed a distance away from the soil stack, as they macerate the waste allowing it to travel down narrow pipes

For most homes the fireplace will form the focal point of your room. For this reason alone it is important to make sure that you choose the right fireplace for your living space. Choose the wrong fireplace and you could be left with a room that feels unbalanced, out of character, or worse still un-welcoming However by choosing the right fireplace you will bring the whole living area together. Providing a welcome, pleasing and stunning focal point to any well appointed room.

The first question is if you already have got a chimney? If yes, what type of chimney do you have and most importantly, is it in good repair? When you know the type of chimney you have, the next stage is to decide on what type of heat sources are available to you for your chimney type. Depending on your own chimney type your choices will be either, Natural Gas, Solid Fuel, Electric, or LPG ( liquid petroleum gas - tank or bottle) Balanced Flue, Power Flue or Flueless

The suspended fireplace is the trend in 2008 ... It is modern, it is technologically advanced and, most important, it is very inviting. It is not only fireplace but above it is beautiful sculpture that creates a strong design focal point in any room. What could be better to gather around it with friends or family and enjoy the dancing fire in a cold winter night. We believe the suspended fireplaces will be even more popular in 2008, especially because they can be perfect solution to a green home building.

1. GEOMETRIC
In marked contrast to large floral and free flowing designs that are popular at the moment, geometric pattern creates something that is both complex but easy to understand. Design by repetition – using graphic lines, contours and rhythmic patterns – can bring clarity to both furniture and textiles, or be used on walls or floors to add impact and interest. In the home, a geometric small repeat stencil can be used on a part of a wall – for example, in a stripe from floor to ceiling or contained within a row of squares. Or take one strong colour like crimson or deep teal and use in a graphic linear way – something as simple as horizontal lines or a row of crosses – then keep the rest of the room black and white or white and grey. Geometric colour palette: Fireside® Solo® One Coat emulsion, Mascarpone® Indulgence®, Red Carpet™ Fashion For Walls® (new for 2008), Sidewalk® Fashion For Walls®, Teal Solo® One Coat emulsion, Little Black Dress™ Indulgence® (new for 2008).

2. INFORMAL We live in a precise world, where we are pressured to make our wants and needs fit with the demands of our busy lifestyles, however the more structured our lives become, the more attracted we are to the informal and spontaneous. In marked contrast to Geometric, Informal is about a more relaxed way of living and putting your favourite things together to create an easy-going, eclectic, yet uniquely personal home environment. To create an informal mood in the home, look at using soft tones from the same colour family, and then combine them with interesting materials and accessories. Put things together in a relaxed and natural way in the same way as you would create a collage, and avoid anything that looks too staged. Mellow pastel shades can be combined with pale grey and charcoal, then keep the furnishings simple for calm and quietly understated surroundings. Informal colour palette: Slate Grey® Kitchen & Bathroom, Empire Blue® Period Colours, Golden Roast™ Solo® One Coat emulsion (new for 2008), Noodle™ Easyclean®, Flawless™ Fashion For Walls®, Gallery White® Indulgence®

3. ADORNMENT Adornment is about enhancing your home with decoration and richness – not in an ostentatious way but with a down-to-earth, honest approach. An extra layer of glitz and glamour, just because it pleases us to do so, or a luxurious sheen of richness and texture can add depth and character to an interior space and make your home a more enjoyable place to be. So how does this translate into our homes? Rich and indulgent colours like dark dusky pinks and aubergine add strength and depth to a flat matt wall. Think textured surfaces, luxurious textiles and sparkle and shine. Areas of metallic emulsion in gold or silver work perfectly here. Adornment colour palette: Soft Steel® Kitchen & Bathroom, Gentle® Fashion For Walls®, Evening Wear® Fashion For Walls®, Sophistication® Metallic, Striking® Metallic, Palladian™ Period Colours (new for 2008).

4. WITHOUT NOSTALGIA In contrast to Adornment’s ornamental sensibilities, Without Nostalgia focuses on what is real and instantly familiar to us – proven colours that, when we see them, we instantly associate them with other objects. Take the orange of a 1950s Eames chair or Navy blue. These feel more modernist than retro because we understand their recognisable origins. This trend is about the use of flat matt colour and simplicity of texture and shape to create a simple, unpretentious home environment. It’s important to keep it simple in the home. Use colour in a clear but understated way and seek those quiet bright shades that have a timeless quality. These colours will provide a strong backdrop to furniture and furnishings and enable you to combine vintage finds with a modernist edge. Without Nostalgia colour palette Sketch Book® Fashion For Walls®, Promenade® Period Colours, Celebrity™ Fashion For Walls® (new for 2008), Silhouette® Indulgence®, Charcoal Grey® Non Drip Gloss, Classic Sand® Easyclean®.

5. AWARENESS Awareness of our surroundings, the world around us and our responsibility to be ‘green’ has created a desire within us to become more conscious of the origins of objects in our homes. This trend is all about taking a more responsible, forwardthinking approach to how we source items in order to create a comfortable environment. Influences from nature are still very strong, with sustainable wood, recycled objects and eco-friendly designs all becoming increasingly prevalent. When bringing this trend into the home, work with a colour palette of greens and browns – soft and watery sea green, the deepest olive, and nut brown. These are tones that harmonize with natural materials, textures and shapes, so it’s a case of simply letting the furnishings and accessories blend with the natural colours that surround them to give a restful, comforting room. Awareness colour palette Cascade® Indulgence®, Treehouse™ Kitchen & Bathroom, Brown Sugar® Matt emulsion, Bespoke® Fashion For Walls®, Royal Gala® Solo® One Coat Gloss, Carnaby® Fashion For Walls®

6. TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED In contrast to the considered, conscientious Awareness trend, Tales Of The Unexpected is all about having fun with a room scheme and adding elements of humour and surprise. By incorporating an unexpected object in a room – even if it conflicts with the overall style – gives a completely different perspective creating an unpredictable, yet exciting edge to a design. More importantly, it’s about using your instincts and mischievous nature to mix up styles and create interest. Whatever pleases you is the right thing to do! In the home, this is a more unstructured and quirky use of colour – so go with the flow and do what you fancy and make a statement. Think about using some uncommon combinations of colours that you would normally steer clear of. Large stencils or murals, or even freehand painting and drawing will also add a bit of fun to the room while unusual, almost artificial accent colours such as canary yellow and raspberry red will make the right kind of impact. Tales Of The Unexpected colour palette: Summer Pudding® Indulgence®, Pashmina® Matt emulsion, Armagnac® Indulgence®, Satin Jade® Solo® One Coat Satin, Lemon Squash® Kitchen & Bathroom, Gallery White Indulgence® These striking trends for 2008 show just how passionate Crown is about colour – and with our top interior tips on how to translate them into colour schemes for your walls, now there’s no excuse not to bring the 2008 trends to life in your home!