Category: Lifestyle

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Health & Fitness Lifestyle

#Uk #spas @Grayshottspa #health #diet #lifestyle

After a week’s stay at Grayshott Spa I now feel mentally and physically revitalised and ready to face the world again.

We all have moments in our life when we need to simply stop to recharge, regroup, take stock and then start again.
Usually these are key moments in life such as divorce, bereavement, recuperation from an injury or an operation, exhaustion or burn out, a milestone birthday, weight-gain or weight-loss.

For over 30 years I have chosen Grayshott Spa as my go-to sanctuary where I re-find my positive and energetic self, just like re-booting a computer to get it operating again in tip-top condition.

This time my reason is 6 weeks post-hip-resurface-surgery to get healthy and fit mentally and physically, then consider my personal and business venture options that I put on hold for 3 months.

Arrival and first days at any hotel or spa always seem to be less than relaxed and take a bit of pace adjustment.
Often room changes, specific diet requirements and booking favourite treatments and therapists can feel unnecessarily.stressful.
but by day #3 I am so chilled I am nearly comatose.

Day #2 has a slight blip in the middle of the night with a fire alarm evacuation
(not a drill but a real evacuation with 2 fire engines arriving within minutes)
but all is resolved swiftly by both the fire-brigade and the extremely kind and efficient staff, led by the incredibly calm front desk manager, Michelle- all credit to her- amazing leadership skills for such a young girl,

It is quite a funny experience looking back on it (especially as the cause of the fire is caught early enough to not be serious) It feels possibly rather like a wartime evacuation, as all guests and staff are huddled together in the middle of a cold rainy night in our nighties and pj’s, on an indoor tennis court, whilst waiting for the firemen to give the all clear so we can return to our nice comfy warm king size beds.

From day #3 onwards everything is running smoothly again, with my mornings starting with a daily swim in the indoor pool or heated outdoor pool on the sunnier days. Then a very quick submersion in the freezing cold plunge pool in the sauna and steam room area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the beautiful view from my bedroom window of the heated outdoor pool and the grounds.

Breakfast everyday is a selection of fruits, healthy cereals, porridge, choice of eggs, smoked salmon, and also gluten and dairy free options if required. I am not even missing my daily Expresso.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I spend mornings relaxing or initially taking gentle exercise until an early lunch.

Every day at midday is a pre-lunch talk from a different nutritional expert. Each providing information on how to eat and live a healthier lifestyle. Ideas to take home to continue all the effort and good work started here. Talks include how not have a yo-yo cycle of diet and weight gain, how stress can prevent you losing weight, which fats are good and which are bad, good and bad carbs. All fascinating facts to help you improve your eating habits

Every lunchtime a delicious home-cooked vegetarian soup is the starter before the large daily help-yourself buffet. The Grayshott Spa ethos is to fill up your plate with mostly vegetables and salad, whilst the smaller portion should be protein and good carbs.

This glorious Wisteria is the view from my lunch table.

I choose to not overload myself with too many treatments as my objective is to relax, so my daily highlight is my after-lunch massage. Bliss. My favourite therapists are Donna (who has known me since I first started coming here) and Faye and Pam.
All Grayshott therapists are excellent at their job, but its always lovely to return to the ones that you have an ongoing relationship with

As I regain my energy levels daily,  I vary my exercise with pilates and
yoga classes at tea-time, where the instructors give classes that work for all guest abilities, by showing various options of how to do an exercise that could prove to be too challenging for some.

Sue Woods is a visiting instructor whom I have been working with for many years now, whose knowledge and mastery of yoga, tai-chi and chi-gong never ceases to amaze me.

There is an end-of-day rest and relaxation class which is a guided meditation and I also choose to have a 1-2-1 meditation session to help focus on my life choice possibilities.

My personal favourite lecture is by Sharon Gregory on the art of willpower and mindfulness. So difficult to only have one chocolate or one biscuit isn’t it?…..Sharon sees 1-2-1 clients at Grayshott for NLP, hypnotherapy and EFT, and practices locally as well ([email protected])

The Grayshott nutritionist Stephanie Moore is also inspirational and has helped many returning guests lose significant weight and subsequently keep it off.

Dinners are designed by the executive chef to appeal both visually and to the taste buds whilst being healthy and low calorie. Yummy

There are also a myriad of beauty treatments. I am saving the facial for my final day.
I’m sad to leave but my stay has helped me change me from recovering from an operation to being ready to face the world again

www.grayshottspa.com
[email protected]
@grayshottspa
01428 602000

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Guest blogs Interiors Lifestyle Property

Simplifying #woodflooring #interiors #style #property

Natural wood is a stylish flooring solution that can suit many interiors. If you are considering natural wood, you will soon come across technical terms that may appear to complicate the process, unless help is at hand. In this guide we aim to explain your options, should you decide to venture in the direction of natural wood during your next interior design project.

Types Of Wood Flooring

Types such as natural, solid, engineered, wood effect and others often come across confusing. Your first decision is deciding as to the most suitable type based on your project’s requirements.

Solid Wood – Floorboards of the solid type are made from 100% natural wood. When clients first think of wood flooring, the solid type is often the only one they are aware of. The solid type suits most surroundings, unless fitted in damp or humid areas. In such areas, the likes of which are the kitchen or bathroom areas, natural wood may expand when the temperature rises and contract when the temperature drops. Overtime, this instability can damage the wood.

Engineered Wood – Floorboards of the engineered type are made from 10% to 25% natural wood placed on a core of MDF, Plywood and even Softwood. The first visible layer typically 3mm to 6mm thick is made from the same natural wood as used in the solid type, though the bulk of the floorboard is made from alternative matters. This combination of materials means that an engineered floorboard can be fitted across the entire project, even in damp or humid areas and even on top of under floor heating.

Wood Effect, Laminate and Vinyl – These floorboards are made from synthetic materials such as wood fibers, plastic and even recycled materials. They contain no natural wood, but made to look similar to wood by copying visuals such as sapwood, grain markings, knots and colour. Wood effect, laminate and vinyl are substantially more affordable than real wood flooring, therefore in certain circumstances such as when the floor is to be laid on a tight budget, they are worth considering.

Colour Of Wood Flooring

After deciding on the type, comes the creative part of deciding on colour. In most circumstances, wood flooring comes in shades of golden honey. When clients come across colours such as white wood flooring, dark and even bold black they are often amazed at this outcome. In truth, over the years manufactures developed techniques to colour the floorboards to make them suitable in a greater number of projects.

White Wood Flooring – These solid and engineered white flooring are exceptionally popular in recent years. Each floorboard is painted over using diluted white paint and therefore referred to as white washed wood.

Dark Wood Flooring – These solid and engineered dark flooring are exceptionally popular in heavy footfall areas as they hide daily wear better. Using an industrial oven, the wood is baked and therefore often referred to as thermo treated wood.  Depending on the length of the process, the outcome can be dark wood or even solid black.

Bold Colours – Grey, yellow and even red can be achieved. Your interior designer will know what is available and the best means to procure your desired colour.

Wood Flooring Texture

The last considering after choosing type and colour, again takes a creative form.  Texture refers to the look, feel, appearance, or consistency of the wood flooring surface.

Together with colour, the look of each floorboard is also determined by grade. In its natural state, wood contains features such as sapwood, knots, grain markings and colour fluctuations. Premium grades such as Prime and Select present a uniform look in which these natural features are toned down. Country and rustic grades are the basic grades in which sapwood, knots, grain markings and colour fluctuations are widely present. It is a matter of personal taste, some people prefer a uniform look, others more rural.

The feel and appearance is traced back to your choice of coating. Coating is a chemical layer that is applied to reduce wear and tear. It comes in the form of oil or lacquered material. Oil finish wood flooring creates a smooth matt finish feel, while lacquered finish wood flooring creates a slightly textured surface, and in some cases a glossy finish. Again, it is a matter of personal taste.

We hope this handy guide has helped clarify your options. Contact interior stylist Ceril Campbell to discuss your project requirements.

Written by Jonathan Sapir, managing director of  WoodandBeyond Ltd

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Home staging UK Interiors Lifestyle Uncategorized

#styling #bathrooms #cloakrooms #ensuitebathrooms #homestaging #London

The following photos of bathroom, cloakroom, and en-suite master bathroom are all part of an empty London property that I interior styled for a client who is selling his house.
Home staging a large London house for around £20,000 that may go on the market for around £2-£3 million, can often increase the selling price by much as £100,000, as it offers prospective buyers a view of an aspirational lifestyle within the property.

The ground floor cloakroom, although the smallest room in a house, is a very important room

I added an interesting stylish mirror, and a small grey circular table on which to place hand towels and lovely smelling White Company hand lotions and soaps.

Its often the smallest details that attract interest

The view of the master en-suite bathroom into the bedroom.
His and hers luxurious chunky oversized white towelling dressing gowns add interest to the doorway into the bedroom.

The master bathroom has generously sized floor towels, piles of strategically placed and carefully folded bath towels and hand towels, fake plants and White Company soaps and lotions. These styling touches together with candles, grouped on the side of the bath suggest that the prospective buyers will have a lovely room to relax in at the end of the day.

The family bathroom has the same neutral colour scheme as the rest of the house, as this bathroom is also shared by the 2 guest bedrooms.

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Home staging UK Interiors Lifestyle Uncategorized

#kidsrooms #property #london #interiors #styling #homestaging


I styled and home staged this empty room into a colourful and fun kids bedroom in my clients’ London house.
One of the important criteria was to show that the bedroom space could fit 2 single beds, as often prospective property buyers aren’t able to imagine an empty space and how the furniture might fit into it,

 This is an alternative view of the bedroom

This is the bedroom after styling


The red and yellow colours of the bedroom were inspired by the vintage Mickey and Minnie prints I found on Portobello Road. The pretty flower print and gingham bedsheets were from White Company. I added small touches like kids toys and books scattered on the shelving and a wooden bike and added a vintage car outside the bedroom on the landing.

 

Next to the kid bedroom was a small room which could have been transformed into a nursery with a cot or a kids study. I chose to make it into the kids study.


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Home staging UK Interiors Lifestyle

#bedrooms #london #property #homestaging #interiors #styling

This is the 2nd smaller guest bedroom in the recent London property I homestaged. The room space lent itself to a small 4’6″ double bed to keep the bedroom still feeling spacious.

This is the view of the room before styling.

I removed the short curtains as I felt they added nothing to the room.
I chose neutral taupe shades for the bedroom accessories, softened by blue accessories, blue flowers and touches of blue in the artwork which created a softer, less masculine feel to the room.

here is a closer view of some of the styling details on the bedside tables and bed.





 

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Home staging UK Interiors Lifestyle Uncategorized

#bedrooms #homestaging #property #styling

My American client’s empty Fulham house had 5 bedrooms to homestage, style, creating a lifestyle to help sell the house at its optimum price as quickly as possible. The master bedroom was on the top floor (see earlier blog posting) with 4 bedrooms of varying sized on the 1st floor.

I turned this bedroom into the main guest bedroom as it was large enough to comfortably fit a king size bed.

I called this my world traveller guest bedroom due to the Globetrotter vintage trunk and artwork.


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Home staging UK Interiors Lifestyle

#interiors #styling #homestaging #london #property #bedrooms

This is how the master bedroom of my clients Fulham house, looked when it was empty before I styled it to sell. Home-staging the property to create an aspirational lifestyle, can increase selling price and decrease selling time.
The bedroom is very large space, big enough to fit a Superking bed and additional furniture as many buyers prefer 6ft beds in the master bedroom.

The above photo is of the bed area with a doorway on the right to the ensuite bathroom.
The photo below is of the reverse view from the bed end of the bedroom.

The next photos are the final staged views photographed in a very sunny bedroom (it must have been the only sunny day this Winter)!
I chose a light grey divan bed with a high headboard to create a statement and 2 slightly “distressed” side tables that teamed in with the Farrah and Ball-Charleston Grey paint tones on the walls. The White Company bed linen had a grey border, and I layered extra large pillows, cushions and throws to give depth, texture and interest to the bed.
Bedside lamps were tall to balance proportions, and as the room was swallowing up furniture, I added an ottoman at the foot of the bed. I chose to go more modern and minimal in my selection of both the bed and the ottoman as I felt the bedroom lent itself to that feeling, more than a button-back.

I leant the large free-standing mirror at an angle into the corner of the room and balanced the opposite corner of the room with a comfy tub-style chair and soft cable-knit cushion on it.
The room is calm and tranquil, somewhere not just to sleep, but also relax and look out through the huge glass windows at the night time sky and roof-top views.

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Home staging UK Interiors Lifestyle

#kitchens #interiors #styling #homestaging #london #property for sale

This the view of the clients empty Kitchen before staging. I felt that the kitchen had no heart with no island, workbench or table and had become simply a walkway to the far room which will be the dining room.
So this is what I did…..

I added a long narrow vintage zinc-topped table found in Portobello Road, to create a work space between the stainless steel kitchen cabinets worktop and the fridge. I felt a central island table would have taken over and would have made the kitchen space feel smaller.
I sourced an industrial style metal and wood stool to compliment the table
Styling details I added are vintage wooden crates with fake ferns to create extra interest in a “dead” corner.
Other styling details you can see from this angle are a wall clock, a metal bowl with some fake pears to add a flash of colour, herb pots on the window sill, an inscribed cheese board on top of the ovens. The picture below is a different view of the empty kitchen before staging.

Styling details: A retro kitchen scales picking up the duck egg blue that can be seen the dining room, a Dualit kettle, cook books, a wall clock with the same blue shade and herbs in metal containers.
In this final photos you can see a glimpse of the hall and the vintage industrial style wood workbench

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Home staging UK Interiors Lifestyle

#homestaging #interiors #styling #property how I got the look for client’s drawing room study area

The far end of a double drawing room can often be under-used and can be simply utilised as a walk-through area. I wanted to make sure that prospective buyers could see that it was a valid usable living space so created a study and reading area.
Vintage desk and desk sourced from inexpensive antique/bric a brac shops in Notting Hill and Fulham, London,
Anglepoise lamp from Auction sale rooms
Leather chair from Barker and Stonehouse
Artwork original 50’s prints from Surface View

The photos below are views of the room before styling.

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Home staging UK Interiors Lifestyle Uncategorized

#homestaging #interior #styling #London how I got the look

The object of home-staging an empty property to sell, is to maximise its selling price with a completed sale in the shortest possible time.
Creating an aspirational lifestyle and illusion of interior space and ceiling heights, whilst hiding any noticeable build or design flaws that may affect the buyers price offer is also important

This drawing room is long and narrow, with irregular wall alcoves.
the owners made the fireplace and TV the main feature so the room needs to be styled to address this.
the furniture I chose couldn’t be too large so that the room still appeared spacious.
A neutral colour scheme has colour from the artwork and flowers, picking up the lilacs and yellows from the coloured coffee table panels

This calm and restful drawing room feels homely and stylish, neutral but not bland, with some individuality.

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