Autumn has the potential to be the most beautiful season. The skies, the turning of the leaves, the mild weather, Halloween and Bonfire night. Yup, Autumn could be lovely. But it never is. Expectation Vs Reality Expectation Vs Reality Expectation Vs Reality Expectation Vs Reality […]
Well, it kind of flew under the radar a bit here at Wooden Blinds Direct, but it is officially Wool Week! Wool Week is a small part of the Campaign for Wool. The Campaign for Wool is a global endeavour initiated by its patron, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, in order to […]
Concrete has been used to build with for thousands of years. 2000 years ago one of the most impressive structures made by man was created out of concrete: the Pantheon. This incredible structure used architectural elements far ahead of its time, and to this day remains the largest un-reinforced concrete dome in existence. […]
If you spend all day staring at a computer screen, it can be hard to stay focused and engaged. We all know that headache that comes from the glare of the screen, how your eyes sting from staring at the tiny words all day. If your office is full of people it can make […]
After a bit of a lull, metal has found its way back into interior design. It has often been used in one form or another, but the use of metal dropped somewhat during the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s when plastic and other such materials gained prominence. But recently it has made a resurgence, beginning in […]
Curtain poles are an underutilised aspect of interior design and are often overlooked during the design process. This is probably because any effect they have is usually very subtle. They are often hidden and overshadowed by the curtains that hang off them. But, a carefully selected curtain pole can have an effect on a […]
There seems to be a small amount of confusion surrounding Wooden Shutters, or Plantation Shutters as they are properly known: the multiple names are the least of it. They are often confused with Colonial shutters, but are in fact a completely separate style of shutter (keep an eye out for a separate blog post, soon). […]
Let’s preface this post by defining: what do we mean by retro? It is a bit of a vague time period. Especially with how quickly fashions and technology are currently progressing. Vintage and retro are also very much in vogue at the moment, but each has a different meaning to different people. The technical definition […]
In previous weeks we have explored the ideas of Wabi-Sabi, Shibui and Miyabi, this week, Iki. The oldest and widest spread of all the Japanese aesthetics, second to wabi-sabi, is iki. The idea of iki is inherently grained into Japanese culture, to the point where sometimes it is (wrongly) assumed that anything out of Japan […]
Japanese Design, Part 3 – Miyabi Of all the ideals we have looked at so far (the others being wabi-sabi and shibui) miyabi is perhaps the simplest to comprehend. Consequently there is the least written about it, due to how easy it is to grasp. Essentially Miyabi means elegance. But in Japanese culture […]
In last week’s post we attempted to give a basic understanding of wabi-sabi, the Japanese design ideal based around transience and finding beauty in imperfection. This week we will look at another term, Shibui, which is far more complex in its nature than wabi-sabi. One reason it is so complex is due […]
As part of an ongoing series we are going to look at various Japanese design ideals and styles. Part 1 – Wabi Sabi. It has been said that wabi-sabi is the most important principle of all Japanese culture. It underlies and can be translated into all aspects of Japanese life. To try and put […]
On June the 5th, 2013 something astounding happened. In New York City at Sotheby’s a Persian Rug sold for $34 million. Thirty. Four. Million. Dollars. To the vast majority of the populace that is a simply unfathomable amount of money. An amount that very few of us will ever see. It seems a ludicrous amount […]
Humans are cautious creatures by nature. You don’t get to be the top of every food chain and be the dominant species on the planet by taking risks. You do it by going slowly, being careful and by learning from your mistakes. The creatures that didn’t are now extinct. But one wonderful thing about […]
There has been an emergence recently of blinds made from what is being called ‘Faux Wood’, which seems like something of an oxymoron to us. Faux wood? Fake wood? Can wood be fake? Faux Wood, when you take the pretention off, is… (drum-rolllll) plastic. Just in case you were not aware, plastic does not grow […]
In what is one of the most exciting recent events in window furnishings, two luxury brands and one honoured establishment have teamed up to create something truly special. Little Greene is an independent manufacturer of luxury paints who strive to be as environmentally and ethically conscious as possible. They date back to 1773 […]
We at Wooden Blinds Direct recently surveyed 2000 people from across the UK on how they feel about their homes. The results are shocking; mainly that more than 70% of us don’t like where we live! We thought we’d share some more of the key findings here… Top areas that people dislike about their […]
Hotels demand something different from interior design than a home does. With a home, it’s yours, you do it to your taste and if someone else doesn’t like it then, well, stuff ‘em. But a hotel, when you strip it back, is a business, and the hotel business is extremely competitive. With the prevalence of […]
Wooden Blinds make everything better, even Terminator 2. We’re big movie fans here at Wooden Blinds Direct. Our sister company, Vertical Blinds Direct, did a post on the best Window Bailouts, check it out here. We’re obviously huge fans of Wooden Blinds as well, and there aren’t enough occasions where movies and blinds come together. […]
On May the 16th it’s National Love a Tree Day! There are some weird holidays out there. The 10th of September is national ‘Sewing Machine day’, the 29th of August is ‘More Herbs Less Salt’ day and the 8th of April is ‘National Draw a Bird Day’… Well May the 16th is national ‘Love a Tree […]
