I’m sure we all have a story about a time a shelf fell down in the middle of the night or the multiple holes in the wall trying to find the perfect spot for a picture or noisy neighbours or kids – right? Well, last week I went to a really fun event in the Shangri-La hotel in The Shard to find solutions to all of these problems. The event was held by British Gypsum (been making plasterboard for years and years) for their new Rooms Made For You range. Along with a group of lovely blogger pals, we had a great time trying out the products, whilst enjoying the amazing views from The Shard, which I hadn’t been inside yet even though I live within walking distance. I was very pleased to see there was a ticket for the viewing platform in my goody bag so I will take some proper photos when I go back and share them with you here. Anyhoo, back to the products in hand…

Magnetic plaster

What would you say holds you back most from personalising your home and decorating it in the way you want to (apart from money, obvs)? If your answer is not feeling confident about hanging things on the walls then magnetic plaster is the answer to all your problems. Forget magnetic paint (I’m sorry, but it really doesn’t work very well), magnetic plaster looks no different, is no more difficult to apply and is only slightly more expensive. Yet, depending on the strength of your magnet, you can hang even a huge TV on this plaster. No holes, no drilling, no putting up pictures in the wrong position and having to do it all over again. You can buy self adhesive magnetic strips that you can apply to picture frames, mirrors, hooks – anything that you would normally have to hang using a nail or screw and the best bit is you can move them around as your needs change.

Imagine how easy it would be to create a gallery wall like this if all these picture frames were magnetic and you could try out as many formations as you wanted with no need for holes in the wall. Image: My Scandinavian Home

Your home office noticeboard could be as large as you needed it to be with magnetic plaster. All that paper work that normally piles up on your desk could be attached to the wall if needs be. Image: My Scandinavian Home

Attach magnets to clipboards and move these around as and when needed with magnetic plaster. Image: Decor8

Magnetic plaster is perfect for children’s rooms and you could use chalkboard paint to create a writing wall that could also have their pictures stuck to it with magnets, pots with magnets for chalk that could be attached to the board. Elsewhere in the room you could have lots of hooks with magnets on the back so that they could be moved around the room and used for hanging clothes, toys, fancy-dress costumes, bags – the possibilities are endless. Image: Petit and Small

Hang storage boxes on the wall just using strong magnets. They can be moved around the room according to different needs and change the height of the boxes as children get taller. Image: Ferm Living

Lifestyle Wall

I used to own a studio flat in Borough, which meant sleeping and living in the same space. It was a new build, which meant stud walls galore and if you’ve ever tried screwing into plasterboard, you will know that it doesn’t take much to rip it out. Anyhow, I called round my Dad, as you do, to put up a shelf for me in my new studio flat. Up it went. I filled it with books, bottles of wine and a radio. A few nights later, I was sound asleep when I awoke to an almighty crash and thought I was dead and the world had ended; never before has my heart beat that fast. The shelf had fallen down, the wine was smashed, it was the most horrendous sight. The lesson learnt from that experience? You can’t just stick normal screws into plasterboard (why didn’t you know that, Dad?!).  Since that moment, I have always used specialist fixings in my walls, which is fine although they do create much larger holes and they can be tricky to use.

Lifestyle Wall is a new type of plasterboard that enables you to fix shelves, TV’s, curtain poles directly into the wall – no need to find the joist, use specialist fixings or even use power tools. We had a little competition on the day to see who could get the most screws, with just a screwdriver, into the plasterboard as they could in 1 minute. I managed four, I think. The point being that I could fix a shelf, that would be strong enough to hold all of my glasses, crockery and cookware (the type of shelf you would NOT want to fall down in the middle of the night) by myself, with no power tools, no specialist fixings. I like the sound of that.

This type of shelf could be fixed directly into the wall with single screws and no need for a drill. Image: Shoot Factory

I would love the flexibility of being able to put up a shelf without needing power tools or having to find the joist wherever I wanted, being safe in the knowledge that it won’t fall down in the middle of the night.  Image: My Scandinavian Home

Silent Floor

The last product that we learnt about is Silent Floor. Lucky for me, new builds have concrete floors and we hear virtually nothing of our neighbours. However, having lived in a period home with my family and as a student, I know only too well how sound travels around a house and between houses and it can be a nightmare. Silent Floor can be fitted to a ceiling or a floor to insulate a room from sound. We were able to listen to how much sound the floor cuts out and it’s quite amazing. So, whether you want to insulate your bedroom from your living room, your bedroom from your kids’ bedrooms or your flat from your neighbour’s flat, this is a great solution.

Which of these products speaks to you the most? I love the magnetic plaster idea and the possibilities for being more creative in the way that we live and decorate our homes.

Katy x

I wrote a post last year about shallow shelves that I love because they are so versatile. At the time, a few of you got in touch to ask where you could buy them from, and I drew a blank. The only thing I could suggest was to make your own.

Well, I’ve got good news. Ikea are now selling picture ledges  and they are super cheap at £4.90. Boom!

And what’s so special about these ledges compared to a normal shelf? They are only 9cm deep so they are not imposing in the same way as a normal shelf. It also has a lip so that pictures/books/ornaments won’t slip off, which makes it perfect for pictures. Also, if you paint the ledge the same colour as your walls, you will barely notice it is there. It is 55cm long and you can put two together, if you want a longer ledge or a 115cm ledge is also available.

I bought the 55cm ledge and I want to show you five different ways to use it…

1. Pictures

I love the flexibility of these ledges, especially if you are not confident about hanging prints or even plates. Simply pop them on the shelf and change them around as and when without having to deal with filling holes in your walls.

2. Kitchen storage

Put the ledge in your kitchen and use it for spices, tins or kitchenalia you want to have on show.

3. Toys

These shelves are perfect for children’s rooms so that they can easily access their toys, or hang them high enough for lovely displays.

4. Books

Also perfect for children’s books so that they can easily choose a book at bedtime.

5. Decorative

Use the ledge anywhere in your home just purely for decorative purposes to display your favourite things. Here I have used vintage bottles with single stems. It really does look pretty in ‘real life’.

I’m going to have to get a few more of these.

Katy x

Storage is always a huge problem that sometimes drives me a bit mad because I feel every storage solution deprives me of precious space.  In our guest room/home office space is a big issue and we can not afford to lose the space a wardrobe uses.  Therefore, when we do have guests they have nowhere to put their clothes.  I have found the solution to this is very simply to use hooks instead of a wardrobe.  They take up no floor space and hooks can look very nice if you invest in good ones (going cheap does not always pay off).  When we don’t have guests they can also be used for our wardrobe overspill or laundry.

Even though there is space at the bottom of the bed to put a wardrobe it would make this room feel very small and awkward.

These hooks have been custom made to reach across the whole wall of this guest room so that lots of potential clutter can be hung up.

If a wardrobe had been placed where these hooks are the whole room would have lost its light, bright appeal.

Painting the hooks the same colour as the walls can make them merge into the background if you do not want to draw attention to them.

This white, light guest room is not crowded out with a wardrobe.

Having a shelf above the hooks adds lots of extra storage, especially helpful in small nurseries, where wardrobes are an impossibility.

A wardrobe would not have fitted in to this small space.

Having extra floor space can make a guest room feel a lot more comfortable.

Use hooks to display your prettiest clothes.

These hooks show well how they can be used practically and to display treasured possessions.

Get bags, coats, scarves off the floor.

 BUY YOUR OWN HERE:

These are some of my favourite hooks if you want to give it a go.

Rustic hooks with shelf and could be painted to match your wall colour if needed. Click to buy them online from Not On The High Street for £47.

Love these especially because they have been reduced from £115 to £34 in the Heals sale. Click on the picture to buy them online from Heals.

I like these simple ceramic hooks from Anthropologie. Click on the picture to buy them here for £10.

Add a modern, retro feel to your room with these Eames hooks. Click on the picture to buy them online from Heals for £198.

These are very similar to the hooks that I bought for my guest room. CLick on the picture to buy them online from Scaramanga for £40.

A good cheap option from Graham and Greene. Click on the picture to buy them online for £6.

A design statement with this “luggage rack”. Click on the picture to buy them online from Graham and Greene for £138.

These atomic metal hooks would create a retro feel. Buy similar ones on eBay.