June 26, 2013 | Mum In The Madhouse

June 26, 2013

Modernise your Lounge: Top Tips for the Minimalist Look

Modernise your Lounge: Top Tips for the Minimalist Look
A minimalist home certainly isn’t for everyone – in fact, it’s nigh on impossible if you have a family home full of messy kids and moulting pets with grubby paws. If you’re the sort of person who would be able to apply a minimalistic approach to your home, then it’s a bang on trend style that can look amazing if you know how.
If you plan on turning your living room into a simple and stylish sanctuary, you need to give some thought to what pieces of furniture you’re going to have in there and where you’re going to store all the clutter that you’ll be moving off the shelves. Choosing a standout piece as a focal point, such as one of the sleek and stylish corner sofas from Sofas and Stuff UK will help to direct the eye to a centrepiece that will set the mood for the room perfectly.
As far as turning your home into a minimalist heaven is concerned, there is no right place to start. Change the way you think, find a place for everything that is out of sight and keep your home decluttered and you will have the basics for the minimalistic look. Simplifying an entire house isn’t easy, so start with one room and move from there. The living room is an ideal place to begin, because it’s one of the main rooms you’ll use day-to-day.
Look at the furniture you have and try to whittle it down to the bare necessities. The fewer items you have, the more minimalist your lounge will look. The trick is to remove furniture without affecting comfort – ask yourself what pieces are essential and take away the things that aren’t.
Other than furniture, your floors and surfaces should be clear. Wooden floors and light, shagpile carpets work well in a minimalist room as long as you can stay on top of cleaning them. Avoid storing things on the floor and surfaces, or stacking things next to your sofa – that defeats the point entirely. Find a home for everything, apart from a choice item or two which will add striking visual appeal – a vase of fresh flowers and an elegant ornament, perhaps.
Living in a minimalist home is difficult but if you can change the way you think about your pad, you will be able to enjoy the simplicity and tranquillity associated with it.

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Tips for LEGOLAND WIndsor with 7 and 8 year old

We love LEGO and we are also huge fans o0f LEGOLAND. We go to the LEGOLAND Windsor once a year and Maxi and I were lucky enough to visit Legoland Florida earlier in the year too. On Fathers Day The Mad Blog Awards hosted their first #MadDayOut at LEGOLAND Windsor and we were lucky enough to be asked to come along and help at the event.

My boys are 132cm and 127 cm, so can go on every ride. Maxi, who is the taller child can go on them all independently. Mini can go on most independently, but needs to be accompanied by an adult on some of the others. We were also gifted a gold VIP wrist band, which I believe is the equivalent of a Q-BOT Ultimate. This meant that we skipped the queue on every ride. We managed to go on every ride in the p-ark in one day and there were no queues! Was it worth it? Well once both the boys are over 130cm we will buy then a Q-BOT Ultimate each, as it made the day so much more special and as a trip to LEGOLAND is a once a year thing for us I would rather save up and do it in style.

So What are our top tips for making the most out of your visit to LEGOLAND?

Get there early – The park opens for general visitors at 10am. Get there early for the park opening. It is quietest first thing on a morning.
Pick up a lost parent wrist band at the beginning of the park (Guest Services). These are invaluable. There are a lo0t of children and it is easy to lose one as Penny will tell you.
Head for the rear of the park first. The most popular rides are driving school and boating school, so it pays to get the queuing out of the way first and we found the queues much less on a morning. We start at the back and work our way forward.
If you stay in the LEGOLAND Hotel you get access to Atlantis 30 minutes early.
Be prepared to get wet. Splash rides include Pirate Falls Dynamite Drench, SQUID Surfer and Vikings River Splash. We use poncho’s to ensure that we have dryish clothes!
Take swim wear or UV wear for children. The new DUPLO Splash Valley and Drench Towers is a superb water area with slides, fountains, water guns and much more. There is a toddler area and an older child area. It is great fun and perfect for when your children are flagging. We managed to both grab a cup of tea whilst the boys made the most of the water.
There can be a lot of walking and waiting, so if you have a buggy take it. Even if your child doesn’t normally use it.
Make use of all your time. We stayed till closing time, a lot of people leave earlier so the queues get shorter.
Turn up for the Pirate of skeleton bay show early (20 mins approx before the start) and put down a picnic blanket a little to the right of the control booth on the corner. The show is brilliant and will be enjoyed by all. The harbour coffee shop does starbucks quality lattes. Even better this is the perfect place and time to have your lunch in front of the show, its fab! And bring a picnic as food is ridiculously expensive.

Ways to keep costs down

Take a packed lunch. There are areas for eating your packed lunch or snacks. You can also go back to the car to get it. There are also lockers at the beginning if you want to store your bags, but they do not refund your coins.
Kids eat free after 3pm in certain restaurants
Get a refillable drink for £7, especially if it is warm. You can use the drinks bottle once you get home too.
Get the shopping over with at the beginning. Set a budget and make sure you stick to it! You can also leave your purchases their to collect on your way home.
Keep an eye out for 2 for 1 deals by search on line.
If you are travelling the park have an affiliation with a number of hotels and you can get your second day free. It is worth checking out booking both hotel and park entrance with these hotels.
We had THE best time, in fact Mini called it Epic. To see more pictures why not take a look at our LEGOLAND 2013 Google+ picture album

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