Doing it yourself is right on trend at the moment and there is no shortage of themes to get your creative juices flowing. From mix and match colour to the smooth ‘60s look, industrial décor to art and crafts, the only hardship is picking the right one.

Now brace yourself, this may sound strange, but the trend of mixing and matching is taking off. Taking the pressure off homemakers by bucking against the need for perfection, the idea is that clashing colours will add a vibrant nonchalance to a home. Scatter celebratory Jubilee cushions across sofas, add hints of chintz and pull the look together with fluorescent furniture and pastel coloured walls. It will certainly make an impression and visitors won’t be leaving without something to say.

Thanks to television’s recent obsession with making and sewing, the craft craze has taken off in the home with near levels of mania for the look that amounts to ‘accessible twee’. The great thing about the craft theme is its essence of inclusion. It is all about sticking, gluing, sewing and stapling, and provides fun for all the family.

Customise your cushions with the family’s initials, update old textiles with sequins and bows and don’t shy away from the odd bold slogan or two. Think ‘keep calm and carry on’.

Mad Men has been off the TV screens for some time but its return is bound to have would-be-designers clamoring for the ‘60s look. A leather sofa, plenty of colourful acrylic and not a hard edge in sight will make the look.

Zigzag patterns help too and the decade was fond of oranges, reds and browns. Cap off the living room with sophisticated glass coffee tables that come complete with magazine racks to show off the style magazines that reflect your taste. Betty Draper style, without the drama.

If a tougher, more considered look is more your thing then the industrial look could be for you. Some homes cry out for the rough edges of exposed brick and the refusal to cover up a room’s roots can often have amazing effects. To get the look, pair the rough and smooth of wood and exposed metal. In the kitchen, the stripped grain of a cheap dining table and chairs will appear wonderfully cool and considered surrounded by alloy worktops.

In other areas of the home, old storage units will add a quick contemporary style fix and wherever possible attempt to expose the mechanics behind your lighting and heating.

Redecorating your home is the easy part, but deciding on the theme might not be quite so simple. Think about creating mood boards and using magazines to help with your decision, once you have reached it, the DIY fun can begin.

With house prices slightly down due to the tough economic times the country is facing, if you have your deposit, there are bargains to be found in the market at the minute. For those that dream of finding the right house but cannot afford to buy, they may benefit from the government affordable home ownership schemes.

These schemes have a range of different options depending on your circumstances. They range from shared ownership where you part rent and part buy to new buy schemes to help you buy a new home if you are unable to raise the deposit required.

Preparation and motivation is the key to find a house that you want to buy. Firstly, decide on location and be realistic about what you can afford there. It may be that budget determines that you look outside of your ideal location in similar places or suburbs. Define your search area by looking at places close to where you want to be, whether this is work or family, through internet searches.

Before you start to look for a house in your chosen locations, make sure you do your homework first. Get a rough idea of house prices in the area, what houses in your price bracket have sold for and a general overview of what is available. Next research mortgages in order to understand the differences between fixed, tracker and variable rates. Armed with knowledge you will be able to find the best mortgage deal to suit your circumstances.

Once you have an agreed mortgage amount that is available you can turn your attention to finding the right house within your price bracket. Try to keep to a reasonable amount of homes to view within a week, too many and you will be unable to properly evaluate them all. Do not view more than seven homes in one day or you will forget specific details about each one.

You need to be motivated to search for a house and put aside dedicated time. When you find the perfect house for you, do not wait for anything better to come along but snap it up before someone else buys it. Many people keep looking for perfection and unless you have an endless budget, compromises will probably need to be made.

If you have a short list of houses from your search, make sure that you conduct a second viewing before making your final choice. This gives you a chance to really scrutinise the house and you will notice things you overlooked on the first visit.

When you have made your choice, stick with your instincts, start the buying process and get ready to move in.

If you are already the owner of energy efficient appliances I applaud you. However, there’s more you can do, a lot more in fact. Accept the challenge that is posed to become a more conscious user of your computer, your lights (both indoor and outdoor) your refrigerator, and everything else that goes on your electric bill. That hairdryer you use once a week but leave plugged into the wall, unplug it. The computer you leave plugged in all the time, stop that. Turn the darn thing off, it needs to get some rest too you know.

When you go on a trip unplug everything, not only is the environmentally friendly thing to do, it saves you money too. If you are not going to be gone over a week, it is understandable that you may not want to turn that off, and incidentally have to chuck everything within it. Nor would I ask you to, because you will replace them all with new ketchup, butter, syrup, jelly, mustard, pickle mayo and horseradish bottles, and that isn’t good for the environment. Which is precisely where you come in. Not only are you being asked to turn stuff off, it is also being requested that you recognise other ways that your actions lead to waste, and stop, or at the very least limit that too.

If you didn’t do it in 2012 then make a point of it to join the world’s largest voluntary action for the environment next year. As it is, this year was met with hundreds of millions of participants. This included participation of one hundred and fifty countries. In fact, both the Office of the UN Secretary General and the International Space Station were involved. So, pretty soon your going to be the only one not joining in. Till Earth Hour 2012, which is scheduled for three hundred and sixty one days from now, do your part in your daily life to actively limit the waste of energy.

The act of pulling out my Oriental floral pattern quilt cover and then putting away all of the heavy and dark duvets is what officially rings in the new season in our home. And if I have my way, it always will be. It has been this way in my world for as long as I can recall as my mother used to make a big deal over the exchange of the seasonal sheet sets and bed skirts. Of course back then it was not all that uncommon for the bedding to have been less than exciting in design, but she still had a way of making the stripping and redressing of the beds quite a major production. Though I never thought to ask her, it is probably reasonable to conclude that her mother did something similar. Hopefully, I can successfully pass this habit on to my children.

In addition to changing out the bed linens, I also take time to pamper and care for our furniture. After removing the winter linens, and before placing the spring ones on the beds I wipe them down to remove any dust. This is then followed by a good polishing to keep the wood well hydrated and to protect it from the elements. If this were not done to the bedroom furniture it could potentially lose its lovely colour due to excessive dryness and sun exposure through the windows. It also helps to keep them from cracking. Not only is this great for lengthening the life of the furniture, the polish smells amazing too. Considering the benefits to this exercise it makes perfect sense to carry on this way and it pleases me so.

I don’t want to uncover it just yet, because once I do, the name will make some turn away. For its name is not something that screams high-end, in fact it might even come across initially as something better suited in a dollhouse. But, considering it provides a delightful floor cover that won’t slip and allows furniture to sit absolutely flat if placed upon it, it deserves another look.

Ok, so what is this statement piece that will stun, surprise and attract, a giant floor sticker. With all the styles to choose from, there will be many for any type of room. Obviously, if you were looking for some floor cushioning, a way to limit echoing noise, or a long term investment this is not for your floor. However, you may find it to be the perfect addition to a wall, maybe as a backdrop for a photo collection, or all by itself as decoration. One way or another it can be the ideal way to anchor a space.

But if you can see your way to shake that off, after all it has been more than a few decades since that show was in production, I would like to introduce you to a new era of recliners. You can find them with classic lines, with turned wood accents so they will work in a traditionally decorated room. When it is not in use, you can’t even tell it converts to prop your feet up.

If you like a retro look, you can also locate a recliner with brass nailheads lining the edge of beautiful distressed leather (or new and crisp looking leather should you prefer). Again, this piece looks as though it is a regular chair, without the more modern bells and whistles.

So you see, you can be a recliner owner and live happily in its presence. Should you still be a bit tarnished by its earlier image, then you will certainly be pleased that when it is not being reclined in that it looks like all the other items in your living space.

The beauty of a bar table as opposed to a bar counter is that they provide you with a kitchen or breakfast bar that can be moved around, allowing you endless possibilities and not rooting you to one spot. This can be especially handy as the table can be moved around a kitchen or dining room until you find the perfect spot for people to congregate.

The materials that these high tables are made from stand them in good stead, being very durable and easy to clean. Stone, glass and ABS resin tops are very hard wearing and resilient to staining, needing only a wipe with a damp cloth should any spillages occur. This makes them quick and easy to keep in pristine condition and allows you to focus on other things, making them perfect for high impact environments such as a busy domestic kitchen.

Stone tops are at the high end of the range, providing a classy look and solid feel. From black granite to white marble and everything in between, they provide a natural touch but with superb hardiness, making these tables highly sought after.

Impact resistant ABS plastic is injection moulded into the required form. It is much lighter than stone and so makes the tables much more mobile, but is still very resistant to scratches and scrapes. Due to the nature of this surface, it comes in a medley of colours and provides a vibrant touch to any room.

Glass is the most popular material for bar table tops however. These toughened glass tops come in a range of finishes; clear class is light and airy whilst smoked glass adds a touch of sultry colour, with opaque black glass giving an almost piano black, gloss appearance. Finally, sparkle glass has a crystalline structure within the top that catches and plays with the light, throwing up little specks of colour.

The shape of the top is also important; round tables are very fluid and easy on the eye, whilst also allowing for any combination of stools happily seating many people. Square top tables, however, usually dictate the number of stools you can have, working best in pairs. Placed at opposing sides of the table, square tops easily accommodate up to 4 occupants and give a more structured look than their circular counterparts.

Finally, if you are after a little more height, there is another range of bar tables known as poseur tables. These are held at 100cm, akin to a commercial bar counter, and are designed to be stood at but also work beautifully with high bar stools.

As I am interested in making my own, healthy version pizzas, the Kenmore Elite Infrared Convection Toaster Oven looked great. Then I read reviews and it sounded awesome. This toaster can take six slices of bread at a time, so everyone can get started on breakfast together. As for my pizza interests, it can handle a twelve inch pizza without any problems. In addition, it comes with a pizza stone, so you know it was made for this type of cooking.

The bargain alternative is the Black and Decker Convection Countertop Toaster Oven. You will not be able to make as much toast at once, but what toast it can do is very nice. The real test, if you have the same interest as me, is how it is with pizza. It will only take a nine inch crust, but if your finances are not as big as your eyes, or stomach this is a good choice.

The top four recipes that I came across were roasted cauliflower salad, cauliflower with walnuts and grated carrot salad, cauliflower bacon and olive tortellini, and cauliflower puree. Right about now you are probably wondering if I have actually made all four of these yet, and the answer is blatantly no. In fact, during the time I spent looking up these recipes, the cauliflower has started to look a little peeked.

As such, tonight we will be cooking up the puree. This seems like the correct choice amongst the bunch as it will be virtually unidentifiable for starters. I will try to get them to try it without being told what it is made of. Oh , and that is just steamed cauliflower florets that have been pureed with some butter. The only addition is salt and pepper to taste. So, as you can see the second bonus is the easy in which it is made. Wish me luck!

Due to advances in television technology and production, the ideal living room TV set is now a relatively large, sharp-looking flat screen. In fact, if you head out to an electronics store, you may notice that there are hardly any options anymore anyway, and that almost the entire selection is made up of sleek flat screens. The best option, out of these, is an LCD LED screen, which offers the best picture quality and generally comes in a very thin, very flat design that makes it versatile when being placed in a room. Some can be set on stands, and some can be mounted on walls, depending on the layout and design of the room that you are putting them in.

Once you have your new big screen television selected and put in place, your room can really start to come together. For starters, you’ll want to put in a sound system that can match your television in quality. Beyond that, it will be up to you how you want to organize and design the home entertainment system that will serve as the anchor for your living room. Before long, the room could be transformed from a nice place to sit, to a place to relax with the highest quality of entertainment.

This is not to say that you cannot design a comfortable living room without a big expensive television. However, many people are discovering the various ways in which such a television can enhance a room. These days, you can even hook your television up to advanced networks, and WiFi connections, meaning that you can even stream viewing material from the Internet, etc. It is a simple fact that your options will expand with a nice new television. However, this is just something to consider as you go about maximizing the potential of your living room.