Making the most of storage...

Living in an apartment that does not have adequate storage space can be hard work and quickly makes the place feel cluttered.

However, the good news is there are loads of different types of furniture and accessories available to help you make the most of the space available for storage. Here are some of the tips to live big in a small apartment;

• A sofa or a futon that can be unfolded to become a bed is a great asset to accommodate any guests or visitors.
• Bathroom storage units and cabinets are great for keeping towels and other bathroom accessories.
• Bookcases are great for storing books, files and entertainment centres
• Instead of heavy, bulky chairs, use ottomans with storage area underneath or a bar stool set that can be stacked in the corner when not in use.
• Tables and dressers with slide-in drawers or shelves provide more space to keep your magazines, newspapers and other accessories.
• Use under-sink area for maximizing storage area in bathrooms and kitchens.
• Vertical slide-in shelves in the kitchen can be used to hang pots and pans.
• You may find some great deals on shabby chic or recycled furniture pieces in garage sales that can help you to keep things hidden from view at fraction of the cost.

Sourced from: homedecor.iloveindia.com

Plan an easy dinner party menu...

Having friends over for dinner is a great opportunity to show off your culinary skills. However, the key to a really successful evening lies in keeping things simple, leaving you with enough time to cook up a feast while still enjoying the company of your guests.

Here are a few tips to help everything run smoothly on the night;

• Always pick something you have cooked on prior occasions.
• Once you have planned your menu, make a shopping list. To save on time, keep produce together and dry goods together so you know what you need in each aisle.
• Use packaged vegetables that are already trimmed or shredded, like onions or carrots to cut down on preparation time.
• Prepare as much food as you can ahead of time.
• Don’t go overboard on appetizers and have more fun when it comes to the main course. You can keep appetizers simple by opting for items such as cheese platter, some nuts or olives.
• Don’t be ashamed to buy a ready made desert.

Source: oprah.com

Pro-shot Golf

Don’t let the hot Dubai summer get in the way of your passion for golf….

This is the best play-at-home golf game ever invented. Pro-Shot Golf allows you to bring the enjoyment of the green and the fairway into your own home or garden.

The kit comes with all you need to mirror your favourite golf courses; green felt fairways, a putting green, a sand-trap, six inter-changeable clubs, score cards and even trees.

Of course a choice of club is a must, so your mini golfer comes with a set of 6 interchangeable clubs including a driver, a 3 wood, a 5 iron, a 7 iron, a wedge and a putter.

Once you’ve set up your ideal course, the fun begins. A high quality plastic golfer comes attached to a short golf club. Your very own golf pro has a pivot at his hips, and with the pull of a trigger he takes his swing and makes his shot.

It's great fun to play and you can make it as extreme as you like.

Features

A miniature golf game featuring a high quality moulded plastic golfer mounted on the end of a conventional golf club.

The kit includes:-

• Green felt mats to emulate the golfing terrain
• A Driver, 3 Wood, 5 Iron, 7 Iron, Wedge, Putter.
• Indoor and outdoor golf balls
• A tee
• A putting green
• A fairway
• Bunkers
• Trees
• Scorecard.
• Suitable for indoor and outdoor usage.
• The golfer has a pivot in his hips enabling him to make his golf shots when the lever at the end of the club pulled.
• Suitable for ages 8 years+.
• Size: - Green: 81 x 89cm (largest of the mats)
• Club with golfer: 87cm (long)
• Golfer: 23 x 23 x 5.5cm.

Pro-shot golf is available online from: iwantoneofthose.com and boystuff.co.uk

Pet-proof your home

Anyone with pets, particularly cats and dogs, will know that it's not always easy keeping the house immaculate with them around. One things for sure, its not likely that they will change, so in order to limit the amount of wear and tear, think about durable, hard-wearing and easy to clean surfaces for walls and floors, particularly in the hallway.

The biggest problems if you have pets running around are paw prints, scratches and grubby marks on floors and walls. Hallways are particularly vulnerable as they take a lot of heavy traffic and therefore, a lot of knocks.

When it comes to decorating your entrance hall you should consider what might be the most durable and hardwearing option. Whatever style you go for, opt for something in keeping with the rest of your home so it doesn’t look out of place. A perfect solution for most houses would be to apply tongue-and-groove wood panelling - easy to wipe clean and very tough.

Go for flooring that’s easy to keep cleaning, think laminate flooring rather than a cream carpet. For all you carpet lovers, Flotex offers the ideal solution for houses with pets running around. Flotex carpet is waterproof, warm underfoot, stain resistant and comes with a lifetime wear guarantee. It’s practical flooring for your busy home office, hallway, living room and other hardworking areas of the home.

Source: uktvstyle.co.uk

Creating the perfect children's garden

There is no finer sound than the sound of children's laughter coming from a sunny garden. Whether they're bouncing on a trampoline, playing imaginary games in a tree house or looking for newts in a pond, children all benefit from an outdoor space that is geared to their needs.

The perfect child's garden should have;

• somewhere to play
• somewhere to hide
• somewhere to explore and learn about the world

Naturally, it must also be safe.

Fortunately, it is possible to have a child-centred garden that also looks good. There are plenty of attractive outdoor toys on the market that blend in with their surroundings and won't offend the grown-ups in the family.

Here are some essential ingredients to the perfect children’s garden;

Water Babies

If you're planning a kid's garden from scratch, top of the list is water. Despite its obvious dangers, water is a rewarding and enriching play medium.

Come out to play

Swings, climbing frames and slides are obvious garden toys. Although expensive, the hundreds of hours of fun they provide will justify the initial outlay.

Fairies at the bottom of the garden

The crowning glory of a child's garden has to be a child-sized house - either on the ground or up a tree. Again, they can be expensive but its possible to save money by putting your DIY skills into action.

Gardening for fun

Kids can also get pleasure from gardening itself, so establish a patch of ground that is their own. Help them dig the soil over, give them a few packets of seed and see their faces light up as they watch 'their' plants grow.

Sourced from: uktvstylegardens.co.uk

Take a trip to the races...

The 2007 Dubai International Racing Carnival began on 18th January. The Carnival, which last year attracted over 200 horses form 14 countries, runs over 10 meetings at Nad Al Sheba Racecourse.

Meetings take place on Thursdays and Fridays up until 8 March.

Saturday 31 March will see the twelfth running of the Dubai World Cup, the world’s richest horse race with prize money for the winner set at an amazing USD 6,000 000. This is one of the most significant events in the world of thoroughbred horseracing and should not be missed.

Both the Dubai Racing Carnival and Dubai World Cup are great opportunities to get dressed up and have some fun.

Further information is available at the Dubai Racing Club website.