Eco-friendly homes are all the rage right now, with many consumers attempting to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle long-term. Helping the planet is about more than just recycling and refusing to buy single-use plastics, and those taking it seriously have already started incorporating environmentally conscious practices into their home design
Leading British designer and manufacturer of quality fitted furniture, Daval, celebrate the versatile nature of its multi-form furniture which is able to translate from room to room … Envisaged as a key trend for 2019 home interiors, transformative furniture that is systematic and not defined by purpose will become a
Fast-growing office fitout and design company Saracen Interiors has won the contract to transform part of a major office building into co-working space at the heart of Dundee’s £1 billion waterfront regeneration project. Dundee One is a 50,000 sq ft landmark building, where work is due to start on Phase
A lot of people have talked about how ecommerce is killing the world of physical retail. While the rise of online shopping has certainly triggered bankruptcies for certain companies, the true picture isn’t that simple. Ecommerce isn’t perfect in its current iteration. There are aspects to brick-and-mortar retail that are
Eco-friendly homes are all the rage right now, with many consumers attempting to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle long-term. Helping the planet is about more than just recycling and refusing to buy single-use plastics, and those taking it seriously have already started incorporating environmentally conscious practices into their home design and buying choices. Here, we discuss several ways in which to make a kitchen more eco-friendly. Responsible shopping habits Purchasing kitchenware and furniture in materials such as wood and stone can prove to be a far more eco-friendly alternative over plastic, and is actually just as robust and long-lasting. Natural materials make a home have a lovely, rustic feel and can work perfectly for flooring, kitchen countertops and furniture. When designing a new kitchen or renovating an existing one, it is important to keep sustainability in mind. Purchasing from a local retailer not only allows you to support the small high street stores, but also means you will be reducing your carbon footprint. There are plenty of independent UK and London kitchens specialists out there, many of which focus on maximising eco-friendliness. Durable furniture Kitting out the home certainly does not come cheap, and many of us will actively purchase low-priced furniture, knowing full well it is not likely to stand the test of time. Unfortunately, this is what is known as a “false economy”, and the cost spent replacing poor quality items throughout the years tends to offset the initial expenditure we could have used to purchase durable, high-quality pieces that last for many years, if not decades. Replacing furniture every few years is simply not sustainable or cost-effective, so be sure to think carefully about the materials, brand and quality you are choosing when buying furniture. Alternatively, there are plenty of second-hand auction sites and car boot sales in which people are selling their unwanted furniture for a small fee (and sometimes completely free!), many of which are still in excellent condition. This helps keep the pieces in rotation for as long as they are fit, preventing them from ending up in a landfill. Energy efficient appliances Appliances with energy efficiency built-in are becoming more and more prevalent, as savvy consumers seek to lower their energy bills and go greener at the same time. There are plenty of models on the market that meet this growing demand, such as cookers with low-heat settings, ECO kettles and energy efficient washing machines. Before making any purchase, simply take a look at the appliance’s energy star rating, which indicates how environmentally-friendly it is. The Energy Saving Trust notes that around £30 per year on average is wasted by households leaving their appliances on standby mode. As such, turning off appliances when not in use helps both the planet and your wallet! Changing our habits Making small, positive changes to the way we live can steadily impact the earth around us. Beyond buying choices, there are several things we can all do to make the home more eco-friendly: Bulk cook and plan ahead to save on food and packaging waste, as well as reducing carbon footprint from travelling to and from the supermarket via car. Use glass containers over plastic, which is much harder to recycle. Purchase from local, independent shops or food markets. Have a separate recycling bin and educate other people living with you on which materials belong in which bins.
Leading British designer and manufacturer of quality fitted furniture, Daval, celebrate the versatile nature of its multi-form furniture which is able to translate from room to room … Envisaged as a key trend for 2019 home interiors, transformative furniture that is systematic and not defined by purpose will become a mainstream proposition for the modern homeowner and will be used to convert redundant space into a well-used, practical area in the home. For example, a mezzanine area with landing space is typically just a ‘walk-through’ which has little to no impact on your home or lifestyle. Rather than waste space, made-to-measure furniture is the ideal solution for turning dead space at the top of your stairs into a multi-functional storage area: that could also be coordinated with your bedroom furniture too! A great example of multi-form furniture that is well-designed and purposeful, is the pictured mezzanine furniture concept by Daval showing Harvard Angled-end Wardrobes with integrated window seat. The full length mirrors naturally extend space assigned for dressing and beautification, typically reserved for the master bedroom or en suite bathroom, and the comfortable window seat provides a new area in the home to relax and unwind. The simple shaker design of Harvard is shown in warming Stone Grey which creates a neutral furniture arrangement for storing surplus garments, shoes, winter bedding or function as a practical play area that discreetly organises your kid’s toys, accessories and extra clothing. If you have the luxury of a large entry area, but unsure how to make it feel less vacant and more welcoming for family and friends then consider a Bootroom with bespoke coat racks, umbrella stands and shelving to store obstruent shoes and bags. The Dove Grey and Charcoal colouring provides the perfect contrast and texture against the Rough-Cut Oak details. Calm and contemporary in style, this hallway concept in Salcombe Furniture is actually featured in the Daval Kitchen Collection: proving that multi-form furniture really can translate across different rooms in the home, all the while linking one space to another through design. Highly practical, multi-form furniture is able to adapt to your environment, home architecture and space, and will be this year’s answer to maximising space and utility in the home. Fitted furniture is helping to change the opportunities for whole-house coordination and Como by Daval is a great option when needing to synchronise your living space alongside your kitchen and/or dining furniture. Creating a dedicated area for housing your TV and other media equipment, this made-to-measure Como sideboard in Gloss Stone has an unrestrictive design aesthetic which bridges the gap between kitchen and living area for a true ‘Multi-form’ furniture design scheme. Daval British fitted Furniture Collections are made-to-order and made-to-measure with prices starting from as a little as £3,000+vat. For further information please contact: Daval Furniture │ t 01484 848500 │ www.daval-furniture.co.uk │ Daval House, Spa Fields Industrial Estate, New Street, Slaithwaite, Huddersfield, HD7 5BB
Fast-growing office fitout and design company Saracen Interiors has won the contract to transform part of a major office building into co-working space at the heart of Dundee’s £1 billion waterfront regeneration project. Dundee One is a 50,000 sq ft landmark building, where work is due to start on Phase One, the fit-out of 8,800 sq ft on the top floor, this month (February) with completion expected in May. Saracen Interiors has been involved in space planning the project for the past six months. The interiors company, which saw a 30 per cent leap in sales in 2018, was approached to space plan the new co-working space for owners Jute Properties. Saracen worked closely with the Jute team and residential interior specialist Salvesen Graham to create high quality thoughtful, design-led co-working and private office space, coupled with stunning views over the River Tay. Michael Page, Director at Saracen Interiors, said: “We are extremely proud to be involved in this huge and inspiring regeneration project for Dundee One. We have been heavily involved both in the space planning and in delivering the overall functionality of the space, and we were delighted to then be appointed to complete this exciting build.” The Grade A office building is a prominent feature on Dundee’s waterfront, whose regeneration has included a new rail station and a V&A Museum, officially opened by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in January this year (2019). The transformation of Dundee City Waterfront, which encompasses 240 hectares of development land stretching 8km alongside the River Tay, is a 30-year project that began in 2001. Its vision is to transform the City of Dundee into a world leading waterfront destination for visitors and businesses through the enhancement of its physical, economic and cultural assets. Forward-thinking Jute Properties completed the purchase of the building in February 2018 recognising Dundee’s potential, with plans to create a mix of traditional leased offices and flexible serviced offices, redefining the workplace to create an environment suited to modern working lifestyles and agile business. They are well on their way to achieving their targets with several new high-quality international tenants taking occupation and demand and pre-lets for their co-working space high. Private fixed office spaces for concentrated bursts of work and a series of formal meeting rooms and phone booths sit alongside luxurious social spaces designed for engaging with both colleagues and clients. Beautifully designed breakout areas and a coffee bar, with views over the dramatic waters of the Tay, allow you to step away from your desk, and generate the great ideas which will drive your business forward. Combined, all this adds up to an agile work environment where businesses thrive, and employees can truly feel at home. The owners announced they were responding to growing demand for co-working spaces and serviced offices. The co-working and flexible serviced office sector is the fastest growing commercial property sector worldwide and this will be a first Grade A serviced office for Dundee. Saracen is working on similar projects in other UK cities, as office building owners and co-working companies move towards more flexible workspaces. Demand for refits to respond to the growth in flexible working has been one of the reasons that the interiors company has grown rapidly in recent years. It is forecasting turnover in 2019 that will be close to double its sales volume last year. It is working on projects across the UK from its head office in Aldershot, Hampshire, and its growing northern division managed from its Manchester office. The company’s northern division has seen rapid growth with projects in Leeds, Sunderland and other locations in the north of England as well as Scotland. Saracen Interiors is the official workspace partner for clients including Dimension Data, Aggreko in London and Newsquest Media Group for whom it has worked on projects nationwide. Other large clients include Creative Foods Europe and Tata Communications. www.saraceninteriors.com
A lot of people have talked about how ecommerce is killing the world of physical retail. While the rise of online shopping has certainly triggered bankruptcies for certain companies, the true picture isn’t that simple. Ecommerce isn’t perfect in its current iteration. There are aspects to brick-and-mortar retail that are preferable to many consumers. Here how you can go about bringing offline experience online to sell more furniture. Personalization Is Key to Building an Ecommerce Brand In the past, online sales channels have been sterile by necessity. The world of ecommerce is still in its infancy. Technology has only recently started allowing for more fluid and intuitive user experience design. Not many people feel a particularly strong connection to a webpage—even if it’s branded to perfection. This is why it’s crucial for ecommerce store owners to give consumers a personalized experience. Customers lose their sense of human interaction when sales happen online. Sometimes this can be a good thing. Most people would rather have a straightforward transaction than one that’s made worse due to poor customer service. Having someone right there to answer your specific questions is one reason why many individuals still prefer in-store to online shopping. Furthermore, over 50 percent of consumers find it important to develop a rapport with in-store employees. But personalization goes beyond interaction. For online-first retailers, there are many ways to incorporate this philosophy into routine interactions. Make Retargeting Meaningful Most ecommerce entrepreneurs agree that cart abandonment is one of the most important metrics to consider when running an e-store. With an overall cart abandonment rate of about 75 percent, it makes sense why this is such a crucial number for online store owners. There are several factors that play into cart abandonment—some more straightforward than others. Successful brands overcome this phenomenon by implementing a retargeting strategy. Retargeting is essentially marketing to people who are already somewhere in your sales funnel. Marketing expert Neil Patel notes that retargeting is far more effective when it’s done with specificity. Don’t just serve the same ads to everyone who visits your site. That’s a waste of money, and won’t generate a meaningful level of conversions. Give people ads directly related to products they’ve already spent time looking at on your site. The same theory should be applied when trying to attract new customers. If you want to open a furniture store via Shopify, don’t just broadly market to people who have looked for couches online. Greater specificity yields greater results. Offer AR and VR Compatibility There has been a lot of talk about how augmented reality and virtual reality are going to increasingly become a part of daily life. But most people are still only using these things for niche purposes. However, there are huge applications for AR and VR in the ecommerce world. One of the biggest potential benefits is allowing people to “try on” items before they buy them. This is currently one of the major advantages of offline shopping: You actually get to hold things or put them on before making a purchase. Virtual reality can allow consumers to have this sensation without leaving their homes. People who want to purchase furniture can particularly benefit from AR and VR, as it can show exactly how an item will fit within a space. Implementing VR for your ecommerce store isn’t just a cool gimmick. It can potentially increase your margins by a significant amount. Return rates are much higher for ecommerce vendors than brick-and-mortar stores due to the fact that people can’t try things before they buy them. Bringing this offline experience to your ecommerce store can do a lot to reducing your returns. Using Artificial Intelligence How can artificial intelligence make ecommerce more like an offline experience? By providing consumers with unprecedented levels of personalization. People want personal shopping advisors, and curated selections that actually coincide with desires. AI can help ecommerce retailers deliver on both of these fronts. Even though it sounds counterintuitive, AI is actually giving a more personal feel to online shopping experiences. There’s currently no perfect way to sell things to people. That doesn’t seem like it’s going to change soon, even with so many advances in technology and marketing practices. Bringing offline experiences to the online world will help people selling physical goods like furniture make more conversions.
