It’s nearly the ‘most wonderful time of the year’ again, and Santa and sparkly jumpers are coming whether you like it or not. Most of us love Christmas, especially children, for whom Christmas represents fun, magic and excitement. There is nothing better than seeing a happy child on Christmas morning, surrounded by family and presents, so if you want to make Christmas extra special this year, why not create your own Christmas grotto?

If you have a garage that is full of clutter or even if it stands empty you are wasting valuable extra space. A Christmas grotto would be an exciting feature to any home, for both kids and the adults! Leading concrete garage specialists have come up with 5 great ideas:

1. TIDY: Firstly, you need to tidy up your garage. You can always move things temporarily by placing them into a storage unit or another part of the house, after all, you will only need your Christmas grotto for a few weeks! After you have tidied out your garage, make sure you give it a good clean and remove anything that could be dangerous to children or pets.
2. WALLS: Once the space is ready, you can begin to get creative and Christmassy. Use black card to block out any windows and light, and hang fabrics on the wall to give the grotto a safe, warm and cosy feel. Using fabrics will create a cavernous, den-like feel, and many shops (particularly around winter time) will have shimmery fabrics that you can use. Depending on your preference, you could choose dark colours with silver and white trimmings to create a North Pole atmosphere, or choose red, green and gold to create a fun and traditional space. Add extra touches such as glow in the dark stars to the ceiling. These accessories are cheap and easy to use as you can simply stick them onto fabrics.
3. DECORATIONS: Next, it’s time to decorate! You can use any kind of Christmas decorations for this, the more the merrier. Everyone knows Christmas decorations bring lots of happiness to people of all ages. Anything that can be hung around the room or placed in corners will work well, such as mini Christmas trees, baubles, tinsel, glittery angels and nativity characters. If you want to create a ‘Santa’s workshop’ grotto, don’t forget to add in some elves, reindeers and wooden toys.
4. LIGHTING: You want to make the Christmas grotto appear magical, warm and inviting, so soft lighting will work best. If you have successfully blocked out any natural light, then fill the room with fairy lights – you could use the kind of lights that you usually hang on the tree. Candles would suit the grotto well, but be careful not to leave them unattended or near children. In some shops you will also be able to find lights that are in the shape of popular Christmas characters such as Santa himself.
5. EXTRAS: Play some Christmas music to really set the mood, and light some scented candles such as pine, cinnamon or cranberry. If you don’t want to light candles, you could use a scent spray. Place small gifts around the grotto and hide chocolates so children can find them.

Now you should have a magical Christmas grotto that can be used time and time again over the holiday period. The rest is up to you, will your children meet Father Christmas and his elves? Go on a present hunt? Spend an evening curled up watching Christmas films? Whatever you do, have fun, and have a great Christmas.

One of the biggest décor trends over the last 18 months has been Nordic & Scandinavian style. That sort of minimalist look has been all the rage in the world of interior design, so we’ve decided to take a look at what Nordic and Scandinavian style really is, starting with the floor..

If you have any experience with Nordic & Scandinavian decor then you will probably be aware of the light and bright interiors that are often associated with this part of the world, and the flooring is no different. Think pale blondes and clean looking wood, with white washed boards and stunning oil finishes.

The great thing about trying to achieve this look is that it can be done by giving you a variety of choice, even when it boils down to the type of wood that you use; be it a solid or engineered flooring, it’s completely up to you!

Of course you’re not just limited to one colour when it comes to Scandinavian and Nordic style floors, as mentioned previously the palette in this style is typically light, but this doesn’t mean you have to opt for white wood floors as we know this won’t be suitable for every home; especially if there are kids involved! Although white is a fantastic colour if you’re looking to really give your room the authentic feel, not only this but it’s a great blank canvas to use for the rest of your room and allows you to introduce various colour combinations through your decor. On top of this, greys have also started being introduced to this decor and they can make for a beautiful serene interior, given half the chance.

So where does the desire to have brighter flooring stem from? Well, when you think of countries like Sweden, Denmark and Norway, they tend to have really long winters. Due to this there was little daylight in the longer months and as people had smaller homes they could appear small and dingy over these months, which is why white washed floors were introduced to make the houses seem brighter and airier but remain cosy too.

When it comes to introducing this type of decor into your home there are a number of things that you can do to accompany your stunning new floor. First off, don’t worry about matching all your decor, many Nordic homes tend to mix vintage and traditional elements so you don’t have to feel restricted when it comes to furnishing the room.

The Scandinavians also love incorporating ‘pops’ of colour in their decor, you may see this tactic used at a certain Scandinavian retailer. Try adding a singular large item that is brightly coloured, something like an armchair or piece of furniture. This can inject a bit of fun into the room and make the piece appear as though it is ‘popping’ from the pale floor. It is important to remember that Scandinavian decor stems from simplicity so try not to over complicate things when it comes to your furnishings and avoid any unnecessary clutter.

That being said, if bright and bold isn’t the route you’d like to go down then you can always stick to neutral tones but build some warmth in the room by layering complementary earthy tones. This can contribute to the depth in the room as well as making the space more homely and comfortable.

With so many ways to make Scandinavian decor your own it probably comes as no surprise  that this style has been so adapted over the years. Nowadays it is one of the most popular type of interiors to grace homes across the world and we just love it too!