But all the while house prices are lower now than they were a year ago. The Halifax states that the average UK home now costs £160,118, which is 1.9% lower than the same time last year. This is good news for buyers but not such happy reading for sellers. However, buyers can’t access these bargain basement house prices because they can’t get a decent mortgage.

Mortgage lending is currently very restrictive and a double-dip recession will worsen the issue. House prices are predicted to fall by a further 3% in 2012 but any outside factors such as issues in the EU could make things worse and push the UK into negative growth.

Getting a mortgage will then be tougher than ever. If you are considering buying a property in 2012 it is a good idea to do it sooner rather than later. The Santander calculator for mortgage payments should give you some indicator of how much you will have to pay back. It is worthwhile investing all of your options now and looking at some of the fixed-rate deals. Currently Santander has a 3.19% rate fixed for two years. Using the Santander calculator for mortgage payments you can figure out just how much you can expect to pay back over the full term of the mortgage and ascertain whether this is sustainable during a double-dip recession.

There is some good news for consumers; inflation is falling. Inflation now stands at 3.6% after a high of 5.6% in September 2011. Greater buying power should help make house prices and mortgages more affordable. However, the 3.6% rate is still well about the Bank of England’s 2% target. It recently announced more quantitative easing, but how much this will help remains to be seen. Furthermore, the UK’s economy and its future is directly linked to what happens in the global financial markets.

More information on the 0.5% fall in house prices can be found on myfinances.co.uk.

You have several options open to you: save up the good old fashioned way; take out an unsecured loan; use a credit card if the changes are small or remortgage. Here are the pros and cons of each.

Saving

Savings rates aren’t the most exciting at the moment; the Bank of England has kept its base rate at 0.5% again this quarter. This means banks are offering only low interest rates on savings accounts. However, there is something appealing about saving hard to make the necessary changes to your property to turn it into your dream home; you will really have earned it. There is a wide range of saving accounts to choose from offering various rates of interest. But don’t rule out current accounts either. You can earn interest on your bank balance are you’ll benefit from having 24 hour access even via the Internet. Bank accounts from Santander including dedicated savings accounts such as ISAs and fixed-rate bonds right through the basic current accounts and interest current accounts such as its 123 current account. A downside is obviously that you have to bide your time before you can make the improvements to your home, but you won’t pay any interest therefore you won’t be paying more than the changes are worth.

Unsecured loan

Although the base interest rate is low, most banks aren’t passing this onto their customers. The best rate you can hope to get is between 5% and 7%. However, you will be able to have the money now so you can get on and make the changes to your property and start enjoying them before you’ve even paid back the loan. On the downside, these loans are expensive at the moment and the interest pushes up your overall costs. However, check out the range of bank accounts from Santander, you could find a loan that works for you.

Credit cards

Unless you just need a short-term loan of a small amount of money using your credit card to pay for home improvements should be avoided. Interest rates are high, generally over 18% APR and you won’t be able to spend that much either.

Remortgage

As you own your own home you can use it as collateral to remortgage, especially if the improvements are going to increase the value of your home. However, don’t over stretch yourself, as if you fail to make your mortgage repayments your home could be repossessed. Interest rates are generally pretty good on remortgages, but be aware that you will still be paying interest, so you need to factor this into your remodelling budget.

Image: phanlop88 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

To make your home improvements more financially sound, check out this Telegraph article about the best places to add value to your home.

Fortunately, there are a wide range of mortgaging options around – each one designed to meet the requirements of certain demographics perfectly. Before we quickly go through each type of mortgage, however, a good tip is to take a look at your credit report online through a company like CreditExpert so you can check out your likelihood of having your application accepted before you start the process.

So, there are four major types of mortgages, and here’s what they do:

SVR (Standard Variable Rate)

A mortgage which is currently charging the SVR is one which is paying whatever the bank decides to charge. These can be changed with little notice, but are usually fairly cheap and provide the basis for most mortgages. However, they are also, almost universally, not the best deals around.

The SVR is important because it’s the rate most mortgages revert to, so whatever deal you do get, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the SVR.

Interest Only

Interest Only mortgages are generally very cheap. This is because you only pay off the interest on your loan and not any of the capital – meaning at the end of the term of your mortgage you’ll still owe one big chunk of money. However, for short term options like property development they’re pretty good (and pretty cheap).

Tracker

A tracker mortgage is one that follows the Bank of England base rate at a pre-agreed distance (usually several percentage points), tracker mortgages are great because they accurately reflect what the Bank things is the underlying economic conditions, however, at the moment they’re not all that fantastic because although the base interest rate is very low, most banks have switched to tracker deals that aren’t very close to that base rate.

Fixed Rate

A fixed rate deal is one where the rate doesn’t change, no matter what, for a certain period of time (usually a period pre-agreed with the bank), people usually fix a deal when it’s either 1) really good or 2) they want the financial certainty of knowing exactly how much they have to pay month to month. Many introductory rates are also fixed, and then revert to the SVR after a certain period.

Mortgages can be complicated, and what often appears to be the best deal isn’t necessarily the best one out there. Good advice is to try out a mortgage calculator (this one from the BBC for instance) so you can really see how much you’ll have to pay in total for each deal you look at.

Small doesn’t necessary mean crowded and sloppy nor dose it mean cheap, and that’s exactly where our small space design idea comes into play. The easiest way to organize small space is to implement the fastest and most reliable solution in designing, which is to have a thoroughly organized space, you can easily do that by spacing out your working space with some cardboard for example which is thin and light but can make a nice spacer for your sox or underwear. Since your space can’t be too tall you probably won’t have the luxury of arranging a hanging place to store your shirts or pants, so you might consider arranging them in such a manner that you can stack them without having to iron them again when you have to pull them out for use.

Now since we got rid of all the stuff we want to take with us for a few days we can concentrate on the bed/sleeping space of our moving home and the kitchen, which would be best suited for the rear or front axis of the van which offer good cushioning for the road. Don’t forget if you want to make the most out of your available space that under the bed is a good spot to store an extendable table or bedding.

Working with mobile housing solutions require some intuitive persons with strong ideas in designing small spaces especially when in comes to deciding if you have the space for a bathroom or not in your small space, and the answer is of course you need a bathroom and therefore you have to make room for one the trick is you don’t have to dedicate a space just for these sole purpose you can have multiple uses for one of your closets which can easily store a ecological toilet.

Children’s room
Your child is tired of Disneyland-style rooms arranged and can’t find himself in this setting anymore? The first step would be to give up toys and drawings found at the view (instead of throwing them better deposit them in boxes). Tired by wallpaper prints, or simply bored with their pink, yellow or blue color, give adolescents the opportunity to choose a new color. A chocolate or violet tone would be perfect! In redecorating a room for teens you can call in a series of objects that make use of bright colors and serve as focal points: a colorful quilt, a fluffy rug or a piece of art. All these things can be easily changed when your child’s tastes change, over time.

Bedroom
The bedroom is where you relax and sleep after an exhausting day at the office. For these reasons, bedroom should be one where you feel comfortable, where you can find peace, being away from stress. Therefore, room layout should help in this respect, not to highlight stress. The first tip would be to not give up any old items and actually opt for new items as well as old ones! One of the easiest ways to create a new bedroom is to change the bed linen. Choose one that you feel good, plain or printed, depending on your mood. In fact, in your bedroom you should be aware only of your tastes – you’re the only person sleeping there! Blankets decorative pillows can renew and completely change the identity of the space, without significantly affecting your bank account. And do not forget! You can buy on stock sales or when there are promotions in various shopping centers in this way you can get real bargains.

Guest Room
Panicking because your relatives come to visit? Well, with a little ingenuity you can create a guest room that will make them feel great, offering privacy and luxury at home. First, try to relive the moments when you were accommodated at the hotel of choice. What were the things that made you feel like you were home? Now to redecorate the guest room, choosing an appropriate theme décor will improve your chances to successfully realize your dream. Choose the largest bed you have space for and dress it with soft sheets, place a fluffy blanket and pillows, do not forget to mount several useful items in the room: a mirror, a lamp and enough books and magazines. To be sure this is a comfortable guest room, you can test it: you can spend the night here and make sure the design is a good substitute for your guest’s as a home.

When some people prefer to have a few logs and some hand made blankets to cover their sofa in order to conferee a room it’s unique rustic touch others might find that a bit to rustic and they might go for the more soft and subtle approach of having an old simple massive dining table in the living room or some nice wooden frames with hand made paintings. It doesn’t matter much how big or small your house or apartment is when you want to give a little rustic touch to your home you have a variety of sparkling making effects you can use to fascinate your close ones, friends or family they will all be thrilled to step on your massive marble peaces you carefully placed on the entrance stairs or on the massive wooden floor you have in the guests room.

Your friends have an old rusted garden bench in their kitchen and your parents have your mom’s grandma big candelabra in their main hallway and you keep wandering what can you add to yours to have the same something that gives their houses that cold and yet thrilling sensation that makes shiver whomever steps over their doorway.

I’m sure your home can achieve the same level of interaction with its inhabitants and visitors just by adding to it some rustic interior, an idea would be to add a brick or hard rock fire place, these being the most common used method in bringing that nostalgia back to you when ever you lei eyes on it.

Being so stressed in the modern days makes the modern company working man or woman want to experience the old English country side home or bar and since not many of them have the time or money to actually buy a country side house or property they have to settle with bringing some of that rustic appetence to their own special place of the house. And we hope that we managed to give you some ideas about where or how you could make your own little rustic interior.

For an exotic interior design, and environmental reasons, bamboo furniture is increasingly sought and recommended by furniture manufacturers. Bamboo grows fast, no root is affected when it is cut and it regenerates in just a few years. Depending on when it is harvested, bamboo is used for various things: less than 30 days, you can eat it between 6 and 9 months, is used to made baskets, between 2 and 3 years it is used for furniture and laminated planks, between 3 and 6 years for construction. After 6 years bamboo gradually loses strength up to 12 years. Another advantage of bamboo furniture is its resistance to scratches and daily wear. We propose in the following arrangement which consists in the idea of a bedroom with bamboo furniture.

The look is fun and can take many forms, creating an exotic and original interior design bamboo chairs with a chest of drawers under the mirror might be exactly what you are looking for your bedroom. Bamboo bedroom furniture is complemented by a pair of practical and roomy closets.

When it comes to arranging a bedroom, what we want is an atmosphere of relaxation and tranquility, and a little romance. Deciding about bedroom furniture comes easy when combining interior decorations and the right accessories to create this romantic atmosphere. But look at the pictures below are some ideas that will help us. By offering a bedroom a unique color that has various shades of pastel pink to red you in fact confer your bedroom a very romantic touch. And to see life in pink o a wall color will complement the interior design of your bedroom if carefully chosen. Everything harmonizes: blanket on the bed, the curtains, and the carpet or rug. The latter are darker, giving consistency and stability to the assembly. Don’t forget details such as the bedside lamp on the bedroom, which complements the design.

In such a colorful ensemble so emotionally intense, wood furniture with small reddish brown classic inlay provides the much needed comfort and relaxation that we desire in our bedroom. In conclusion, to make the romantic bedroom we want to enjoy we will choose the most appropriate colors: pink, with its color language that strikes first in terms of romance, and a few accents of red – the color of passion.

You can basically find any type of raspberry themed furniture you can think about stating from the borrowing of the form like the stool or pillows that have not only the shape and color as the real think but you can find products that have even the smell of the raspberry. The raspberry pattern and design can be found on sheets chair legs desks or other furniture peaces.

The walls can be painted in any neutral color of your choosing or you can opt for the classical pink color or use some wallpaper if you want to have a more modern approach you can either use the real pictures of raspberry or have some paint bushed directly on the wall you can find wall corners with a raspberry theme, however if it is the first time you ever do these I would suggest to go ahead and buy some pre-made stuff like the stamps. If you feel confident in you artistic skills you can chose to even airbrush the “Raspberry Beret” lyrics by Prince on your wall.

When it comes to light fixtures, finding some to fit your theme is not hard you can find some that come with some raspberry tent light bulbs or even in raspberry shapes. If you can’t find them on the market you can buy normal ones and modify them with ease just adding a soft light and transparent raspberry colored cloth around them or the florescent light you can change the ambient light emitted by them in turn having your room immersed in raspberry pink. Light switches as well as their cables can be decorated in such a manner to resemble raspberry foils or strain.

In order to fully complete our raspberry themed bedroom we need some accessories in this category we can find different designs of jewelry and jewelry boxes small trinkets shaped as raspberry, clocks frames with raspberry themes can be found without to much trouble.

The stainless-steel appliances can confer a modern style to the space when teamed with outdated furniture. Mixing these to types of styles in different proportions can give a retro feel to the kitchen or a more modern one depending on how you balance the combination.

In order to give a kitchen better spatiality you can take advantage of the different lighting techniques that you have at your disposal. By using a good balance between neon lighting which gives out a cold light that might be associated with the more metallic feeling of the modern style and an old stile light bulb which gives out a warm light which can be associated with the warmth of a candle you can tilt the balance of the stile either more in the favor of a modern or retro country kitchen.

The use of country design and modern materials together can give incredible rewording results in terms of design. While the country style kitchen brings in mind huge spaces and massive furniture and appliances, utilizing warm colors. The modern style is a minimalist one and with its neutral colors is not deemed worthy of tipping the balance in its favor when it comes to this type of combination, but doesn’t mean you can’t bring the best of it out with some stainless steel and some frosted glass.

Since the country kitchen style prefers warm colors like red, bright yellow and orange and the modern style tends to use shades of grey the two styles are opposites from the color point of view, these might be found intriguing and demanding by some, so we must chose carefully. So by wisely mixing the two styles, you can create a mirage of texture and beautiful color depending on your choice. As an example you can design the kitchen wall painting as grey, modern and accentuate with golden oranges, country style.

By mixing a country tap with a more modern sink or by combining country style design sinks with modern appliances and stainless steal fixtures you can create an intriguing mix of styles that can easily impress your visitors.

You have a huge pallet of colors which you can choose from. You can choose anything from neutral colors to bold ones. There are some colors however which define the modern design and they are: white, turquoise, green, orange, black, red, silver, blue and cream. In order to achieve the perfect look pick from one two four of these colors and make them blend with each other. You can blend the through cabinets, floors or accessories.

Counter tops are also an important element of the kitchen area. A good idea for a modern kitchen is a counter top made of a natural stone, you can choose marble or granite. These two stones are the most used for the kitchen area because they are resistant to water and all the movement and also because they are durable. For a modern kitchen you can choose between black, white and silver because these are the colors the stones come in. Besides all the good things about the stones there is a disadvantage, they are very expensive. If you can slide them into your kitchen budget that you should go for the more affordable counter tops such as does made from stainless steel or ceramic.

The next element that you have to take into consideration are appliances. If you have a small budget you can go for the black and white ones, if you can afford to spend you can get the stainless steel ones which are very hip now. For a modern look you can choose a french refrigerator which has a freezer at the bottom. If needed install an electric stove.

The last thing that should not be missing from the kitchen is the cabinetry. For a modern look you can go with light colored wood or even oak. You can get the ones which have glass on their doors because they give them that modern look. If you place the cabinets you need from the ceiling to the floor you will achieve that modern look.