Lifestyle

The team at Fortis love a bit of technology and recently we’ve been asked ‘what is a smart home?’ There’s lots of interest in this topic, so in this article, we are delving into the technology that’s reshaping our living spaces and transforming property in Cardiff. 

We are talking ‘smart homes’. From speaking a command to dim your lights, to orchestrating a symphony of automation within your home, smart homes are not just a fleeting trend but are now defining modern living. So, let’s look at the latest cutting-edge innovations in the UK property market.

Home staging is the process of preparing your property for sale. It involves making your home look its absolute best, encouraging viewers to place an offer on your property. 

It generally starts with a thorough declutter, which makes the property seem more inviting and helps hugely with the moving process. Where necessary, you might also decide to redecorate. Depersonalising your home and repainting in a neutral palette can also help viewers envisage themselves in your home.

Many seasonal factors will also affect how you display your home, so here are our top tips for staging your home in autumn.

After questioning more than 2,300 UK-based homeowners, residents and tradespeople, the Rated People Home Improvement Trends Report 2023 found this year’s most popular home improvement job will be painting and decorating. And why not? It is relatively quick and easy to change the aesthetic inside our homes with a tin of Dulux and some new accessories.

Although it’s nice to have the space to offer a guest, our spare bedrooms often go unused for a considerable portion of the year. So, here are five incredible ways to use your spare bedroom instead, allowing your family to get the most from the home.

Did You Know That Certain Aromas Can Encourage Prospective Buyers To Make An Offer On Your Home?

Although it may appear unrealistic to think that a specific scent could speed up the sale of your home, in fact, evidence shows that certain aromas can encourage prospective buyers to make an offer! If you’re selling your property in Cardiff, here’s some helpful advice when it comes to scents.

If you love following an interior design trend, your luck is in. Bloomcore is gaining in popularity just as summer reaches its zenith. This botanically-led aesthetic is already trending on social media, with 2.5 million TikTok views, and rising, under the #bloomcore hashtag. Now style bibles Ideal Home and House Beautiful have started reporting on the design movement.

Who doesn’t love a nice glass of wine? A drop of rose in the summer perhaps, or a crisp, dry white? Maybe a full-bodied red is your choice?

Imagine balmy summer evenings spent in the garden of your new home in Cardiff with a tipple, or cosy nights in front of a roaring log fire supping a glass or two – so many of us enjoy wine in moderation as a way of relaxing and socialising with friends in our homes.

But are you the type who chooses the most expensive bottle because you think that price means quality, or do you go for the cheapest bottle because as long as it doesn’t give you a rotten hangover, you don’t really care?

With the arrival of summer, it’s time to revamp your garden and create a vibrant outdoor oasis without breaking the bank. In this article, we will explore ingenious ways to make your garden look beautiful with limited or no expenses. From budget-friendly garden hacks to essential summer garden elements, we’ve got you covered.

Accessories are the final layer to your home décor.

They add texture, personality, and warmth but are an area many of us find challenging to get right!

Adding the right accessories requires you to delicately balance current trends with your own tastes, to create a home that looks amazing but feels personal.

An open-plan home with shared living, dining and kitchen spaces can have many benefits. It can even help give your home an edge when it comes to selling it later down the line.

But there can be cons as well as pros. It’s important to weigh up your options and consider both negatives and positives to determine what’s right for your home.

When it comes to getting a property ready for sale, there is a recommended set of presentation steps to follow: declutter, depersonalise and redecorate. On the latter, it’s advised that vendors step back and look at their walls, ceilings and woodwork to see what condition they’re in.

It’s time to come clean – we have a weakness for design trends. We’ve tried hygge, cottagecore and colour drenching but we have really fallen in love with one current interior fashion and that’s Japandi. The best bit? This design style might just help you sell your home.