The bath bouquet is the latest TikTok trend we’ve seen cropping up on our timelines. People are hanging eucalyptus in the shower to give their bathrooms a spa-like feel.

Not only does it add a little greenery – never a bad thing – but the steam from your morning shower helps to release the essential oils in the leaves. Here’s why this bathroom trend is one worth trying.

Image credit: Getty

Eucalyptus in the shower

The essential oils in eucalyptus can help to relieve congestion, ideal for autumn and winter when we’re more likely to feel bunged up with coughs and colds. Eucalyptus oil has also been reported to help in reducing pain, swelling, and inflammation.

A study has shown that inhaling air infused with eucalyptus oil can significantly lower your blood pressure, too. As long as you find the smell pleasant, it definitely earns its place in your bathroom.

But, before you try it, it’s worth noting that the scent won’t be super strong. Don’t expect to be knocked out by the smell.

Image credit: Getty

From our own experience, it’s best to roll a wine bottle over a bunch of fresh eucalyptus a few times to help release the oils. Then, tie it under the showerhead and it will make the bathroom smell of eucalyptus each time you bathe.

If you’re blessed with a small bathroom or shower room, you might find the scent is stronger. The smell will last for a couple of weeks depending on your household’s shower schedules.

Eucalyptus in the shower is a fairly cheap bathroom idea that will add a touch of luxury to your space, and brings an extra calming spa vibe to your shower. Aside from its essential oils, some eucalyptus is a great way to add texture to your bathroom.

Image credit: Future

‘But this isn’t the only plant we should be using in our “bath bouquets,”’ comments Dominic Lees-Bell from bathroom company Drench. ‘Rosemary, peppermint, lavender, and lemongrass are four more alternatives with fantastic health benefits.’

Although you might only use lemongrass for cooking, it’s said to help with various digestive problems. It also contains an oil called citronella, which repels spiders – ideal for this time of year as more creepy crawlies enter our homes.

Will you be trying some eucalyptus in your shower?

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Looking for the best sofa beds available? We’re here to help with our round-up of the most stylish and comfortable sleeper sofas.

Whether you’re searching for a spacious corner sofa bed that is comfortable enough for everyday use in the living room, a compact sleeper sofa to squeeze into the home office, or the most affordable option for conjuring up extra sleeping space in a guest bedroom or children’s playroom; we’ve narrowed down the options to help you find the best of the bunch.

What is the most comfortable sofa bed?

Before choosing the best sofa bed for you, it’s worth considering the two main types:

Fold-out:

A foam fold-out – where the sofa itself unfolds to become the sleeping surface – is usually the most affordable sofa bed option and generally takes up the least space. However, these designs can be very low to the ground and quite firm to sleep on. So although they’ll be fine for sprightly guests who are just staying for a night or two, they may not be the best option for elderly relatives or longer visits.

Pull-out:

A pull-out sofa bed generally features a raised bed base that pulls out from under the sofa cushions, leaving the back and arms of the sofa in place. This means the sleeping surface is higher from the ground – more like a traditional bed – but does mean the sofa bed is likely to take up more room. The mattress frame of a pull-out sleeper sofa can be a simple metal mesh or a sprung or wooden-slatted base for more comfort. It’s also important to be aware that there can be a big difference in mattress types and thicknesses between pull-out beds.

Darlings of Chelsea Waverley sofa bed

How to choose from the best sofa beds

So, what to consider when searching for the most comfortable option?

Sofa size

It may sound obvious, but it’s important to consider how much seating space your sofa bed needs to offer. If it’s not going to be your main living room sofa then you can get away with a more compact version – maybe even one of the best chair beds if you only need to sleep a single guest at a time – but if the sofa bed needs to seat the entire household on a daily basis then investing in a chaise sleeper sofa, or one of the best corner sofa beds on our list is probably a decision you’re not going to regret.

It’s also vital to ensure your sofa bed is going to fit comfortably into the room where you want to use it. Find expert tips from Heal’s and Habitat in our guide to getting sofa measurements right.

Mattress size

It’s also important to check the mattress measurements. Many sofa beds are marketed as doubles, and although they will fit two people, they can sometimes be a snug sleeping experience. So if you regularly have more than one guest staying at a time – and they stay for a good length of time in one go – they will thank you for opting for the roomiest sofa bed your budget allows.

Sofa comfort

If a sofa bed is going to get everyday use as your main seating, then, of course, it’s important it’s comfortable to sit on. As a rule, most sofa beds are going to feel a little firmer to sit on than the best sofas you can buy due to their hidden mechanisms. But, there are ways to increase comfort. The cheapest sofa beds are generally made of solid foam which is likely to provide the firmest sitting experience. If budget allows, then look for options that offer a sprung or webbed seating base, plus feather-wrapped cushions for extra comfort.

Mattress comfort

As with the sitting experience, a foam fold-out is likely to provide the firmest sleeping surface. A pull-out sofa bed can come with a range of different mattress types, including more affordable foam, and more comfortable – although generally higher priced – pocket-sprung or memory foam mattresses. It’s also well worth checking the mattress depth; a 6cm mattress is likely to be less comfortable than a deeper 10cm mattress.

Related: Want more space-saving tricks? Check out our small living room ideas and handy storage solutions for smaller spaces.

The best sofa beds of 2021

The post Best sofa beds 2021: the most stylish sleeper sofas around appeared first on Ideal Home.

After enduring an exceptionally wet summer, which has brought damp and flooding to many homes, you may be noticing peeling paint on your walls. Peeling paint is most common in bathrooms, but very humid conditions may contribute to peeling in other areas of your home, including conservatories and even bedrooms.

Peeling paint is one of the most common paint problems found in UK homes and is becoming more so. In fact, according to recent data*, online searches for peeling paint have increased by an astonishing 675 per cent over the past year – a testament to how changing weather patterns are affecting our homes. It is usually easily prevented or fixed, although in some cases it may indicate that something’s awry with your home’s plumbing. Use these expert tips to identify the source of the problems and decide on an appropriate course of action.

Identify the reason for the peeling

First of all, if you’ve notice peeling paint in your home, you should ‘figure out what the source of the problem is’, says Adam Leech, Owner of Showers Direct. If the problem is in your bathroom, or anywhere near a radiator, ‘there could be water damage’. Obviously, this will also be the reason if your home has suffered flooding.

Image credit: Aliaksei Shaviakou / Alamy Stock Photo

If water damage and leaks have been ruled out, ‘you may be using paint that doesn’t adhere well to surfaces’, or the paint job wasn’t well done. Adam’s top tip is to ‘use the best quality paint you can afford and always use a primer before painting. Let paint dry completely before painting another coat, and keep the surfaces as dry as possible.’

Sometimes a bad paint job conceals worse sins, especially in older homes; this may include ‘plaster peeling off or cracked walls’, in which case these will need to be fixed before repainting.

Touching up peeling paint

Don’t delay touching up any paint that’s already peeling, Adam advises. Start by scraping off ‘as much loose paint as you can with a putty knife. Be sure to scrape along the side and top of the peeling paint because it will often come off in an uneven pattern.’ Next, ‘sand down any rough areas until the surface is smooth and free of any remaining loose paint. Once you’ve done this, you can apply another coat of paint using a brush or roller.’

Image credit: Milton Cogheil / Alamy Stock Photo

If the peeling is accompanied by flaking off the wall, ‘use an abrasive scouring pad or an old toothbrush with baby powder to remove loose paint.’ Fixing isolated areas of peeling paint is not difficult – but if you have multiple areas, then most likely you’ll need to strip off the paint and redo the whole wall to prevent further peeling.

The post Peeling paint is the most common problem in winter homes – expert gives his top tips to tackle it appeared first on Ideal Home.

Photo By Max Foster

Today’s Photo Of The Day is “The Hills Are Alive” by Max Foster. Location: The Black Hills of South Dakota.

Want to get your images in the running for a Photo of the Day feature? Photo of the Day is chosen from various galleries, including Assignments, Galleries and Contests. Assignments have weekly winners that are featured on the website homepage, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. To get your photos in the running, all you have to do is submit them.

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