As we get closer to the end of 2010 more and more colour trends information is being released. That being colour palettes, fun fabrics and fashion textiles for your home for the New Year.       

So it is no surprise that Crown has released their colour trends for 2011 and key themes and styles that are popping out are vibrant and earthy; and loud but serene.       

In a previous blog post we chatted about how important it is to colour co-ordinate your home, to ensure all appliances and furniture match to create that homely feel and give it some personality.       

Ulster Weavers have put together the colour styles from Crown’s intelligence, so you can think of some ideas to decorate your home in 2011 if you are wanting that new start and fresh slate.       

Or instead of re-decorating, why not match your home textiles to one of the new schemes so you can stay up-to-date and on trend.       

1950s       

Image Credit: Crown

2011 sees a flashback in time over a decade ago and a return of the 1950s, which can only mean retro with bright turquoise and soft grey colours.       

Amethyst       

Image Credit: Crown

The colour trend amethyst is set to carry on from Autumn/Winter but with softer more earthy tones of amethyst, biloba and lavender, with teal and flax yellow; in comparison to the glitzy eggplant-fuchsia and plums.       

Would look great paired with black and silver, your home-ware would dazzle. Purples can really create a very colourful scene and connote a cool warm feeling.       

Gold       

Image Credit: Crown

Crown is working the sexy bachelor look here and it’s very striking. With striking orange features, tarnish brass and royal golds, your home will certainly look and feel like a palace to eat in.       

Nudes       

Image Credit: Crown

A fantastic colour palette for your kitchen including beige and anaemic skin tones, it glows with soft peaches and blushing cheeks. Perfect to co-ordinate your tea towels and tea cosies with! Your home will feel warm, snug and cosy and ideal to spend time in as a family cooking.       

Natural Primary       

Image Credit: Crown

Here we have natural tones and materials creating a laid back feel but then bright colours adding a vibrant accent to the scene. With the Natural Primary trend we have splashes of unadulterated red and yellows.       

So now you know what colour schemes to go by, check out www.ulsterweavers.com for high quality kitchen textiles that make a house a home, which have become famous all over the world.

Owls are beautiful birds of prey and are turning heads on the high street as more and more fashion designers bring out owl clothes and accessories throughout 2010.

And as Halloween approaches what better time than now to look at the wise old owl and how it has burst out onto the fashion scene.

Many people are questioning the arrival of the owl trend and where it came from. While trends and styles drop in and out of the fashion world, the emergence of owls reappeared in autumn 2009 when Marc Jacobs introduced a few owl fashion designs in his collection. Before then, owl trends have dipped in and out of fashion but the last time they were big, bold and heavily on the scene was during the 70s when everyone adorned owl necklaces, bracelets, tops and earrings. It was all the rage.

And from the high street stores to the homeware world, Paper Source and Martha Stewart have introduced owl style place cards and aprons, as well as door mats for in and around the home.

“Owls are a charming trend in home decor. They add a fun, quirky element to living spaces and they fit right in with darker, retro looks and even brighter, more natural settings,” said Aimee Beatty, Pier 1 Imports’ corporate in house stylist.

And while everyone is twittering about owls we thought we would give a little hoot about our wildlife owl collection at

Twitter Double Oven Glove by Ulster Weavers

UlsterWeavers.com. During June 2010 our designers launched a fabulous homeware collection called Twitter. Our jazzy little owl design, in a full range of cotton kitchen textiles, is beautifully printed in soft neutrals and finished with detailed appliqué embroidery on some of the products to make the owl stand out as the main feature.

Complete with an apron, tea towel, muff tea cosy, pot mitt, gauntlet and double oven glove, our Twitter collection is perfect for your home this winter and puts you right up to date with the latest homeware and fashion trends.

And it’s not just our Twitter collection that features these beautiful birds of prey; we have a collection called Natural World designed by Karen Phillips, a British professional wildlife and animal artist. The Natural World collection features a range of tea towels and shoulder bags designed with a variation of natural wildlife including a shoulder bag and tea towel of two tawny owls.

All our animal homeware collections can be found on our website ulsterweavers.com today.

Eurocucina is a yearly international event for new kitchen trends. From laminates to wood, to metal, masonry and laquer – besides the finest furnishing accessories – the trade show allows kitchen furnishing companies from around the world to showcase their latest products and designs to all.

The four day exhibition held in Milan this April saw over 300,000 visitors view hundreds of cutting edge kitchen designs from some of the leading kitchen manufacturers around the globe.

And Eurocucina 2010 saw six key kitchen trends come into play which are likely to take shape in kitchen design over the next few years.

Kitchen/Living Room combination

The open plan kitchen/living trend is set to continue in the home. With technology and hi tech gadgets transforming the kitchen space into a clean and inviting environment, this trend is set to grow stronger. Kitchen appliances are almost silent nowadays and designed to sit in a social environment, for example cabinets that close softly making it ideal for an open plan living environment.

Spotlessly clean surfaces

Materials in the kitchen appeared to be a lot more textured than in previous years. The wood, in oak or walnut was rich and textured in a refined way.

Glass was popular at the trade show with high gloss surfaces replaced by a rich matte, non-shiny texture.

All-steel kitchens were a common trend; however stainless steel was often seen used for finishing details.

Smart lighting

Moving into a more open kitchen plan and cleaner surfaces era there is a growing need to improve storage space for all kitchen appliances, food, cutlery and crockery.

Due to this, lighting has improved with a clear trend for LED lighting which was used for both practical and ambient purposes.

Even though modern kitchen appliances are stunningly designed, most of the refrigerators, ovens, dishwashers were hidden in cabinets.

The kitchen sink

There were a few interesting solutions to the kitchen sink at the trade show. One was with thin Corian lids covering the sink, with the lids featuring metal inserts on the back to allow a safe resting place for hot pots and pans. Another interesting feature was a smooth stainless steel sliding cover to cover the sink when the kitchen was not in use.

Eco Friendly

A strong emphasis was put on sustainability. Recycled materials as well as materials that can be recycled without losing their properties and materials that can retain value for a long time.

Bright and Bold

And for future colour trends the Eurocucina 2010 saw a variety of bright kitchen colours creep in. Pink, yellow, red and green, were a few colours that cropped up however they didn’t take the centre stage, with the natural palette the common trend, featuring white and black, blonde and ebony as the most common colours for the kitchen.

View some more pictures from the Eurocucina Trade Show 2010 featuring many of the inspirational trends by visiting Contemporist.com – an architect and interior design news website – by clicking here.

When it comes to decorating your kitchen you can take a whole load of inspiration from all over the world.

From the Italian bistro to the French country kitchen the world is full of culture, history, climate and a myriad of factors which can truly make your house a home.

It is always interesting to walk into a room and immediately become part of another world and what better room to decorate than the kitchen which is the most commonly used room in the house.

You can even decorate your whole house around one country or each room could individually carry its own style. And it really doesn’t have to be expensive either. A simple stroke of paint and a few added accessories can really make a whole load of difference.

To get you started into created a well-travelled home; here are a few inspirational ideas to create a new world in your home.

Victoria Mug by UlsterWeavers.com

English - When it comes to an English style kitchen think no further than a traditional country theme. Comfortable and homey stripes are ideal in creating an English country style kitchen. Use warm colours such as honey, caramel, vanilla, cinnamon or paprika to set the background for a country style. Paint your cupboards and furniture to a lighter shade.

Decorate with floral home textiles such as tea towels, place mats, aprons and oven gloves which match the English country trends. A home textiles trend that truly fits the English country bill is the Victoria collection by Ulster Weavers.com. A traditional floral design with a fresh, modern twist. With bright blues and floral colours the collection is ideal if you are looking to incorporate a English country theme into your home. The collection comes complete with a Bone China Mug, cotton apron, muff tea cosy, double oven glove, gauntlett, cotton tea towel and pot mitt.

Italian – Inspired by nature. Rustic Italian countryside and farmhouses play a major part in Italian interior furnishings. Tiled floors and wall murals as well as stencils are very prominent within Italian decor. Pear, olives, ivory and gold are prominent colours around an Italian home providing a warm, lived-in feeling to your house. Dependent on the size of your kitchen you may opt for darker wooden furniture, however if your kitchen is small you may opt for rustic wire racks to hang pots and pans. And like every Italian home, you need a wine rack as the perfect finishing touch to your Italian kitchen.

Mexican – Mexicans are all about bright colours. Sunny yellows, cobalt blue, antique white, verdigris, terracotta and mango orange are all cheerful and warm colours for your Mexican kitchen interior designs. Wrought iron candlesticks, bold coloured tiles, bird and fish motifs are very popular for a Mexican kitchen. Maybe throw up a fabric wall hanging if you have a bit of room featuring bright primary colours to add a bit of colour. Vinyl table cloths with fruits and flowers are fantastic for a Mexican style kitchen. Furnishings tend to take on a feeling of a crumbling old Spanish hacienda which can abode well with the bright bold colours of your interior textiles and furnishings.

Egyptian – The striking beauty of Egyptian furnishings can look stunning in your kitchen. Simple furnishings, accompanied with marble and gold inspire an Egyptian style kitchen. Hieroglyphic and parchment types of art can bring the ancient world into your kitchen. You could even incorporate home textiles featuring cats which were a major part of Egyptian culture. Oranges, blues and whites are also perfect colours for an Egyptian themed home.

African – You don’t have to spend a lot of money to recreate an African style theme in your kitchen. Plants, animal prints, tapestries, exotic fabrics are all a great way to incorporate African culture into your home. And if you are going the whole way terracotta tiled floors, ceiling fan, African masks on the wall are great additional accessories to add to the overall design. Deep colours like reds, oranges and yellows are great for an African kitchen. Fabric is very important so make sure you incorporate a variety of home textiles which take on the African theme.

Greek – When we think of Greece the most common images that spring to mind is the cloudless blue skies, sun-baked earth and sparkling sea. Greek decoration combines white stucco walls, stone floors, woven wall hangings, bare windows and rustic style furniture. Everything is clean cut and minimalist with natural clay pottery, tile accents and wrought iron furnishings. 

For more information visit UlsterWeavers.com for all your home textiles collections which can truly make your house a home.

The kitchen is the place where everyone congregates after a long day at school or work to chat about the day’s events.  With this in mind why not make it into a homely and relaxing environment, transforming it into a practical room with colours and life.

And if you are on a tight budget and can’t afford to redecorate the whole kitchen then here are a few helpful tips from UlsterWeavers.com to help you make your house a home.

Bring in more colours

We don’t mean splash the kitchen with blocks of colour and throw in random fluorescent accessories; instead we are talking about adding a touch of colour here and there to add some colour into your kitchen. Things like flowers, vases and candles are the perfect finishing touches, or you could even purchase coffee makers and blenders which come in a range of colourful designs.

Add fresh fruit bowls

Add fresh fruits on a nice basket or tray. Fresh fruits are always colourful and look perfect on a table in the kitchen. It adds colour and vitality to any kitchen.

Small kitchen appliances

Kitchen appliances should be small to avoid occupying more space. You could purchase multi-purpose appliances which are perfect for the kitchen and can be used for mixing, blending, chopping or grinding; all the functions in one.

Textile furnishings

When you think of a homely kitchen you imagine cakes baking in the oven, tea stewing in the tea pot and mum cooking with her apron and oven mitts on. Now this idyllic scenario may not always be the case in your hectic lifestyle but you can always pretend it is by decorating your home with tea cosies, aprons, ovens mitts and decorative tea towels to spruce up the kitchen environment.

And we are not talking plane Jane designs here. We mean decorative and creative home furnishings by UlsterWeavers.co.uk. The website has some beautiful collections to choose from including British Cats by English artist Ann Walker, to Vintage style aprons and tea towels. There are a wide range of designs all at affordable prices to help spruce up your kitchen from drab to fab.

For more information visit Ulster Weavers today.