Glass and glazing has improved vastly over the last 10 years, making windows of the 80s and 90s seem like prehistoric relics in terms of draught-proofing, sound reduction and energy efficiency. Double glazing nowadays can actually help heat a room by allowing more warmth in and then retaining it brilliantly. With this technology being used in conservatories, you get a room that harnesses the Sun’s heat, even throughout Winter, to create a room that is usable all year round.

Having a radiator on one of the dwarf walls in your conservatory will help make your conservatory usable even in the cold Winter months. We wrote a blog about this not so long ago that may interest you. You do not have to settle for a bog standard radiator either; you can invest in a funky, unique style of radiator as shown in the blog.

But what about the Summer months that can heat your conservatory to an unbearable temperature? Well, apart from opening doors and windows to help circulate air and keep the room cool, the new types of roof available also help maintain a nice temperature. A conservatory roof is exposed to 68% of the Sun’s energy that will hit your conservatory, so having some sort of protection against it is important and something a polycarbonate roof won’t give you much of.

To combat this Anglian offer a Solaroof, which actively blocks the sun’s energy travelling through the roof. It stops 75% of the sun’s heat, visible glare is reduced by 80% and it prevents 98% of ultra-violet ray penetration. All of these factors combined means that you have a cooler conservatory during the Summer, that you don’t need to wear sunglasses in and your furniture is more protected than if there was a regular roof on your conservatory.

A new product also available that gives you shelter outside of your conservatory is the verandah. The Anglian glass verandah extends from your conservatory giving you an area to shelter from the chilly breeze or lay back and enjoy the warm weather, even if it’s raining. This sheltered space means you could enjoy the garden all year round, although we recommend wrapping up during the Winter. There is something satisfying about still being able to host a BBQ even when the British weather has other ideas; the conservatory gives you a great dining area with a superb window view too.

A conservatory shouldn’t be a luxury that you only use at certain times of the year. You pay for quality, style and class so make sure you take advantage of this extra space! Create a cosy little snug to read in or watch the birds build nests and gather food, use it as a dining room to hold dinner parties, use it as a room to Winter plants, if you prefer to exercise out of the public eye you could create a small home gym under the verandah or have a relaxing area with a durable sofa to drink the nights away with great friends.

A conservatory and verandah gives you endless options and you could even change its purpose seasonally, but either way they are a beautiful addition to any home.

Over the years we have become a nation of decorators, taking pride in our homes and wanting to have the latest look.

A recent survey carried out by Anglian Home Improvements has shown that the average amount we have spent on our home improvements in the last two years is £2,706. 1 in 8  people having spent more than £5,000 on home improvements, this, for most of us is a significant amount of money.  However, the pleasure that we gain from carrying out the improvements and seeing the end results can enhance our well being and lives.  With many of us spending more time at home because of the current economic climate, it is important that we are able to enjoy the space we live in.

Sometimes the hardest part about improving our home can be finding inspiration on exactly what to do – it might be picking decorating colours or themes, creating new space, moving internal walls to change the way we use our living space, the list is endless.

Are you looking for the next inspirational feature for your home or is it just the neighbours that seem to have the latest home improvement idea?  The survey also showed that 1 in 10 of us do the friendly neighbourly thing of asking how it’s going, but are seething underneath with jealousy about what the neighbours are doing.  Do you get this feeling?  Does it make you want to change your home? Do you take inspiration from your immediate surroundings, do you pinch ideas from the neighbours or do you tend to look further afield?

For me travelling abroad is a great resource and inspiration, from the colours and designs used in the décor to the  cultural differences of style and use of space within the home. Countries can be defined by their design, style and furniture. I always like to return home with ‘Home and Garden’ magazines which offer an insight in to how other people decorate their homes.

An open plan living area in South Africa that lets you be a part of your surroundings  interior-design-schools-schatzi.blogspot.com

The two pictures I have picked are from opposite ends of the world.  From the hot climate and open air living of South Africa that incorporates the warm tones of the soil and plants to cold days in Scandinavia where there is darkness for many months of the year

A Scandinavian home interior from freshome.com

Some ideas that we see may not be practical according to our weather/light conditions or the space available to replicate the idea.   However, some ideas can more often than not be adapted or diluted down to suit our home environments allowing us to add our own twist to the design and make it truly unique to us.

Today, there are many sources of inspiration on how to change the look of our homes.  From magazines to the TV, home DIY to interior designers; the latest look and trend is there waiting to be found.  The internet is a great resource for gathering ideas and opinions on interior design without having to travel the world. At the touch of a button “the world is our oyster” and any design or look we see can inspire us to make the change within our own homes.

One of my favourite sites at the moment is Pinterest.  The site was formed a few years ago and offers the user the ability to set up and save images on to categorised boards.

If you are looking for a specific home improvement idea, a new recipe, travel destinations, sporting pictures or something for the garden, Pinterest has a board that covers most things. With some 11.7+ million users from all over the world, the site is never short of a new idea.

Alternatively, if you would like some inspiration for your next home improvement, whether it is a conservatory or a garage conversion, why not have a look at what we have to offer so that we can help to keep you one step ahead of the Joneses!

On Friday, Sebastien Bassong was named the Anglian Home Improvements Player of the season, with Robert Snodgrass coming a close second and Bradley Johnson third.

Robert Snodgrass was second placed player of the season.

When the fixtures were announced, few people thought the final fixture of the campaign against Manchester City at the Etihad stadium would be a victory for the visitors. How wrong were they!

Norwich dominated for large periods of the game and took the lead through Anthony Pilkington. The ball was fed through to him just inside the penalty box and he did well to turn and curl it into the bottom right corner of the net.

The lead didn’t last long though as Jack Rodwell cancelled out the opener, with a very similar goal to Pilkington’s, but Rodwell smashed it into the net emphatically.

Norwich regained the lead early in the second half through captain Grant Holt. Snodgrass created space down the right and his low ball into the box was met at the back post by Holt for an easy tap in.

Again Manchester City fought back and again it was Rodwell providing the goal. He picked up a long ball from Toure and outpaced Whitaker before firing into the net.

The winner for Norwich was a superb individual piece of skill from Jonny Howson, who has now scored two quality goals in two consecutive games. He picked up the ball on the halfway line, weaving in and out of at least four defenders. His low shot to the left of Joe Hart nestled beautifully in the bottom right corner of the net, sealing 3 points for Norwich and helping Chris Hughton’s men finish one position higher than last season, 11th in the Premiership.

Michael Turner was awarded with the Player’s Player award.

Michael Turner with Anglian’s Andy Browne

Historically, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has not permitted gnomes to be displayed, although they have made a brief foray in previous years.  Jekka McVicar, a garden designer, went against RHS policy in 1993 and in 2009 when she included her garden gnome called Borage.  Borage was instantly banned from her display and turfed out of the Chelsea Flower Show.

This year, regulations have been relaxed and gnomes are going to be allowed to be displayed.  Some will see their inclusion in this year’s show as a drop in standards by the Royal Society.  However, for the majority of visitors, gnomes are seen as fun and bring a smile to people’s faces.

The history of the gnome

There are many definitions of a gnome but most agree on the following:

•    They are ‘a mythical imaginary guardian from the inner parts of the Earth’

•    They wear bright clothes, conical hats, have beards and are from a few inches to a foot or two tall.

•    They were said to walk through the Earth, but if caught in sunlight they would turn to stone.

The first group of 21 gnomes came to Britain from German in 1847 and were imported by Sir Charles Isham, 10th Baronet, landowner and gardener in Northamptonshire.  He displayed them in the grounds of his estate and was a believer in the supernatural and spiritualism.

To me, a garden gnome is a little person that can be found sitting, standing, working and protecting the garden.  They keep an eye on things, making sure the wildlife is alright,  flowers look their best and help to keep the garden looking nice when you are not there.  Gnomes are hard working and come along with their own selection of garden tools,  toadstools and fishing rods.  They brighten the darker parts of our garden and bring humour and a smile to all our faces.

Norwich City Football Club Gnome image sourced from the Museum of East Anglian

Gnome facts

Here are some facts about the little people: -

- It is thought that gnomes have magical powers that can protect or punish people, make them happy along with their usual plant growing powers.  Male gnomes can be glimpsed working in the garden, but the ladies are never seen and remain hidden from our eyes.

- The word ‘gnome’ is thought by some to come from the Greek word ‘Gnosis’ meaning knowledge, but is more likely to come from the word ‘Genomos’ meaning ‘earth dweller‘.

The book ‘Gnomes’ by Wil Huygen, illustrated by Rien Poortvliet.  Image sourced from abilliontastesandtunes.blogspot.co.uk

- Not to be confused with goblins, dwarves and elves, gnomes can be found in many parts of the Europe, i.e. Switzerland, France, Finland and Ireland.  Other parts of the world also have their own mythical little people as in Japan, where they are called ‘Bakemono’.

- Garden gnomes were first created by Phillip Griebel a sculptor  in Germany in the mid 1800′s.  At their creation they were called ‘Gartenzwerg’, which literally meant ‘garden dwarf’. They were created to help people enjoy myths and stories of the folk that looked after gardens at night.

No place like gnome

In recent times gnomes have been kidnapped and held to ransom for as much as $10,000 before being returned.  They have changed gardens, professions and locations and have holidayed in some very glamorous parts of the world, with picture postcards being sent back to their owners showing they had reached their unexpected destination.

As in the case of Murphy, who was renamed Barrington by his travel companions.  He was returned to his owners with a note to say that his impromptu tour was down to ‘itchy feet’.  Barrington’s return home was accompanied by a leather-bound photo album containing 48 pictures of his trip.

Image sourced from the Daily Mail showing Barrington’s adventures

Seen by some as not suitable for smarter gardens, a revolt by enthusiasts all over the world has seen demonstrations at the gates of Chelsea Flower Show and a mass release of gnomes in woodlands in France, which is considered their habitat.

The Garden Gnome Liberation Front  was particularly active during the mid to late 90’s, when it was responsible as they put it, for rescuing (stealing) garden gnomes from captivity (people’s gardens) and letting groups of them go free in woods and forest clearings, which is where they said they came from and was their natural habitat.

Whether you consider them a guardian in your garden or just an ornament, we look forward to seeing these brightly coloured fellows in gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show this year.

It does not seem possible that a year has passed since the last one and yet Anglian Home Improvements is pleased to announce its 2013 sponsorship and support of Bobby on a Bike’s 6th ‘May Ride’ from Aldeburgh in Suffolk to Borth in Wales.

The 400 mile journey will start early morning on Sunday May 19th, leaving Aldeburgh (to the sounds of a Scottish piper in full tartan regalia) with a police escort leading the way out of the seaside resort.

After the amazing support from the 50 riders last year, a further 20 more riders have signed up for this year, making a total of 76 riders intending to complete the journey.

At the start of the ride last year in Aldeburgh

The riders will cycle for 4 days arriving in Borth, Wales on 22nd May, stopping as planned at the designated rest points to refuel and get prepared for the next leg of the journey, before bedding down each night under canvas.

Neil Smith, with the help of a number of helpers, is again organising this year’s Bobby on a Bike.  Neil, a dog handler from Suffolk Constabulary has run this charity event for the last 11 years, raising money for numerous different charities over the years. This year’s ride is raising money for the SSAFA Forces Help.

Neil is always looking at ways to add a twist to the ride and this year in addition to the riders there will be a team of three intrepid runners, who will each run a ‘half marathon’ along the ride route each day.

It is the third time this route has been cycled and will be every bit as challenging as the two previous occasions.  Initially riding through the flat terrain of Suffolk the journey gets progressively more demanding as it heads west through the hills and mountains in to Wales, finishing in Borth.

With a few of the cycling team struggling along the route last year, they are determined not to be beaten this year and hope that the extra training will have paid off.

Last years riders described it as;
‘The hardest 4 days of my life since Sandhurst.’

by another as…
‘The hardest thing I have ever done in my life…ever.’

and by many…
‘The best 4 days of my life.’

The Anglian Team for the 2012 ride

Last year 5 riders from Anglian joined the group, but this year only Stuart will be riding with the group. Others from the Anglian team have been bitten by the cycling bug, but have decided to do other rides which include; the Prudential Ride London 100 in August for the British Heart Foundation and an Ipswich to Paris ride in July for a charity called 4YP.

We would like to wish all riders well and will be keeping track of them during their ride.  Watch out for our tweets on their progress.

If you would like to make a donation towards their fund raising…please click here.

I have scoured the internet to find some sound advice, as well as being able to offer some Anglian expertise too. So, here is a list of home improvements that add value to your home.

1- Loft conversion

According to Nationwide Building Society, a loft conversion is one of the best ways to add not only extra space to your home, but extra value too. They claim that if a loft is converted into a double bedroom with an en-suite it can add up to 21% onto the value of the property. This is a great investment, costing about £20,000 to carry out the work, but the potential is huge. Don’t waste space, utilise it. These rooms look great with big windows, especially on pitched roofs. A loft conversion is also ideal for bathrooms, giving you a bright and airy room, with height that gives you added privacy as you are higher than the neighbouring windows.

2 - Single storey extension

If you don’t fancy expanding upwards, you can always expand outwards. Nationwide claim that an single storey extension can add 12% onto the value of your home, whilst property guru, Phil Spencer believes they can add 11% onto the value of your home. Either way it is a job worth doing. Again, this type of extension can give you an extra bedroom, bathroom or even a nice new kitchen.

We have recently seen some beautiful installations of orangeries  being used as kitchen/dining areas, harnessing the natural light whilst creating a modern, open-plan dining area too. The picture below is a perfect example of this.

A cheaper way to extend your home could be through a garage conversion. The foundations are already there, it is just a case of ripping out the inside to transform it into a room worth using. If your garage is a wasted space, take advantage of it and make it a room to be proud of.

3 – Conservatory

One of our specialist areas, the conservatory, can add up to 7% to the value of your home according to Phil Spencer. The bright and airy rooms bring you closer to the garden, with clear views into your lush outdoor space. The extra space makes an ideal location for a dining area, or a place to relax and unwind after a long day at work.

Conservatories nowadays are available in a range of styles to sympathise with the style of your home. One thing to avoid is building a conservatory that clashes with your home. Choose a style that blends into the home naturally and effortlessly, if not it can detract from the value of your home.

Conservatories are also built in a range of materials too, from uPVC to timber, the options really are endless, helping you create the perfect extra room for your home.

4 – Bathroom

I think this is a room that has to be clean, tidy and attractive when viewing a house. If it is dated, ugly or not to my taste, it can put me off the entire house. A nice bathroom can add up to 5% onto the value of your home according to recent research by Nationwide.

If you are planning on refurbishing your bathroom, keep it simple. Change the taps and shower head if they are looking withered and covered in limescale; remove the shower curtain and put in a glass door or screen, as they look neater and help the room feel more spacious; if the bath is old, an odd colour or no longer a crisp white, consider changing it to help it blend into the rest of the room.

By following these tips, you should have a much more appealing bathroom to potential buyers. For me, the bathroom and kitchen are the deal breakers.

5 – Kitchen

According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, a classy new kitchen can add 4% onto the value of your home. Fresh worktops, a shiny chrome sink and taps, a clean, fully working oven, a fridge-freezer and maybe a dishwasher will all make a kitchen more appealing. As a keen cook I love a hands-on, big kitchen to entertain in, so having a nice area to host and cook in is always a bonus for me.

Kitchens are becoming more sociable rooms, especially with open-plan kitchens. As the song says “you will always find me in the kitchen at parties” and this couldn’t be truer. Breakfast bars or islands in kitchens are a good way to separate the rooms without isolating them completely.

6 – Bi-fold doors and Patio doors

Gone are the days of no light, it is now all about letting as much in as possible. Skylights, light-tubes and large patio or bi-fold doors are farming light like there is no tomorrow, brightening rooms to give the impression of more space and help your well-being. SAD is caused by a lack of light, but these home improvements can help battle the disorder and help you stay happy, even through the dark winters.

The advantage of having bi-fold or patio doors is the ease in which they connect you to your garden. At the slide of a door, the room is opened up to the lovely, fresh air and you are instantly in your garden. I used to live in a bungalow, which had big, glass sliding doors in the main bedroom leading straight to the garden. Waking up every morning to the sound and sight of birds fluttering around the garden and the sun streaming in instantly put me in a good mood and I was ready to tackle the day.

7 - Double glazing and central heating

The director of Connells recently stated that double glazing and central heating can add more value to a home than what they cost, which we couldn’t agree with more. By replacing both, you are not just adding value to your home, you are also saving money.

By replacing an old G-rated boiler, homeowners can save up to £300 a year, whilst replacing old aluminium single glazed windows and replacing them with A-rated windows, like Anglian’s EcoGain windows, can save up to £239 a year! Like with a conservatory, when it comes to replacing your windows, make sure they are sympathetic with the rest of the house. You don’t want to put in windows that don’t match what was once there.

8 – Energy saving products

Eco-friendly homes are growing in popularity, especially as energy bills continue to rise. beatthatquote.com recently said that they predict eco-homes will be 6% more expensive than the average home.

With this in mind, making sure your home has a good energy rating and is possibly generating its own energy will help a great deal when it comes to selling it. Improvements such as thermal or photovoltaic solar panels, cavity wall insulation, loft insulation, ground source heat pumps or small wind turbines are unique selling features, helping your home stand out from the rest. Our recent survey suggested that having a home that is better than the neighbours is why 20% of us improve our homes!

Even if you aren’t selling your home, improving your home with these methods will save you money in the long run. You can take advantage of the Feed-in-Tariff with photovoltaic solar panels, or heat your home with thermal solar panels or ground source heat pumps.

If you are just looking to make your home retain its heat better, installing loft and/or cavity wall insulation is a quick and efficient way. It is also best to take these measures before installing ground source heat pumps because if you don’t you are potentially wasting all this heat generated. We also recommend you check your windows are energy efficient and not letting heat escape, before installing heat pumps.

Despite the countries poor economical state, as a nation, we would rather improve than move, which has culminated in 1 in 8 of us spending more than £5,000 improving our homes over the last couple of years. The average amount spent was £2,706.

What home improvements have you made to your home this year? Why not send some pictures to us on the Anglian Facebook page?

May is a great month to tend to your garden. Leaves are back on trees, grass is growing fast and the warmer weather  means that plants will grow and bring colour and vibrancy to your patch, not to mention a great variety of wildlife too.

Now that we’ve hopefully seen the last of overnight frosts it’s time to introduce bedding plants to borders, pots, containers and hanging baskets. There’s loads of good garden advice from TV gardener David Domoney on how to help your garden thrive, so be sure to check out his website and try some of his ideas.

If you’ve got a rather plain garden and are in search of some inspiration, you can get loads of ideas from David and Alan Titchmarsh on ITV’s Love Your Garden. The channel is currently showing repeats ahead of a new series, which is due to start at the end of June. It should help transform any blank garden canvas!

One of the great advantages of having a garden awash with colour is the wildlife it attracts. Our gardens provide homes for birds, so if you’re house proud then it’s important to be garden proud too, in order to help our feathered friends.

House sparrows, blackbirds, blue tits and starlings are some of the most popular garden birds in Britain, but their numbers are falling. While you’re tending to your garden this month, why not encourage them to visit your little haven by fixing a nest box to a wall, fence or tree? A bird house or feeder (up high, to keep them safe from cats!) will add character to your outside space.

Spring time is nest building time, so after you’ve treated your lawn it’s a good idea to leave twigs and dried moss near your feeders for birds to build their little homes. It’s these small considerations while you’re planting, cutting and pruning that make a big difference to the bird community.

There’s more information and advice on how to care for your garden through all four seasons – and boost bird numbers at the same time – on our Birds of Britain infographic. Happy gardening!

The big question is, how do they achieve this and how does the soundproof technology work?

Well, the studio itself has to be built in a way to ensure the room will absorb, reflect and diffuse sound in a certain way to help the producers create a precise and accurate recording of instruments and recording artists. The recording studio normally consists of 2 rooms; a studio or ‘live room’ and a control room. Sometimes there is an isolation room, built to house louder instruments like drums and electric guitars, to prevent them being heard on studio mics.

The shape, size and materials used to build the room all affect the acoustics and the control room is normally separated from the studio with soundproof glass. This helps music technicians see the artists performing, so they can advise them to help them achieve a better sound and guide them to creating a perfect recording.

Image sourced from Ctd 2005 on Flickr

So, the room is built with special materials, but how does the glass work to prevent noise? Single pane windows will obviously allow sound through easily, but double glazing will reduce this. Sound travels in waves, reverberating objects it ploughs into, and therefore sending the sound through it.

Double glazing gives the sound waves a bit of a challenge by giving it more obstacles to reverberate; this muffles the sound. To decrease the noise levels even further, the double glazing can be made in two different thicknesses. The thicker the glass, the harder it is to reverberate, which in turn reduces the amount of noise passing through even further.

If you have one pane of glass that is thicker than the other, the sound waves travel one way through the first pane, but they will have been slowed down and will struggle to reverberate through the next pane of glass.

Just when you thought they couldn’t stop the sound waves even more, you can laminate the glass, which will breakdown the noise even more. So, there you have it. A quick and simple way to understand how studios use glass to soundproof when recording.

This technique is used in our safe and sound double glazed windows, helping reduce sound pollution in your home, be it passing traffic, aircraft overhead or next door’s amateur rock band, letting you relax in the evening in peace and quiet.

Only one result today was going to be enough to keep the yellows in the Premiership, especially with their final fixture of the campaign being away to Manchester City. Great build up and quality finishing was definitely the theme for today!

Norwich came out with all guns blazing and had all of the early possession and created the best chances to score. Wes Hoolahan and Snodgrass were causing most of the issues for the West Brom back four, but the final ball was missing. That was until Grant Holt’s cross was flicked on by Ryan Bennett into the path of Hoolahan. His shot was well blocked by goalkeeper Foster, but fell to Snodgrass who emphatically smashed it into the roof of the net. 1-0

Hoolahan came close with his swerving long-range effort, but Foster made a good save to tip it over the bar.

Despite Steve Clarke making to changes at half-time, Norwich were still the side on top and got their second goal through bizarre circumstances. Hoolahan’s through ball for Holt was a bit long, but as Foster came out to hoof it clear, he missed completely, leaving an open goal for Holt to score. This reminded me of when Bryan Gunn did exactly the same, many years ago.

Norwich scored again only 3 minutes later from a typical Snodgrass free-kick into the box. The in-swinging cross curled dangerously towards Ryan Bennett’s head, but it was West Brom’s McAuley who made the header, giving Foster no chance as it nestled in the right corner of the net.

Norwich stepped off the gas at this point and seemed as though they were happy to see out the win, but they weren’t finished scoring yet. Becchio replaced Holt with 5 minutes remaining and made an impact as he set up Jonny Howson. A long ball foward was flicked down by Becchio to Howson, he then played a one-two with Becchio before whipping the ball round Foster from the edge of the penalty box.

3 points were sealed for Norwich and safety is now guaranteed, meaning the Canaries will be playing Premiership football next season. It also guarantees new signing Ricky Van Wolfswinkel will join over the Summer!

The final Anglian Home Improvements Man of the Match was Ryan Bennett, who again put in a sterling defensive display of football.

Even if walks aren’t your thing, it’s still nice to be able to look out into your garden from your window or conservatory and see a bit more wildlife at work. The dark winter months are a distant memory now that the sun has had time to turn everything much greener, brighter and busier.

It’s not just about seeing wildlife, though. If you turn your radio and TV off, or manage to get away from the hustle and bustle of town traffic, you can hear it too. There’s something comforting about hearing the birds sing that helps us relax.

It’s not just us at Anglian Home Improvements that are fascinated by bird songs. The BBC has recently begun broadcasting ‘Tweet of the Day’ on Radio 4. It’s a 90-second episode, presented by wildlife legend David Attenborough, which plays a different bird song every day. They then give you a story and some facts behind the bird and the song.

We think it’s a marvellous idea – anything that promotes wildlife and encourages people to help it flourish gets our vote. Sadly, as we revealed last month, our bird numbers are in decline – so hopefully Tweet of the Day will inspire more people to protect garden birds and reverse this worrying trend.

Ultimately, nothing beats getting out there for a lovely spring walk to watch birds in their natural habitat. Whether it’s Rutland Water in the midlands, Richmond Park in London or Whinlatter Forest Park in Cumbria – each is teaming with wildlife and bustling with birds.

There are plenty of bird watching hotspots across the country, where you can see them at work and hear their wonderful songs. For when you want to venture beyond your back garden, take a look at our Birds of Britain infographic and see which bird watching hot spot is closest to you.

Of course, you’re also bound to see them in your local park or nearby nature reserve. It’s a great activity for weekends and bank holidays and something the whole family can enjoy.