DIY - 10 Amazing Kitchen Hacks 0

DIY is the real deal in a new age of self-sufficiency and more and more independent thinking. The saying, " the more skills you have, the less likely it is to be stranded" holds true in many places, especially in the Kitchen.

Here are 10 Amazing Do It Yourself Hacks to ease your way through in the kitchen and in the home.

1. Determine the Freshness of your eggs

Fresh eggs sink all the way down in a bowl of cold water. While non- fresh or stale eggs remain afloat. You can determine the freshness of your eggs by this quick test.

2. Lose the Smell of Onion and Garlic

Cutting onions and garlic could turn out to be a very messy and nasty chore since they may continue to smell on one's hands for days. To lose the smell, rub hands on stainless steel or with lemon juice or baking soda.

3. Prevent fruits from browning or losing moisture

Sprinkle lemon juice or honey and water on your cut apples, sliced avocado to prevent it from turning brown, drying up or losing moisture. The Citric acid and Vitamin C and the peptide in the honey would keep it fresh.

4. Run out of Mayonnaise suddenly

Blend eggs and a cup of oil to make your own quick mayonnaise. Refrigerate to add to taste.

5. Remove Fat from Soups

You notice fat component in your soup, stew or casserole and it seems like a hard task to separate the cholesterol? Drop ice cubes into the soup, it would cause the fat to congeal and become easy to scoop out.

6. Keeping Tomatoes fresh

Unable to make the stew that night? Leave the stalks on the tomatoes. It would reduce air pores permitting air into the tomatoes. Store tomatoes at room temperature as against refrigerating.

7. Peel Egg Shell with Ease

Add a dash of vinegar or baking soda to boiling water for the eggs. The eggshells would come off the eggs with ease.

8. Onions don't have to make you cry

Refrigerate or freeze your Onions before cutting them and yes, no more tears. If time doesn't permit, hang a slice of bread between your teeth while you cut the onions. The bread absorbs the irritant gas before getting into your eyes.

9. Keep water from boiling over

Hang a wooden spoon over your boiling water to stop the water from getting over the edge of the pot. Wood is not a good conductor of heat, so water wouldn't rise to it.

10. Keep your exposed or leftover cake fresh for days

Especially during this harmattan, leftover cakes tend to get drier and stale faster. To keep your cake fresh for days. Cover the exposed portions with bread and hold with a toothpick. Your cake would retain it's moisture so long as the bread is fresh.

Enjoy a stress-free and unlimited lifestyle by trying your hands on these amazing Do It Yourself Kitchen Hacks.

It is easy to recreate, requires things you already have in your kitchen. Live Wholesomely, Live your life to the fullest.

You should also check our kitchen accessories collection online for amazing deals

   

Adeyemi Adebimpe

Contributor on HOG Furniture Blog is a law student at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU).

Loves to write, read, travel, paint and talk.

A fan of the outdoor and adventure. Her everyday fantasy is to see the whole world.

DIY - Pallet Coffee Cup Holder 0

This was actually a pretty easy project! It was done in two days, but definitely could have been done in one.

Materials and Equipment:

• Pallet
• Hooks and screws
• Paint, letter stencils, sponge brush (Optional)
• Sandpaper
• Right angle ruler
• Ruler or tape measure
• Pencil
• Safety glasses
• Circular Saw
• Cordless Drill
• Screwdriver

After getting the pallet, you may want to power wash your pallet before you dive into this project since you’ll be hanging things that you drink out of on it!

Okay, let’s get started!

• We used a fourth of the pallet, so first we decided which fourth looked the best and had the most stable and best-looking wood.

• Mark where you want to cut using a pencil and right angle ruler.

• Next, cut where you have marked using a circular saw. Make sure to wear safety goggles

• Once you have your mini pallet, sand it down! How much you sand is up to you, but make sure it is smooth enough that you won’t get splinters when you hang up your coffee cups!

• Next, paint COFFEE on the top. You can use letter stencils and a sponge brush. It will really turn out very good. Just like this:

• Putting on the hooks was probably the most difficult part. Use a ruler (or tape measure) and pencil to mark exactly where you want the hooks to go, then drill them in. The hooks might not betotally even, but once you hung the coffee cups it will hardly be noticed.

We think the hooks made them look polished. Plus, this is the only material you need to buy for this project! Good News?

Culled from onelittlebirdblog

Not forgetting to participate in our #12DaysOfChristmas Santa Contest. Stand a chance to win something big this christmas

5 Tips for Creating a Gallery Wall 0

Create your unique gallery wall with these tips

A gallery wall can turn a room from drab to fab just like that. It is the perfect way to showcase your most important prints, art, vintage pieces or family photos in the most elegant way. 

To create your gallery wall you will need to -

 Collect your pieces

This one seems pretty obvious. It could either be framed family photos of treasured moments such as weddings, birthdays or graduations or your favorite art pieces from local galleries or stores. As you gather your pieces keep in mind the sizes you would want to go up on your wall and the theme.

Pick a location or locations

The living room, bedrooms and the hallway are good places to put up a gallery wall. 

You have free rein creative wise in setting up your gallery wall so choose your perfect space.

Divide and conquer

Select the pieces you feel are appropriate for your wall. Maybe some frames are too big so they have to go. Or they would be a contrast to the color or ambiance of the room.

 Lay it all down

You may not have a designer's eye but you sure know what you want. Place your selected pieces on the floor the way you want it to appear on the wall and get a first hand look at what your gallery wall would look like. Decide if you want the frames to be evenly distributed or oddly distributed. 

Square shaped or diamond shaped or whatever shape you desire. Arrange and rearrange until you are satisfied with what you see. To be able to view it as you hang, take pictures with your phone to look back on.

Hanging

For this final part, you will need your hanging materials such as ruler, marker or pencil, nails and hammer. Some people tend use a paper template first before hanging but if you feel you have the skills to get your wall up without it then by all means go ahead.

And voila! With these steps you've got an Instagram worthy gallery wall.

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See our collection of wall Art 

Author

Erhu Amreyan,

A guest contributor on HOG Furniture, a freelance writer. She loves to read and she loves to write.

Her shorts stories have appeared in Brittlepaper, Kalahari review, and in two anthologies.

How to add style to your Bookshelf 0

8 Fantastic Ways To Style Your Bookshelf

For all the booklovers out there, owing a bookshelf is very crucial. We love to have our books sitting right were we can see it! We love to look at our books and enjoy the feeling of having so much to read or reread.

However, do you know that you can make your bookshelves even more fun by adding style to it?

You can relish the experience of having a bookshelf in your home by simplying styling your bookshelf to your taste.

If you got your bookshelf from a credible company like HOG Furniture, then your bookshelf would be durable and of good quality; which is an important attribute of any good bookshelf.

As such, here are easy ways you can style your bookshelf:

1.       Put your Favourite items: Do you have a particular piece of art, decor item, award, photo, cases, etc. that you absolutely love? Then you can include them in your bookshelf to give it style.

2.       Play around with the book placement: You can mix up the book placement by using both horizontal placements and vertical placements for your bookshelf. This makes your bookshelf somewhat interesting to look at.

3.      Arrange your bookshelf by colour: This is fun to do and look at. And for anyone who comes into your space, your bookshelf would instantly attract them.

4.       Space: You can also give your bookshelf breathing space by not choking them up all together. When you give your bookshelf space, you make it pleasing to look and easy to find your books.

5.      Decorate the space above your bookshelf: Decorating the space above your bookshelf can also make your bookshelf look stylish. You can add a beautiful piece of art, a framed photo, or a framed photo of your favourite sayings, etc. However, when doing this, you need to ensure that the decorations complements the bookshelf as a whole.

6.      Paint your bookshelf: By adding a burst of colour or painting your bookshelf in your favourite colour, you make your bookshelf interesting to look at! It also helps your bookshelf stand out uniquely in a space.

7.       Face out some of your books: When you face out some of your books, you also make it look interesting, especially when you face out books in your favourite colours, it adds style to your bookshelf.

8.      Don’t forget to clean your bookshelf: Don’t get to preoccupied with adding style to your bookshelf that you forget to clean your bookshelf. Cleanliness is important.

Looking for where to get the perfect bookshelf for your books? 

Then you should visit www.hogfurniture.com.ng to shop for amazing bookshelves at amazing prices!

How best do you make your bookshelf look interesting or stylish? 

Comments below and let’s hear from you!

Author

Ayishat Amoo

Lifestyle writer who likes motivating people through her writing, for them to be who God wants them to be.

Msc.  Mass Communication, and she is also an Inbound certified marketer.

5 Tips to add style to your Dorm Room this new session 0

During my time in the university, some of the dorm rooms I was lucky to be in always had a dull gloomy energy. Evidently because of the lack of style and personality. 

Abandon all hope all ye who enter. That shouldn't be the vibe a dorm room should exude. A dorm room should be fun as well as functional. 

Whether the dorm room is a small space or a large one, or you are a first time student or a returning student, you can always make your room uniquely you by following these styling tips. 

1. Get information

You should be get all the information about the school's policy on what or what not to bring into your dorm room. If your school does not permit a certain kind of item, let's say a fridge or an external closet. Do not sneak it in all because you want to make your room shine. 

2. Blending

If your dorm is a shared space as it mostly is, you can talk to your roommate about decorating together. Using one color palette to bring every item in the room together is much more preferable than a clash of colors. 

3. Pick accessories for the bed and floor

Nothing like a fantastic piece of bedding to make a room look great or give you a good night's rest. Choose a bedding that is soft and durable with throw pillows for a stunning visual effect.

Show your style by adding a center rug.

A comfortable chair where your visiting friends can sit on is a valuable addition to a dorm room. It not only makes the place homey but keeps traffic away from your bed. 

4. Hang stuff up and transform the walls

Curtains do not apply only to the windows. Curtained beds are unique in their own way. They are stylish and beautiful and will always be an additional pop of panache to the room.

Hang wall art, cheap cute frames, photo collages or posters. Remember to avoid using nails that will damage the walls. 

5. Set up your study space

Your study space should be neat and uncluttered. Get a comfortable chair and a sturdy desk that will make studying easier. If the room is lacking in space there are some affordable specially designed desks and chairs that fold up after use which takes little or no space. Remember your lighting option should not be dull just because it is used for studying. An ornate lamp can perform its duty just as well as a plain one. It's all about adding your style to your dorm room.

Remember to always keep your dorm room clean.

See what we have in our school furniture collection here

Author

Erhu Amreyan,

A guest contributor on HOG Furniture, a freelance writer. She loves to read and she loves to write.

Her shorts stories have appeared in Brittlepaper, Kalahari review, and in two anthologies.