Caring For Your Palms

Life in a Spanish villa wouldnt be the same without the gardens surrounding them. The climate is perfect for outdoor activities, bbqs in the outdoor kitchens or refreshments under the palms.

Make sure you keep your palms well maintained though. The glorious pre-historic looking beauties need a little love to thrive in your Spanish garden. First and foremost they need proper soil, if you are planting new ones get expert advice on obtaining the perfect match between palms and your soil. Second, they need trimming – hire a gardener to do it professionally or set a weekend aside to get all the bottom layers sawed off. It keeps the palm looking nice and healthy.

Lastly, look out for the pesky infectious intruders killing palms all over Spain. If you see sudden deterioration in your palms health, get it sprayed immediately to kill off the leeches feeding on it till it dies.

Protecting your family, friends and garden furniture from harmful UV rays

As many of us know, summers in Spain are wonderful. The sea is warm and the pool is inviting. The skies are cloudless and vibrant blue. The restaurants are full of atmosphere and there is a buzz of excitement all along the Costas. Our friends and families travel from their homes to visit us and we know that having an afternoon siesta is something that we simply ‘must’ do!

The problem is that we often spend so much time enjoying the fun and relaxation, we forget to take care of ourselves and our loved ones. We all know that if we stay in the sun for too long we are damaging our skin, or worse, but we only tend to remember these things when it is too late. Prevention is always better than cure and the best prevention for sunburn and possible skin cancer is to keep out of direct sunlight by heading to the shade.

A modern way of protecting ourselves at home is to install shade sails. Shade sails are perfect for Spain and they are the absolute best way of protecting yourself, your loved ones and your possessions from the harmful effects of the blazing Spanish sun. The modern, attractive and high quality custom shade sails supplied by Coolashade Shade Sails Spain offer up to 98% UV protection whilst at the same time keeping the occupants underneath cool and refreshed. This is due to the clever way that shade sails are designed and installed. Air is allowed to flow beneath the shade sail meaning that you can relax, free from worry, whilst a cooling breeze passes around you.

Unlike other shading solutions such as metal or plastic roofs, shade sails don’t heat up the air beneath it. The highly developed HDPE fabric cloth that Coolashades are made from is well-proven in Australia, its country of origin, and this superior material has been UV stabilized to give it an incredibly long life in direct sunlight.

Nowadays there are many sellers of shades sails in Spain, but those supplied by Coolashade are a far superior quality to those sold by other vendors, in Chinese shops or those available from garden centres. This applies to both the cloth used and the construction of the fixtures and fittings. Many cheaper shade sail products might last one season, but by the second they are faded, looking worn, and the fixtures are beginning to rust or tarnish. With such an important investment for your home like a shade sail, not only should the best quality be chosen but it is vital that the shade sail be installed professionally by experts. Not only are the Coolashade Spain installers very professional, they are also courteous, clean and efficient.

A shade sail is a very attractive addition to your home and it can be said that they add both beauty and value to your property, whilst at the same time protecting your other items of value, such as cars, furniture and other exterior products. People are the most important things worth protection and it is reassuring to see a new shade sail or two supplying life-saving shade to your children and family, not only for this summer season but for the following season, and the one after that, and the one after that…

Forward thinking businesses have also discovered the benefits of shade sails and they can now be found in Spain in plant nurseries, school playgrounds, social areas and bars, cafés and restaurants.

Shade sails come in a wide variety of colours and sizes and those manufactured by Coolashade can be seen by visiting their website at www.coolashade.com and you can contact them on email at info@coolashade.com. Alternatively you can speak to Coolashade directly now by calling 697 571 248.

Spanish Villas with IKEA Furniture

Spanish villas are ideal for furnishing with IKEA furniture fresh from the warehouse in Murcia. The furniture shopping on Spanish soil for Swedish designer goodies is a relatively new option and still trendy enough that the warehouses of IKEA Spain are often severely congested, have sold out items on backorder and similar nuisances.

Dont let it stop you. The IKEA furniture is still the ideal choice with its light and elegant designs, that match the style of Spanish villas so perfectly. You can order the furniture and accompanying decorations for delivery all over the Costa Blanca and Costa Calida by using the IKEA Spain delivery service and assembly facilities.

Basically. You order what you want from the catalog via the delivery company. They bring it to your Spanish home, assemble it all and put it in place. It couldnt be easier.

Furnishing Spanish Holiday Villas

The summer is here, the sun is shining, and the colors of the Costa Blanca are so vibrant again. Our beloved Mediterranean is those wonderful azure blues and turquoises. It’s the time we all rediscover one of the main reasons for coming here to Spain.

It’s also time to think of last minute updates to our holiday rental properties if you own one. Using your property for holiday lets is a great way to make money here on the Costa Blanca and Costa Calida. In the old days, pre-recession, it was easy. Put the villa/apartment with an agent and watch the money roll in. However, discerning ‘guests’ are not so easy to come by nowadays, and heaven forbid, are being extremely choosy about where they stay. It’s all about facilities, the look and how much etc. We have heard of villas which have only managed 2 weeks rentals last year, hardly enough to pay the expenses. Those properties will struggle even more this year as the numbers of properties available for rent rises.

When you actually look at some of these properties on-line, you begin to see the reason for the problems of getting a good rental season. Many are just not up to scratch with decorations or furniture. Many still have the old heavy Spanish style tables and chairs and have broken sofa beds and those short Spanish beds, which are very uncomfortable for big fellows like me. One I went to recently had broken light fittings and holes in the walls which needed repairing! It’s sad that owners take so little care.  They are selling the dream of a nice holiday in a perfect villa in Spain. That requires decorations and Spanish furniture of high standard to match the gorgeous villas and the aspirations of the holidaymakers!

It’s not good enough! Many holiday rental agents who guarantee a level of rent for the season, are passing out ultimatums to their owners – update or sorry, we can’t handle your villa any more. This is where easy flatpax come to the rescue. We deal direct with owners, and through holiday rental agents and we can advise on refurnishing completely or partially and can work within all types of budget. We provide an Ikea delivery and assembly service from their store in Murcia, direct to the property. We deal in Spanish, and expat owned properties of all types and can advise on suitable furniture which will look good, and all importantly, last a long time.

We also shop for smaller Ikea products such as soft furnishings, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom items. Ikea Spain is known for great value for money and we can’t think of anywhere better to buy your furniture. Driving to Murcia is stressful and if you don’t live in Spain, impossible. Let us remove all the worry for you so you can be one step ahead of your competition, and enjoy a good return on your investment

Spanish Sun Loungers

The price of sun loungers are relatively high in Spain .. I guess the demand is always there, as nothing is more relaxing than a siesta in the sun on a comfortable sun lounger. However, do not be tempted to cut a corner and buy yourself new sun loungers in a Chinese Bazaar or a discount supermarket. The sun in Spain is easily vicious enough to destroy low quality products quickly and you don´t really want your sun loungers lurking in the shade, do you?

The problem with discount sun loungers is that whilst cheap to buy, you are also getting discount materials and lower end plastics deteriorate and crumble in the burning sun, the fabrics fade and dissolve and the assembly is often done by too fragile bits … which means one day it will just fall apart and that day may come quicker than you think.

A similar problem is apparent for second hand sun loungers found in “previously owned” commercial shops and charity outfits. Whilst it is nice to support the latter, doing so by buying sun loungers is rarely a good idea. Firstly, you dont actually know where the lounger came from – unless you specifically recognize it and as such you might be buying a flimsy Chinese bazaar model that has already been exposed to the hazards of the Spanish weather. Secondly, even the highest quality sun loungers do not last forever in Spain and you need to be an expert to tell if the plastic it is made of is in perfect condition or just about to crumble.

The best thing to do when searching out sun loungers in Spain is to head away from the tourist areas and the shops catering mainly expatriates. Find a nice furniture store inland a bit or drive down to IKEA Murcia for a huge selection of quality ones.  These shops are all significantly cheaper than the tourist shops and much higher quality than the Chinese Bazaars in Javea

Garden Designs in Spain

Spain has the perfect climate for exciting layouts of your garden. Palms and other exotic plants grow naturally in the warm Spanish weather and plenty of residential plots have little tweaks and corners that make for wonderful gardening opportunities.

Tips and tricks for getting garden palms:

• Garden Centers sell fully grown palms
• Place your palms wisely, they will throw giant shadows over the pool and other plants
• Do not buy palms without getting advice on the type and soil it grows in (some prefer sand for instance)
• Get the best value by buying palms at garden centers away from tourist areas

Palms are the spice that perfect your Spanish garden. Use them wisely and research before buying to ensure you get palms that will thrive in your specific soil.