Image from Christmas Stock Images

It's less than a week until Christmas, and you've probably had your decorations up for at least a couple of weeks now. Sparkly tinsel wrapped around the banister; festive shapes hanging from the ceiling; the colourful cards from old friends; and, of course, a beautiful Christmas tree, decked out with dazzling decorations.

But while every home in the country is currently glowing with festive cheer, the gardens of Britain look decidedly less merry. Very few people bother with the garden when they're doing their Christmas decorating, and since December is a pretty cruel month for outdoor spaces anyway, your back yard probably doesn't look all that inviting right now.

So why not give it a makeover? A little decorative elbow grease will do wonders for your barren winter garden, turning into a cosy Christmas wonderland in no time.

Don't worry - you don't have to go to such topiarific lengths as this!

The festive period is very much in full swing, and there's still plenty of time left for you to decorate the garden and enjoy the results. Here are a few tips for the perfect Yuletide outdoor space...

Use tinsel, and lots of it!
Tinsel is perhaps the ultimate Christmas decoration, and its versatility makes it ideal for doing up the garden. Strew it anywhere it will stay - on branches, in between poles, wrapped around tree trunks, in amongst flowers...

Any tree can be a Christmas tree!
Very few UK gardens will contain a genuine pine or fir, but who says that they're the only trees that can be Christmas trees? If you've got a little sapling in your back garden, there's no reason why you can't decorate it with baubles and other ornaments.

Light it up!
Nothing will give your garden that warm glow like a set of fairy lights. If you can't find anywhere to plug them in, you can get battery-powered fairy lights that are much more versatile.

No matter how you decorate your home and garden this December, we hope you have a very merry Christmas indeed!

Porcelain Paving unsurprisingly specialises in supplying beautiful porcelain paving slabs to transform your home both inside and out, but we understand that occasionally people might like to take their designs that extra step to complete the look. Though our beautiful range of Out 2.0 porcelain tiles are the perfect finishing touch to both outdoor and indoor areas of the home, we strive to offer all we can to help our customers achieve their dream home.

 One of our additional decorative products is the option to insert a stunning Glass Balustrade System on to your patio. A balustrade is a series of reinforced glass panels connected by sleek stainless steel posts. When added to your porcelain paved patio, a glass balustrade can provide a stunning finish and air of sophistication to your home. As well as being aesthetically pleasing, a glass balustrade also doubles as a safety measure by fencing your patio or roof terrace in, which is so important if you have young children or simply wish to protect your home, in style of course!

Glass balustrades sit along the edge of your balcony, roof terrace or patio and frame the space in a chic and modern way. It can provide a stunning division between the grass and tiled area of your garden and offers a unique look to your garden.

At Porcelain Paving we can provide the perfect glass balustrade for your outdoor design and can even include a handrail with your glass balustrade system. Our glass panels are made with ultra-strong 10mm glass and corrosion-resistant stainless steel, so your stunning balustrade system will never lose its gorgeous appearance. Combined with your stain-resistant and scratch-resistant porcelain paving tiles, your outdoor space will be transformed into a haven of timeless beauty.

If you’d like more information about glass balustrade systems, our team are on hand to answer any questions on 029 2080 3756 or via email at info@primaporcelain.co.uk. 

Along with the planning, designing, and constructing of a building, architects are also very much interested in how it will look afterwards. Not just in terms of structural integrity, but in terms of a more artistic view of beauty. Patio slabs play an important role in the overall appearance of a building; not only can they be used as indoor flooring, but the role they play in the outside area is particularly crucial.

The reason we say this is because your slabs will take centre-stage outdoors, what with there being fewer décor-distractions in a garden than indoors. This definitely puts an added pressure on really nailing the outdoor flooring, and this is where Porcelain Paving comes in! Architects really want to make a statement every time they complete a property, and our patio slabs allow them to do this!

Our manufacturers have the technological ability to make beautiful patio slabs that retain all the benefits of porcelain. Using various techniques we can recreate the identical shades, tones, and finish you get with the most desirable of stone paving slabs. As they are man-made though you also get a precision, consistency, and engineered-feel that you won’t find with natural stones. This all makes our patio slabs a very tantalising offer for the style-savvy architect!

It is not just a ‘statement’ property that could benefit from using porcelain; they may sound like a specialised material to some, but as we explained earlier they are made to look like more recognisable forms of flooring. These patio slabs have a large scope for application in landscape architecture, whether it to be to grace the patio of a traditional property, or to adorn the balcony of a minimalist apartment. The range of colours we stock caters to all styles and tastes – meaning no slab has been left unturned.

It’s looking good for our architects: in porcelain they have a slightly more interesting proposition than bog-standard stone; these slabs have the aesthetic-merit to match the finest of stone, with a reassurance you only get from hi-tech manmade materials. And we haven’t even got to the best bit yet – these tiles are going to carry on looking their best!

It’s all very well having beautiful patio slabs laid, but if in a short time their finish becomes blotted by water damage and stains, your efforts have been wasted. Where we think architects will really take favour with our paving is with its strength and durability. Due to the high temperatures it’s baked at, along with it being impervious to water, and the increased thickness of an already strong material, our porcelain is strong enough to be used in commercial areas – even those subjected to heavily pedestrianized foot-traffic! In a residential property our slabs are going to keep looking pristine for an age – this means the architect’s vision can enjoy some serious longevity!

Architects will enjoy the alluring-aesthetics of our porcelain slabs, along with their versatile range. They’ll also be won over by the quality and durability, meaning you both can enjoy this beautiful flooring for years to come.

One of the best things about the internet - and social media websites in particular - is the astounding ease with which budding designers can now find and share good ideas. Everybody's tweeting about their new-look living room, pinning pictures of their gorgeous new garden, and selling their upcycled furniture creations on Etsy. No matter what kind of project you're working on, inspiration is never more than a few clicks away.

We at PrimaPorcelain couldn't resist getting in on the sharing game. You'll find us on all the major social media platforms, but we have to say that we're especially besotted with Pinterest at the moment. We're particularly proud of our Garden Ideas board, packed as it is with inspiring little treats that we've collected from around the web. Here's a small sample of what we've come across...

Source: Completely Coastal

If you grow your own vegetables, you'll most likely want to use markers to remind yourself of which patch is which. These seaside-themed markers have been painted a beautiful, beachy blue colour and decorated with seashells and starfish shapes. Take a trip to your local rock pool and see what you can find!

Source: Hannah Tomlinson

There are loads of unusual flower containers to be found on our Garden Ideas board, but this image is a little different, using traditional pots but displaying them in an original way. An old wooden stepladder makes it easy to create eye-catching arrangements, and it looks attractively rustic in its own right! 

Source: The Berry 

Still, if you want the container itself to be quirky and cool, how about this image? It encapsulates an 'anything goes' approach to planting, using boxes, baskets, ornate drawers, and even a hollowed-out acoustic guitar as planters!

Source: Porcelain Paving

Okay, we'll admit to being a little self-centred here. This photo is taken from our very own website, but in our defence, this is a pretty great garden idea - matching your outdoor space to the look of your indoor space is sure to yield sensational results!

We're very keen on creating beautiful, unique gardens here at PrimaPorcelain - that's why we're so attached to our porcelain garden paving, and that's why you should follow us on Pinterest if you like original garden ideas.