What better time than now to take pleasure in your home, and to find fresh joy in familiar spaces? ‘Making Living Lovely’ authors Russell Whitehead and Jordan Cluroe offer simple tips to brighten your home in minutes.
Create space – in your mind and in your cupboards
Find comfort in your cupboards. We are not talking about food, but about going through your storage space to reacquaint yourself with things you may have forgotten about, to reassess things you may no longer need in your life, and to organize the space you have to help calm your mind.
Colour your life
Add much-needed joy with simple changes that will make you see your space in different ways and help you to find newness in your space. There is good reason for the old saying, ‘a change is as good as a rest’, and right now it is good to avoid a rut by refreshing the way your space makes you feel. We all have the odd tin of paint or some sample pots hidden away – and if you don’t, there are still paint delivery services out there. Make the most of the situation, inexpensively and relatively easily, by painting a room or a ceiling. You could even make a statement artwork using leftover sample pots.
Curate your favourite pieces
A home is always evolving, and although we may be inside now more than we are used to, you can keep things moving forward by changing displays and taking time to curate your things. Art, ceramics, photos, books, plants: all will give you some freshness if you display them in new combinations. We have favourite objects in our own home, but we keep the love for them alive by stashing them out of sight every so often, so that when we bring them back out, we love them all the more. Having a space to store pieces you love can be great, because each time you get a new plant or some cut flowers, it presents an opportunity to bring out some old favourites that were hidden away.
Change the pace in each space
It’s hard right now not to get bored or frustrated in your space, whether you are working from home, home schooling, cooking or simply relaxing. It’s a good idea to try to keep certain spaces for certain things. Don’t work in bed or in your living room. Try to have designated areas for work and play and relaxation. This may seem pointless given the situation, but it will help you to have places you can escape to so that you don’t feel overwhelmed with too much of one thing. Make your relaxation space particularly cosy. Keep your work space particularly organized and vibrant, perhaps with colour additions. Pack the play area full of inspiring things!
Words by Russell Whitehead and Jordan Cluroe