10 ways to breathe new life into your home

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Do you ever have days where you look around your home and feel full of frustration? I do. A LOT. Every summer when the sun is shining it seems to highlight all the things I hate about our home, the things I wish looked a better or we’d done differently, and it always seems to highlight the areas that are starting to look passed their best, a bit drab, or simply need some extra love and attention.

Unfortunately we don’t have a huge budget to rennovate our entire house, however there are some quick and easy ways to breathe new life into your home, without breaking the bank.

Spring Clean – you can’t beat having a really good Spring clean, and I have to admit that whilst the prospect of starting the job doesn’t fill me with joy, the pride and feeling of satisfaction when its all looking clean and fresh makes it definitely worth the effort.
Check out your Windows – the windows not only affect how much air you let in, but how much heat you maintain, particularly important in the winter months. For uPVC windows walsall offers companies such as Leamore Windows, that can install uPVC windows at a competitive price. New windows can ensure there are less drafts, and become far more economical by ensuring less wasted energy too. With us all trying to be a little bit more sustainable, insulating your homes in this way is definitely worth the initial investment.
Sort Out / Declutter / Charity – With the girls having so many toys and family being very generous on birthdays and at Christmas, coupled with the fact we are lucky enough to get a lot of toy reviews, we certainly seem to accumulate a lot of STUFF. We now have a one in one out policy, where everytime they get something new we take an old toy that they no longer play with to the charity shop or donate it to someone who needs it more than we do. We also have a 6 monthly declutter, sorting through our copious storage boxes and deciding whether to keep, store away in the loft, recycle or donate. More recently we started using Whirli, a sustainable toy subscription service, to reduce the amount of new toys coming into our home.
Curtains and Blinds – We have very dark curtains in our living room and I absolutely hate them, always feeling that the room looks darker than it needs to be. We are currently considering investing in some shutters or venetian blinds, which I hope will be lighter and enable more natural light to enter our home.
Carpet Cleaning – with two young children, our carpets have seen more than their fair share or spills and splashes and as a result, there are some minor stains on the heavy usage areas. Investing in a professional carpet clean or buying a carpet cleaner to do it yourself at home can have an almost instantaneous freshening effect, bringing back that just fitted feeling.
Rearrange furniture – don’t underestimate the power of simply moving some of your furniture around. We recently did a complete reshuffle of the bed and storage within Neve’s nursery, and despite removing nothing, it seems to have created the illusion of so much more space!
Lick of paint – Every so often, its good to accept that the walls will need a quick lick of paint. If you opt in the scrub down paints they are far more hard wearing when you have children in your home, meaning that any accidental scuffs or drawing (tut tut) can be wiped off easily without needing to repaint the entire wall.
Plants – Plants are a fantastic way to add life to your home (quite literally) and release oxygen which can help enhance your overall mood and wellbeing. I love our giant spider plant which looks amazing in the corner of our lounge.
Play with light – Mirrors are a quick and easy was of creating the illusion of space, reflecting the light and making rooms appear bigger and brighter than they may be in reality.
Add a splash of colour – If you sofa is starting to look a bit drab, adding some bright and colourful scatter cushions can inject some brightness into your room, and become a better focal point.