How to style a chic Easter dining table

How to style a chic Easter dining table blog

Pink and blue Easter themed dining table

Are you hosting a casual spring lunch or a formal Sunday dinner this Easter? Styling your rustic dining table can sometimes leave you short of ideas when there are so many seasonal decor trends about. Whether you prefer a minimalist spread with subtle Easter accents or a solid wood dining table that’s full of character and colour, these styling tips will help you find your theme and impress your loved ones this bank holiday.

5 Chic ways to style your dining table this Easter

1. Pretty Pastels

pastel painted eggs and natural linen cloth on rustic dining table

To achieve a fresh and joyful spread, pastels are your go-to this Easter. Think soft-hued pinks, purples, greens and yellows when styling your reclaimed wood dining table. To create the foundation, consider a light grey fabric cloth to draw attention to the pretty pastels and add a contemporary edge to the spread. Alternatively, if you have whitewash rustic furniture, white will also effortlessly complement the decor. For your centrepiece, choose dainty spring flowers such as pink and white tulip arrangements to make beautiful focal points of your spread whilst harmonising with the rest of the table. If you want to keep it minimalist, you can create a monochromatic style table using one or two pastels and by layering your plates to mix and match the different hues. For an ‘egg-citing’ touch, finish your table using pastel egg cups as candle holders or trail a pastel egg garland winding through the centre of your tabletop.

blue dinner plates and Easter decorations on wooden dining table

2. Look to Nature

Not all Easter spreads have to be sweet and conventional, you can adopt a neutral colour palette and incorporate elements of the outdoors. For a subtle take on the trend, drape faux or authentic green vines along a white table cloth runner and arrange your favourite seasonal blooms within a clear vase as the centrepiece. The detailing in the vines and exposed stems will pair perfectly with the unique markings and character of a solid oak dining table. Mount your plates upon rattan placemats and your cutlery on rumpled linen napkins to maintain this natural and raw theme. If you’re feeling adventurous, why not create your own Kokedama with an Easter twist. To make this Japanese garden art, create your own moss covered decorations using small seasonal flowers and intertwine within the vines for an earthy and untamed look. Finish with some woodland decoration including birds nests and speckled eggs to give a rugged edge.

rustic dining table with white plate and Easter decorated tablemat

hanging decorative kokedama balls

3. Sunshine Yellow

Sunny yellow oozes Spring, so why not celebrate this cheerful Easter hue when styling your Easter spread this year? For a cooler feel, consider mixing yellow with aqua blue tumblers for a coastal-style look to your table or duck egg blue embroidered napkins for more of a farmhouse feel. Fresh daffodils in blue mason jars or rustic blue watering jugs make the most beautiful centrepieces to tie this all together. You can also mix yellow with rusty or bright and bold oranges to achieve a warmer feel. Zesty Easter cakes make mouthwatering features, place on orange tiered cake stands for a centrepiece which looks as good as it tastes. To go all-out yellow this spring, our Clara dining chairs in sunset yellow with warm orange piping make the perfect fabric dining chair to elevate your table with festivity to the fullest.

daffodils and nest of painted eggs on rustic dining table

4. Vintage Charm

Vintage touches can give a magical and whimsical feel to your rustic furniture. Hand-me-down china tea sets are kitch and timeless, pair with matching or mix-and-match cutlery to create a magical and enchanting look. Alternatively, a vintage drinks cooler to chill the beverage of your choice is also a charming option. When choosing your centrepiece, think outside the box. Vintage bird cages, or old-fashioned scales topped with floral painted eggs will create a captivating Alice in Wonderland feel to your reclaimed wood dining table which is bound to spark a conversation. For the maximalists amongst you, finish the scheme with antique trinkets such as pre-loved salt and pepper shakers or grandmas condiment jars.

vintage bird cage filled with pained eggs on rustic dining table

5. Glorious Gold

If you prefer to steer away from bold and bright colours of spring, but want something sparkling, gold will add a layer of luxury to your table whilst maintaining a celebratory feel. Bring in subtle gold accents, such as details on neutral plates, napkins and placemats to evoke glamour and opulence without appearing gaudy. Glorious gold accents can also elevate your seating with goldembellished cushions or throws adding a sophisticated touch together with an element of comfort to a wooden dining bench. For your table centrepiece, opt for something a little unconventional and chic, such as multi tea light holders or for a more traditional touch, opt for serene white lilies styled in a slim and elegant gold vase.

reclaimed wood dining table with gold bunny rabbit ornament

Get more Easter inspiration for your home…

How to make your outdoor furniture last longer and look great

How to make your outdoor furniture last longer

After two years of us all spending more time (and money) in our gardens, outdoor furniture such as teak furniture is as popular as ever – and with very good reason. It is very hard wearing, perfect to tolerate our ever-changing British weather and with these garden furniture care tips, you can keep your outdoor sofa set, your teak garden furniture and your patio bistro set looking great for years to come. rattan garden sofa set

Protect your outdoor furniture from the elements

The weather is your main enemy when it comes to outdoors. Protect your furniture from the elements and cover your outdoor dining table and chairs when not in use – we recommend investing in a well-fitting cover or a thick and secure waterproof sheeting. Over winter when you are not very likely to be using your furniture for long periods of time, check the cover for any holes and tears, or if you have space in a shed, garage or even a conservatory, store it indoors for the cold and wet months – much as we don’t like extreme weather your garden furniture is the same!

No matter what your garden furniture is made from, be that bamboo, rattan or hardwood, it will not like extreme cold. Cold and ice will affect the strength of it over time. If water gets into the furniture, it will expand as it freezes and start to break down the materials, so it is best to get it into a dry area and out of harm’s way before the temperatures get below zero.

teak garden table with wooden garden chairs

Keep it clean

Just as you would your reclaimed wood furniture indoors, it is important to remove dust and dirt from your PE rattan furniture and teak outdoor furniture regularly, this will stop dirt from becoming ingrained and built up over time. Dirt and dust are also abrasive and will weaken or fray areas as it is rubbed in during use.

Simple cleaning steps….

  • Sweep dirt, debris and leaves off your outdoor bench, outdoor sofa set or outside table and chairs using a soft brush. Don’t forget to pay attention to the corners and underneath the benches and chairs.
  • Use a vacuum cleaner to clean inside hard-to-reach areas within the weave of the furniture.
  • After you have removed as must dust and dirt as possible, you can give your garden furniture a wash down – a warm and breezy day is perfect for this. Wash everything down with warm soapy water using a light washing powder or fabric conditioner.
  • It is much better to allow your furniture to dry in a shadier area – if it is in direct sun, it could dry out too quickly.
  • However tempting, never use a jet wash to clean your outdoor furniture – the pressure could be too high and you could end up damaging it.
  • Regularly cleaning your patio table and chairs will keep them looking great and in tip-top condition.

rattan garden sun loungers with off white cushion

Don’t forget garden cushions

Garden cushions on an outdoor corner sofa set ensure you get comfort as well as good looks! Most of these are covered in water resistant fabric – these should be fine during a shower …..but they are waterproof not downpour proof! So to keep them looking as good as possible and help them to last as long as possible it really is best to keep them undercover or bring them indoors during changeable British weather – just make sure they a fully dry to avoid any mold or mildew build-up.

Storing tip: place a couple of tumble dry sheets between the cushions when you store them for winter. It will help keep them smelling fresh before you get them back out for spring.

You can also treat the cushions with an outdoor fabric protector to help protect them from not just rain, but spills and any other other marks.

See our fabulous new Outdoor Furniture collection and make your garden, patio or balcony a stunning space to relax in.

How to spring clean your home fast: a cheat’s guide to cleaning

How to spring clean your home fast: a cheat's guide to cleaning

It’s a dirty job but at this time of year, the annual Spring clean is a “must” if you want your home and beautiful reclaimed wood furniture to look sparklingly fresh when the sun starts streaming through your (newly cleaned) windows. This guide is for those who hate cleaning and want to get their spring clean done and dusted FAST!

woman cleaning television for How to spring clean your home fast: a cheat's guide to cleaning blog post

Tips to speed clean your spring clean

1. Declutter as you go along

We think this is one of the key elements to keep on top of all the housework and avoid an overwhelming clean-up as the seasons change. Our first and most important recommendation is to make decluttering a way of life. When we spoke with professional organiser, Vicky Silverthorn of You Need a Vicky, she said one the easiest changes you can make in your home and life to is to learn to live with less. This makes decluttering easy and quick work.

You don’t need to do this alone – get the kids helping with this! Set the timer for 15 minutes and clear and put away as much as you can in the time. Do this every evening or at least a few evenings during the week and you’ll really notice the difference.

woman in messy living room with hands on her head for how to spring clean your home fast blog

2. Start in the most used rooms first

When friends pop over, most of the time you walk through the hallway and head straight into the kitchen or living room, possibly with a quick visit to the bathroom. So, we suggest you spend the majority of your cleaning time in the rooms that get the most use from you and your guests. In the living room, remove the cushions from your sofa and vacuum under the seats to clean away all those crumbs that seem to accumulate between the seats. Next, give cushions a good plumping and neatly fold any throws – this only takes a few minutes, yet will instantly freshen your living room. In addition, quickly dust the surfaces of your rustic coffee table or wooden side table, so they gleam when the sun shine on them.

close up of reclaimed wood sideboard with bronze plant pot

In the kitchen or dining space, straighten any items standing on your rustic sideboard and clear away any clutter that has built up on the corner of your worktop or corner of your reclaimed wood dining table. Another trick is to polish the taps, kettle, toaster and any other metal accents and details to make the space instantly sparkle!

Top tip – always dust the highest pieces of furniture first so that any dust fall down to the floor. For wooden furniture, including reclaimed wood furniture, you should only use a damp cloth to dust with as this will actually pick up the dust rather than spread it around or waft it back into the air. You can also gently vacuum the surfaces with a soft brush attachment to remove dust and particles.

Finish with a quick vacuum to make the room look fresh and clean.

3. Make the beds

Making the bed in bedrooms is one of the oldest and quickest tricks to helping the room looking tidy! You can have the most gorgeous solid wood bed but it will always look a mess if the bed sheets and covers are a crumpled mess. Therefore, make this one of the first jobs every day. Not only is it a positive way to start the day, it’s also much nicer to get into a made bed at the end of the day rather than climb into a tangle of sheets, helping you get the best night’s sleep.

rustic wooden bed frame with grey covers

4. Clean windows

Clean windows will do wonders for your space. Nothing looks worse than a tidy room with the sun trying to pour through dirty windows. According to Caroline Forte, Director of Good Housekeeping Institute Cleaning Lab, you only need to clean your windows once or twice a year. Tackle the job room by room and start with those you use more regularly.

Top tip: Forte suggests wiping one side the window horizontally and the other vertically so if any streaks form, you can easily see if they’re on the inside or outside.

5. Reduce the number of ornaments

reclaimed wood sideboard with single vase and bowl

Check your reclaimed wood shelving, tabletops and surfaces and keep only those ornaments you need, love or use on a daily basis. Ornaments really are dust collectors and often come with irregular shapes that are tricky to wipe down. Keep a few select items you love or need – this really will help keep your cleaning time down. Another option is to keep your decorative pieces in a wooden display cabinet with glass doors to make it harder for the dust to get to things.

Looking for more spring cleaning tips? Take a look at our Inspiration & Ideas and make sure you visit Modish Living to discover all the storage furniture you need.

Top tips to keep your home clean and dust free

Woman dusting mirror for Top tips to keep your home clean and dust free blog

We all want to live in a clean house, but don’t want to spend our lives dusting our reclaimed wood furniture or with a duster or vacuum in our hands, so here we look at easy ways to minimise the amount of dust that gets into your home and the best ways to actually get rid of it rather than just moving it around.

4 Easy ways to keep your home dust free

women wearing gloves cleaning wooden furniture

Keeping the house dust-free can feel like a never ending job, don’t you think? No matter how many times you run the vacuum cleaner around or dust a surface there always seems to be a missed bit or even new dust appearing from seemingly nowhere.

Household dust is made up of a variety of minuscule airborne particles that settle on floors and surfaces of your rustic furniture. It’s mostly made up of particles that are bought into the home from outside – dirt carried in on shoes, pollen, soot etc. The rest consists of human skin (gross, right?!), clothes fibres, carpet fluff and things such as pet hair. When you look at it like that, you really don’t want it hanging around your lovely home, especially if you have asthma or allergies.

1. Carpets and textiles

brown leather sofa with blue cushion and blanket

Carpets and rugs are the most guilty of floor coverings for holding on to dust, but dust is also held in many other fabrics, such as scatter cushions, throws on couches, bed throws on your chunky wooden bed frames and also lampshades. These items all need cleaning quite regularly, it is recommended that fitted carpet is steam cleaned every 12 months or so, as well as regular vacuuming, of course. Rugs can be taken out into the fresh air and beaten more regularly to remove dust and any other particles, whilst blankets and cushion covers can be removed and washed either by hand or the washing machine – remember to check washing instructions before doing anything. Another dust and dirt magnate is the doormat! Give it a good vacuum and clean at least once a week as this is where the most dirt will be trapped.

2. Hard flooring

white sofa and wooden floor and large house plants

This is definitely the easiest floor covering to keep dust-free. If you want to cut down on the amount of dusting time you spend, replace your carpets with a hard floor. Vacuuming can be very effective as there are no fibres to hold on to particles and any leftover dust will be picked up as and when you mop. It’s also easier to see than on carpeted floor and looks pretty stylish with any type of furniture from a rustic sideboard in the living room to an industrial dining table in your dining space.

3. General cleaning advice

close up of reclaimed wood of industrial coffee table

It may sound obvious, but when you clean your room always work from top to bottom. Start with a brush for any cobwebs on the ceiling and the corners of the room, dust higher items like a wooden bookcase first and then work down to lower items of furniture such as a rustic coffee table and finish up by vacuuming the floor – this should ensure you vacuum away as much dust as possible. Every month or so dust rooms that are not used as often, such as the spare bedroom, to save you having to do a more time consuming big clean.

TIP: Furniture polish is not always the best product to use – reclaimed wood furniture and rustic furniture is best when wiped down with a slightly damp cloth, the damp will help to remove the dust rather than spreading it around.

4. Air Purifiers

Air purifiers are a great help when it comes to filtering dust out of the air. They are able to collect all those tiny particles that the eye can’t see and release clean filtered air back into the room. Adding one could be really useful to have in the home for people who suffer from allergies or if you prefer the thought of breathing in purified air. And if it means we don’t have to dust as often, it’s a win from us!

What dusting and cleaning top tips can you share? We’d love to hear what you do in the home to keep it fresh and sparkling. Add a comment below or join us at @modishliving.

Related articles

Fun things to do with the kids over Easter

Happy Easter words on a rustic wood table with iced biscuits cut in shape of rabbits and baking utentils

Young boy at a table painting eggs for Easter

Easter is a time for new beginnings – spring is coming and life is starting to look a bit brighter after a long year. Although things are looking more promising we will still have some restrictions to abide by. With many attractions, cinemas etc. still closed, and a limit to the number of people we can see, we are looking at fun things you can do at home with the kids to keep you all occupied and happy over the Easter holidays.

Egg painting

This is fun for a whole range of ages. Get some dyes, transfers, stickers and stencils and really let the kids go to town. This is not the best activity to do around a rustic dining table as the dyes could stain the natural wood of the table; a work surface or kitchen island, covered in newspaper, is a much more sensible idea. Pull up the breakfast bar chairs for the kids and let their imaginations go wild. You can also get them to decorate their own baskets to display their creations in.

Paper daffodils in a white bunny rabbit vase

Paper flowers

Make some pretty paper spring flowers. These can be used to decorate Easter baskets, make a bouquet to stand in a vase on a reclaimed wood coffee table in the living room, or a cheery welcome on a small console table in the hallway. If you just want to add a little bit of spring to the hallway and keep the theme rustic to tie in with reclaimed wood furniture then some sprigs of spring blossom in a vase also look great!

Easter baking

Most kids love baking – we suggest some cupcakes with nests of mini chocolate eggs on top, easy to make and always look good on the Easter wood dining table! Another family favourite are plain biscuits that the kids can decorate however they choose – with hundreds and thousands, mini eggs decorative icing and so on. You can get egg shape cutters, bunny cutters, flowers and other spring theme cutters.

Rustic table with Easter bunny biscuits and baking accessories

Easter Bunny tracker

Yes, just as there is an online tracker for Santa, there is now one you can sign up to so the kids can keep track of where the Easter Bunny is on Saturday night! Gather on your large sofa and follow with an Easter movie, such as Hop!

Two children wearing bunny ears in a garden having an Easter Egg hunt

Easter egg hunt

This is classic Easter Sunday fun for the kids. This can work either in the house or if it is a nice day, in the garden. You can make up your own clues (there are plenty of ideas online) or buy a ready-to -go kit. If you are going to go it alone, get the kids crafting in the run-up to Easter and let them decorate their own collection baskets. To make the egg hunt for for all ages, get the children to find all the treats and then share out what they have found! For a healthier alternative, instead of chocolate eggs or sweets, hide small toys or gifts, such as yo-yo’s, colouring books or stickers.

It’s time to give your hallway a seasonal spruce up

Wooden bench with rattan tote bag

As we’re a whisker away from stepping into a new season, we turn our thoughts to giving those rooms that saw a lot of use over the winter a refresh. The hallway is one of those places where things always seem to accumulate during the winter months with various scarves, hats and gloves all seem to end up all strewn over the place. There may be the odd dirty scuff mark on the wall from winter wellies and the doormat may be looking a bit lifeless with wet and muddy boots wiping on it over the last few months – it sounds like this hallway could do with a quick spring makeover!.

Clear and declutter

Start by working your way through the boot mountain and pair up all those odd gloves. Maybe you can put some of the heavier coats away in a bedroom wardrobe to make a bit of space for lighter coats and leave the hallway looking less cluttered.

Wooden hallway console table with two tone painted wood panelling in dark green and light green with wicker basket on floorPhoto credit: Little Greene Paint Company

A lick of paint!

This is a great place to start – once you are back to bare walls it will completely freshen and transform the hallway. If your hallway is a little on the dark side then opt for a brightening colour, such as a yellow or green. If you have plenty of natural light flowing through a glass door then a darker colour would look fab and dramatic even if only on the bottom half of the wall. The Little Greene Paint company offer a wonderful selection of environmentally friendly paints and are sure to have just the right colour for you.

Image featuring: Fenshaw Mango Wood Storage Bench

Add some hallway storage

The hallway is the first thing everyone sees when they knock at your door, whether they step inside or chat on the doorstep. The last thing we want anyone to see is a pile of muddy shoes and boots inside the doorway! Look at some shoe storage ideas – how many shoes are often needed by the door, would a hallway bench come in handy for the little ones to sit on? If you want hidden storage then a storage bench might work or maybe open shoe storage is easier. A narrow console table is a hallway must-have – get one with some drawers to pop keys, the dog lead and other items in so they are easily found as you are dashing out the door. Leave a bit of space free so guests have somewhere to put their shoes and coat too!

Image featuring: Oasis Console Table

A few finishing touches

Once you have the basics covered you can elaborate and give your hallway a touch of personality! Add a mirror over the console table, a houseplant, some wicker storage baskets, a new doormat, a diffuser for a welcoming smell, an armchair or a selection of your favourite family photos. All of these will transform the hallway into a place you will want people to see rather than rushing them through on their way into your home.

 

How to make spring cleaning more eco friendly

Words Zero Waste on concrete background with natural cleaning products

Here at Modish Living, we love anything that helps the environment. With spring and spring cleaning just around the corner, we thought we would have a look at how we can ditch some of the chemical cleaning products we use every day and substitute with something a little more gentle on our planet. Opting for reclaimed wood furniture in your home, and especially the kitchen, is a great way to start as you don’t have to use chemicals on it – all that is needed to wipe down your dining room furniture is a soft, dry cloth.

White wooden dining table with natural top and matching chairs with white wooden desk in background

Start with non-toxic cleaning products. We are all so quick to grab a bottle of bleach or degreaser without thinking about the toxins they contain or the fact that most are in single-use plastic bottles. There are now some non-toxic cleaning product ranges available to buy, but there are many natural ingredients you already have around the home that you can use. The main ones are vinegar, lemon and bicarbonate of soda.

Whole and cut lemons with glass jar of white powder and plastic bottle of vinegar with a blue sponge

Vinegar is a great degreaser and descaler – immerse your shower head in white vinegar overnight and see the sparkling result in the morning. Vinegar is also a great thing to use to clean windows and mirrors, scrunch up some newspaper and dip into vinegar and you’re good to get cleaning that winter grime off.

Lemon gives a fresh clean scent and is a natural cleanser. Combine white vinegar with lemon – leave for a couple of weeks to infuse and you will have a beautiful smelling spray cleaner. Using lemon is also a great way to create a scouring pad for metal, just cut it and sprinkle some salt on the exposed part for an eco-friendly scourer and cleaning preparation. To keep your home smelling fresh in-between cleans, rather than air fresheners use the natural fragrance of essential oils. Get a diffuser to stand on a small side table in the living room and blend your favourite smelling essential oils to give your home a pleasant aroma.

Wooden diffuser with stream of mist and green plants in white pots in background

Ditch the disposable cleaning wipes and paper towels, it’s all too easy to grab some disposable wipes along with the grocery shopping. But for a more planet-friendly option, swap these for reuseable cleaning cloths that you can throw in the machine with your normal clothes wash. Or create cleaning rags from old clothes. If you have a few old t-shirts in your wooden wardrobe that have seen better days, rather than binning them, cut them down and use as cloths.

Another easy eco swap is to sweep the floor. There’s no need to grab the vacuum cleaner every day – you can easily sweep around floors – and to be honest, taking rugs out to beat them will most likely get them cleaner than vacuuming – they can also be left out for a bit to air and it’s a bit of a workout too!

Glass jars with purple and yellow spring flowers

Finally, reuse glass jars. Now is the perfect time to clear out the kitchen cupboards and get rid of those out of date pickles! Instead of sending the glass jars to the recycling centre, wash them out and reuse them to store food in, instead of plastic containers, or keep a few handy and try making your own pickles or jams. Why not fill some with little posies of fresh or dried flowers to pop around the house? Tie a piece of ribbon or twine around the top for a little decoration – just the right size for on bedroom side tables, a rustic dining table or on a wooden sideboard in the living room.

It’s time to get your home spring ready

Zinc milk churn full of bright pink flowers against a rustic wood background

Finally, what feels like the longest winter ever is just about over! Although we are not completely out of the woods yet it’s getting to that time when we can tentatively start thinking about spring. Outside the spring flowers are starting to show signs of life so let’s bring a bit of spring feeling into the home!

Metal milk churn filled with pink flowers against a rustic wood background

The obvious place to start is to get some spring flowers into your home whether it be daffodils, tulips or hyacinths they will all brighten the room up and lift your mood when you see them. Place flowers on a small sideboard in the living room or as a spring centrepiece on a reclaimed wood dining table, just have them somewhere where they get seen a lot!

This is also a good time to clear up and clean around the fireplace. You can probably put away some of the cosy candles and other winter warmers and replace with vases of bright flowers or dried grasses and fresh scented diffusers.

White and yellow flowers in white vase on a fireplace with gold vase and books

Clean the windows to let every bit of extra light and sunshine in. Wipe down shutters and wash curtains and nets to freshen them up and remove any dust that may have built up over the winter months. You could also get some new brighter cushions or throws for the sofa and take the opportunity to introduce a new colour into the living room.

In the kitchen, wipe down the cupboard doors and clean inside the cupboards. Take stock of what you have got in them and reorganise so you can find what you want more easily. We all have a near empty jar of pickles or chutneys sitting in our cupboards that’s past their best – clean and wash out the glass jars and reuse as small vases for flowers, tealight holders or even have a go at making your own jams and produce.

Woman wearing a checked shirt and purple rubber gloves cleaning white kitchen units

If you have a breakfast table in the kitchen you can get some new table linen and napkins to freshen the place up or look at getting some new kitchen chairs for a modern new look around the wooden table.

Wooden dining table with white painted legs and high back rattan dining chair

The bedrooms are also a great place to have an after-winter sort out! Put away some of those big winter woollies, make a space on an upper shelf of a double wardrobe to get them out of the way so you can get lighter jumpers in a more accessible place. Sort through your winter bedding and put heavy throws, blankets and quilts in a wooden blanket box at the foot of your bed. Not only does a blanket box provide plenty of handy storage but if you do need to grab an extra layer on a cooler spring night it is easy to get to. They also look fabulous sat at the foot of a wooden double bed!

Bedroom with large wooden bed, matching blanket box and double wardrobe and red rug on floor

Fall Back in Love with Your Home

Sweet home written on green card with white flowers

Close up of bunch of white flowers with home sweet home written on card

We’ve all been there and it’s more common than you think. Falling out of love with your home or feeling a little lacklustre over what it can and does offer you is a sign you need to bring back a loving feeling to it. Here are some ideas to help you see you home with a loving gaze once again.

  • Have a good ‘sort out’

You may be glad to see the spring sunshine streaming in through the window but not so much the dust and the clutter that seems to have accumulated in your home. Set time aside to de-clutter and re-purpose items. If you feel that clutter becomes a problem due to lack of storage, consider how you can improve this, such as wooden sideboards or rustic coffee table.

Reclaimed wood side board and coffee table

  • Rearrange the furniture

With clutter gone and ‘stuff’ tidied away, you may feel like now is the time to have a move around. Don’t be constrained by traditional ways of arranging furniture. For example, in the living room, don’t assume the sofas and the leather armchairs have to revolve around the TV – place them in ‘sociable’ positions instead.

Two blue and white striped sofas facing each other

  • Clean from top to bottom

It may not be your favourite pastime but, with the vigour of spring comes a wave of new energy, so ride this crest by spring cleaning from top to bottom. You’ll be surprised how cathartic it feels! As well as recycling items you no longer need, move furniture, vacuum in corners, clean the windows and give the surface of those reclaimed wood shelves a good dusting.

  • Sort out lighting in the home

There are many reasons why you may have fallen out of love with your home, even if it is only an occasional and temporary feeling. Shadow, shade and darkness contribute to a space feeling small and closed in. Layering light is the solution – ambient light for a soft, gentle glow but functional light for when you need to ‘see’. Just changing the light bulbs from bright white to soft white will make a difference and add a table lamp or floor lamp to dark corners.

Living room with cream corner sofa and three table lamps

  • Refresh the walls

Even if you haven’t got time to sand down for glossing and doing a very thorough decorating job, simply taking a brush and emulsion paint to the walls will give any room a vibrant kick. Choose light but warm shades to lighten the space and your feelings about it!

  • Artwork and photos

Surrounding ourselves with items that we find ‘nice’ or pretty is sure to help our mood and how we feel about a space. Within the ancient art of Feng Shui, there is an ethos that surrounding yourself with personal things that are uplifting will nourish your mind and soul. So get out the old family photos, invest in artwork you like and create a wall of magical memories that are personal to you.

Collection of photographs and a hat on a wall

  • Get creative

Also known as DIY, trying your hand at something new for your home can be one way of helping you fall in love again. There are thousands of ideas online but one great idea is to create a reading nook (that awkward, unused space under the stairs could work) or making a window seat complete with wooden blanket box and homemade cushions for sitting and watching the world go by. Or if you’re feeling more adventurous, how about making your bed into a four-poster style long with a piece of fabric…?

Large orange cushion on the floor