Realistic styling resolutions - a quick guide to things you can actually achieve this weekend

It's coming to the end of the first week back at work since the Christmas holidays - and you are more than likely lacking in motivation. It’s January the whole world expects you to be suddenly drinking kale smoothies, doing squats and pushups whilst downsizing your belongings, learning Japanese and how to shampoo a shitzu whilst juggling one handed. Or some such silliness.

I say marvellous - if that’s your burning desire - however it's more than likely it's not. You will begin to notice a regularly occurring theme here at Morticia Olga towers - one that will most definitely apply here. That is - making your home look the way you want is a brilliant, healthy and important thing. Your surroundings are so very important to your well being, your mental and emotional health and we believe so passionately about this we shall shout it from the roof tops. So, this year make this your resolution!

So let us get to it… what do you really need in January? We would say … inspiration, a bit of energy and a lot of comfort- just in time for the ‘cold’ and ‘grey’ to envelop you.

Here is a little list of four things you could do - with a small amount of work - to help your home work a little for you and give you something to smile and get excited about this weekend ( and hopefully the rest of January too!)

Dinning room chairs painted by myself and recovered with fabric design by Harriet Popham

• Upcycle something - You've spent a fortune at christmas why spend more? For the cost of small pot of paint you can cheer up your surroundings in no time. Find something in your home you think might be slightly unloved or shabby and give it a new life. Be it your dinning table that needs a lick of paint or the storage box that holds all your old photos that can be decoupaged with images you love, a foot stool to be recovered or a bunch of your favourite band t-shirts with holes in them ( which can be made into a quilt). If you want to spend just this weekend doing it maybe go for something small and something you spend a lot of time looking at - that way when you are hibernating for the rest of the month you will get an immediate sense of satisfaction from seeing/ using this thing of beauty you have made! If you fancy something that will become more of a project for the month then go for broke make that quilt, paint the whole set of dinning chairs - then sit back and feel proud as punch.

For example a cosy Mindful spot in the front room next to the bookshelf, and is well lit and quiet (before the room was repainted a darker colour to make it even more cosy)

• Create a mindful spot - we all need a space in our home we can just relax, breath and appreciate the now, let go of your worries and needs of others for a while. It’s often said we should all make an appointment with ourselves and to do this every day if possible. So, what better than making a little cocoon to make happy in? I'm a book lover so would make a cosy spot in the corner of my living room with tonnes of cool cushions, a nice light, maybe a candle in an attractive holder, a soft blanket a little side table and a foot stool - making sure I drank my tea from that mug or cup you always save for ‘best’ but then never use! You might want to lie on the floor and draw, write, listen to music or the silence around you. Whatever is your thing make sure your mindful spot is comfy, somewhere you can separate yourself from anyone you live with, full of your favourite colours and that there is a place to put your favourite beverage.

Where you place your knick nacks, art and furniture can change the feel of the room here is the display in our master bedroom

• Give the room you use the most a new lease of life - interior styling and design doesn't have to involve spending tonnes of money or having the latest thing. Think of how you feel when you get home after a long day you want to see a welcoming, inspiring positive space to spend your down time in. The best way to do this is just move the room around - spend a couple of hours moving the furniture around to new positions and see how the room changes and feels better. Take cushions, tables, vases you have come to over look from other rooms and put them in the room your are working on. Swap any art on the wall, add some more lamps - give the room a new lease of life.

Beginning to organise our photo wall - love having photos of the people we care about printed up and framed

• Bring the world to you - if you cannot go out this month as you have spent all your pennies on Christmas or you generally get affected by the weather. Why not remind yourself of the things and places you love by framing photographs. Your home will never really be yours unless you ‘totally own it” by which we don't mean have a crippling mortgage but in fact by 'putting' yourself into it. A beautifully designed interiors scheme, with amazing colour and textures is one thing but it can look a little like a hotel - photographs can change this. You don't have to spend a fortune on frames either reuse ones you already have, buy from a range of cheaper retailers like Wilko’s, Poundland, Tiger and the supermarkets of course. Or, go to your local charity shops they often have gorgeous frames ( with awful pictures in! that you can remove) for next to nothing. Pop in your photos maybe print some of your social media accounts or use old ones from your childhood and either make a photo wall or place them in prominent parts of your home - places you will be able to see them everyday. There are so many creative things you can do with photographs but just to start with a simple collection of framed photos can remind you of the joys of life and give your home that personal touch.

Whatever you do this weekend we hope it's positive, creative and adds a little of yourself to your interior style. Let's resolve to make 2016 the year your house becomes a home!

#newyear #interiorstyling #makingyourhouseahome #homedecor #homeorganisation #mentalhealth #happyhome