Love the Home You Are In
Home is where the heart is, as they say. It’s the bricks, mortar, and neighbourhood where you spend a great amount of time with friends and family – relaxing and unwinding after a long day at work, experiencing everyday events, and celebrating the holidays. It is the place where you can enjoy the small things in life, no matter the size of your home or the stuff you have. When life is hectic, however, it’s easy to lose sight of what home really means, so here are some simple ways to love the home you are in, even if it’s just for the time-being until you find your ideal forever home.
Embrace Lagom
Lagom is the latest lifestyle trend that is being touted as the new hygge. A Swedish proverb meaning ‘just the right amount is best’ – not too much, not too little – it is about enjoying the simple pleasures in life by harnessing those warm, fuzzy feelings of cosiness and contentment that make you love the home you are in.
Lagom is a wonderful concept of balance and moderation, often compared to the story of Goldilocks. It encourages us to be mindful of the little things, enjoy a balanced lifestyle and embrace ‘moments’, rather than focusing on extravagance, making big changes, and always reaching for more.
These principles can be applied to everything from food to work to your home. When it comes to interiors, the idea is to achieve a balance of function and beauty by de-cluttering your living spaces, bringing in new objects that make you feel happy and balanced but also serve a purpose, making the most of natural light and materials, and bringing nature indoors.
Interior lighting
The light in our homes, both natural and artificial, has an extraordinary impact on interior spaces and the way in which we respond to them. Light can affect our mood and general wellbeing, just as much as our aesthetic surroundings, so it makes sense to pay close attention to the lighting design in your home.
Wherever possible, it’s important and beneficial to make the most of natural light. When that is limited, try to maximise the light in your home by illuminating interior spaces with soft bulbs, occasional lamps, candles, and lighter paint on the walls. These types of simple lighting design choices will help you to create a wonderful ambience in your home.
Dining spaces
More than any other time of year, Christmas and New Year are when many of us spend a great deal of time in the dining room – enjoying family meals, hosting dinner parties, and celebrating the holidays with a big feast and good company.
To make the most of the dining room or dining area in your home, it’s important to make the space functional, comfortable, and aesthetically pleasing. Time spent around the dinner table should be savoured, not rushed, so try to focus on functionality first, then consider lighting, table treatments, and decorative accessories to really maximise the enjoyability of your dining experiences this winter.
Dressing your bed
The bedroom is an area that is usually neglected over the public spaces in our homes. When guests come over, the bedroom door is often swiftly closed to hide the mess within! It’s viewed as simply the place where we retreat to sleep, rather than a sanctuary of rest and tranquillity.
However, quality of sleep is directly impacted by our environment, so it’s crucial that your bedroom is tidy, comfortable, and oh so peaceful – a calming place where you enjoy spending time. So, get rid of the clutter, dress your bed like it’s going to be in a photoshoot, and keep it spick and span and all times.
Sumptuous pillows and a cosy duvet, beautiful soft linen, scatter cushions, a luxurious throw across the bottom, a cosy rug by your feet, a lamp and vase of flowers on your bedside table… heaven. The only problem is, you may struggle to get out of bed!
Bring nature indoors
Do you ever notice that flowers and plants almost always feature to some degree in home interior magazines? They make everything look brighter and happier. We may not be aware of it, but plants and flowers subconsciously lift our spirits and bring life to interior spaces.
In fact, research shows that they are really beneficial to our health, helping to improve wellbeing and reduce feelings of stress. So why not make a point of adding more plants to your home, and perhaps treat yourself to some lovely fresh flowers each week. They will cheer you up no end, make your house more beautiful, and help you to love the home you are in!
New Year, New Home?
The start of the new year is often the time when many people start to think about home improvements or buying a new property. If you are hoping to find your next home in the new year, this is a great time to start looking. The property market is thriving with many wishful buyers looking to secure their dream home, so do get in touch with us as soon as possible and we’d be delighted to help you in your quest to find your dream home.
Clyde Property is a leading independent, multiple award winning estate and letting agent with almost 30 years’ experience in selling and letting property in Scotland. Just call your local Clyde Property branch today, for friendly, impartial advice on finding your next dream home.
