How to Feel Good About Your Home This January
Spending lots of time at home? Make sure you enjoy it. These thoughtful ideas will keep the love for your abode alive
Jo Simmons
January 15, 2017
Houzz UK Contributor. I have been an interiors journalist since 1995, writing several books on design and numerous features for glossy homes mags over the years. For Houzz, I cover decorating ideas and trends and interview designers and professionals for their insights. My favourite pieces to write, though, are Houzz Tours, as I love exploring and learning about real homes. Call me curious — or nosy!
Houzz UK Contributor. I have been an interiors journalist since 1995, writing several... More
Cold weather, short days, a bank balance still reeling from Christmas. There are many reasons for staying inside in January. If you tend to go underground during the first month of the year, at least make sure your home is a worthy venue. Show it some love and it will repay you handsomely. These tips will help you enjoy your home and benefit from it too, so the month sails by on a gentle breeze of domestic bliss.
Buy fresh flowers. It may be freezing outside, but you can still bring a hint of spring into your home with fresh flowers. Choose inexpensive blooms; grow your own hyacinths, like these, indoors (by “forcing” them to flower out of season); or look for simple daffodils and tulips, which are often on sale in January.
Discover simple tips for creating a flower bouquet like a pro
Discover simple tips for creating a flower bouquet like a pro
Rearrange to get a new look. Nothing refreshes a room as cheaply and easily as simply moving things around. Shift furniture, rethink a display or swap pieces in from other rooms. Seeing familiar objects in new arrangements or locations is a great way to appreciate them anew and will remind you why you loved them in the first place.
Do a January cleanup. After you’ve put away all your holiday decorations, it’s time for a deep clean. Homes often feel messy and lived-in after the holidays, when lots of family and friends have been visiting. Clean and straighten the house, wash the bedding and be sure to vacuum up any pine needles dropped by the tree. Gather up boxes and used wrapping materials to recycle, and find homes for holiday gifts.
Take your kitchen on a health kick. If you aim to eat more healthfully in the New Year, begin by clearing out your kitchen cabinets. Ditch any out-of-date ingredients and weed out those less-healthy options and leftovers.
Keep fresh fruit and other tasty ingredients where you can see them, and store any appliances that will support your healthier lifestyle, such as a juicer or blender, within easy reach.
In this way, your home will help you feel good. In turn, that helps you feel good about your home.
Keep fresh fruit and other tasty ingredients where you can see them, and store any appliances that will support your healthier lifestyle, such as a juicer or blender, within easy reach.
In this way, your home will help you feel good. In turn, that helps you feel good about your home.
Plan for a makeover or more. Use the downtime created by short winter days and cold weather to make plans for your home in the year ahead. Imagining improvements for your rooms, from a fresh paint color to a full-blown renovation, will help you feel excited about its potential. Take time now to plan and research.
Nurture the birds. Cold winters hit garden birds hard, so give them a helping hand by feeding them frequently. Remember to leave some water out too during icy or dry periods.
Whether you have a large garden or a tiny balcony, you can still help. This will also improve the feel of your home by fostering a connection with the natural world.
Whether you have a large garden or a tiny balcony, you can still help. This will also improve the feel of your home by fostering a connection with the natural world.
Ramp up the comfort. Make your home the perfect warm, cocooning space by adding a handful of soft, new pieces. Extra pillows, a beautiful throw or a toe-tickling rug will welcome you home on a cold winter night.
Tweak the lighting. Good lighting improves the functionality and feel of any space and makes it more enjoyable to be in. Adequate lighting is particularly essential in winter, when natural light is in short supply.
Really gloomy spaces may need a thorough rethink and the services of an electrician, who can fit wall and ceiling lights. Or you may find that simply buying a new lamp or two, upping the wattage of bulbs or lighting some candles will work wonders.
Really gloomy spaces may need a thorough rethink and the services of an electrician, who can fit wall and ceiling lights. Or you may find that simply buying a new lamp or two, upping the wattage of bulbs or lighting some candles will work wonders.
Explore your collections. Spend some time reacquainting yourself with your possessions so you stop seeing them as the backdrop to your life and start actively enjoying them.
You don’t have to pare back (although you might find this inevitably happens), but spend some time exploring your collections. Dip into old photos, browse through your library, handle all your decorative pieces and display them where you can enjoy them afresh.
You don’t have to pare back (although you might find this inevitably happens), but spend some time exploring your collections. Dip into old photos, browse through your library, handle all your decorative pieces and display them where you can enjoy them afresh.
Fill your rooms with scent. Help your home appeal to all your senses and soothe away the January blues by making sure your space smells great. Light scented candles in the evening and hide a dryer sheet in every room to create a fresh but neutrally scented backdrop.
Tell us: How do you feel the love for your home during January? Share your tips in the Comments.
Read about other ways to create a feel-good home
Tell us: How do you feel the love for your home during January? Share your tips in the Comments.
Read about other ways to create a feel-good home
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Today, I had two friends over for a lunch of French Toast and hot cocoa. They stayed over an hour after we finished eating. All of us enjoyed our time together.
I go thru the winter months easier now that I've gotten completely updated with LED lighting. For the three or four foot fluorescent tubes, I've replaced with LEDs that don't require rewiring (some only work with rewiring). Lamps all have led bulbs. Recessed lighting was a major upgrade as well, with LED. I now am using an LED nightlight and a USB LED lamp plugged into the wall socket, which I'm lucky itself was installed over bed height. Plug in LED sconces might be the next step.