I find the approaching end of winter a great time to plan for the next project in the house. When you have survived the chaos of Christmas and are fed up of being inside, the flaws and niggles of your own space can seem particularly apparent. The problem is that this is the point of the year when you are often most stretched in terms of budget. You might be tempted to blow any money you do have on a holiday to some far-flung, sun-drenched shore. So what are some good economical ways to move things along without clearing out your bank account? Well the best one is free. My top tip for beating the February greys: move your furniture.
Just because that awkwardly low table has always been next to the sofa, it does not mean it has to stay there. The sofa isn't welded into place either. When I visit clients, often the first thing we end up doing is moving all their existing furniture around. This can have a transformative effect before they have spent anything. What seems to put people off doing this is that the furniture they do have isn't right. But I would argue that it is better to have the wrong piece of furniture that is the right size in the right spot. You can then take your time hunting out the perfect piece to replace it, while enjoying a room that works for you.
Habit influences our room layouts. We're all guilty of thinking, 'The kids always did their Lego there' or 'This is where everyone watches TV'. Really look at why things are where they are. Is it because they were put there when they were delivered and never moved? I say be brave and move things around. Your family will watch television somewhere else if you make it comfortable for them. Likewise, it's easy to stop noticing that there aren't bedside lamps in the spare room. or a bedside table for that matter. These are things that could be solved easily and getting them done will cheer you up immeasurably every time you see them.
I recently visited a client in a house in which there were three unused rooms on the ground floor. All five members of the family were watching television squeezed onto a two-seater sofa in the kitchen. Just by moving their furniture, we turned the neglected dining room into the TV room and relocated the dining table to the extension off the kitchen. That space had been used only as a route to the garden and occasionally for some yoga. The long-term plan is to open a door between the kitchen and the new TV room, but the family immediately started to stretch themselves out into spaces they had accepted as unused. Now, film night doesn't involve a fight for a spot on the sofa. The client can save for the new door, but the family can use the space straight away.
I would recommend you think carefully before embarking on a building project. I have clients who want an extension, but when we look at the house with fresh eyes, it is clear that they don't really need more space - or at least not as much as they thought. What they need to do is to use the space they have in a better way. Spending some of the budget on the original space can be a better choice. Always look at the whole house and not just one room. You'd be amazed at how changing a single room can impact the others.
My other piece of advice is to have a good sort out. Go through those cupboards and shelves and get rid of the things that nobody actually uses or wants anymore and stop hanging onto them ‘just in case’. Clear out the pieces you know don't work and use the ones that do in the right place, even if they aren't ideal.
After that, I suggest you go round the house and make a list of 10 small things you've been meaning to get around to doing. Then make this the year you actually do them. Get those hooks put up, that shelf fixed or curtain pole fitted. Repaint your bedroom, even if the walls are knackered; the new colour will cheer you up while you save for a plasterer. The things that niggle can be surprisingly inexpensive to resolve but will make a huge difference. And you may find you don't need that holiday after all, as you will love being at home so much more.
