Hello 2022
A new year brings a fresh start and is a perfect time to reflect and consider the year ahead. While I love to set goals, I am focusing on my intentions and my priorities over the classic New Years resolutions this year. My key intentions are to slow down, simplify and dedicate more time for my hobbies (such as my renovation projects and this blog). The new year is also a great time to refresh our living spaces. There is something about reviving or rearranging your home to breathe new life into your space and mindset.
So here I have rounded up a few things I am doing to set a tone the year. (I know it’s nearly February but better late than never right).
1. Simplifying
By simplifying I mean de-cluttering and no I’m not meaning becoming a minimalist. I just find it hard to have a calm and beautiful space with excess clutter lying around. The experts consistently recommended removing items in your home that are not adding value, functionality or meaning.
While I find myself wanting to declutter a few times a year for the sense of claim it brings I still don’t always find it easy but I see it as a journey to tackle slowly. Area’s I particularly want to work on his year are bringing less items into my house and focusing more on quality sustainable items. I have also just brought in some expert help to simplify my wardrobe from fashion stylist Caitlin from Chasing Cait .
2. Re-arrange or re-style
There is something about physically rearranging or re-styling a room that speaks to my inner child and the memories I have of rearranging my bedroom. I know my constant re-arranging drives my husband nuts but he has learnt this is just what happens around here. It’s not always possible in to change the room layouts in our house but I like to take stock and look for opportunities to use items different or move things between rooms. This will include furniture, decor, plants or art. My classic go to is rearranging shelves and more recently repotting plans..
3. Update
Don’t underestimate the difference a few small tweaks can make to refresh the look and style of a room. While I am all about trying to be less trend driven and more classic in my styling I am not immune to design swings and shits. I try to keep things current without blowing the budget by doing a mixture of:
Choosing a few key on trend pieces I love to bring into the house. The important thing here is a few pieces. I am not talking about blindly picking all the items for the latest trend.
When re-arranging I try to bring more focus to the items that support the look or trend I am are going for and put away or relocate those that feel dated.
I also try re-style existing items in new ways that support the current style. For example if you think about the layering of throws, throws themselves are not new but how they are layered can be.
I pick some items I am no longer in love with to do a simple upcycle. Some of my go to upcycle projects are painting old furniture, making over old vases or re-covering old cushions
Some vintage pieces never really go out of style so picking a few can help you not need to update items as much. If you are looking for some vintage interiors inspiration you can’t go past The Sunday Society.
4. Planning
There is nothing like removing stuff of your to do list because it’s done or because you have made the brave choice to say no. There is still so much I want to do but both time and budget don’t allow it so I like to be clear about the key projects that I want to tackle for the year, the big rocks so to speak. This year I am trying out using digital planning app called Zinnia to see how I like it. In additional to my usual interiors expect to see more of the following renovations:
Our Mangakino bach - we need to finish the interior & exterior renovations along with building outdoor living spaces and landscaping.
For our farmhouse - we are planning on tidying up the pool and outdoor living area, adding louvers, making a new concrete patio and finally getting the outdoor fire I have dreamed of for the last 6 years.
Let me know if you would like me to share more on any of these topics and I would love to hear what you are doing around your home to help you start the year right.