The holiday season is a wonderful time, often filled with family, love and light. However, if you are far from loved ones or living away from home it can be tough. During this time of year in London, one often forgets how much time you spend inside your house. Therefore, it is more important than ever to make your space feel like home.
Below are some tips from our interior decorator extraordinaire Amelia, on how you can simply decorate your space to make your rental feel like a home away from home.
1. Candles
Candles are an obvious choice and the perfect starting point for decorating your home, as well as being budget friendly. You can get candles from TK Maxx and Primark for as little as £1. Candlesticks have become super on-trend and look great on a mantelpiece, dining table or anywhere really. If you fill some of your space with beautifully scented candles, it instantly creates a calm and wholesome environment. There is no need to shoot the lights out here, a couple around your home will do more than enough to enhance the space!
2. Artwork
This may also feel like an obvious option, but artwork really does make a huge difference when trying to transform a house into a home. An alternative is to just print photos of past holidays with friends and family, put them in some frames and hang them around your space. This is especially great during London’s darker, wintery months as a reminder of all things summer! You can also find fun and affordable prints on websites such as H&M and Desenio. Adding this kind of personal touch will individualise your space and allow it to feel more like home.
3. Plants, plants and more plants
Bring the outdoors inside this holiday season. Fill your space with as many natural textures as possible, such as plants, woven baskets and flowers. We all know what a huge difference bringing some nature into your home can make, it has even been proven to improve your mental health! So go out, buy yourself some beautiful flowers or a low maintenance plant and watch how they transform your home.
4. Christmas decorations
And of course, Christmas decorations! You can’t go without a few for the silly season. A Christmas tree might seem like an unnecessary investment but by the time all your housemates split the cost, it will only set you back about £5! We have also recently discovered how fun and easy making a wreath is. Using a wire coat hanger, some holly, and evergreen leaves from the garden you can make a beautiful wreath to hang on your front door! Decorations may seem silly, but they truly will bring you into the holiday spirit and lift your mood whenever you get home.
5. Fill your shelves
If you have a whole lot of empty shelves in your space, fill them with books, candles and whatever else you can find! It makes you feel so much better when your home is filled with things that make you happy and not left bare and boring. Just because you don’t own the house shouldn’t set you back on how you decorate the interiors. A great purchase to fill up your shelves is to grab a trendy statement vase at IKEA, H&M or Zara Home. It may seem like such a simple suggestion, but it truly can change the feel of your space.