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Your home is your castle. It should be the place where you feel enveloped in its warmth and you enjoy the feeling of being home. And, with the spring sunshine flooding through your windows and the days about to get longer, why not make your home feel good again with these top ideas!
Make the most of the sun
Winter was, at times, truly dreadful in terms of the weather that hammered at the windows. The skies were overcast for days, sometimes weeks on end, the rain was relentless and the wind howled. And so, with the first rays of spring sunshine, make the most of this golden light by moving your furniture around so that when you lounge on the sofa in the living room you can enjoy its warmth. Sunshine is also a great way to trace the history in the grain of your reclaimed wood furniture , but don’t leave it in bright sunlight for too long as the sun will bleach the patina a lighter colour.
Clean the windows
Dust and grime accumulate on the outside and inside of windows leaving a film that distorts our view of the world outside and this is never more visible than when the sun is streaming through them. If it is safe to do so, wash the outside of your windows (or contact a local window cleaning company) and do the same to the inside of the windows too.
You’ll find all kinds of ideas online for streak-free windows including soapy water and scrunched up newspaper for streak-free drying.
Dry clean curtains, blinds and clean shutters
They have kept the warmth in all winter and so now is the time to freshen curtains, wash shutters and clean roller blinds. As well as vacuuming with the upholstery nozzle, either washing or dry cleaning your curtains will freshen your room too.
Add or move mirrors to make the most of the spring sunshine
The more light that can enter a room, the better. But what you don’t want is glare. Moving mirrors will help to reduce glare but maximise light. Mirrors in ‘dark’ corners make a huge difference and can also help push the boundaries of the room back – in other words, it creates the illusion of space. Brighter and bigger – win!
Get gardening!
Being out in the fresh air in your garden is great for your health, mental and physical, and if you trim garden shrubs that grow in front of your windows, you will not only have a more pleasant space to look at or look out of, but you’ll also maximise daylight pouring in through the windows.
Give your hard floors some care
Finally, whether its floorboards or tiling, if you have hard floors in your home, you will have sung their praise several times during winter. They’re quick to clean, keeping your home mud-free during the many wet days we had.
As well as walking on them, the constant mopping and steaming will also potentially lift the top layer of protective stain or coat, dulling the surface. Give your hard floors some loving treatment from reapplying the top-level of stain or varnish, or buff polishing natural stone or tiles.
