How we feel about our homes can have a big impact on how we feel, and you needn’t take my work for it. It’s a proven fact.
The happiness Institute published the results from a study earlier this year, showing that our homes have a greater impact on our overall happiness, than income and employment.
“If you are happy with your home, you are almost certainly happy in life. In fact, it may come as a surprise that our homes are more important to our overall happiness than our income or jobs.”
The GoodHome Report, 2019.
Considering how much importance many of us place of striving to progress and to earn more, it’s pretty empowering to think that simply changing our surroundings could have a greater impact on our overall happiness, than chasing a promotion or landing the perfect job.
That said, not all are blessed with a healthy bank balance giving the freedom to rip out kitchens and bathrooms willy-nilly. In reality, I imagine that most of us have big plans to revamp homes, but haven’t quite got the money to bring them all to life straight away.
However, since when do we let a silly little thing like money get in the way of our quest for eternal happiness?
While we’ve been waiting (impatiently – for the last 7 years) to do the big decorating jobs in our house, like the kitchen and bathrooms. I’ve been trying to find cheap ways to make our house more homely, using things we already have or that are cheap to buy. I thought I’d share some of my favourite was to do that here.
I hope you find them useful and that they bring a bit of extra happiness into your home!
Raid Your Family Photo Albums
Most of us have photographs lying around the house in forgotton Boots paper envelopes somewhere. Which makes them a really inexpensive and quick way of adding interest to a wall.
Although I obviously very much love the people in my photographs, I used to hate having them around the house. To me, it felt a bit (or a lot) naff.
But since introducing a little gallery wall in our hall, I’ve gradually started to warm to the idea of having some photographs dotted around. Though, most of these are black and white, which helps them blend in with my prints a little bit easier and in my mind, makes them a bit less naff.
If you’d like to add to your photo collection, there are apps, like FreePrints, offering free photo printing services. This app offers 45 free prints a month, but does charge postage.
Use up Leftover Paint to Revamp Your Home
My favourite way to update things in the home, is to throw a load of paint at it. It’s an inexpensive way to redecorate and it’s also very easy to cover up, if you decide you don’t like it.
I’ve raided the leftover paints in our garage and used them to do everything from covering up tired feature walls, to painting unloved furniture, picture frames and plant pots.
Make a Feature of Books
Most of us have books lying around, but have you ever thought of using them to create a feature in your home? There’s something quite beautiful about book, which makes them an excellent choice for adding interest to interiors.
Collect Glass Bottles to Use as Vases
Another cheap idea to cheer up your interiors, is to collect glass bottles and jars to used as vases. Not only is this an afforable way to accessorise, recycling also makes it environmentally friendly too.
I would suggest displaying lots of bottles and jars together for maximum impact. You wont need to use a lot of flowers in each container either, which makes it more cost effective.
You could always thing about planting wild flower seeds in your garden in Spring, that way you’ll have lots of flowers to supply you floral displays throughout the summer.
For more ideas to help you to revamp your home on a budget, read my post on wall art.
