Just seven weeks ago I was sat at my laptop putting the final touches to my website, excited about the clients I was working with and ready to take on the world. Before even the lockdown was announced I was in bed feeling the worst I’ve ever felt and I was there for two weeks followed by three weeks of walking around like a zombie. It’s been dreadful. Was it Corona Virus? My doctor is pretty sure it was and I couldn’t be more grateful that I was one of the lucky ones.

Now the haze has lifted and Corona has officially left the building (we hope!) I’m starting to get to grips with the new norm under Covid-19. Life for us as a family of four with two young kids has changed massively. My husband, previously out from 7 am-7 pm at work is now home working full time. I’ve swapped my design hat for my teacher hat and am attempting to teach the kids at home. Lets just say that wasn’t on the bucket list!!

So I did what I always do and made a list of all the things I was going to achieve.....start making some new and exciting meals, make a teaching plan that would see my kids back to school as MENSA graduates, re-design the upstairs of our house and read a list of five books I’ve had on my bedside table for way too long. Oh and did I mention daily yoga? I’m now looking at it with more realistic eyes and if I can get through the day in one piece I’m winning. Every day seems to throw up a new kind of challenge – some days it makes for the best adventure ever, some days I have been known to have a brief power cry in the loo. Whatever your situation it’s a strange old time for us all.

One thing though is a dead cert for a lot of us. We’re spending a whole lot more time in our homes than we probably ever have done. Homes are being properly used all day long and the way we use them is having to change. It’s really starting to highlight the areas in our houses that just don’t work, or we don’t like. Living with your kitchen that needs a bit of work is fine when you’re in it during the evening or at weekends but spend all day in there and it’s really going to start to grate.

I thought I’d share with you a few ideas for changing up your space while you’re ‘Lockdowning.’ A few tips and tricks that can really cheer you up or if nothing else give you something different to do at the weekends.

Embrace the outdoors

Don’t know about you but I love spending as much time as I can outside. We’ve been so blessed with this amazing weather and as we’re lucky enough to have a lovely garden we’ve been using it as much as we can. In effect it gives us another room to our house, which with kids is such a blessing. It's super easy to make a few changes to your outdoor space without having to spend a fortune. For a start you can move things around a little, maybe just a few pots, maybe a seating area so you can enjoy your lunch outside in the sunshine. Painting pots can make a huge difference and is also a fab thing for kids to get involved in. You can buy basic pots from most supermarkets still at the moment and the terracotta ones in particular are super easy to paint and don’t cost much at all. You don’t have to buy a whole tin of paint either, use up the odd bits you’ve got left or just buy a few tester pots if you want to shake up your colours a bit. Just be careful what you use. Any kind of indoor or outdoor paint, chalk paint of acrylic paint will be best - some sprays or kids paints will just run in the rain. Getting busy with some DIY is always a great idea. I’ve started restoring an old bench hidden away at the back of my garden, so it fits in more with our more modern rattan furniture, check out how i did it here.

Light Up

Next...one of my favourites – lights. Lights can make a huge difference to an outdoor space. Most of all they can create the most amazing ambiance. Again, you don’t have to spend a fortune. The type of lights you can buy are endless, personally I love a festoon and a fairy light and there are lots of solar lights that light your garden up for very little cost. If you’re thinking long term and want a look to last, I’d always recommend spending a bit more money on lights from a reputable electric supplier. Last Summer we invested in some great festoons from TLC Electrical Supplies which cost around £100 but they’re as good this year as last and showing no sign of any wear. The £20 solar lights I bought have had it, so I might invest in another set this year. Having the lights on at night outside is lovely, creates a lovely relaxed vibe. I’d always recommend going for warm white light in the garden - creates a much warmer feel. As for where to put them, my absolute favourite is to suspend them above a seating area - makes the whole place feel completely magical!

Toasty Toes

My other absolute fave for outside is a fire. There’s just nothing nicer in my book than sitting round a fire with your favourites, glass in hand, tucked under a lovely warm blanket. Here the options are endless. Basic fire pits start from as little as £25 and you can burn logs or briquettes. With these you’ll get the lovely cackle of the fire but you’ll also get lots of smoke if it’s a bit windy. You also need to be careful what surface you’re putting it on – these will be good on slabs or gravel but will burn grass and are a definite no on composite decking. Another option is a Chiminea which blows the smoke upwards so as to avoid the nasty smelling hair the next day. In my experience they don’t get quite as warm but they are lovely to sit around. Gas fires are also becoming really popular and are the cleanest as far as the environment is concerned which is a big plus. These are more expensive to buy but are warm, turn on with a switch and require no to-ing and fro-ing for logs. A friend and client of mine who loves a gadget has just bought a smoke free fancy pants fire that connects to his bluetooth so I’m looking forward to trying that out!

Release your inner Tom or Margot (showing my age??!!)

I’m not known for my patience. I once attempted to grow carrots in my first garden and had the soil too shallow so my carrots grew at right angles. It wasn’t my proudest moment. But now the kids are old enough to understand I feel I should be teaching them to do the right thing and grow their way to the Good Life. We’re starting small. Literally. A friend of mine @hoopsocial grew a hanging basket of cherry tomatoes that looked incredible and tasted divine, so I’m ripping it off. I have no idea what I’m doing but I know I’ll be here every day to water it so I’m giving it a go. In this strange old time, I’m finding anything that takes us back to basics works a bit like a warm cuddle in the feelings department so I’d recommend it. If you don’t fancy a hanging garden try a patch or just grow tomatoes on your kitchen window sill for a much easier win.

Finally, I’d use the old favourite that if you don’t like it hide it. No one is going to enjoy sitting in a garden looking at a pile of old rubbish. Move the old plant pots and the rusty old mower where you can’t see them. Hide the old table with a nice table cloth and paint the old fence (you’ll be amazed what a difference that can make). There are some amazing outdoor rugs available too that really aren’t that expensive and cover a multitude of sins and can really brighten up your outdoor space. Get the tunes on, cover yourself in Hawaiian Tropic and before you know it you’re on that holiday after all!

When you’re done in the Garden – bring it in!

We’re all more aware than ever about the health benefits associated with being outside. Time outside has been proven to have a positive effect on both our physical and mental health. So don’t leave it behind when you close your front door. I’m a huge fan of indoor plants and always have fresh flowers in the house but at the moment I’m finding it difficult to come by decent flowers that don’t cost a fortune. We’re all so used to flowers but natural foliage can look just as pretty when you bring it in. If you’re working from home, these would be a great way to style your home office space.

Sprays of anything green or any other colour for that matter, can be brought in from the garden or collected on your daily walk (yes I’m the weird looking one who often takes the scissors out with me). Some blossom in a vase looks beautiful, collect Ivy from the hedge rows and bung it in a milk bottle. Don’t be afraid (unless its from someone else’s garden and then do the right thing and ask please!) to go for it and see what it looks like. You can’t really go wrong. If you do think you’ve gone wrong try something else the next time. It costs nothing, it’s so pretty and it smells lovely.

Another way of bringing the outside in is to grow herbs inside. ASDA do a fantastic range of growing herbs that are just 50p each and grow like wild fire if you water them daily. Just need to pop them in a pot, old mug or even an old baked bean tin and you’re off. They smell amazing – my favourite is the mint and the basil, I love a fresh mint tea and there is something rather wholesome about drinking fresh tea you’ve grown yourself.

Now for the inside

The first completely cost free way to shake up your home and make it feel different is to move things around. This could be as simple as changing up your accessories between rooms, re-styling your shelves or if you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, think about how you could change your furniture around a bit to freshen things up. While we’re all at home and I’m home-schooling the kids, we’re spending more time than ever in the kitchen but for the first time it’s function has totally changed and we need space for all the school stuff. Go with it. I’ve moved our dining table to one end under our windowsill, which acts as a perfect shelf for all the books, folders and learning resources. No more flowers and photos. Not for now anyway. But clearing the space for it all has made it work a whole lot better. We usually have 6 chairs around the table and I’ve kept four and moved two to the garage – we don’t need them at the moment and the room feels bigger without them. The little things will make a bit difference.

Space fit for purpose

In our spare room we have a pull-out day bed that usually stays pulled out and styled as a double bed. At the moment I’m so lucky that my Mum is Facetiming every day to hear the kids read and to read to them. I’ve tried to change the room up a bit to make it a better space, more fit for purpose and to make the most of the space we have. Having the space to separate the kids for learning can be a lot easier sometimes. I’ve pushed the bed back in and made it up as a sofa, covered it in lots of cushions and the kids blankets and filled the room with loads of the kids books. They now absolutely love going in there every day and it’s now the ‘reading room’. I know how fortunate we are to have a spare room but you can also follow the same idea to set up a reading corner in your kids bedroom or living room. Kids love a bit of routine and just managing to get out of the kitchen for us is an absolute winner.

We miss you Grandma!

My kids are six and four and despite being extremely proud of how well they have adapted to all this change I’m also aware that I have often overlooked how much they are missing their friends and family. I found my youngest the other day sat in his room with a photo of him and my Mum in his hand just staring at it and it made me feel really sad. I've promised him that we’re going to go through my photos and print some of the people he’s missing and put them around the house. Photobox is still operating as usual and have a 40% off sale across the board which is worth jumping on. I’m also going to send some extras to the grand parents to cheer them up and frame some of the work they’ve done that they’re really proud of. They’ve done some really lovely colourful pictures that they love so I’ll start a little Covid collection to make us smile.

Finally and always a go to for me is to get the paint out. It’s not normal how excited I was to hear that B&Q were open again. Changing the colour of a room can make an enormous difference. Be bold, be brave and be adventurous. It doesn’t have to last forever but if it lightens to the mood for a while it can really make a big difference. I’m working with a client online at the moment who has changed up their soft green kitchen diner for a warm neutral with a bold black wall. It looks totally different, has really changed the space up and they’re delighted. A whole new look on a really tight budget.

So there you have it. A few suggestions. Please let me know how you get on and if you do make any changes in your home I’d love to see how you get on and if you need any advice just shout!

One final point....a health warning if you like. Go easy. Start with small steps. Don’t start a massive job if you’re already up to your eyes with all the extra hats you’re having to wear at the moment, it will finish you off and a half done job is often worse than a job you never started at all. Coming out of all this with your sanity is way more important. At least start small and remember at all times to reward yourself with a glass of something lovely and copious amounts of chocolate. Good luck!

Note: I have not been paid to advertise any of these products - I am recommending them simply because I like them!

Easy & Affordable Home Styling to Beat the Lockdown Blues