How to make the very most of being at home during the summer holidays? Nonstopmama asked Anita Kaushal, author of the beautifully presented Family LifeStyle Home
‘Just like the clothes we wear, our homes benefit from a seasonal update,’ says Anita. ‘It takes little time and effort to bring the sunshine in’.
The simplest, least expensive changes can make all the difference, as Anita shows with her exclusive tips for nonstopmama:
• Clean: for me it all begins with a clean. Dusting the cobwebs off the ceiling, mopping the floors, getting carpets and window professionally cleaned, walls painted and all those little jobs that need attention completed.
• Scent: like fragrant calendars, using the seasons to guide the scent is a good guide. Elegant fresh smells of honeysuckle, hyacinth and narcisus in spring and stronger scents like basil, fig and jasmine now, in the height of summer.
• Flowers: the wonderful thing about summer is all you need is one big bloom in a small glass vase, or even in an old fashioned tea cup, to bring a room alive. Even wild flowers from the garden look stunning. I prefer a few, big blousy flowers in each room rather than one display in the kitchen.
• Window dressing: if possible, change your window dressings to lighter fabrics or blinds. Not only will these let in the summer breeze, they make the most of the summer light. Either simple linen or, in my case, I have used hand embroidered sheer voiles and simply pinned them to the top of window frames and let them hang down in panels. It takes minutes and looks stunning.
• Cushions: just by adding lighter fabrics – linen, white cord, florals – you lift the mood of a place. You don’t need to buy cushions either. I buy bits of vintage fabric and just wrap them around cushion pads, then tie old necklaces around them to keep the fabric in place and to add a pretty little detail. I also find that by using necklaces in this way, I actually remember to wear them from time to time.
• Paint: try painting directly onto your walls; perhaps above a fireplace. Use white chalk to map out your lines and the simpler the better – it could be a motif, a flower, words. I find using a darker version of the same color paint that is on the wall works best.
• Mirrors: look for cheap pine mirrors with broad frames and use the frames as evolving collages. If you like colour and a little chaos, then just stick the articles directly onto the frame. But if you want a little order and – more importantl – to preserve the images, photos or cards you use, photocopy them all in black and white. That way, you have a mish-mash of memories on the wall, but they all sit well together.
I just tear the photocopies, so they have rough edges as if ripped from an old book, and then stick them randomly as and when the mood takes me. The mirror/wall evolving over the seasons and reminds me of the joy that surrounds me. Another idea is to stick dried flowers all over a frame – it looks so pretty, is really easy and you can’t go wrong.
• Revamp a dining table: make a simple dining table into a star attraction by covering it with decadent wallpaper. Just wallpaper onto the table as you would on a wall and then cover the paper with clear acrylic varnish a couple of times, to seal it and stop it marking.
• Entertaining: if you have a garden, nothing can be easier than summer entertaining. Tealights in jars, a little bunting and brightly coloured picnic blankets create the perfect backdrop for grilled food and salads – the best part of easy summer entertaining, as you can pretty much pre-prepare everything so it can’t go wrong. Nothing welcomes in the summer more than the sound of family and friends sharing your space and enjoying the sunshine.
Coming soon at nonstopmama: Anita’s tips on family travel.
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