Island Life October/November 2018

Prestige Property
As easy as D-I-Y
As an idyllic long summer
comes to an end and we
all head back indoors,
our interior space might
suddenly be feeling
a bit drab, closed-in
and uninspiring.
In which case, a quick make-over
might be just the thing, to freshen
up the place and lift the energies.
And that needn’t mean going
in for a costly, full-on decorating
or re-modelling job – in fact,
there are plenty of relatively
small adjustments that can be
made that will instantly breathe
new life into the home.
Take greenery, for instance.
If all that time outdoors has
made you yearn to sit among
lush vegetation, then simply
bring some indoors.
House plants have never been
more popular since the 1970s,
and the huge variety on offer
at garden centres and florist
shops these days is incredible
– from lush orchid plants to
big jungly palms, iconic Swiss
Cheese plants, cascading ferns
and strikingly structural cacti.
Placed in colour-co-ordinated
ceramic pots and grouped for
effect, a display of plants will
soften the edges of any room,
give depth and character – and
that’s not to mention the proven
health benefits of having toxinreducing
plants around the home.
Another easy fix is to embrace
that currently popular interiors
trend from Denmark – Hygge
– and go in for lots of candles,
some new cushions and cosy
blanket throws to make your living
space invitingly winter-ready.
If it’s your furniture that is
looking rather tired, a bit of upcycling
can do wonders, with a pot
of paint and a bit of elbow grease
being all it takes to breathe new
life into a set of kitchen chairs,
a dresser or chest of drawers.
Clutter is probably the biggest
enemy of a restful living
space, though – and as home
improvements go, a simple tidyup
might be all that’s required.
Creating storage solutions to
keep everything in its place can
be as easy as buying a set of
inexpensive storage trunks or
second-hand chest of drawers – or
even getting creative and making
some of your own, by covering
lidded boxes with pretty paper or
plastic in colours that co-ordinate
with your décor scheme.
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