New year, clean house!

Leigh Leigh
Katzenmöbel, Luxury-Park Luxury-Park Asian style garage/shed
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Ahhh, New Year! Wishes unfulfilled, new resolutions to be made and 365 days to completely devote ourselves to our dreams and to try to achieve our goals!

For some reason (probably psychologically, due to the transition from last year to the new year), we feel renewed and full of strength and energy to face the world around us and to become better people, right?

But all this positivity can fall away as we get home from our glorious holiday and realise that everything remains the same. When we are surrounded by the same things, it doesn't seem like the year has changed or that we can change our lives too easily. How do we create a dramatic change when our houses look exactly the same?

But don't be discouraged! This is the time to stop, roll up your sleeves and get to work! With a bit of restoration, a change of furniture and new paint on the walls, you can change the whole look and feel of your home and the interior design. You won't have to be sucked back into the same environment!

And if you don't know where to start, we are here to help. Today is the time to read some suggestions and transform your home from the first minute of the new year, providing you with hope for a better future—better and different! Our article leaves you with several fundamental ideas for your home that will help you to start the new year in the best way possible.

Read on and best wishes for a great 2016!

Furniture clear out

Let's start by cleaning up what we do not need. By putting every piece of furniture into one room, you will see how quickly you realise how many pieces of furniture that you have that you no longer need, like or use. 

They've been stored in your house for so long that you didn't even remember that you had them! 

This is also the perfect opportunity to figure out what pieces of furniture you are missing as well. What works and what doesn't and what is needed for your current decor style? 

Separate your furniture into two groups: the group that you want to keep and the group that you want to permanently say good bye to. Now get ready to start the year of renovations!

The main aim of this exercise is to keep the necessities! You can even do the same thing with your clothing, decor items, gadgets, magazines and household appliances. 

Cover your furniture

With the furniture that you decide to keep, their covers may be looking slightly old and tired. Now is the ideal time to take a fresh look on things and give them a fresh new look in a new environment!

The 2016 trends can be incorporated into your older, existing furniture and you can choose a whole new colour scheme for each room. Simply recover your furniture with new material!

You can even rejuvenate the kitchen and bathroom tiles, applying decorative vinyl stickers or artistic paintings on the walls.

If you do decide to repaint or add new wall paper or decorative elements to a room, make sure to cover your beautiful furniture (especially if has new material on it!) with plastic sheets. You don't want any accidents or splashes of paint on your furniture. 

Clean and repair

Now that you have selected which pieces you are going to keep in your house, let us focus on making sure they are repaired and clean—ready for the new year!

Check the hinges, doors, drawers, surfaces, windows and even the cracks in the floors. And let's get to work repairing! I mean, how beautiful would this piece by Luxury Park be with a bit of tender love and care?

With regards to your clothing, see if some of your favourite items deserve some attention from a professional seamstress. Let their skilled hands repair any holes, tears or damage. You'll have a whole new item of clothing when they are done!

Once you have fixed everything that needs fixing, it's time to clean everything (yes, you even need to climb a ladder to remove that layer of dust on the higher cabinets). This time for a proper spring clean so there is no excuse!

Apply new colour

Then we come to the fun part of the process: sanding, painting and making what was old look new again!

What can be more pleasant than giving new life to the pieces from your past?

For those who don't consider themselves artists, you will after this step and you'll be so proud of yourself! If you end up creating a masterpiece, you can even get to work on the furniture that you don't want and consider selling these pieces at a very low price at trade shows or secondhand stores. 

If you've never experiences this, you'll be amazed at the bargains that you can get. Chat to experts about the right prices. You can also buy old, second-hand furniture and bring the pieces home. Paint them and add some great design and you have new furniture on a shoe-string budget! 

Just by adding new wallpaper to a piece of furniture, changing the colour or adding new knobs, you can transform your home! Small renovations = happiness.

Check out this range of living room furniture for inspiration.

Clean the windows

This is the best way to make the most of outdoor light!

Cleaning the windows often falls to the bottom of the priority list—we keep forgetting about it.  

If you have children or pets your windows are probably always dirty, covered in fingerprints and marks from curious noses being pushed up against the glass. 

However, this is the time to ignore the feelings of laziness or dread, pick up the rags and detergents and get cleaning! Clean the glass so well that you'll be proud when you're done with the job!

The great advantage of having waited so long to clean your windows is that now you will see even more clearly the result of your work. It will transform the whole interior of your home.

Deep cleaning

Finally, take a day or two—depending on the size of your home—to scrub the kitchen and bathrooms clean. Why? Because the cleaning that we do throughout the year rarely includes the ceiling, walls and cabinets. 

It's difficult to reach these places and hard to find the time in the day-to-day bustle of everyday to get scrubbing at these levels. So invest a little more time at this time of year and get deep cleaning!

Polish the door handles, scrub behind the toilet, wipe the bath tub clean, clean every nook and cranny in the shower and get to work on the taps, heaters and radiators. You'll see how this makes such a huge different, leaving your kitchen and bathroom gleaming! 

Gleaming rooms make it much easier to face the new year!

If you've got any energy and motivation left, here are some: Small Changes That Will Transform Your Home.

Did you make any home-related resolutions for 2016? What plans have you made for the coming year? We’d love to know!

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