7 tips to help you enjoy your home
How long has it been since you kicked back, relaxed and spent an evening simply enjoying your living room? Our lives seem to be getting busier and busier, with an ever-increasing dependence on technology; but there’s something to be said for losing yourself in a deep leather sofa surrounded by the tranquility of your own living room. So here are some tips to help you create an environment you’ll hate to leave.
- Invest in some candles
If you’re a man’s man then you might find this step a little difficult, but candles shouldn’t be reserved for cheeky encounters and feminine baths. They’re warm, inviting and give off a soft, cosy light that encourages relaxation without even trying. It might even be worth swapping your bedroom light or lamp with a candle for winding down at night, just remember to blow it out before going to sleep!
You could even take it up a level and go for a scented candle or two. Though standard candles still have their own unique aroma, you could infuse your living room with rustic or sweet scents that can have different effects on your mood.
- Switch off your TV or laptop
It’s so tempting to walk in the house and switch on your television or laptop to watch some regular scheduled programming, or even Netflix or the like, but this can promote laziness and distracts you from spending your time in a much more productive way.
Being productive creates a sense of achievement that elevates your mood far higher than if you were sat down watching Eastenders after a long day at work. Instead, fix that door handle that’s been stiff and squeaky for months, or attend to your overgrowing garden. Chores may feel like the last thing you want to do, but once they’re done you’ll be able to relax in your home without them hanging over your head. And that’s an amazing feeling.
- Make a cleaning schedule
And stick to it! Think about the times you’ve got home and needed to relax but couldn’t; the living room untidy and full of clutter, the kitchen full of used pots and your bedroom littered with clothes that aren’t quite dirty but have been worn once and they’re just waiting to be worn again…
If you can imagine the scenario pretty easily then chances are you need to create a cleaning schedule to stop this from happening. A tidy house is so much more relaxing than a messy one, and if you can keep on top of it then when it comes to the one night where you need to collapse on your sofa and do nothing you’ll have a tidy environment to do it in!
- Declutter
It’s in the same vein as the cleaning schedule and can have just as much effect on your ability to relax. Get rid of everything you don’t really need, or even want; we tend to collect things and feel the need to display them proudly, but do you really need the hundreds of ornaments on your mantle piece? Or the thousands of half empty shampoo bottles by the side of the bathtub courtesy of the female in the house? Probably not.
A de-cluttered house is not only much easier to keep tidy, but it’s much easier to relax in. Plus you might be adding some candles to the mix very soon, so you’ll need some extra space to light these during your relaxation process.
- Find the right sofa
Evaluate what your sofa is used most for, and what you’d like to use it most for, then go out and find something that suits your needs as much as possible. Do you love cosying up with a blanket and reading a book but your firm leather sofa makes an unappealing spot to do so? Or are you in need of some much-needed support that your old, worn out fabric sofa just can’t offer anymore? If you go for a sofa that suits your needs you’re going to spend more time using it, and isn’t that the point really?
The right sofa can make all the difference in your life, especially if you’ve been following every other tip so far. If you want to enjoy your home more then you need to create a home you can enjoy, and the living room is the epicenter of your home life. Treat it as such.
- Find time to spend at home
This is probably one of the more difficult tips, but it can make a huge difference in the way you appreciate your home. You spend most of your day at work, then there’s the commute, shopping, social engagements and everything else that sucks your time away from enjoying your home.
So why not make some changes? Swap that Saturday night at the pub for a Saturday night in with a few friends and drinks from time to time, or maybe even find a job closer to home to cut your commute. If you can find the time to spend in your home when it’s clean, fresh and cosy then you’re guaranteed to relax and enjoy it more than you ever have.
- Speak to the DesignerSofas4U team
If you love your home you’re naturally going to spend more time in it, but if you don’t then you need to make some changes. Take the time to figure out what’s going wrong and fix it, you’ll soon realise it’s well worth the effort. Most of the tips in this article are down to you, but the DesignerSofas4U team can more than help with any questions about choosing the right sofa for your lifestyle. Give us a call on 01254 268 590, send us an email or fill out our contact form to find out more.