The tree’s drooping, the kitchen looks like a crime scene and remnants of presents clutter every surface. It’s no wonder that at this time of year our thoughts turn not just to cleaning up our health, but also our homes. “This is the perfect time of year to look at our houses with fresh eyes and work out areas that make us feel flat that we can rejuvenate,” says interior designer Ann Marie Cousins, owner of AMC Design, who admits, however, that this is also a time of year “when we’re all feeling the pinch”. Fortunately, home improvement needn’t cost the earth, nor take forever. Here experts offer fourteen simple tweaks that can transform your space for very little cash.
Take a picture of your clutter
We get so used to the stack of mail on the stairs and spare keys on the counter we often don’t realise what an eyesore clutter has become. Taking a photograph “forces us to be more objective” and to see things we normally turn a blind eye to, explains Cousins. She recommends wicker baskets and Kilner jars are attractive storage options for “visual noise”.
Vacuum-pack clothes
Clothes you haven’t worn for months but don’t want to donate should be vacuum packed to shrink and stored out of sight, while seasonal items, such as crockery for special occasions, can be kept in a lidded, labelled plastic box. “Add a note in your phone diary reminding yourself where you put it for the week before you’re next likely to need it,” says Cousins. Liv Conlon, interiors expert and owner of property staging company ThePropertyStagers, says keeping TV remotes out of sight can make a surprising difference to the aesthetic of a room: “Mine are in a bowl.”
Inject a pop of colour
Pattern and bold colours can feel “scary”, says Cousins, but adding one or two accessories – a bright cushion or throw, for example – will transform neutral walls, sofas and carpets: “You might already own them in another room where they’ve been forgotten about.” While “maximalist colour drenching” – painting every surface the same rich colour – is a 2025 trend, she says a more realistic but still opulent vibe can be achieved by adding accessories in a strong complementary colour such as orange, mustard or cherry red, all of which work well with neutrals, to existing décor.
Invest in an orchid
Most of us are cheered by greenery indoors, “but life is busy so consider succulents such as a cacti, which are easy to keep alive,” says Cousins, who also rates orchids because they are “hardy and give colour and textural lines”: “I water mine a maximum of once a month and I’ve had it for eight years.” Try placing them in the bathroom, where problematic drafts are minimal.
Hang a print in your hallway
“For a big impact, update your hallway – you can afford to be brave because you don’t spend much time there,” says Cousins, who says rich colours such as navy work on hall walls. “You’re limited on light there anyway so might as well make it look cosy.” She suggests hanging a print opposite your front door “so you’ve got something beautiful to look at as soon as you step inside”, and making the most of a triangular space under the stairs with “a kitchen countertop from Ikea attached to the wall to make a wall mounted desk. Rechargeable LED lights are now good enough to provide the light to work there without a power source.”
Move your rug
“One of the best ways to define a space in an open plan room or smaller property is to use a rug, usually in the centre of a room,” says Conlon. “In an ideal world all feet of your furniture will sit on the rug, not just your coffee table,” adds Cousins. “At the very least make sure the front feet of your sofa are positioned on it.” For most this means buying a rug 3m by 2m, says Cousins, who adds that the rug “needs to contrast with what it’s sitting on – a neutral carpet needs something vibrant.”
Use the ‘rule of three’
Odd numbers of accessories are often more visually interesting, says Conlon, with three the minimum number required to make a pattern in the mind, “so group three, six or nine candle sticks, for example, together”. On walls, adds Cousins, “you need something to look at every quarter turn of the head”, so if one wall has a door and another a window, “you need something to hang on the other two walls”. Gallery walls of multiple pictures look best if there is a uniform space of 2cm between each frame, says Cousins: “Cut shapes the same size as your frames from lining paper and Blu Tak them to the walls so you know where to nail the hooks.”
Buy an over-sized vase
They’re the easiest ruse to instantly transform a room, says Conlon, who rates TK Maxx’s affordable selection. If you buy two, make one bigger than the other, because “different heights will give a room depth and interest”.
Add lamps to every room
Ceiling lights can be unflattering to faces and furniture. “Try to have two to three lamps in each room, with bulbs no brighter than 100 watts,” says Conlon. “A lamp made with a material shade will give more softness than one made of metal or other hard material.” Strings of fairy lights in different sized glass jars and bottles are another easy way to brighten a room, says interior designer Sarah Burghard: “Place them on a mirror tile to add extra reflection. Keep the battery pack accessible or use solar-powered.”
Extend your skirting boards
To spruce up walls, “add moulding above a low skirting board to make it look like you have tall-elegant skirting”, says interiors blogger Claire Douglas. Moulding strips that can be cut to size are available from B&Q for under £10. “Attach them to the wall directly above the skirting board using a non-solvent grab adhesive (£2.39) and once dry apply decorators caulk – a filler – in any gaps before painting. It’s simple and makes a big difference.”
Pull furniture in from the wall
“For improved flow and functionality, identify a focal point of a room – a fireplace or bay window, for example, and orient your furniture around it,” says Conlon. “Pull sofas away from the wall by about 2ft so you’re not immediately hit by the back of them as you walk into the room. This creates an illusion of space.”
Have a handle theme
Replace handles, available from stores such as B&Q and Amazon, on wardrobes, cupboards and drawers for a low-cost update. “Choose the same theme throughout your home – gold, silver or brass, for example – to keep a cohesive look,” says Conlon.
Hang a mirror
Dunelm, Ikea and TK Maxx do “good high-street options”, says Cousins. “The mirror we use most is a circle with a brass frame – there are already a lot of square shapes in houses and curves are relaxing to the eye. Hang it opposite a source of light to bounce the most light around. For most houses and families’ heights, the top of the mirror needs to be around 6ft off the floor.”
Choose art that sparks joy
Forget about famous landmarks and fashionable artists – ask if a picture makes you happy before hanging it. If it’s an image of a favourite location choose lesser-known views, says Cousins, who’s Irish but has pictures of striking Georgian doors in Dublin, for example, rather than the Guiness brewery in her home. “Only go for cliché if it’s ironic or funny – a poster for the Ghostbusters film from your childhood, say.”
Angela Rayner is ready to make her move