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Everyone has different tastes when it comes to renewing and restyling interior décor but there are basic things you can do to give your home a more complete lookgive your home a more complete look. Naturally you want to create a home that’s comfortable, luxurious even, and well suited to your lifestyle.

Creating your new interiors needn’t be difficult and it doesn’t have to be very expensive, depending on exactly what you decide to do and the size of budget you can allocate. Here are a few ideas for you to consider as you work towards that ultimate goal – a house that has a complete look.

Take the time to plan

It may sound obvious but planning the details of what you want to do in each room means you’re unlikely to get part way through something and then decide it’s not really what you want. The planning process can unlock creative ideas and suggestions that might otherwise remain hidden. Discuss plans with a partner, and if you have kids involve them too. If their input is taken on board it helps give them a sense of ownership and they will learn to appreciate and look after their surroundings.

Develop your colour palette

When you’re planning a home makeover your colour scheme is the essential starting point. Walls and ceilings that are cream or magnolia effectively give you a blank canvas on which to draw out your ideas. It means you can use colorful furniture with cushions and throws – think oranges, yellows and blues – and vibrant artwork to complement the feel of a room.

You could consider having a feature wall that’s a different colour or develop different colour schemes for each room. A mix of blues and greens can work well in many rooms to help create calm and comforting atmospheres and you can create stripes by mixing one batch of the paint much lighter than the base color, 50% is a good rule of thumb, and another batch 150% darker.

Look to your windows

Often your windows provide an opportunity to add real style to your house. It’s not so much the shape or size, though feature windows can add a touch of elegance, but what you cover them with that can set them apart. Curtains can look great, but don’t give you a lot of control over your light, whereas wooden shutters make an up to date and modish addition to your home.

There is a wide range of window shutters styles that can be individually measured to fit your windows and with a choice of materials that include basswood and hardwoods such as poplar or elm. You can choose colors and styles to suit, full length or café style that cover the bottom half of the windows. You can also get them tiered so you can open one half whilst keeping the other half closed. Shutters with louvers that open and close give you excellent control over how much light you want to let in, and they add an additional layer of insulation.

Remove the clutter

Rooms, especially surfaces, have a tendency to get cluttered if you don’t keep things under control. You want to be able to see the lines of your furniture, not bundles of papers and piles of kids’ toys. You can judiciously place small ornaments and mementos from holidays on surfaces that won’t leave space for dumping clutter.

Light up with drama

The best hotel lobbies have dramatic and opulent lighting and there’s no reason not to work to create a similar ambience in your rooms. If you have a high enough ceiling look to put in a dropped chandelier, otherwise install flush or semi-flush light fittings to help add to the wow factor. Carefully placed mirrors can add to the sense of space in a room and good lighting complements this.

Accessorize your furniture

You can add a luxurious touch to your couch and armchairs by using plenty of cushions and throws, setting the furniture off and creating an attractive visual picture as well as providing extra comfort. Always go for a good-sized couch so that there’s plenty of room to snuggle down into the soft cushions.

The complete look

Giving your home a makeover lets you consider exactly what you want for your personal comfort. Whether it’s the color schemes, the lighting, the window coverings or any other aspect you can plan, and design, you will emerge at the end satisfied you have given your home the complete look.

A new year, a new broom!  I often feel that new year is a good time to clean instead of spring.  After Christmas I usually have the urge to declutter and tend to clean as I go along too.  There are a couple of downsides as some bits of spring cleaning are best done when the weather is warm enough to have windows open or to have good drying weather outside.  Winter though is a time when our houses can get dirtier as we bring in mud on our feet and I’m afraid my feline friends do the same – I have a nice line of muddy paw prints across the kitchen floor right now.

Being an animal lover, I like to make sure that the products I use are cruelty free.  Astonish, the British manufacturer of cleaning products, has a line of over 70 cleaning, laundry and personal care products that are Vegetarian Society Approved, as well as Vegan Society and Cruelty Free International registered. So I’m very glad to say that I’ve teamed up with them to offer readers the chance to win a pretty comprehensive bundle of cleaning products to help get your new year clean off to a sparkling start.

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Astonish

I love to refresh our Christmas decorations each year: it helps ring the changes a little and means there is always something new to enjoy as well as old favourites and family heirlooms.  The last few years we have had a little bit of a reindeer theme going on and each year for the last half-dozen, I’ve bought a new reindeer or two to join our growing herd. I think this one from Home Sense is a contender for this year’s new recruit as I’m very taken with him.  I don’t think we have a gold reindeer in our Christmas herd yet, but we do have red, pink, green and blue, so he will fit right in.

Another key part of getting ready for Christmas is decorating the Christmas table.  Again, I do like to have a few new things to reflect the latest trends and to replace items that are looking past their best.  I was really impressed by the selection of table ware that Home Sense brought along to a recent party in Birmingham for bloggers.  There was a fabulous selection of candlesticks in particular at really reasonable prices.  Stock at Home Sense changes very regularly, so it pays to pop in when you can and buy when you see something you like.  I think my Christmas dinner table could be looking very sparkly and candlelit this year.