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Bringing The Outside In And Other Great Winter Decorating Tips

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With winter well and truly setting in throughout parts of Ireland and the UK, you will probably find that you keep trying to stay warm, even when indoors. This winter is packing a particularly powerful punch and with it comes dreams of warmer climes and spring weather. But what can you do in the meantime to make sure you create a warm and cosy atmosphere inside? Check out a couple of our top interior design tips for winter, some of which we have borrowed from Chill.ie and their great suggestions on home interior decorating tips for winter.

Bring The Outdoors In

One of the top trends this season is to bring the outdoors inside. This can be done in a number of ways, with small trees in the corners of your living spaces or dining room, pine cone accents on tables as decorative choices or by gathering up long twigs and sticks and propping them up in the corner, tied together with a pretty bow then accented with fairy lights, these are all awesome ways to bring the outdoors indoors and can help create a nature based cosy atmosphere, reminiscent of log cabins in the woods with snow all around.

Colour Blocking

Colour blocking is one of the easiest things you can do in a space to brighten it up and make it more cheery. Colour blocking includes selecting one or two colours and placing bold accents of said colours in places around the room in terms of throw blankets, artwork, cushions and rugs or lampshades. This can help bring some life and warmth into a space that is monochromatic or feeling a bit bland and dull. Which colours will you choose? Remember that cool colours can “cool off” a space while warm colours can “warm it up”. For those who don’t know, cool colours include shades of blues, greens, greys and violets while warm colours are those with red, yellow, orange and neutral tones.

Light Just Right

It’s no secret that lighting can make or break an atmosphere. If you’re going for cosy and warm, having lighting that is next to spotlight level can really take away from the ambience that you’re trying to create. Instead, stick with lower level lighting for those spaces you’re trying to warm up against those cold winter nights. Consider creating some unique decor by filling mason jars of different sizes with wads of battery operated fairy lights. This can create a lovely piece for a mantle or side table and looks fantastic in any space it’s in. Great for bedrooms, living spaces, dining rooms or anywhere that you want to create a feeling of being cosy and at home.

So whether you want to spruce up a space for good, or you’re looking to bring in some bright colours to make it a warmer atmosphere over the winter months, these tips will get your home looking fantastic! Try out some easy to do changes today and revel at how different the space appears when you put in a bit of time and effort. You might be surprised at how little you need to actually do to make a space pop with warmth.

Things to Do to Get Your Home Prepared for the Cold Weather

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School is back and session and that means one thing…the cooler weather is just around the corner. As beautiful as the fall can be and as magical as the winter weather might look, getting your home ready is imperative to surviving the harsh elements throughout the cold season. If you haven’t started preparing, now is the perfect time to get your home ready for the cool weather ahead. Here are some suggestions for getting ready:

Weatherize the House

During the fall and winter, the heating bills tend to surge due to the cost of gas and oil. You can reduce the amount of energy you’re using in your home during the cooler months by improving its efficiency. Over time, every home loses efficiency (some even start off inefficient). Cracks in the walls, around the windows and doors, and issues in the property’s foundation can quickly become ways for cool air to get in the home and your warm heat to get out.

Weatherizing your home essentially means finding and plugging those airways so that you can keep the cold air out and your heat in. Here are some suggestions on how to weatherize your home:

  • Place weather stripping around the doors and windows
  • Put plastic around windows that have cracks or let in a lot of cold air
  • Reinsulate the basement and attic
  • Fill in cracks with calk
  • Fix any foundation issues

Service Your Heating System

You’re going to rely on your heating system a lot during the fall and winter. A heating system that isn’t properly maintained will eventually lose efficiency. This isn’t good for a few reasons. First, it will cause the heating system to work harder to generate heat through the house. Second, it will cause your heating bills to increase. Lastly, it could lead to serious damage. Contact a company that specializes in heating repair and maintenance. They can check for any underlying issues and complete routine maintenance like cleaning the ventilation system and changing air filters.

Get the Gutters Cleaned

Having the gutters cleaned at least once or twice a year is necessary for the structure and integrity of your home. When gutters aren’t cleaned, they fill up with debris like twigs and leaves from nearby trees. This debris then clogs the gutter system preventing it from properly navigating rain waters away from your house. When the water isn’t properly routed away from the house, it can saturate the ground around it resulting in serious foundation issues.

If you’re not afraid to grab a ladder and clean them yourself, then by all means, get up there and do it. However, if you’re afraid of heights or have never cleaned the gutters before, it’s best to contact a roofing company for assistance. Not only will they clean your gutters, they can assess your roof to ensure that it will withstand the rain in the fall and the heavy snow and winds in the winter.

Tend to the Garden

Another home improvement task you’ll need to do before the winter comes is tending to the garden. Most of the garden chores you can do yourself unless you happen to have a black thumb. Towards the end of fall you’ll need to start cleaning up and covering up your garden for the winter. Start by getting rid of the dead stems and foliage from your flowers and/or veggies. This prevents them from harboring diseases and insect nests during the winter. Then, get rid of any weeds and debris before the ground gets too cold to deal with. Till the soil and then add compost to the soil. The fall is also a good time to dig and box any raised beds, create a cold frame, and complete any other general gardening repairs.

Home Décor

Some might consider making changes to the home’s décor to bring sort of a warm feeling to the cooler seasons ahead. Some home décor ideas can actually help to make the house feel warmer and save you money. For instance, putting up thicker window treatments can help to keep the cool air out. Switching to heavier bedding minimizes the need for the heat to be turned up too high when it’s cold at night. There are a ton of home décor ideas you could try for the fall and winter.

Well, you’ve got a laundry list of things to complete before the cold weather arrives. It’s a good idea to get started on these things sooner rather than later. As unpredictable as the weather can be at times, you don’t want the cold season to come upon you and you’re not prepared.

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We left our home in Sydney, Australia many moons ago in May 2012 and, other than a brief stint back in Perth for Christmas and a wedding in early 2014, we have been travelling the world nomadically ever since, running a business from our laptops and we’re here to show you how to do it!