Home and Design Round-up: New Year – New Inspiration

So the New Year is upon us and for many that means taking a fresh look at our homes and deciding which projects to embark on over the coming year. Maybe you’re feeling adventurous and have a big extension or maybe a bathroom or kitchen renovation project to work on, or maybe you just want to update a few rooms that need a little tlc. Whatever your decorating plans are, it’s often difficult to undertake such a project when lots of us are still feeling the pinch from Christmas. The January Sales bring lots of opportunities for bargain hunting (I myself picked up a fabulous rug in the sales last week!) and it’s worth hunting around to find well priced items for those projects that will be coming up in a few months’ time.

So I thought it would be good to take a look at some of the plans that I’ve seen being blogged in the last few weeks. Over at Style Arch, plans are afoot for a new bedroom, which looks incredibly stylish and very white. It’s not a look we can all pull off so I’m really excited to see how it turns out. Mari’s World has some great plans and ideas for lots of diy (I’m pleased to say I’ve had a little hand in some of that) and again, I can’t wait to see how her bedroom turns out.

It’s not just plans and ideas though at the moment, many of you are cracking on with the decorating, and I just love what Antonia at Tidy Away Today has done with her new wallpaper. After designing her own bespoke pieces she’s given a detailed tutorial on how to hang it (it’s not normal wallpaper) and I’m very familiar with that feeling of being too scared to trim the overlaps. If you read it you’ll know what I mean! The end result is lovely though. As well as bigger makeovers I’ve also seen some cute updates, with Miss Enchanting showing us her lovely new blogging office noticeboard in her new Fabulous Friday feature, and The Treasure Hunter showcasing the Sherlock look. If you love tweed in your home, you’ll love this.

I love the bargains that a few of our trusty thrifty bloggers have come across too. A Thrifty Mrs has found some great bargain lamps all at under a tenner and Becky’s new blog, Thrifty Home shows us some gorgeous, good value cushions for upcoming Valentines.

It was interesting to see a few Homes related campaigns happening in the last month or so with a few bloggers trying out a new cutting edge vacuum. One of my favourite reviews had to come from Uju at Babes About Town with her catchy title (you might even spot me in one of the images!). Many other bloggers were involved in a campaign involving a beautiful throw. I loved the creativity around which bloggers found different ways of using the blanket. Bodie and Fou took hers to a New Zealand beach which resulted in some gorgeous imagery.

One blogger even had her kitchen and kitchen gadgets photographed for an international Design magazine. Magazine B did a lovely feature on The Ana Mum Diary’s lovely kitchen and Amanda wrote about the experience here.

So if you’re itching to get going with all your ideas and inspiration just take a few moments to get up to speed on all the current trends and new season products. On my blog, Love Chic Living I’ve been looking at the trends for colour in 2014. Indigo, Radiant Orchid and pastels are going to be big this year, so if you like following trends do take a look. And finally the Design Sheppard has a great round-up of some of the lovely new pieces at one of our favourite High Street stores, with some lovely colourul examples. It’s not all white and sterile, thank goodness!

Until next time, happy decorating. And do let me know what projects you have planned for the coming months.

Jen x