Decorating & Home Changes

The husband and I have been trying to lay some plans down. Big life plans that will possibly span the next 5-10 years. Its fair to say we've had some rubbish hands dealt to us over the years and aren't where we would like to be property wise, job wise etc. However, we are getting to grips with where we are and what we want to achieve.
I'll be honest and say we find it hard saving in this day in age. With 3 children ( one 14, one 11 and one 7) always means that any expendable cash we may have very quickly goes on their needs and wants.
But we are taking it upon ourselves to save save save any penny or a pound we can in order to better our lives.

The plan is to extend our teeny tiny house to make an open plan kitchen diner and a much needed utility room.
This excites me a lot a lot. We're not quite there yet but we have a goal and will keep working towards it. Ultimately the goal is to own this house out right, rent it out and then buy another home, something bigger and in a location where we would want our forever home to be, and with the help of agents like Featherstone Leigh East Sheen we should hopefully find the dream house,

But in the mean time we are making some updates with decor and necessities.
The teen wanted to update her box room from blue
Window openers were needed as her window is old and uneasy to open so we updated those first with Rocburn. Then we took down her old bunk bed  and got to painting.
She is a budding interior designer in the making and is currently looking up small space designs.

We are now on to the hall stairs and landing.
No longer just a through space this area is the first part of our home people see when you open the door. Ours so quickly becomes inundated with coats (mostly mine.. i have a terrible thing for coats) and shoes, umbrellas and childrens backpacks and dog leads and doggie coats.
Storage is going to be key. Hiding all this stuff but having it on hand is going to be important.
And character. I want to inject some character as this is the first space (all be it small space) you see when you enter the house.
Here are the ideas i've pinned on my Pintrest Home Board

I love the idea of a bold colour, green would fit our general house a bit more than the lovely vivid blue but the idea of a key focal wall at the top of the stairs i think could work well.
Frames, photos and prints also adorning the walls fills it with character, which i love! My husband paints amazing pictures so i would like to hang some of them. Mirrors also bounce the light around in a small area so shall be looking for some gorgeous mirror to centre our wall.

Lighting is going to take a lot of consideration as the top of our hallway (the landing) has no natural light and is very dark. I love the idea of a lamp on a small corner table, which i think even our small space we could accommodate.
The main lights on pendants will need to give off a lot of light to illuminate the area so the shades will have to be clear or fairly open.

 And finally storage.
I am a mad book lover and read books at a rate of knots, so to have this ledge shelf across the stair case would work as excellent storage for me and my books, but i also think it looks rather fantastic.
Shoe storage is also key. Mine i transport upstairs and store in my under-bed storage (its like a magical shoe haven under there i swear;) but the kids and the husbands are all in the hallway. Having a unit to pop their shoes in would be perfection. Hiding away unsightly shoes, giving them a home so the kids know where to put them when they come in would mean no shoes sprawled across the hallway.
My understairs storage leaves much to be desired. It is literally a dumping ground and I'm almost scared to venture in there (i think the spiders may have taken command in there..eeek!). The idea of assigned storage under there just makes sense. Separate shelves and smaller cupboards like below is such a brilliant idea. And the stair boxes is a great way to make sure things go back to their designated spots in rooms. I do this already (well i plonk all the stuff on the stairs and take it up as i go) so to have pretty little boxes is a brilliant idea of making pretty of housework.

Do you have any good hallway decorating tips? I am all ears as i could do with any help you may be able to offer!
Are you taking on any house renovations this season? Autumn seems a good time to get things underway for me, all in time for a snuggly winter indoors.

Living Room decorating with my Top Tips

Lounge by rachel-the-hat 

As part of My plans for 2016 my main living room is top of my agenda.

I am here ALL DAY LONG, looking around at these four walls and thinking about how i can get this teeny tiny house to work for me as an office, family home and just a generally enjoyable place to chill.

The sofa, as I've mentioned, is the tippy top of my agenda. Scatter cushion backed sofas, let me warn you, are a holy hellish nightmare. If you have kids, do not buy a scatter back cushion sofa. The cushions will inevitably live more on your floor than anywhere else, and you will spend 80% of your day picking them up and putting them back to where they are supposed to be.

They also go really flat and floppy and just always look messy. 

It was the first proper adult sofa purchase I had ever made so I'm marking it down to a life lesson.

From that at least I know what I want.

And I think I've found the perfect sofa! The sofa that dreams are made of..

The Heart of the Living Room

Finding a sofa that will comfortably seat at least 5 people, a dog and add in more possible guests, is a hard sofa to find. 

I checked the usual haunts for a sofa, but they all seemed way to small and cursed with the scatter cushion backing *shudder*.

So whilst looking through new to me websites I found Oldrids & Downtown and this beauty above.

Ugh.. its so perfect I want to cry.

Tip One: Shop for furniture with a knowledge of what you need rather than buying what looks pretty.

Go in to it with your sensible head on and don't be seduced by the colourful scatter cushions that look great on show.

I now know I need a large corner sofa, a complete secured cushioned backing and stain resistant fabric. Don't fall in to the trap of buying what you lust over what will work for you and your situation.

Lighting

My living room has a dark side, not in a Yoda v's Darth type way but in a lightning needs sorting type way. 

Spot lights would work best for creating a zone filled with consistent light throughout. Then a key piece as centre stage and also lamps.. Lamps are so great for adding decorative focal points as well as extra light to dull areas.

Tip two: Check you can get suitable light-bulbs easily for your fixtures. I once bought a lamp that was notoriously hard to find light-bulbs for, meaning it usually didn't get changed once it had gone. I  now get all mine at Bulbs2go which is so much easier than standing in the supermarket wondering which bulb you were meant to get, only to be faced with a dozen different types (then committing to one, buying it, getting home and it being the wrong one.. argh.. anyone else do that?) 

Workspace

If you work from home, like me, or even just at your computer a lot, like us bloggers are, creating a workplace environment that is enjoyable to be in is conducive to getting your work done well.

I spend A LOT of hours at my desk which is in our living room. It works well  for me as when the family are home as I'm not segregated from them (although sometimes lord knows I wish I was somewhat separated) and it means I can keep an eye on everything and still reply to emails and get stuff done.

I'm currently working hard on making my space a positive happy place for me to be in. The more positive the space the happier I work.

I found a desk and side tables at Aram that are absolute investment pieces. These will stand the test of time and really make a statement in my living room as well as being practical.

Tip Three: Invest in yourself. Buy a good desk that you love and want to sit at, making your space a positive happy work environment will make for positive happy work.

Also if its in your living room, like me it also helps to be easy on the eye.

Soft Furnishings

I love me some good cushions and throws. I could shop for them all day long, much to my husbands dismay as i will often return from a shopping trip with new cushions (they're my Achilles heel). They really do make a difference in a room.

My colour preference at the moment is a soft duck egg blue with cream. I'm kind of thinking chic meets countryside style (that's a thing right?).

Tip Four: Stick to a colour scheme that you love, that you can add too and easily interchange furnishings. An estate agent tip would be can you imagine that room at Christmas? Can you imagine it cosy in winter and cool in summer? If you can say yes, then you know you are on to a year round beautiful room that you will love.

Are you decorating or adding anything to your home this year? I would love to know if you have any tips or recommendations?