Simple ways to refresh your home for the New Year.

Start with your home and you'll be investing in a year of wellbeing.

With a new year comes anticipation of better things. We make resolutions to change poor behaviours and promise ourselves that we will exercise more and adopt a healthier eating plan. Unfortunately, for many, these changes do not extend past the first month.

Making changes to your home's interior can positively influence your mindset and create a ripple effect in other areas of your life.

Here's why starting fresh with your home is a powerful motivator:

• Small improvements to your home's decor can have a lasting impact on your attitude and outlook.
• Clearing and updating your space also helps declutter your mind, creating a calmer, more focused environment.
• These changes don't have to be costly-simple, inexpensive updates can yield profound results.
• Refreshing your living space often inspires renewed energy and focus, helping you commit to personal ambitions.
• Redecorating aligns with the promise of a fresh start, motivating you to embrace change in other areas of life.
• By transforming your home, you're creating a foundation for a more positive and goal-oriented mindset.

Here are some ways that you can refresh your environment within your budget:

1. Wall treatments

The easiest and most transformative way to completely change the look-and-feel of a room, is to address the walls. Obviously, paint is the easiest way to go, but here are some other ideas:

• Wallpaper: This is gaining in popularity, and with the modern papers available, you can make a room look and feel completely different.
• Expose the brickwork: This can give farmhouse vibes and adds texture to a space. They have become popular for homes that want to present a warm character, celebrating the raw, natural beauty of the wall beneath the plaster.
• Cladding: There are many different styles and colours that mimic tiles, stone, granite, marble, and even wood.
• Texturise: Re-plastering a wall with a rough or patterned coating will add depth to a room. They capture light and shadows giving a visually attractive finish.
• Mirrored walls: Make your space feel luxurious, and for smaller homes, much larger. The options are vast from frosted, to satin or one-way glass.

2. Deal with your bugbear

Most of us have at least one irritation in the house; it might be a cupboard, a room, or a garage that has become full of junk. Or it could be as simple as lightbulbs that need changing. It's time to knuckle down and deal with it.

One way not to overcomplicate or become overwhelmed with these tasks is to break them down into stages. If not in a hurry, create 12 separate categories and tackle one a month.

Also give creative thought to how to make your spaces easier for you to operate in. This could be as easy as setting up a coffee station, or moving furniture for a better flow. Make small meaningful changes that will be an investment in the quality of your lifestyle.

3. Artwork

Moving artwork around is a great way to stimulate interest in a room. Also consider having frames replaced if you feel a frame is too old-fashioned for your decor. On trend is purchasing a picture from a thrift store (one that has an existing good frame), and replacing the image with a piece of interesting fabric or piece of carpet that matches your decor, even for framing a child's artwork.

4. Soft furnishings

These may need an update or just recirculate cushions, for example throughout your house. Recovering cushions is also an idea, and doesn't necessarily mean you need a sewing machine. You can also buy just cushion covers (without the inners), and store old ones for another future rejuvenation.

Replacing bed linen is a quick way to get a new look in a bedroom. Adding a throw or a new bed dressing can make a bedroom feel more luxurious and comforting.

Throws also work well over couches that may be stained, or for protection from little ones - be those your children or your furry companions.

Also don't throw out old mats and rugs. If not too badly damaged or stained, parts of them could be cut up and used elsewhere such as creating a new doormat for wiping grubby shoes, or in the garage.

5. Declutter

Always a winner, decluttering tends to make one feel lighter. Once you start you'll realise the benefits of being able to free up space but you will need to be strict. One school of thought is to create five separate piles:

• Throw (damage beyond repair)
• Resell (advertise on, for example, Facebook Marketplace)
• Recycle (can it be turned into something else?)
• Pass on or donate (to either a charity shop or a friend/family member)
• The 'maybe' pile (if you don't use in the next six months, you should seriously consider getting rid of it)

Decluttering has also given rise, in the US, to the trend of get-togethers with friends and family, offering up your discards for swaps. This is a great way to ensure that nothing is ever wasted. And as is said: "One man's trash is another's treasure."