New Year, new you: six style resolutions to make for your home

There’s no better time than the New Year to review what’s going on in your life – and why should your home miss out on the love?

Here are several New Year’s resolutions that are perfect for creating the home you want in 2017:

Keep, chuck or reuse

The simplest thing you can do to refresh your home for a new year is to declutter. “When you take away the clutter you see what you love about the house,” says Sophie Kost, Director and Lead Designer of My Beautiful Abode.

Get into each room and consider the things you want to keep, those you want to get rid of and the items you could repurpose. “Do it in 15-minute bite size pieces,” adds Kost, “if you keep this up, it can be an amazing transformation.”

As a bonus, decluttering is completely free – and if you’re lucky you might even make some money from selling the things you no longer love.

Photos are everything

If it’s big impact you’re after this coming year, make a resolution to review the pictures hanging on your walls.

Susanne Majlath, interior stylist for Allworth Homes and owner of Inside Outside Design, suggests creating a wall feature of family photos. “Get different sized frames, as well as frames in fabric, for texture and depth and create a collage. Not only is it a sentimental styling element, they make great wall features.”

Get with the flow

You’ve heard interior designers talk about flow, but how can you achieve this in your home for the year ahead?

“Put some thought into how the whole house feels, because there needs to be some link from room to room,” Kost suggests. That doesn’t mean creating a theme or making everything match: “The home just needs some consistency so that moving from space to space isn’t a jolt.”

The easiest way to create this flow is through colour. “Carry a colour throughout the house for some connection, and this can be quite subtle,” says Kost.

Focus on a focal point

If you want to focus on one thing for your home style resolution, then you could literally choose, well, one thing.

“Create one point focal point in the room which captures all the attention,” Majlath advises. “If you have a very neutral room of whites, greys and beiges, spice it up with one dramatic, bold colour as the feature. Whether it be a bold pillow or painting, use some colour to give it character.”

Have fun with colour

Make your year more colourful by getting brave with your favourite tones. “Change up the lounge and bedroom with different coloured pillows and wallpaper,” says Majlath. “This will change the whole dynamic of the room without any dramatic furniture purchases.”

Are “you” in your home?

While you’re making New Year’s resolutions to improve your life, it’s worth reviewing whether you’ve reflected yourself in your home. “Embrace your style,” says Kost. “Then show it in your home, having things around that you are passionate about will make you feel good – and we can’t ask for more than that.”

It’s easy to get caught up in thinking you need to create a magazine-spread style, but you should instead aim for enjoying another year in a home that’s really you.

Now all that’s left is to pop the champagne and declare it a Happy New Year!