This week our guest Mermaid Keeley Vasini of KV Creates provides us with five simple ways to make home your sanctuary during these unsettling times.
As the UK now approaches the fifth week of lockdown many of us are looking to reorganise areas of our homes for a more balanced and harmonious energy. The benefits of making small changes within our living spaces can help boost inspiration, increase productivity and provide a welcomed sense of calm and clarity – so here are five easy tips to use things around the home to up-style your living spaces and bring a little positive change to your mermaid dwellings.
1. Different perspectives
Take a good look at your most prized possessions. Are you giving them enough credit and do they have a place of their own in your home? I’ve always thought coffee table books are pieces of art in themselves which is why my collection has grown over the years! I can while away an afternoon pouring over beautiful images in interior design, fashion and travel compilations. It always leaves me feeling inspired and motivated and is my own form of self care. When it reached the point that I literally didn’t have enough coffee table space to store my collection I knew I wanted to create them their own special nook in my home. This is now a constantly evolving display and one of my favourite features in our home.
2. Create displays
Self care has never been so important and, despite homeschooling 6 year old twins, I have more time to indulge in rituals at home and use some of the lovely products I’ve accumulated over a series of birthdays, Christmases and Mother’s Days. Rather than hide them away in cupboards I’ve used a marble board (borrowed from my kitchen) as a platform to group the products I use most often. I’ve found that having the products out on display like this reminds and encourages me to use them and, on the slightly harder days, either gives me the boost or the relaxation I need.
3. Put your old magazines to good use
Despite being a minimalist at heart, I’ve never been able to throw away magazines. I think they contain such beautiful images, I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t want to keep them and then look back at them in years to come. I recently spent an afternoon in the garden flicking back through Elle Decors from 2010. It’s so interesting to see how good design never dates and it’s a great way to pick up some classic interior design tips that perhaps aren’t ‘trending’ right now. In this image, I’ve grouped magazines by type and colour to fill an awkward space as well as disguise the plug socket for the lamp. The beauty of doing this is you can fill any sized space by adding or removing magazines and you’ve built your very own design archive.
4. Fill vases
One of the things I’m missing the most is my local flower market. I’m lucky enough to live very close to New Covent Garden and love nothing more than an early wakeup and getting amongst the market traders and florists. Alas, at present, this isn’t possible so I’m using my lovely little garden as a way of bringing the outdoors in. Despite being limited in colour choices, this evergreen shrub which is now covered in pretty white flowers (I have no idea what it’s called!) is doing a wonderful job of furnishing the fireplace. The great thing about using plants and foliage from your own or local outdoor space is that it brings an ‘outdoor/in’ flow to your living space.
5. Use winter scarves as throws
What a beautiful Spring we are having – I’m so thankful as it’s definitely making lockdown easier. But…just when we get lured into thinking we live in a tropical climate, the temperature drops 10 degrees over night! I love to have throws in my lounge as we often snuggle under blankets for movies and sometimes it’s nice to have a little extra warmth rather than put the heating on. This is a large woollen scarf from a few years ago. It’s so big it can easily be used as a throw on a chair or sofa and costs a fraction of the price.