How to Declutter Your Bedroom and Refresh Your Home for the New Year

What better time for a home refurb than a brand new year? It's a time for changes, refreshes, and revitalisations across the board, so don't leave your interior decor out of the fun. Whether decluttering is one of your New Year's resolutions, or you simply feel that your home lacks some pizzazz now that the decorations have come down, we're here to help. 

In this guide, we'll help you clear the clutter without losing your home's character, along with tips on adding colour and charm to your abode.

Start By Decluttering

Now, don’t worry—there’s no need to go all-out minimalist. But there’s a difference between a home filled with character and a home filled with clutter. A character-filled room is fun and homey, while a clutter-filled room is chaotic and stressful. So, hold on to those ornaments and accessories that make the space truly yours and throw out the things you really don’t need. 

We love following the philosophy of home organisation influencer Marie Kondo—if it doesn’t spark joy, get rid of it. 

First, start small, and declutter a bedroom, lounge, kitchen, or anywhere else in your house by working in sections. Create piles of belongings to keep, store, throw away, or donate for each section. Working in a system makes it all so much easier.

If you still end up with lots of things to keep, storage furniture is a stylish way to keep a space tidy without sacrificing too many of your belongings. A charming ottoman footstool is a fabulous multipurpose item for storing things away and providing seating. 

One of the easiest ways to declutter your bedroom is by decluttering your wardrobe. Try on all of your clothes and take anything that doesn’t fit to your local charity shop or sell it online to recoup some of the cash lost to Christmas spending. Our capsule wardrobe guide can offer a helping hand if you want to condense your clothing collection further. 

How to Add Colour to Your Home

We’re big advocates for colour here at Joe Browns. After all, adding some colour to your life can give your mood a major boost, which you can learn about in our guide to beating the January blues. 

Now, there's no need to grab a paint roller and turn every wall in the house fuschia. There are lots of subtler ways to brighten your home’s colour palette. Try adding colour to a neutral living room with brightly hued accessories. Perhaps some pink cushions to pop against a beige couch or a beautiful floral throw paired with a beige chair?

You could also introduce a splash of pattern to your space with a statement rug. Bold boho designs on a rug really bring the wow factor to a room. 

Plants are another fantastic mood-boosting way to bring colour into your life. Research shows that a bit of greenery in the home can make us feel so much better. Place a plant on the hearth, the windowsill or the centre of your coffee table - and if you don’t have a particularly green thumb, a faux plant will look just as good. 

How to Refresh a Kitchen

The kitchen often gets left out of the interior design excitement, as we tend to give all our attention to the lounge and bedrooms. However, we encourage you to include the kitchen in your refurb fun. It’s so much nicer to cook in a space you can be proud of.

Lots of surface space in the kitchen is taken up with appliances, so use the walls as a way to add some personality to the room. Wall art and posters are perfect as a personal touch. Try a painting of your favourite animal or some gorgeously framed family photos. 

We also recommend rearranging the china cupboard to elegantly display your best mugs, glasses, and plates. This is an instant way to impress dinner guests. 

Remember how special it was dressing the dinner table up for Christmas? Invest in some colourful table linens, placemats, coasters and napkins to create exciting tablescapes for dinners throughout the year.

Easy Ways to Refresh Your Home

You want to give your home a makeover, but you’re worried you don’t have the time or money. Luckily, there are plenty of smaller changes that transform your home without breaking the bank or requiring hours of renovation. 

Switching up the lampshades on your light fixtures can put a fun new twist on the same old home furnishings. Introduce animal prints and nature-inspired patterns to your shades to really go wild with your home decor. 

One of the smallest yet most impactful ways to change the ambience of a room is to add candles. Their cosy glow is a treat for the eyes, while the scent makes the whole room smell wonderful. Not to mention, a remarkable candle holder doubles as a statement ornament to bring some intrigue to the space.