Make time in your own schedule to tidy. Tidy up in one shot rather than little by little. Choose a designated home for each item and get in the habit of putting them back. When you spring clean, always work from the top. Start with dry dust and cobwebs on the ceiling and work downwards. Set yourself a few tasks over a specific time. When the time is up, call it a day.

Develop a tidying routine

The secret to a feel-good front room is always having a handy place to set your G&T down. Invest in some additional side tables, which doubles as a place for books, bijoux objets d’art, an extra lamp or a handy spot for your own dedicated, mood-lifting minibar.

Display your drinks in style

Good storage makes working life more serene and seamlessly productive. Instead of choosing bland or beige, choose something with a decorative flair.

Box clever with better storage

When you rethink a room, start with bringing natural light into darker spaces. <ul><li>Placing mirrors close to windows at a perpendicular angle will reflect light deeper into a room while bringing a reflection of the outdoors inside.</li><li>Placing a mirror on the opposite wall creates the illusion of an extra window.</li><li>Using a mixture of tints and styles creates a soulful atmosphere.</li></ul>

A mirror brightens every room

Scour Facebook Marketplace for small glass-fronted cabinets that you can tart up with some paint, and line the shelves with colourful wallpaper, or a bobbin-detail wooden shelf that can be wall-hung to display both unguents and ornaments.  Invest in a portable light in a pretty colour so that you can switch off the harsh spotlights in your bathroom before bed.

Give your bathroom an upgrade

<ul><li>Combine stones and essential oils to relax.</li><li>Give your hallway an easy refresh with a bright and breezy design that signals the fashionability of stripes.</li><li>Bedlinen could resemble the night sky with velvety comforters in midnight hues.</li><li>The bathroom is where most of us start and end our day. Indulging in a feel-good set of towels for everyday use is an indulgent mood booster.</li><li>Good art tells a story, reminding us of the place we bought it and who we were with. Treat the frame as you would fabric on a chair – it should enhance the work of art.</li></ul>

Small touches

Introduce more upbeat colours to your interiors along with colours that connect you directly to nature.  <ul><li>Painting your windows in a colour like the lively yellow Babouche will create an instant impact. </li><li>Interior doors leading to an outside space work particularly well if painted in cheerful colours such as Breakfast Room Green, a botanic shade that invites you into the garden before you have got there. </li></ul>

Choose upbeat colours

Smell is strongly tied to our emotions. Choose a scent to reflect how you want to feel in each room. <ul><li>In the kitchen, fresh and light scents such as Ssage, Llemongrass or Eechinacea work well.</li><li>For bedrooms, hints of patchouli, amber or sandalwood are sexy and mysterious, and when blended with jasmine or rose they become sensual.</li><li>Bergamot and orange blossom are the perfect scents for making guests feel welcome.</li><li>healing and uplifting scents are in demand this year, including sage</li></ul>

Reflect how you want to feel

Storage can be incorporated into your interior design. <ul><li>Go for brightly coloured bookshelves to match upholstery and freestanding box shelves that help divide areas in a room.</li><li>Repurpose your old furniture into storage solutions.</li><li>Transform that old rustic wardrobe into a secret library brimming with books.</li><li>Wall hooks can show off your scarves.</li></ul>

Make storage a display feature

You only need to tweak, rearrange or add a new addition to change your space. With shelves, imagine you're creating a collection. Start with your most-loved item, then build from there, connecting through colour, textile or print. Things don't need to be valuable. See what you're drawn to at markets, car boots, or secondhand.

See what you are drawn to

Banish the gloom from every room with these 25 tips to give your house a mood-boosting makeover