Update your home for 2020

24 Breathe new life into your home with a few quick and inexpensive changes. Dazzle with great lighting Why not upgrade a lampshade or two, or even replace some table or floor lamps? It’s quick and easy, and a great opportunity to introduce some on-trend shapes, textures and colours. Fitting a dimmer switch, another simple upgrade, adds flexibility to your lighting scheme. While you’re at it, check that your light bulbs are the right wattage – there’s nothing worse than poorly lit rooms, or ones that are so dazzling they look like a lamp shop. LED bulbs, although expensive initially, use less energy, so are both kind to the planet and will save you money in the long run. You might even consider smart lighting, which can be controlled with a remote

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By Katherine Sorrell

Please mention The Villager and Town Life when responding to adverts control, an app, or a voice command. Some can use a timer to wake you up naturally, while others will change colour in time to your music. Ring the changes with colour Nothing says new look like a colour makeover, whether it’s a lick of paint (and you simply can’t beat the spick and span look of a freshly painted room) or just a change of accessories – perhaps a row of vases on a shelf, a pile of fluffy towels, storage canisters in the kitchen or files in your home office. When moving from winter into spring and summer, it’s nice to go lighter and brighter, considering ‘fashion’ colours if you wish, too. Pantone’s colour of the year, for example, is ‘Classic Blue’, a vibrant mid blue that coordinates beautifully with saffron yellow, soft pink or rich green. Add plenty of bright white for a clean, fresh update. Create great style with cushions and throws It’s ridiculously easy to disguise and uplift a tired sofa with a pretty throw and a selection of new cushions, choosing on-trend colours and patterns, complemented by a few inexpensive plains. Try varying the textures, and look for interesting trims and fastenings, too. If you are at all handy, making simple square or rectangular cushion covers really is a piece of cake. A square metre of fabric should stretch to four cushion fronts, so you could push the boat out with something quite eye-catching and extravagant. A fresh look for flooring If you are feeling up to some fairly strenuous DIY, a great way to completely alter the look of

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a room in a weekend is to take up the carpet and (providing you have decent timber underneath, of course) carefully sand back your floorboards. Finish with a couple of coats of varnish and the results will be transformative. As an alternative, adding or replacing a rug is another instant way to change the look of your floor – and consequently the entire room – as well as bringing in texture and cosiness. Choose colours and patterns that complement the overall decor, and make sure the size and proportions of the rug suit the size and shape of the room, with the furniture fitting onto the rug comfortably. Wonderful window treatments A new look at the windows makes a wonderful change. Opt for ready-made curtains for an almost instantaneous swap (and pretty inexpensive, too). Floor length is usually the way to go, though sometimes furniture in the way makes sill length the better option. Alternatively, swap curtains for

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clean-cut blinds: they are much less expensive, as they use barely any fabric, and provide an attractively modern and minimal look. Simple slatted or roller blinds can be ordered to your exact measurements and in a huge variety of colours and patterns, from barely there to bright and eye-catching. And finally, unless your nets are made from beautiful antique lace, take them down and, instead, preserve your privacy with stick-on plastic film. It’s easy to apply, looks very classy and is much less expensive than having your windows sandblasted. Give your pictures the professional touch It’s all too easy to put up your pictures here and there, as and when you get them framed, and end up with a mismatched lot that don’t quite gel. Instead, create a fabulous display by putting them in identical or coordinating frames and hanging them in orderly rows or well-planned groups for optimal impact.

1. Go natural with a grass-green floor combined with blossom-like pinks and lilacs. True Colours UNI 528 vinyl, £22.99 per square metre, Carpetright: 0330 333 3444; carpetright.co.uk.

2. Get organised while adding beautiful textures and a touch of fashionable style. Rush natural storage basket, £18; wooden storage basket, £22; cream macramé basket, £12; belly basket natural, £10; all Dunelm: 0845 165 6565; dunelm.com.

3. A throw can completely rejuvenate an entire bedroom and give it a whole new look. This pin-tucked velvet-and-linen example is close to Pantone’s colour of the year, ‘Classic Blue’. Kingsize quilt, £295, Cox & Cox: 0330 333 2123; coxandcox.co.uk.

Are you returning to higher education and need some help with university costs? Do you live in post codes SG1 or SG2? Then the Betty Game Opportunities Trust may be able to help you with a small grant towards the cost of books, equipment, travel etc. Further information about the Trust and how to apply for a grant is available on our website www.bgot.org.uk or email BGOT2015@gmail.com