A Holiday at Home

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If you are already missing that holiday vibe, why not make your own home feel like the perfect getaway cottage or hotel? Here are our top ten tips.

1. Clear your clutter

One of the key differences between a holiday cottage and a full-time home is the amount of ‘stuff’ that inevitably takes over everyday life. A sense of clear space and organisation really helps create a relaxing environment so, without taking away too much character, have a thorough clear-out. Donate, throw away or tidy everything into cupboards so it’s out of sight. What’s left can be turned into attractive displays in bookcases or on shelves.

2. Clean from top to bottom

It goes without saying that you expect any holiday home or hotel to be immaculately clean, but in real life it’s hard enough just to keep on top of the regular dusting, vacuuming and mopping. However, if you can devote some time to cleaning those extra bits that don’t get done too often – tops of door frames, backs of radiators, behind chests of drawers – your home will feel completely refreshed, and hopefully you will, too.

3. Pay attention to detail and sort out all those little niggles and minor repairs that you’ve been meaning to get on top of.

You wouldn’t want to stay in a holiday let where things are broken or worn, so why should you do so at home? With a basic DIY kit you can probably tackle most things, or get organised and book a tradesperson if necessary.

4. Remember your outside space

Give your garden furniture a spruce up, maybe adding some fresh outdoor cushions and solar fairy lights. And for a warm welcome every time you come home, sweep the front path, polish the front door knob and pop some fresh plants in a couple of pots by the front door.

5 Create a unified colour scheme

What can set a great holiday cottage apart from an average one is that it has been designed with a great deal of thought as to how everything will look together, rather than collected over time without much of an overview. The latter is often the case in one’s own home, but with some tweaking it should be possible to pull together a coherent colour scheme, using coordinating cushions, throws, lampshades, vases and other accessories, and

perhaps a quick repaint of some key areas. Blue and white is reminiscent of sea and sky, a refreshing look that works everywhere, while white, creams and other neutrals can provide a minimal background that’s very calming.

6 Make sure your mattress is up to scratch

Nothing is more vital, whether on holiday or at home, than a good night’s sleep, and a quality mattress is the best start for this. An alternative (or perhaps an addition) is to add a really good topper, which provides an extra level of comfort without breaking the bank.

7. Sort out your bed linen

One of the greatest pleasures of a good hotel or holiday cottage is top quality, matching, pristine, pressed bedding. If yours needs attention, now could be a good time to mend or replace it, looking for at least 200 thread-count cotton, perhaps with Oxfordedge pillow cases and a beautiful bed throw that coordinates with the room’s colour scheme.

8. An amazing bathroom is what often sets a top-notch hotel apart from the rest, and you can replicate the experience at home

If your bath and basin taps have seen better days, it’s not enormously expensive to replace them with a set of gleaming new ones, and you could also

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By Katherine Sorrell 2

consider swapping a shower curtain for a smart glass screen. Add a set of sumptuously fluffy white towels, some luxury toiletries and a scattering of scented candles, and you’re set for a blissful bathing experience every day.

9. Organise your kitchen

Mend or replace any worn or mismatching implements, reorganise your cupboards and drawers and, if storage is an issue, add a rail, shelf or trolley so that everything has a neatly allotted space. Overall, aim for a coordinated, pristine look that will make cooking a pleasure.

10. Add an amazing aroma for an upmarket effect

There’s nothing nicer than walking into a space that smells divine, so arrange scented candles, oil diffusers or a simple vase of fresh flowers in your hallway and main rooms. Instant luxury.

1 This gorgeous room at the Hotel Tresanton has all the right ingredients. Hotel Tresanton, St Mawes, Cornwall TR2 5DR: 01326 270 055; tresanton.com.

2 Create a calm, relaxing bathroom filled with luscious toiletries and soft towels. Loxwood stool, £49; Dorma

Sumptuously Soft towels, from £10; Dorma Luxurious

Memory Foam bath rug, £40; all Dunelm: dunelm.com.

3 A unified colour scheme helps a living room feel elegant and relaxed. Houghton corner sofa in Tweedy Blend Blue, £1,725; storage footstool, £450; cushions, from £12; all Next: next.co.uk