So, the day has finally come and your darling child is off to university! (blog post about what to turn their vacated room into to follow 😊 ) It is all very exciting until you arrive at their accomodation and find their room to be nothing more than a bland soulless box. Practical is the kindest description that can be given with the space they are presented with.

So how can you transform the space in a cost-efficient way? Obviously you will need to focus on items that you can bring with you but that doesn’t mean you should just go to your local Wilko and panic buy everything in there. We can make big impactful changes without spending huge amounts of money.

For the uninitiated, dopamine is a neurotransmitter or chemical messenger which when released into the brain induces feelings of happiness.

Dopamine dressing has been much talked about this year, it’s a simple concept really, it involves wearing clothes you love that boost your mood. They tend to be brightly coloured, sometimes involve colour drenching or mixing clashing prints. Well now I am pleased to introduce to you “Dopamine Décor!”

It is really the most joyful interior trend of recent years, forget pristine and intentional curation – this is all about items that spark joy, colour pairings that invigorate you and basically anything that pus a smile upon your face! Throw out your rule book and start embracing your true self ….. BUT ……….

How do I do this I hear you cry, well, here is my guide to dopamine dressing your home

Firstly, how very exciting!

Cooking in a kitchen that has been designed precisely to your needs is such a privilege and one that a huge percentage of the population never get to experience BUT where on earth do you begin? You may have spent hours on Pinterest and have a heap of magazine tear outs piling up but how do you translate these ideas into a fully functioning kitchen that works perfectly for you AND fits your budget?

I have been lucky enough to design 2 kitchens in my homes and have written this handy guide to get you started. Have you got a cuppa and perhaps a biscuit or 2? Then I shall begin……

The kitchen and how it is used has undergone a radical transition in the recent years, where it was once used my one member of the household – usually the female, it is now considered the hub of the home and used by the whole family not just to cook but to entertain, eat, work and even relax.

Recently I had the pleasure of attending a presentation through The Interior Designers Hub on the topic of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Interior Design. Delivered by Vanessa Edwards @practically.fabulous it would be fair to say that at the beginning of her presentation there was a group of very worried Interior Designers who all believed that we would soon be out of a job, by the end of it we were definitely less worried and actually quite intrigued and interested to have a go ourselves!

I was about to start this blog by saying that I have always loved learning but then I paused; that isn’t 100% accurate. I actually really didn’t enjoy learning at school. As a child I found sitting still for hours and around other people incredibly difficult. It wasn’t until I entered Sixth Form and had more freedom to choose from a wider selection of subjects that I really started to enjoy learning. The subject that really ignited my joy of learning was at A level studying Psychology, which is ironic because it wasn’t my first choice – I had started studying Biology and just found it impossible to understand what the teacher was saying let alone understand the complex processes she was trying to teach. I begged to change; by chance a space had opened in the Psychology class and I convinced them to let me switch. I am so pleased they did because I then went onto read Applied Psychology & Computing at Bournemouth University. It is difficult to accurately explain just how much I love Psychology, in particular social psychology. What I loved most about it is that it is subjective, highly nuanced and there isn’t one right answer – which is the same for interior design.

Errrr, yes of course! Next question ….. Only joking, settle in and let’s discuss all things ceiling …

Historically ceilings were afforded much more importance than they are today in interior design. Period homes had high ceilings that featured ornate cornicing, decorative roses & mouldings and were sometimes even embossed with patterns stretching the entire surface of the ceiling. Ceilings were treated with the same attention to detail as the rest of the room…

I’ll bet you’ve considered what colour to paint a room but have you ever actually thought about how you would like the room to make you feel?

Having a basic understanding of the psychology of colour can be transformational in your home.

Colour is everywhere and most of the time we are not aware of it – until we step into a room that makes us feel awkward or immediately at home.

Colour has the power to influence us on mental, physical and emotional levels and to make it a bit trickier to understand, it is also highly personal. Whereas I find most shades of grey bland there are many people in the world who find it calming and love using it in their homes and get this; there is no right and wrong here! This is why it is so important to understand how different colours make you feel.

So here we are again, the business of Christmas is over and we have begun the big declutter that January inevitably brings. I know January can be a grim month for some after the sparkle and expectation of December but I really love the hunkering down that the cold and wet demands. It gives me the excuse to prioritise reading and to go to bed early and allows me to evaluate what went well in the year just completed whilst also making decisions about what is no longer serving me and therefore is time to let go off.

So grab yourself a cuppa, light a candle, pull that blanket up and let’s begin …..

One thing I hear so often either spoken out loud or implied is the concern that other people won’t like it. My answer always is who cares! (definitely harder to hear if you are a people pleaser)Ask yourself why does their opinion matter?

Like our parents used to say to us, “if everyone liked the same thing the world would be boring”. My motto is, if you like it, put it in your home. We have literally no control over what other people think of us and nor, should we. If it brings you joy, do it!