Feel like your house needs some love but don’t want to spend out? Here are some of my favourite (and cheap) ways to refresh my home. If you get through all of these and are desperate for more, try Apartment Therapy’s January Cure.

Move furniture

This used to be my favourite pastime as an older child (no, actually) and I would spend hours and hours drawing room layouts and moving things around. I’ve recently switched the position of the sofa and chairs in my open plan living area and I’m delighted with how it sections it off from the dining area and draws your eyes to our beautiful wallpaper. Yes you have to clean places that have been hidden previously but it’s free, easy and oddly therapeutic.

// Photograph by Chez Larsson

Show off

Even mundane things can look good if you display them well. I’m no expert but I know that things work well with deliberate variety (of heights, objects, etc) or deliberate similarity (of theme, size, etc). Oh and there’s a rule of things looking better in threes. If you want more ideas from someone who knows what they’re talking about, check out Chez Larsson’s the art of display.

Buy it flowers

Whether they’re from your garden or your supermarket, a few simple stems always bring colour and interest.

Frame something

Hanging something on the wall that means something to you – be it artwork, photos, text or fabric – is a great way to lift how you feel about your four walls. Ok, so frames can be very expensive but they don’t have to be. We rooted through local charity shops and found several cheap frames of different sizes which we then painted black and hung above our fireplace.