When I'm comfy (inactive)!I don’t want to get up and switch off five lamps. I love lamps in a room. I’m less enthusiastic about going around switching every one off before bed! If you’re renovating or building, there’s a simple detail worth discussing with your electrician: sockets for lamps that you can control from a wall switch. Walk into the room, flick a switch, and your lamps come on. You can have a lovely soft evening light without using the ceiling lights at all. But here’s where a little forward planning matters. You need some idea of where your furniture will go before deciding where those sockets belong. Where will you sit and read? Where could a table lamp go? Will there be a console behind the sofa? You don’t have to choose every lamp now, but you do need to think about how you’ll use the room. It’s a small detail, easily overlooked when there are a hundred other decisions to make, and something you’ll appreciate every evening. What lights do you actually use when you settle down in your sitting room—the ceiling lights, lamps, or a mixture?

When I’m looking at a home, I’m not really thinking first about Christmas Day, dinner parties or the one weekend a year when the whole family comes to stay. I’m thinking about an ordinary Monday morning. Where do you make coffee? Where do the bags get dropped? Where do the shoes end up? Do two people keep getting in each other’s way in the kitchen? Is there somewhere sensible to put a wet towel? Is there a socket where you actually need one? Those tiny everyday irritations are often the things that tell you most about whether a house is working properly. So today, I’d love you to notice just one thing in your home that annoyed you this morning. Nothing dramatic. Just one small thing that could work better. Put it below. I’d be really interested to see what comes up.

I’m off to a wedding on this beautiful sunny day so catch you all next week! ❤️👰🤵

I had a few days away, and as always, it’s amazing what a bit of distance can do. You come back with fresh eyes. Now we’re into August, many people are starting to think about the projects they’d like to get finished before the end of the year. If that’s you, this is the perfect time to ask questions before you start spending money. Remember, this community isn’t about having the perfect home. It’s about making better decisions. You can post: • Floor plans • Renovation ideas • Kitchen or bathroom layouts • Lighting plans • Colour schemes • Furniture layouts • Exterior ideas • Photos of rooms you’re struggling with • Or simply ask, “What would you do?” No question is too small. Sometimes it’s the smallest decision that has the biggest impact. So, what’s the next decision you’re trying to make in your home? I’d love to help (& so would the community!)

Have you ever had to make a decision about your home with your partner and found that you fundamentally disagree? It might be something as simple as the size of the television. One person wants it smaller. The other wants it larger. No judgment either way. What I try to do with clients is get both people to step back from the actual object and think about what they really want from the room. Quite often, the person asking for the larger television doesn’t necessarily need a huge screen. What they really want is to sit comfortably, put their feet up, see the television clearly and watch it without people constantly walking in front of them. A separate TV room would solve that, but most homes don’t have an extra room available. The answer may simply be a better layout: a comfortable chair or sofa with a footstool, a clear view of the screen and a route through the room that doesn’t interrupt whoever is watching. Once those needs are met, a smaller television may work perfectly well. Very often, disagreements about our homes are not really about the item we are arguing over. They are about how we want to feel and function in the space. Have you ever disagreed over something in your home and later realised the real issue was something else entirely?