Here at jmm PR, we have been scouring the internet for our favourite articles of the week.
This week brings festive hacks to get your home ready for Christmas as well as the kitchen trends for 2022.
Image: H&M Home
Good Homes – 12 Christmas hacks to make this season extra special
As we approach the final weekend before Christmas, you may be on the lookout for last minute ideas to prepare your home and ensure that everything goes smoothly this festive season. We’ve found a great article from Good Homes, which shares 12 festive hacks that are sure to make this Christmas the best one yet!
First and foremost, clearing out your cupboards is key to ensuring your kitchen is ready for the festive season. Reorganise food (throwing away anything that’s out of date), place labels on jars to ensure cooking is simple and opt for some tiered shelving so you have easy access to all of your ingredients. For anyone that’s expecting guests over the festive period, it’s essential that your home is cosy and inviting. Investing in some snug accessorises, such as throws, rugs and cushions, is the best place to start to create a welcoming atmosphere. The article recommends opting for neutral colours for a sophisticated look, and these will look stunning regardless of your Christmas colour scheme!
When it comes to table décor, why not add a personal touch by making your own place settings? For a super-simple, budget friendly option, you could tie a handwritten label onto a bauble or a branch of festive foliage. If time isn’t on your side and you want to create a stunning centrepiece that will wow your guests, Good Homes recommends decorating your table with small letterbox trees. The ones mentioned in the article even come complete with a velvet topper, lights, baubles and a garland!
We’re always looking for tips and tricks on how to be more sustainable, especially over the festive period, and this article provides a great idea when it comes to gift wrapping. ‘Furoshiki’, which is the art of Japanese fabric wrapping, is a more eco-friendly solution to using traditional wrapping paper. Good Homes suggests using festive tea towels to wrap your gifts, which can either be an extra present for your loved ones or recycled and used again as wrapping paper. We also love the idea of giving children a fun activity to keep them occupied over the festive season. The article suggests giving the little ones some Christmas cakesicles to decorate, the simple and easy-to-follow recipe for which can be found on the Hobbycraft Ideas Hub!
To read the rest of Good Homes’ festive hacks, make sure you check out the article and don’t forget to let us know if there are any that you will be trying out this weekend.
Image: Neptune
Country Living – The kitchen trends that will transform our homes in 2022
As we draw closer to the end of the year, we’re even more focused on keeping an eye out for the upcoming 2022 interior design trends. So far on our blog, we have discussed wallpapers, lighting and home improvement trends for 2022. This week, we’re taking a look at Country Living’s kitchen trend predictions and, as we’ve spent more time than ever in the kitchen over the past two years as a result of lockdowns, furlough and working from home, we’re excited to see what 2022 has in store for one of the most vital rooms in the house.
As many of us have been spending more time in our homes than ever, organisation has become key to maintaining a calm environment, as discussed in our blog post on making our homes a happier place. This is why kitchen larders are making a comeback in 2022 as not only do they offer extra storage space, but they also add a decorative touch. Country Living even suggests making your clutter part of the display if your larder has open storage or a glass front. Try opting for glass jars for your dried goods, as well as making your stock look presentable, replacing packages with containers will also help free up space as they can be easily stacked and are less bulky than packaging.
Speaking of organisation, sectioning out rooms into zones with different purposes was another tip for creating a happy home in one of our previous blog posts and this applies to kitchens too. With many of us working from home, the kitchen has become a hybrid space of not only cooking our meals but an office space too. Especially if you cannot work in any other area of the house, zoning out your kitchen into a working area and an eating area is beneficial for bringing some normality and routine to the household. If your kitchen is big enough, simply place a small desk with a table lamp or opt for a comfy chair instead and decorate the area with some books or even wall art to create a zoom-friendly office space.
Image: Neptune
And as we require our spaces to become more adaptable for different purposes, we need lighting to accommodate to not only specific tasks such as cooking or working from home, but also for creating a more ambient atmosphere for some downtime once the work day is over. For these needs, layered lighting is a good idea; ceiling spot lights will brighten up the whole space whereas under counter lights will give you a clear view of specific cooking tasks, and if you have a kitchen island then pendant lighting will not only illuminate this area but will also look stylish and trendy if finished in brass.
Metal finishes have become increasingly popular in kitchens this year and Country Living points out that there has been a 90 per cent increase in searches for brass homeware and lighting in particular. Metal textures fit in perfectly with more traditional kitchen looks and brassy tones bring more warmth and character to your space. In terms of colours, blues and greens are the most popular colour predictions for 2022. Earthy tones in particular have been frequently used over the past few years as people look to bring nature into their homes after spending more time indoors than ever. Not only this, blue and green go together well with metallic textures and can bring a more calming and positive vibe to a space which is beneficial when working from home.
What’s your favourite kitchen trend prediction for 2022? Let us know in the comments!
Ends
Jess and Steph at jmm PR
17th December 2021
