Comment: Can’t afford to move? Treat your existing home to an autumn re-jig
A cup of coffee - Credit: Getty Images/Top Photo Group RF
By this point in September, parents will be well and truly settled in back-to-school mode, but even those without children have, by now, succumbed to that ingrained rhythm, which makes the month of new school uniform and clean exercise books more about new starts and fresh beginnings than spring.
It is also, traditionally, the season when the housing market starts to pick up again, after families return from holidays and students look for cheap rental homes before Christmas. This month’s figures, showing yet another rise in the price of both sales and rental property, suggest that 2015 is no exception to the rule.
Rather than allow the headlines to make us feel yet more despondent about being unable to upsize, rent a more suitable home, take that first step on the housing ladder, or find an adequate home to retire to, perhaps we can use this new season energy and optimism to ring the changes in our existing homes.
This is not a call to become complacent about the ongoing housing crisis, but if you’re feeling trapped in your current abode, you can still get a fresh new feeling from it with a bit of an interiors re-jig.
And luckily, with the new season comes a host of new trends to get inspired by and a plethora of events, fairs and exhibitions at which to unearth them.
You could do worse than start at this weekend’s Open House London, where some of the city’s best designed buildings will open their doors to members of the public.
These range from famously lavish period pieces to brand new domestic gems, but all offer the opportunity to spy out how other people choose to lay out or decorate their spaces.
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If you want to pick up some pieces yourself or get introduced to new names on the capital’s design scene, London Design Week, also starting this weekend, is the place to head.
The main festival is supported by a variety of local events, as well as designjunction in Holborn and Tent London, the hip East End satellite, meaning you can invest in anything from an entire home re-fit to one beautiful coffee mug to cheer these wet weeks ahead.
And if you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the options, fear not. We’ve picked a selection of the north London highlights at each event so you can focus on having fun finding interesting ways to invigorate your interiors.
