Things that make a house look "together" - what do you think?

[slowlygettingthere]

So a tip I read on Mumsnet ages ago, was that if you have a bit of jewellery and your nails done then you look in control of your life to outsiders -
even if you're not.
I am aware that we shouldn't care what others think but I am working on a fake it till you make it methodology.

I am a big fan of FLY lady and love the shiny sink feeling -
What is the good housekeeping equivalent of having your nails done?

I have not a sodding clue I'm afraid :o

I'm just happy if the washing up's done!

Arranging the cushions on the sofa makes it look like you've made an effort. I used to have a cleaner who did that and pretty much nothing else because it made it look like she'd been cleaning rather than watching Jeremy Kyle

Flowers are also good, as long as you get rid of them when they start to die!

Books. Lots and lots of books. Everywhere. They hide a multitude of sins and make the homeowner appear intelligent!

Clean bathroom sink and loo help a lot - if these are ok and visitors drop in I feel less worried about general untidiness.

My house always looks better for a good tidy up tbh.

Fresh scents, flowers and bright airy rooms. Even if it's really a mess beneath all of that it feels like an effort was made and makes you forget other slightly less pulled together areas.

Also, shutting the door messy rooms. If you can't see them, they don't exist.

Tidy, nice curtains, cushions and fantastic lights.

Picking up any stuff (toys/books/clothes) from the floor and a quick once over with the hoover, and opening the windows to get the fresh airflow going works wonders.

I'm often surprised by how just hoovering makes the house seem "fine" rather than "a bit depressing".

To add - if you walk into an empty room with a fantastic light fitting it looks so much better, more luxurious.

these are all good
true about a ood tidy up
am just looking for short cuts!!

Candles.. Lots of candles. Vase of fresh lillies

Throws and cushions on the sofa.

Yes to books :)

Lamps and dimmer switches

i do think having a candle lit and the radio on helps too

I'm feeling a bit critical of my house today, so I'm going to come at it from the opposite side: great house, mostly good decor, but when i get pissed off with it, its about grubby or tatty woodwork, and crap lampshades.

So I agree with PPs, and say good lights: don't have to be fancy, but they do have to be well considered (task or mood? Height? Brightness). And I think if your woodwork and light-switches are clean and crisp, it gives a good overall impression.

You know that thing about French women looking in the mirror before they go out and taking off one accessory? I think there's a case for a bit of editing in your house too. I have accumulated more ornaments, vases and candlesticks than I ever expected to own, but I can't bear that look where every surface is covered with them. There's no rule that you have to display everything at once. If I have beautiful flowers on the sideboard, my silver tea set gets put away for a while. The table is dressed with a bowl of nuts OR a grouping of my favourite candlesticks. Takes a load less dusting, and satisfies my short attention span!

Definitely agree that you do not need to display all your ornaments at once! On the contrary: you should put them all away in a large decorations cupboard and only take out a few, appropriate to the season.

I don't have any ornaments I don't think.
Maybe that is where I am going wrong.

Well, I do think a house with no "ornaments" at all does look a bit studenty, but "ornaments" to me isn't about china teddy bears or horse brasses. A vase of flowers or a pair of candles counts as an ornament. A good rug is an ornament. To be honest, a geat blender or a bowl of fruit on your kitchen worktop could be a sort of ornament... Just a little something to remind you of life's visual pleasures.

I bet you have some stuff that you could use to lift your interiors schemes. An assortment of nice soaps (unused Christmas gifts, TKMaxx bargains etc) plonked in a bowl, make a laid back display for a tidy bathroom windowsill. If you have you have souvenirs from family holidays, make a feature of them. If they're beautiful things in their own right, give them space. If it's a collection of kitsch (naked lady pens, shells off the beach, Eiffel Tower playing cards etc...) pile them all together into a big glass jar. The main thing is that the surface you adorn should be tidy, otherwise it'll just one more thing to add to the clutter.

If you're short on pictures, you can fix that without breaking the bank with a few prints and some ikea frames. I've dismantled old charity shop books with nice illustrations (art books, natural history books etc), and framed them - you end up with something a bit different from mass-market prints.

Twigs and pebbly shit.

Brownsauce I like the idea of all the tat in one big jar. Genius.

I have the ikea Lack side tables and have put a big square box under each of them. In times of panic when visitors announce fifteen minutes before they land, everything gets swept into these bows and put back under the table.

If the sofa looks nice and there's no dishes on the side everything looks tidier.

I have Monica cupboards they help emmencely.

I think hoovering helps immensely, even if the carpet doesn't look too bad, I feel so much better after running the Hoover over! I do try and make sure the side tables/kitchen sides and chest of drawers in the hall are clear of crap too. Tbh though, my house never looks together and sorted. The sofas are ghastly, but waiting til the DCs are a bit older to replace and the decor is the best we can do with what we've got - it's a rented house and there's not a chance in hell I'm stripping wallpaper and skimming Walls!

Large basket/ box/ bin for sweeping clutter into in an emergency.
Cushions (just a few) and matching rug.
I would disagree on books. I think they make the place look messy.
Yes to lilies: a bit cliched, but do the trick.
Yes to lighting; I leave a table lamp or something on because it seems to give the place a softer, less dirty, look.
Clean kitchen surfaces and loo/ sink.

I would add clear surfaces and yy to minimal ornaments, less effort for dusting too! no dust on TV or tv stand! pet hate of mine lol

A tidy/clean hall and living room, clean toilet and sink, dishes done and put away.

I think it's about the house ssentially being clean. There isn't a lampshade or soap in the world that will distract if they're covered in a film of dust. The difference in a house when the skirting boards are gleaming as opposed to dirty is immense.