Finishing Touches

[HeIsYourBrother]

What finishing touches bring you joy with regard to housekeeping, cleaning or home decorating? What little tweaks or accessories add the most value? How do you pep up a room quickly without necessarily deep cleaning?

Sorry for all the questions because I'm not able to be articulate about what I mean.

If there's a room in your house that just never looks good or finished, what little changes do you think help? And what areas of the house, when cleaned, give you the biggest feeling of the house being clean overall?

My examples:
-Plants can make a place look loved
-if my stairs are vacuumed I feel the house is generally in a better state

• Windows being clean makes a huge difference (although I wouldn't call that a small tweak, it's a job I hate)
• I actually love when my washing machine and dishwasher are both whirring away, makes me feel productive
• fresh air/ window open/ nice scent
• toilet seats down (My children don't seem to agree)

I need help with my kitchen specifically. It's a rented house so I can't change anything big. It's perfectly fine but a bit boring. Any ideas of what accessories could tie things together a bit?

Fresh flowers are always nice when I receive them, although I do buy the £1 daffodils in the spring.

Vacuumed, dusted, tidied and then fresh air brought in through an open window or two (even it's for a few minutes).

Cushions on the sofa straightened is a finishing touch. Makes the room look less messy somehow.

I don't like to have too many things out on my kitchen counters as it can looked cluttered but I do have bright tea towels on the oven door (I know some people don't like their tea towels out) and some strikingly coloured vases on the window sill.

My big ones are

• keeping surfaces as clear as possible
• not having things living on the floor
• dishes done, bins emptied, surfaces wiped.
• open all the windows for 10 minutes

Then for finishing touches

• fresh flowers
• herbs growing in the kitchen
• square off things like chairs, tables, tea towels, placemats... anything with a corner really. Sounds fussy but it’s a small thing that makes a massive difference.
• softer light in the evenings, maybe under the counters in the kitchen? You can buy stick on strips fairly cheaply. Or even just a couple of candles.

I think making beds is really important. Even if the rest of the room is sparkling a messy bed makes the whole room look messy.

I’m going to focus on hiding cables as our living areas look like snake pits. I have a feeling that it’s going to make a significant difference.

Our cleaner folds the loo roll into a triangle at the end. Makes the bathroom look finished and reminds me how sparkling the house is!!

As for your kitchen, arrange everything out in trays, makes them easier to move but also contain the things so they don’t spread out.