Homeliness is key to making your space inviting to your friends and family. It's tough to achieve the effortless chic look without spending lots of money. For those of us who've just set up home, or just moved in to a new space here are some tips on how to get that cosy yet clean and chic look.

1. Assess the wall coverings, and either paint white or a old fashioned cream (please no magnolia unless you want people to think you are a property developer). You're then free to add art and mirrors to the walls.

2. Get some art and mirrors. Mirrors can be picked up cheaply from antique shops and certain Scandinavian stores. Art work on a budget is a little tricker, if you want something a little unusual. My top tip is to clip frame your old posters, and even some photographs, and postcards. It's almost always worth taking out your camera, non-digital I guess to do this, and take some black and white photos. They always look amazing and a little arty framed in the hall.

3. Furniture, accept all cast offs from friends, family and freecycle with the certain knowledge that you will have to re-cover them, unless you have some fab friends giving away lived in leather, or paint them, or liven them up with cushions. One of my favourite finds was some old 70's style dining chairs we were given, they look very country cool with some pastel check seat cushions on.

4. Flooring, do not, repeat do not live with dodgy carpets. Far better to rip them up, polish the floors if in decent condition, buy new if you're budget will stretch, or even just paint the floor. We've painted our living room floorboards white, which works really well, and coffee and red wine spills just wipe straight off. We do live by the seaside though, which enables white to work the sea look for us, in an older property a darker colour may work better.

5. Buy some rugs for your now naked floors, they can be cheap and cheerful but will keep a cosy look to the room, and keep your toes cold if you have not got any slippers. Not sure if there is an age appropriateness to slippers, but know I only had them when under ten and now over thirty!

6. Put up some shelves and display your prized collections, of teapots, DVD's CD's books, whatever is you. This is your space and it should reflect you and the things that you like to look at. An American friend even managed to make her collection of snow globes cool by popping them in to an open frame white cupboard in a little London flat.

7. You'll need some window coverings that are modern and not too fussy. I suggest looking for old velvet curtains on auction sites, and in the local papers, or buying plain fabric blinds. Sadly, you'll also need to clean the windows to make your home look nice! Or get a window cleaner, but we all know how hard it is to find a decent one.

8. Sort out the front of your space, gravel over the front garden, if you have one, or if you're the greenfingered type weed weed and weed some more. Any outside space, apart from the cosiest cottage will look fabulous with a couple of bay trees in pots, or some herbs on the window sill. Don't forget that the outside is the first thing you see on coming home, and should put you in the mood for snuggling in to your own little den.

Learn more about this author, Bev Jenkins.
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