The Home Styling Essentials

Home styling can be hard. It can be difficult to get the balance right and keep the decor clean and tidy, whilst putting your personality into the room and also getting the look that you want. When it came to decorating my bedroom, I kept several ground rules in mind and although I'm constantly adding bits and pieces to my room and changing things around, I do have an overall theme to the look that I like to stick to. House Network kindly sent me over a #HNHomeStyling kit to spruce up my bedroom as well as the other rooms in the house so below are some of my favourite things for home styling, with a couple of my tips thrown in. 

Firstly, flowers are a biggie for me. I absolutely love a good bunch of flowers and have blogged many times about some of the beautiful bunches I've had in my bedroom, including this bunch of Valentine's roses, but buying fresh flowers can be expensive and they require a bit of care to keep them looking great. That's why I love artificial flowers. Sure, it's always lovely to have a real bunch but artificial flowers are just so much easier and can look just as nice in some respects. A top tip from me for making them look fab in your decor is to put them in something a little bit more unconventional than a standard vase. For example, putting them in milk bottles or empty whisky bottles can look great and add such a splash of personality to the room!

Next up, candles are an old favourite of just about everyone who loves home styling. Whether it's a huge Yankee Candle jar, a tea light or a special smelling candle, all types instantly add a sense of comfort to any room and make it really seem like home. The candles in the first photos were in the #HNhomestyling kit and I think they look great in a little cluster together. The second candle is from a French brand called My Jolie Candle and I absolutely love it. Not only does it look great and smell great, but hidden in every candle is a piece of jewellery with Swarovski crystals and the most fun thing is that you don't know what it's going to be. One in every hundred candles even has a special piece of real gold or real diamond jewellery worth either £200, £1000 or £5000! You can choose from necklaces, bracelets and rings and choose from a variety of scents, including gingerbread, caramel macaron and red berry, overall making a lovely personal addition to any room.

Coffee table books are another super fun way to add some personality into a room. This Lost in Translation book is absolutely adorable and is jam packed full of weird and wonderful words from across the globe that can't quite be translated properly, including "forelsket" which means the indescribable euphoria you feel when you fall in love, and "ubuntu" which means "I find my worth in you and you find your worth in me." I have quite a few "coffee table" books, including Alexa Chung's It and Tuna Melts My Heart and I love to stack them on my bookshelf to inject a bit of "me" into my room. 

Finally, we've got the issue of clutter. As House Network says, clutter is home styling's worst enemy and this is where storage boxes are so essential. Whether you put them on display or put them in your wardrobe, storage boxes are absolutely necessary for keeping your floors clear of those things that don't quite have a place. My brother has got the Union Jack one in his room full of his weights and things that would just ruin the feel of the room if they were laid out and I've got all of my skincare and bath products in my storage boxes. They look so much tidier and can even add to the overall feel of the decor! 

What are your home decor essentials?

Amy x

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