I think being cooped up for so long (almost 8 weeks!) has finally taken its toll on me. After feeling bored and uninspired with our place for the last few weeks, and feeling restless for the last few days, something in me just snapped. I’d been thinking of sprucing up our space for a while, and last week I thought, fuck it. I’m doing it now.

Initially, it was the kitchen that triggered me, but I ended up doing a little makeover for a few corners in other rooms as well. I posted a few stories on Instagram and got lots of responses for those, so I thought I’d share a bit more here. I’ve always loved having a glimpse into other people’s living space (for inspiration, not in the stalker-ish way!), so maybe it’s the same for other people? 😉

Anyway, here we go.

New kitchen shelf and storage

I’ve always struggled with our kitchen, and it’s probably my least favorite room in the house. It’s crammed with big, ugly pieces of furniture that came with the house, with tiny and inconvenient storage space. It was impossible to be organized when there isn’t enough place to put everything, and I usually end up shoving things in whatever space I could find.

As the room was already so full, adding extra storage space was a bit tricky, and it narrowed down the choices significantly when it comes to choosing furniture. In the end, I settled for an open shelf. The large shelf surface allows me to put some kitchen appliances and big storage boxes, with enough space for some decor pieces as well.

Now, the storage pieces. I knew I wanted transparent containers for our pantry staples — it’s important that I could see in a glance the ingredients we have and where they are, while keeping the whole thing look nice and pleasing. I also knew I wanted big containers for things we cook regularly (like rice, pasta, and lentils), so I wouldn’t have to keep re-filling the container every time we use it. To mix things up, I added in some wonderful baskets for little things that would just look scattered when they’re put on the shelf on their own.

Transparent storage boxes, jars, and some baskets, all from IKEA.

And finally, I wanted to make it look homey and personal, so I added some plants and my favorite dog-and-wine wine artwork I purchased on Etsy a few years ago. I have to say I’m very pleased with how it looks!

Lair spruce-up with a new rug

The lair before (left) and after (right)

You might have seen photos of my study before (lovingly called ‘the lair’, as this is where I cook up the evil plans to take over the world). None of the furniture in this room was new — all was bought secondhand, including the old brown rug (I think I paid 100 SEK or around €10 for that). I’d been pretty happy with how it looked (considering I spent very little to decorate it), but I always knew the rug would be the first to go when I had the budget to ‘upgrade’ this room.

Last week, while putting in the order on JYSK, I added this thick rug as well. It totally transforms the room! The room feels a lot fresher and brighter now. So while it’s a bit pricey, I think it’s worth it (especially now that I spend most of the time in this room for work).

New corner in the bedroom

This corner in our bedroom used to have a TV stand and a screen before. I wasn’t keen on both in the bedroom, as I wanted the room to feel more ‘zen’. So we took out the TV stand and screen (we rarely used it anyway), moved the dresser to this corner, and added a photo, a plant, and Edinburgh artwork which I bought during my trip there years ago. I’ve visited the city a few times since, and there’s just something about it that makes me feel warm and so, so happy. Looking at this painting of one of my favorite cities in the world always brings me back to those wonderful times in Edinburgh.

As this corner is a bit dark, I also put a table lamp there, which gives it a nice warm glow when turned on.

So that’s what I was up to last weekend. We only did small changes in the house, but the rooms feel so different now. Refreshed and a lot nicer. As for me, I no longer feel restless and uninspired (let’s hope it stays like this for long).

How about you? How are you doing during the quarantine? Do you have any projects going on to keep the boredom at bay?