You can't buy happiness, however, according to presenter Katie Piper, there are ways you can help encourage it at home. The presenter told Ideal Home exclusively that to her creating a happy home is about engaging all the senses.
As a mum of two Katie Piper knows the importance of maintaining a positive vibe in the home, especially during this year. 'It is something I try to do in my own family home, for me it is all about the vibe and often that relies a lot on your senses,' she explains.
'So the smell of the home, the touch of the home in terms of the textures. Obviously visual is a really big thing, and the sounds in the home, the acoustics,' she continues. 'I think that all of those things can create a peaceful but uplifting environment to relax in, but now to work in too.'
If you are looking to swap the negative 2020 energy in your home with positive vibes, here are Katie's five tips for creating a happy home
1. Scatter diffusers and scented candles around the home
Scent is a huge part of creating a sense of wellbeing at home. Katie likes to opt for two distinct fragrances to help her go from day time to relaxing in the evening.
During the day she likes to fill the home with light floral, feminine fragrances in the form of a reed diffuser by the front door. However, when relaxing before bed she prefers a stronger scent. 'When I'm relaxing in the evenings in front of the telly I like heavy, oud and musk scents.'
However, to help her when working from home Katie has included a citrus candle to her scent rotation.
'Since doing all these zooms at homes, I've started lighting, citrusy sort of energising candles during the day, so I don't get zoom fatigue,' she adds.
2. Stock up on cosy blankets
Blankets are a great way to create a cosy, happy home. 'Because we have children we have all sorts of throws in baskets in the front room,' explains Katie.
3. Create affirmation keepsakes for the home
Affirmations on walls, cushions and other homeware are a great way to fill a family home with positive vibes. As part of a collaboration with Cricut, Katie has been creating affirmation keepsakes and cushions with her daughter.
'With my eldest girl, we've put affirmations on her scatter cushions. Without directly having conversations with her about mental health and positive thinking, those things have naturally come out through that process, which I think is really powerful,' says Katie.
4. Make a craft corner
Crafting has been one of the biggest trends to come out of this last year, as a way to centre and calm ourselves.
'In lockdown one when I really couldn't work. that's when I really fell in love with art and craft,' says Katie. 'We've always had art trolleys and a little corner for the girls, I said to my husband why do we only do it for them. Let's make a craft corner for us.'
You can create one easily, with a simple IKEA bench or if you're short on space a trolley from IKEA or Hobbycraft can help you carve out space to be creative at home.
5. Invest in rugs to soften sounds
When it comes to creating all the sounds of a happy home, an aspect of that can be asking Alexa to play your favourite radio station. However, there are other simple things you can do to alter the acoustics in a house, that can make a huge difference.
'When the kids are at home they fill the house with sound,' says Katie. 'We removed a lot of our internal doors to open plan the downstairs, and we put rugs in to soften some of the sounds. And make it less cold and noisy, and makes it a bit more homely.'
Related: Boost your wellbeing and productivity at home with these clever lighting tips
Will you be trying out any of Katie's happy home tips?
Katie Piper has partnered with Cricut to create #MessagesOfJoy this Christmas.
You can recreate Katie's range of designs with the free Design Space app and Cricut Joy, which retails at £179.99 and is available at Very.co.uk, Curry’s PC World and Argos.
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