An All White House Update, One Year In

There’s something I find endlessly fascinating about how our homes affect our mental states. As someone who works from home my house has an absolutely huge influence on the way I feel about myself and the world around me: the fact I’m surrounded by bright and all white house, light-giving glass and minimal unobtrusive furniture leaves me in a happy state of mind, whereas back in 2012 when I lived in a home with black beams and darker walls I felt infinitely more lethargic and unmotivated.

I know some people think all the white is sterile and almost hospital-like but I find it so peaceful and calming. So clean!! I’m one of those people who can’t concentrate unless her surroundings are ordered and tidy – I can’t go to bed with a messy kitchen – so this way of living really suits me and helps me to be as relaxed as possible.

We’ve been in our all white house for over a year and every so often I like to take a bit of a stock-take of how it’s all going. With two kids, a busy life and an open-plan way of living the space naturally becomes cluttered with crap quickly, so the way we live harmoniously with our belongings is always a work in progress. I.e. I’d rather not have LEGO towers and paper maché animal creations in each room of the house, if I can help it.

I wrote about our home soon after we first moved in here, if you’d like to see. And here’s where we’re at now! This dining room saw a lot of business over Christmas. I had six people here for Christmas day and 15 on Boxing day, so once all the decorations were cleared away I was really keen to strip as much clutter out of the room as possible and go back to our clean roots.

The black and white vases here (vintage Kenzo, thanks mum) used to be in the lounge by the fire but they’ve been moved here to make space for wood storage – boring but necessary. The copper ‘LOVE’ letters are notonthehighstreet (£60) and were bought to celebrate Valentine’s recently.

The biggest change in this room has been the massive TV, one of the best things I’ve ever brought into the all white house. It is so crisp and so lovely that it’s almost better than being in real life: we all LOVE IT.

I’ve also popped a bar cart in the window and moved my booze over there (I’m not a spirit drinker, it’s totally for show) and strung my notonthehighstreet heart garland over the picture (of me!) over the fireplace.

This kitchen is small but a pleasure to be in. It’s just the right size for me and has everything I need: many of its finishes are shiny, which some might find irritating but I love to clean and polish to sparkle (I know, it’s not normal).

The breakfast bar is where we eat most of our meals, do our homework, read the papers. I sometimes like to bring my laptop here to work but, total first world problems, the sun can get a bit bright. Hux wondered the other day why we don’t have curtains in this room but I like them like this – all open to the outside.

Ahh, the bedroom, my favourite room of the house. I may never iron my sheets (sorry, mum) but I seriously love spending time in here: it’s my little haven, the only room the LEGO seldom reaches (though not ever, I’m no wizard).

This room is probably the one I’ve worked the most on since we moved in to the all white house, with a new bed, new mattress, new sheets and new lights and accessories. The desk is a new addition and makes me really happy – I’m so productive in this room, and hardly ever want to nap these days… ;)

The stool you can see here on the right was from Freecycle yonks about and is something I’ve always held on to. I moved it into here recently and it’s perfect for slinging my clothes on at the end of a day.

These wardrobe doors hide a multitude of messy sins. One of my aims for this year is to enlist the help of a wardrobe stylist who can help me edit the clothes I have: there are SO MANY of them and I really want to utilise those I already have rather than buying more. Plus, I’ve become obsessed with YouTube wardrobe tours: is this something people would want to see here?

One of the biggest luxuries in my life is a clean bathroom. Walking in here to shiny white surfaces really calms my mind on the daily (I know, I know, I’m a weirdo), but I wouldn’t have it any other way.  Those E-cloths for polishing are my best friend and I use mine on all glass, mirror and chrome here (there’s A LOT).

I’m not showing you the children’s room as we’re mid half-term and they are physically incapable of keeping it clean. If the door’s shut the mess doesn’t count, is my motto.

The all white house (mine not Trump’s): we love you.