New Collection at H&M

When it comes to clothes you can often buy one thing and it feels like it has revitalised your whole wardrobe. The top that goes with all the trousers. The shoes that work with dresses and jeans. Even a scarf that suddenly finishes off every outfit. The same principle can apply to rooms but unless you’re buying a big piece of furniture it can be harder to make an impact with accessories because one new candlestick can get lost among everything else.

But, just as we get bored wearing the same thing all the time and want a little refresh, so we want to do the same to our houses without feeling we have to redecorate. The good news is you don’t need to spend a lot but you need to buy more than one thing. H&M is a great shop for this kind of exercise as it’s all so affordable so you can buy two new cushion covers and a candlestick for under £50.

This is the sort of thing I have done here so show you how you can change your room quite easily by swapping over accessories and changing the colours. If your basic scheme is quite neutral then changing from gold to silver accessories, adding a different accent colour and then putting different books on the coffee table can make the whole space feel like new. Also, if you’re not spending too much you can change it more often or be a little more daring or trend-led than you would if you were buying a sofa – see those pineapples which still seem to be ubiquitous.

My two favourite colour schemes at the moment are navy and gold and green and silver, both of which work with shades of grey as a backdrop or with softer chalky whites. Spend another tenner on a vase and fill it with the lovely greeny grey leaves of the eucalyptus and your room will feel new again.

Next month you can do it again with outrageous sequin cushions and Christmas tree patterns but we’re not going there just yet…

As you build up a stack of accessories you can swap them over seasonally – just as you do with your clothes. Or move them between different rooms so that you can keep it fresh all the time.