The everyday essentials that helped me survive renovation life

Peach bedroom with wavy headboard, abstract art above bed, and small round bedside table with orchid — (Image credit: Francesca Swan)

Strategist and content creator Francesca Swan is one of Ideal Home's new Open House contributors, sharing her thoughts on the concept of 'Everything' and what makes a home special to you. See the rest of her articles here.

About halfway through the renovation, I found myself drinking from a chipped cup, whilst using a half-melted spatula to stir a pan with a very dubious, and frankly dangerous handle.

We were living with a random collection of items that had been either salvaged from any box we could lay our hands on in our over-stuffed storage or battered during the utter chaos and demolition of the build.

Creature comforts

First things first – the bedroom. For over six months this room, and bed in particular, multi-tasked as our mission control for working, eating, relaxing and sleeping. The comfort, style and practicality of our most grounding daily ritual had slowly been eroded by overuse and malaise.

It was time for a bedlinen upgrade, which neatly coincided with my discovering Rise and Fall. Founded with the intention to enhance the quality of everyday life, their products are created to last by some of the world’s finest manufacturers, with a focus on ethical sustainability across the board with less waste, considered production and commitment to making every aspect of the business better for people and planet. A true Everything brand to me, bringing much needed, yet accessible luxury to my life.

Their heaven-sent Soft and Smooth range is, without exception, the best bedding I have ever had the good fortune to have wrapped around me. Combining timeless design with exceptional natural materials, it’s silky-smooth, softly luminous and ridiculously comfortable. A subtle nature-inspired palette of buttermilk, pebble and deep clay softly blends perfectly with the powdery tones of our bedroom.

The bedroom has finally been completed by the very welcome addition of the Cornish Beds Porthilly Bed. The bespoke pewter metal frame and softly whimsical wave edge headboard brings subtle and strikingly individual character to the room, balancing our Victorian period features with a delicately contemporary touch.

Hand-crafted to order in their Cornish foundry using traditional Victorian casting techniques, our headboard was personalised using Kirkby Design linen, its hand-spun organic depth creating interesting contrast against the softly glowing pewter frame.

There’s a wonderfully reassuring comfort going to bed every night in something not only beautiful to look at, but that also feels innately strong and properly made with expertise and love. A true Forever Bed.

Beautiful everyday essentials

Blue bakeware on hob in kitchen with red marble worktop and red and white marble splashback

Next up; the everyday heroes, both big and small, that can easily upgrade routine experiences.

I gave our mismatched and somewhat shabby cookware, serveware and tableware a much needed refresh with the wonderful Our Place. I’m fully obsessed with this brand and have been slowly collecting it over the past few years.

Not only do their gorgeous terracottas, soft pinks and warm blues helpfully pair perfectly with our new kitchen palette, the range is super intuitive and versatile, brilliantly uniting form and function.

My new blue salt bakeware set and terracotta serving set make the most of our new kitchen appliances and my ever-ambitious hosting plans, as well as bringing another considered accent of colour.

Other unexpected joys came from a Skandi London red marble wine cooler, perfectly matched to the Rosso Levanto and doubling up as a lovely ornament when not in use.

Bedside table chaos was stylishly solved thanks to pillar pressed glass plates with a subtle ridged detail that catches both the light and the eye, helpfully picked up for a song in Habitat at Sainsbury’s.

Gorgeously unique Archivist Sunray matches make lighting the fire feel a little more considered and special, as well as looking rather nice on the coffee table.

And slightly less glamorous, but highly essential, the Ferm Living Sama toilet brush that is not only easy on the eye, but also does the job of keeping our brand new WC looking brand new.

Forever flowers

Pale green living room with marble fireplace, with large arched mirror above and built in book shelves on either side

Without doubt, flowers are one of the easiest and most joyful ways to brighten up a space. However, bringing beautiful blooms into a constantly dirty and changeable space can considerably reduce their shelf life, and whilst I have Elton John taste in flowers, I do not have his budget for constant refreshes.

Then, on a recent detour into our local Habitat in Sainsbury’s I chanced upon some lovely faux blooms and decided to take a chance and try my hand on an arrangement for the kitchen.

I was aware of the possibility that I’d been blinded by the apparent ease, simplicity and affordability of this wonderful solution, so left it to the guest test. Without exception, every single person asked where I’d bought those beautiful flowers from and was gobsmacked by the answer.

I’m now fully converted and bought some for the living room too.

The selection in our local store is much better than online, plus in this case, it’s always better to see them in person to weed out the good from the bad – not all of them are a sure thing and some shapes and colours are a clear giveaway.

Judge for yourself but check them out if you’re in a similar boat. Dunelm also have a solid collection.

Decorative objects with personality

Framed photo, two small glasses, glass oil and vinegar jar, grey salt and pepper grinders and abstract blue vase full of flowers all sitting on red marble

Styling also has huge power to bring a space together and in our constantly shape-shifting state, that means objet d’art. The interesting, meaningful and considered vases, ornaments and other beautiful small pieces that are easy to move around and quickly bring a dead corner to delightful life with character and nuance.

However, I know myself too well. If I start scrolling for these too widely, I will fall into a very deep and expensive internet hole. So, I’ve learnt to be laser-focused and when time and budget are against me, I’ve found Serax to be indispensable.

When the flat is finished and I've got more time and brain space, I'll widen the net and be able to browse more at leisure. But in the meantime, I know I can head there and it's an effective and efficient way for me to shop.

Their website is so well and widely curated, I am guaranteed to find heavenly Everything pieces, whilst also discovering new and interesting designers.

I also bought several pieces for the old apartment from there, so I’ve shopped my own home to complement the new additions.

The Serax edit (old and new) that finally made the styling of our new kitchen make sense:

Not to forget of course, the wonderful eBay for a longer burn search. I recently picked up an incredible hammered chrome/soft-gold mirror for my office by independent maker, Kerry David Whittle.

I also have this divine vintage onyx fruit and egg bowl in my basket. Quite why I think it’s a good idea to share this with you is beyond me, but as I said, no gatekeeping. Just please don’t buy them before me.

Let there be light (and fragrance)

Small objects sitting on books on stone topped bedside table

We all know there is no faster or easier way to transform the ambience and mood of a room than with lighting and scent. Sade is also a fail-safe for me, but that is a more personal preference.

A scarcity of both plugs and ever-changing available space in which to place a lamp, meant we were constantly at the mercy and horrors of the big light.

I was new to the wonders of cordless lights, but now don’t know how I ever lived without them. Being able to control our lighting set up, no matter what chaos has emerged within any given room at any point is something of a magical wonder to me.

Fast forward to a nearly completed home, and they remain indispensable for creating the perfect ambience for any occasion.

It’s no secret I have an obsession with statement lights and since falling in love with the elegant glass domes that have graced both our hallways, I know I’m not alone in having a real thing for Pooky lights. They’ve snuck into nearly every room, not to mention adding a stylish accent to our summerhouse and terrace outdoor spaces.

Two Pooky lights emerged as must-haves for this particular situation: the Dennis is a beautifully crafted cordless lamp with a wonderfully tactile combination of smooth brass and finely knurled bronze, sitting back effortlessly to the material language of the apartment.

The Bronte is also now a permanent favourite; a perfect little library light, designed to clip neatly on shelves, mantelpieces, and bookcases, where an unsightly cord would get in the way. It brings a warm pool of light exactly where it's needed, whether illuminating a cosy reading spot or simply making my shelves look even more inviting. An essential for our double-walled library in the living room. I might have more than one and could not live without them.

Scent is always also a non-negotiable, but especially when constantly surrounded by the joyous bouquet of eau d’renovation.

Enter Droplet, the Modern British House of Scent, with their Scent Amplifier: an immersive surround scent system, built to fill a space with long-lasting fragrance in an elegant and minimal way.

For starters, it’s a rather heart-stoppingly beautiful addition to any room; a portable walnut-toned wooden base topped with a hand-blown crystal glass vessel and a warming light that softly illuminates when scent is in motion.

But equally importantly, it delivers up to 15 hours of diffusion on a single charge. The result is a slow, simmering stream of scent, rather than a single burst that fades, allowing you to control fragrance in the same way we control our music or lighting. A game-changer for turning any dusty and fume-filled room into a luxurious and relaxing haven.

This was not just a renovation life-saver – it’s become an essential for our entire home and reduced my expensive candle habit and obsessive (and often messy) mission to stop the ongoing frustration of tunnelled candles.

Everyday 'Everything' essentials

So, there you have it, my Everything everyday essentials that did a spanking job of brightening up both our lives and space.

Important for renovation survival, yes, however I’m also pleased to say they are all smart, serviceable and stylish buys that have earned a permanent place in our home.

Beyond renovation life, the lesson remains the same.

Do not deny yourself small comforts simply because wider circumstances may be temporarily imperfect – you do not need to compromise or suffer unnecessarily.

Both our homes and lives should be well lived in and enjoyed; we deserve nice things and special daily experiences.

Is there a knotty daily moment you can improve by adding a dash of comfort, beauty, character, ease or joy? There are many simple ways to make our homes and daily life feel that little bit nicer without much budget or time.

Always remember, your Everything feeling can be lost or found in the most unexpected and mundane places. When you know where to look, it’s not only easy to find but often ridiculously easy to fix.

Francesca Swan is a strategist, content creator, and interiors obsessive whose career blends brand expertise, lived experience and a creative instinct for the unexpected and unique.