19 bright buys to cheer up your home when the clocks go back

Lighten up the winter days with colourful homewares that lift the spirits

How do you combat the gloom that sets in when the clocks go back and the nights are drawing in? “Adding colour into your home is a great way to pep you up,” says Ali Childs, founder of the interior design practice Studio Alexandra. And there’s no need for wholesale redecoration: she advises that brightly coloured textiles, art and lampshades are all “an easy way to bring new life to an existing space”. 
The advantage of adding a few pieces of colourful homewares is that they are a low-maintenance way of injecting more personality. “The whole aim of home interiors is to make you feel happy, relaxed and comfortable – so include things that bring you joy, just for the fun of it,” adds Childs. From mugs to throws, lights to vases, read on to get your easy wintertime dopamine hit. 
Upgrade your beloved pet’s cushion to a bespoke, striped bed, in a fabric made from recycled plastic bottles and created at a family workshop in Cheshire. You can pick your own colours on the website; we like this handsome deep rust colourway with green piping.  
Striped bespoke pet cushion, from £150, coloursofarley.com