The Cure For House Envy
House envy affects us all at some point in our lives. However, improving your home can help to make you feel much better.
Christmas Day, Boxing Day and, New Year are the best days of the year, don’t you think? Everyone’s in good spirits, enjoying themselves with friends and family, spreading the festive love and visiting others with gifts and food.
That’s until house envy kicks in … Do you ever get that sinking feeling when you notice someone else’s beautiful interior, spot their beautifully arranged window dressing, or find yourself fixated on their newly-fitted Bi-Fold doors? Don’t worry, we’ve all been there.
The itch of envy affects us all, especially at this time of year, when your visits to the homes of your family and friends become much more frequent than usual. But don’t worry; it’s normal to feel this way. With social media gurus putting their lives on full display everyday on various social media channels, such as Instagram, it really wouldn’t take much to make you feel insecure and vulnerable about your current living situation. In fact, we bet you compare you and your life to someone else’s and feel down about it on an almost daily basis. Are we right?
We’ve come up with four envious personality traits; which one are you? - Be honest, we’re all guilty!
Carbon copy – You want the exact same look and you won’t stop until you get it! You frantically take notes on your phone of how you can replicate this beautiful home. You ask all of the questions; “How much was this?”, “Where’s this from?” you do your research to ensure your home looks exactly the same. Let’s just hope your friend doesn’t visit any time soon, as they’ll be feeling very much at home!
Thrifty – You’re the intelligent one. You listen carefully, and take notes of where products are from and how much they cost. You make it your mission to find similar or the same products for a much lower price elsewhere. You get ideas from social media and spend lots of time trying to reduce the cost, whether this is buying items second-hand, at discount retailers, or upcycling specific items yourself.
Poker face – You hide the fact that you’re completely in love with your friend’s home; instead, you express veiled curiosity by just staying silent or changing the subject. When asked about their home, you mention the parts that you dislike or would change. You can’t help but wonder how they got everything for such a cheap price, and how they’ve been able to afford their new Bi-fold Doors. You return home and quickly note down everything that you want to pinch and get straight on the internet to create your perfect home.
Don’t let perfect homes give you the blues. Steal ideas from them instead!
Together, we’re going to turn this envy on its head and transform those green eyed monsters into positivity. Take a look at our top tips to overcome House Envy over the festive period:
- Improve what you don’t like about your house (within reason).
Adding Bi-Fold doors to your home increases the light and air levels, which helps to enhance your mood and make you feel happier. They also look extremely stylish and will impress your friends when they visit your home. Alternatively, you can refresh your windows by changing the colour or style. This can freshen up any living space and help to match them to the décor currently in your home. Brand new insulated uPVC windows will also keep your energy bills down and allow you to spend extra money on making your house look the best on the street!
- Stay selfish, but do “selfishness” better.
Spend your time and energy thinking about what you do have. Choose one room a day and find something in that room you can be grateful for. Think about why you’re grateful for it and what life would be like if you didn’t have it. To recover from house envy, try looking out of your favourite window, appreciating the beautiful views.
