In Mindfulness, Self-Care, Women's Interest

Maintaining Positive Relationships

Author Nicki CawoodPosted on

positive relationships

Roy and I have been married for 15 years and together a few more than that. I’m very lucky in that I didn’t just marry the man I love, I married my best friend. We have people ask us (we’re both very soppy when it comes to each other) how we’ve kept our marriage going so well so here are some things for anyone to consider. We’re not marriage guidance counsellors but these are good all-rounders for working on positive relationships, be this a partnership, marriage or friendship.

Spend Some Quality Time Together

Make sure you spend regular, quality time together. Get away from social media, the TV, and technology, and focus on one another for a while. You could go on weekends away, one date night per week or fortnight, or even plan regular vacations. Just bear in mind that one break every so often is unlikely to be enough to bring you and your partner closer together if you’re not spending enough time together during the week. We have busy weeks, children and all sorts going on but still make time to have date nights, even if they are in the house! It’s all about making time in your busy life to build and enjoy positive relationships.

Reconnect With Yourself

Work on finding your own passions and hobbies, spending time with family and friends, and enjoying yourself. When you’re in a better place personally and mentally, you stand to make your relationship far better with your partner, with family and with friends. Self care is important! When you and your partner aren’t happy in yourselves, it’s going to be virtually impossible to be happy with one another.

Be Creative In Showing Your Love

Find new and exciting ways to show your love to one another. Be creative, whether it’s writing one another love letters, making fancy dinners, or dressing up just to spend time with them. Show them that you still care in different ways and it’ll bring some novelty into your relationship – something all relationships need to stay fresh. For example, we don’t do Valentine’s Day, it just isn’t our thing but we surprise each other with daft and funny things at random times. These make us laugh and create shared positive memories.

Deal With Intimacy Issues

Thankfully this isn’t something we’ve ever had a problem with, but in the spirit of producing a well-rounded blog post with tips for all, it’s worth including. Intimacy is another important key to any relationship and feeling close to your partner. Work on ways you can be more intimate with one another, whether that’s saying how you really feel, or working on ways you can become more intimate in the bedroom. If you’re having problems in that regard, you could look at some treatment options for impotence, or something more suited to your problem. 

Bond Over Common Hobbies And Interests

Couples find that they bond more effectively over common hobbies and interests. If you both love art, go to galleries together. If you love thrifting, head to markets. If you love food, just try out new places to eat! There are probably all kinds of things you can do to bring you together and feel closer than ever before. For Roy and I, it is Dungeons and Dragons, shared geekery and more. It’s the same with our friendships, we all have things in common such as hobbies and interests.

Practice Communicating for Positive Relationships

Poor communication is one of the most common reasons that a relationship breaks down. I have seen real-world examples of this time and time again. Be it a married or a friendship, it’s important to be able to communicate openly and honestly.

Live In The Moment

Rather than living in the past or worrying about the future, try to live in the moment. Have more fun together spontaneously, and really make the most of your time together. There’s nothing worse than spending time with somebody who’s mind just isn’t there! After completing a mindfulness diploma last year I’ve found living in the moment fun and getting the most out of my time with people I have positive relationships with also easier!

 

Positive relationships make for a happier life, they really do. Surrounding yourself with people who understand you, who you understand, who are on the same wavelength and have shared interests is what makes for fun times, great memories and support for each other when needed. Make sure that you take time to nurture the important relationships in your life.

In Interior Design

Make the Most Out of Your Living Space

Author Nicki CawoodPosted on

living space

If you’re a regular reader of Curly and Candid you’ll have seen that it seems to be interior’s month or two at the moment. We’ve lived here for 14 months now and need to really put our stamp on the house. For us, it’s all about making use of unused living spaces or making the best of used living spaces. Throughout our research we’ve come up with a  few tips on how to get started with your home renovations to make the most out of your space.

Unused Rooms

Chances are that you will have unused rooms that you can turn into functional spaces. If that spare room is simply there to store your junk, it might be time to clear it and give it a purpose. Turn your spare small room into a study, or a walk in wardrobe. You can use your garage for a workshop or your summer room as a playroom. We don’t have an unused room as such but do have a decent space under the attic stairs we could use better….

Narrow Corridors

One of the things that old and new homes have in common is narrow corridors. If you are living in an apartment, this problem is even greater, as the corridor will not only be narrow and useless, but also dark. There are several ways you can make these spaces more functional, by adding a narrow shelving unit, images, floating shelves, or even a shoe storage. Installing a few glass bricks will make the space brighter and more of an attractive living space too.

Built-In Wardrobes

You might also consider getting more space from your bedrooms if you get made-to-measure wardrobes and save floor space. We had built in wardrobes and bif cupboards at the top (great for hiding Xmas gifts!) and this makes a big difference to our room. You can also invest in a storage bed or sofa to store away things you don’t use every day. You can add small shelves above the doors and build up your airing cupboard to make the most out of your space.

Getting Rid of Walls

Opening up the space in your home will improve the comfort level of your house, and make it more inclusive for all family members. An open plan design will need a detailed structural plan and you might want to talk to Contemporary Architects who can draw up your design and check the stability and integrity of the building before applying for a building permissions.  I’m not a fan of open plan living space to be honest, unless you have an awesome space, but have seen great results from those who have done it.

Extensions to Create New Living Space

If you have tried everything above, and you still don’t seem to have enough space, chances are that you will need to start thinking about getting an extension. Work with a professional to find a way to optimize the existing home spaces before you add more rooms downstairs and upstairs. Solid wall constructions and two-story buildings are likely to cost significantly more than lean-on conservatories and so on.

If you seem to be lacking space in your home, chances are that you will need to start thinking beyond tidying up and clearing out your storage. Use the above ideas to make the most out of your home and add functionality and style to your living space.

 

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