Posted on: 08/30/2016 Posted by: Jiawa Liu Comments: 0

Little Life Upgrades for Daily Happiness

Cashmere knitwear and cashmere homewares by Nuan Cashmere

In a life imitating art kind of way, our search for daily happiness could be descried, in Tamagotchi terms (or The Sims for a profoundly close approximation), as fulfilling various need gauges, of which ‘bladder’ is inevitably one, and, no less importantly, ‘comfort’ and ‘fun’, are others. When you slog a day job that you just can’t wait to leave behind on a Friday afternoon, weekends are sacred. Neglect them and something has got to give somewhere, and enriching them is made infinitely easier with certain upgrades. Be it the metaphorical in-app purchase or the literal polyester to cashmere switch, ‘little life upgrades’ are those extras and improvements to your daily life that might at first be considered unnecessarily luxuries, but will bring more happiness than the material cost. Here are a few rules I live by.

1 Luxe loungewear
Even though we spend our most prized leisure time in loungewear, for many of us, our loungewear wardrobes are the final destinations of all poor retail choices go to die, from the ill-conceived floral leggings to the innumerate stretched-beyond-recognition tees. But let me just put it out there, you haven’t lived until you’ve spent all morning in a heavenly-soft cashmere dressing gown, or stepped out into a crisp Sunday afternoon snuggly wrapped up in a chunky scarf.

2 The grownup bed linen
There was a time when – thanks to a sort of ‘poor-student-Stockholm-syndrome’ – punishing myself via such penny-pinching options as ‘luncheon meat’ that disturbingly resembled dog food in aisle opposite, and collection day furniture upon which pens forever rolled thither, yielded a perverse sense of satisfaction. So the symbolic appeal of buying my first 800 thread count Egyptian cotton sheet set seemed like the graduation into adulthood that rivalled even making my first mortgage repayment. Soft furnishings are now a little life upgrade I’ll always invest in. My new obsession is cashmere everything, from throws to cushion covers – visually luxurious and also gratifying to the touch.

3 Buying for now
While wastefulness and empty extravagance are very un-Beige Renegade, so is the idea that the best of everything must be foregone for an illusory rainy day, of opting for a cheaper or disposable alternative, on the logic that we’ll buy something nice ‘later’. It’s the plastic flowers instead of fresh, because it will just wilt, and the polyester sweater instead of wool, because it would just get ruined anyway. But these are most likely false economies. You will spend as much on replacing poorly made imitations as you might have on buying the real deal in the first place.

As for some little life upgrades that I have never regretted:

  • Choose only natural fibres for your clothing and soft furnishings
  • Make up a beautiful bed with layers of pillows and cushions
  • Buy the best airtight containers for your cupboard
  • Switch your K-mart mugs with a bone china tea set
  • Buy high quality scented candles for every room (and don’t be afraid to burn them)
  • Collect artwork that lifts your mood
  • Buy books in their hard cover version
  • Splurge on quality German or Japanese steel knives
  • Invest in quality basics, like lingerie and tee shirts – they are more comfortable and will last longer
  • Instead of repurposing old clothes to wear around the house, buy luxe loungewear that you won’t be embarrassed to step out in
  • Hand down your drawer full of costume jewellery to your niece, and get a few ‘signature’ pieces in gold or silver

Featured in this editorial:
Clothing:
Nuan Cashmere Luxury Robe
Nuan Cashmere Hand Knit Cable Sweater
Nuan Cashmere Coco Infinity Scarf
Nuan Cashmere Leather Accented Poncho
Homewares:
Nuan Cashmere King Size Throw
Nuan Cashmere Large and Lumbar Knit Cushions

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