What to do with the Christmas tree-shaped hole in your sitting room

Jennifer Sheahan shows how to brighten up living spaces and points out that fairy lights are not just for winter

Plants and fairy lights fill in the Christmas-tree shaped hole in our homes.

January is a funny time. I’m done with the Christmas madness, I’ve had a very satisfying post-holiday house clearout, and now the house feels bare. There’s a sense of transition in January. It’s an in-between time, a time when something new is supposed to be starting but more often not much is happening at all. 

I’m not a New Year's Resolution kinda gal, so typically my routine doesn’t change (although there are far fewer parties in January!). I’m happy that my decorations are packed away, but I’m missing the fullness of the holiday period and I feel a funny sense of emptiness and anticipation.