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The soaring cost of gas has made us all think twice about how frequently we turn on our central heating but no one wants to live in a cold home. In a bid to keep energy bills affordable, many homeowners have gone in search of alternative ways to keep warm.

Stripes, spots, checks and chinoiserie, there are a myriad of patterns you can decorate your home with. As with paint colours and styles of furniture, patterns fall in and out of fashion, so we’ve narrowed down the field for you. Here are the interior experts’ top three pattern choices for spring/summer 2023.

New year, new-look property market? With January complete, signs are emerging of what the buying, selling and lettings trends will be in 2023. Zoopla is first out the blocks, with news on asking prices versus paid for prices.

The new year has certainly started on an upbeat note for the lettings sector. A survey by Finbri found more than 50% of UK property investors intend to expand their property portfolios in 2023. 

The year ahead could be monumental for landlords and tenants. It’s widely accepted that the Government’s A Fairer Private Rented Sector white paper will be adopted before the end of 2023 – and that means renting with a pet will be made easier.

December saw signs that the sales market was regulating. Rightmove’s latest figures revealed the average price of a property coming to market dropped by 2.1% in the final weeks of 2022. This equated to -£7,862, indicating sellers are adjusting their price expectations in line with current sentiment.

The people at Pantone have recently released their colour of the year for 2023 and they plumped for a red called Viva Magenta. It’s a shade Pantone calls ‘brave, fearless, empowering and joyous’.

There is no shortage of online energy guides detailing how to reduce energy consumption and lower fuel bills but much of the advice is aimed at homeowners. While installing solar panels, air source heat pumps and cavity wall insulation are good ideas, they aren’t the sort of home improvements tenants are always able to make.

We have been holding our breath to see how political and economic changes have affected the property market. Thankfully, whispers of a crash have proven unfounded and we much prefer Zoopla’s take on conditions. The portal says we’re experiencing a property market ‘shake out’.

For 2023, the Dulux Colour of the Year is Wild Wonder – a soft, golden neutral that has both mustard yellow and earthy green undertones. The shade takes its inspiration from nature, reflecting the warm hues of harvested crops, and has the wonderful ability to subtly change colour according to the time of day and source of light.

Any letting agent worth their salt will undertake reference checks on potential tenants. Referencing is a vetting process to ensure only the most genuine, trustworthy and financially-sound renters can reserve a property.

It was all change across the UK in October, starting in England. It was only a month ago that we wrote about a new Prime Minister and Chancellor at the helm. Unbelievably, we are reporting the very same news a matter of weeks later, swapping Liz Truss for Rishi Sunak and Kwasi Kwarteng for Jeremy Hunt.