The Good Design Journal
Go Back to Beautiful: 13 Essentials for a Post-School Holiday Home Reset
The School Holidays are done. The house? Not quite. Between the piles, the noise, and the whiplash of broken routines, your space might still be carrying a little chaos. But this isn’t about starting over. It’s about styling your way back to rhythm.
Back to Beautiful is your soft reset — a home edit designed to gently transition from School Holiday sprawl to everyday calm. Minimalism isn’t the goal. Flow is. These 13 design essentials create room to breathe, think, and move through your space with ease again. Because when your home starts to feel more intentional, everything else starts to follow.
Here’s what to add to your space after the School Holidays to get back to beautiful. And stay there.
1. Stack the Mess, Not the Stress
HAY Colour Storage Crate V2, Medium
You know the post-holiday clutter: random cords, abandoned art supplies, forgotten lunchbox bits. This is where HAY’s iconic crate steps in.
With its bold Electric Blue hue, it brings energy to toy zones, pantries, or the dreaded drop zone, but never feels messy. It folds flat when you don’t need it, and stacks neatly when you do. It helps re-establish a sense of rhythm without muting your space.
2. Screens Off, Silence On
LIEWOOD Zora Magic Drawing Board Toy
Reclaim calm corners and slow afternoons with Zora, the mess-free drawing board that lets little ones create without consequence. Magnetic and erasable, it encourages tactile creativity without the screens, the crumbs, or the need for adult supervision.
The sandy tone slips into a considered playroom with ease. No garish plastic, no neon visual noise. Just thoughtful design for rebalancing overstimulated schedules.
4. Sort the Pile, Soothe the Room
METTE DITMER Store-It Laundry Basket w./ Canvas Bag
There’s nothing grounding about a mountain of washing. But this might come close. The Store-It basket brings visual structure and tactility to a space you’d probably rather ignore.
Its removable canvas bag makes sorting easier and laundry day less chaotic. The sculptural base sits confidently in any room. Place it in the bathroom, bedroom, or even hallway. Wherever the drop-pile tends to start.
5. Soft Storage, Solid Sanity
ENKEL STUDIO Storage and Laundry Basket, Large (Set of 2)
If your “everything corner” is starting to resemble a post-festival cleanup, this duo might be the reset button you need. Generously sized and visually quiet, they work across the whole home. Use them in laundries, living spaces, under benches, or next to beds.
Their nested design means they store away easily when not in use. But let’s be honest, they’ll probably be in high rotation. That’s the point.
6. A Little Luxury Every Time You Wash Your Hands
DESIGNSTUFF Saebe Hand & Body Cream, Mandarin & Cedarwood
When routines start to feel like rinse and repeat chaos, Saebe offers a small, sensory intervention. With warming cedarwood and bright mandarin, this body cream doesn’t just nourish. It signals a shift in pace.
Style it on a vanity or beside the sink to turn everyday hygiene into something ritualistic, beautiful, and just a little more grown-up.
7. Fizz, Focus, and a Bit of Countertop Zen
AARKE Carbonator 3
The holidays are over. Hydration? Back on the agenda. AARKE’s third-gen carbonator turns the everyday into something elegant. Its architectural silhouette and sand-toned finish deliver serious countertop impact.
Use it to support your 3pm energy slumps, encourage post-school hydration, or elevate dinner-table rituals. Either way, it’s a reset that bubbles with intention.
8. Light for the New Routine
FERM LIVING Arum Portable Lamp
Your home doesn’t need to be brighter. It just needs better light. Arum is a sculptural, cordless solution for those dimmed-down moments: bedtime reads, post-clean winding down, or early morning rituals.
Its organic lines soften hard corners, and the warm glow makes any surface feel styled. Recharge, relocate, repeat. It’s light that works with the way you live now.
9. Portable Joy, Designed to Glow
&TRADITION Flowerpot VP9 Portable Lamp
Some things just make a space feel done. The Flowerpot VP9 is one of them. A reissued design icon, it’s playful without being precious. Sculptural without trying too hard. And completely cordless, so it can follow you from homework desk to evening tea to hallway vignette.
Style it where you want joy, and let the reset begin.
10. Wipe. Rinse. Compost. Repeat.
DESIGNSTUFF Compostable Eco Dishcloth (Pack of 3)
Tiny changes matter when you’re rebuilding routine. This pack of three compostable cloths makes sustainable swaps easy. And let’s be honest, prettier.
In earthy tones that won’t ruin your aesthetic, they handle spills, crumbs, and kid-related stickiness without contributing to landfill. Function and feeling in perfect balance.
10. For People Who Refuse to Look at a Sponge
DESIGNSTUFF Sink Sponge Holder, Camel
Designed for minimalists with standards, this matte silicone holder lives quietly by the sink and makes the humble sponge feel borderline intentional. It keeps things upright, dry, and discreet enough that your dish cloths finally get the context they deserve.
11. Set the Mood, and the Room
101 COPENHAGEN Crown Table, Low
If your space has felt a little visually unmoored, this is your anchor. The Crown Table grounds a room with its smoky green tone and solid silhouette, acting as both sculptural centrepiece and functional surface.
Use it to zone your living room or carve out new intention in a shared space. Clarity isn’t just mental. It’s spatial.
12. Because Bedtime Needs a Rebrand
DESIGNSTUFF Bear Kids Night Lamp
Getting little ones back into a sleep rhythm? This softly glowing bear is here to help. It emits a warm, calming light ideal for bedtime stories, post-dream wobbles, or midnight check-ins.
Its minimalist shape and neutral finish fit into any kids’ room design. Whimsical without veering into twee.
13. Get the Chaos Before It Enters
HELLER Swell Wall Catchall Coat Rack
There’s nothing quite like a well-organised entryway to make mornings feel less manic. Swell offers six rounded hooks that catch jackets, bags, hats, and umbrellas without cluttering your visual field.
In clean white with a sculptural form, it brings routine back to the front of house. Literally. And sets the tone for everything that follows.
How do I reset my home after the School Holidays without doing a full declutter?
Start with what’s visible, then move to what’s functional. You don’t need to gut the house — just refocus your styling. Think: a sculptural laundry basket that reclaims a corner, a portable lamp that softens the evening wind-down, or a storage crate that makes the “dumping ground” look intentional.
The shift from School Holiday free-for-all to calm routine is less about minimalism and more about smart zoning, soft materials, and products that support your day without shouting for attention.
What are the best design-led ways to organise a space after the School Holiday chaos?
Look for products that do double duty. A catchall that reads as wall sculpture. A storage bin you’re proud to leave in plain sight. A kids’ lamp that helps them sleep and doesn’t ruin your room palette.
The goal isn’t perfection. It’s rhythm. Coming out of the School Holiday mindset is about bringing a little visual order back to your day-to-day — while still living in a home that feels warm, real, and relaxed.
I don’t want my house to feel sterile. Can I reset without losing personality?
Definitely. A home reset isn’t a personality wipe — it’s a rebalancing. After the visual noise of the School Holidays (toys, towels, cords, costumes), your space might just need room to breathe.
That doesn’t mean stripping it bare. It means choosing pieces with presence: tonal storage, calming textures, sculptural silhouettes. Style is still the goal, but now it’s working in service of calm.
What’s one small thing I can change that will make a big difference after the School Holidays?
Lighting. Always lighting. Once the structure of the day kicks back in — school runs, bedtime, work emails — the vibe gets lost in the rush. A portable lamp by the bed, on the bench, or in the hallway brings back mood and softness instantly.
Also: storage you don’t have to hide, and rituals that feel good (think fancy soap and compostable cloths). Because the School Holiday mess might be gone, but the mood you set now will carry forward.
The School Holidays are over. But the styling shift is just beginning.
The toys are (mostly) away. The routines are (kind of) back. But the real change happens in how your home feels from here.
This edit wasn’t just about cleaning up. It was about resetting with purpose. Calmer corners. Smarter tools. Thoughtful design that supports the everyday — without looking like it came from the everyday.
We’ve pulled together even more to help you reclaim your space and your sanity.
Explore the full Back to Beautiful edit
Because order is good, but beautiful order is better.
