Spring is right around the corner. While all the neighbors are sprucing up their yards and flower beds, we wanted to share a few tips to update the inside of your home, as well.
- CLEAN IT UP:
- After you pack away holiday décor, it is a good time to examine what is left and change things up.
- Save the cobwebs for Halloween! When the bright sun starts shining in, I notice all the spots I’ve been overlooking. We all invest in seasonal holiday décor, but when it is all boxed up and put away, I enjoy how clean and open my house feels again. Sometimes after it is all packed away, it can seem like something is missing. Why not invest in a few accessories in spring and summer colors that are not holiday themed so they can stay out for a long time
- ADD COLOR:
- Add seasonal color –In a dark room, Think of adding some white. A light colored duvet cover lightens a bedroom faster than anything else. Photos in white frames or mats can brighten up a wall in any room.
- Change out your pillows (or add more) to your sofa. If you are crafty, you can sew new covers for the pillows you already have.
- Bright turquoise accents have been very popular, and it is surprising how many different color schemes that turquoise works with. Trade dark evergreen accents for a brighter citrusy-green. In Stillwater, you can never have too much orange, and orange accents work well in spring, summer and fall.
- If your room has a neutral color palette, it is easy to add just about any color and a few touches will make a big impact. The Pantone Color of the Year for 2014 is “radiant orchid.” It pairs well with grey and with other neutrals.
- If your room is already colorful, think about what colors you are already using and how adding spring color will complement what you have. If you choose the opposite color on the color wheel, you’ll find the complement to the color you are using. For example, if you have a blue room, orange is the complementary color. Blue looks great with lots of colors, but orange is the highest contrast, so adding just a tiny bit makes a huge impact. If you have a green room, red is the complementary color – since we are thinking about spring, use a bright pink instead.
- If you want a calmer feeling room, choose colors that are closer together on the color wheel – like a room with blues and greens.
- USE FAMILY PHOTOS AND MEMENTOS FOR A PERSONAL TOUCH
- A fun way to welcome a new season is to rotate the family photos that you display. Pictures of a summer vacation or family photos of past Easter Egg Hunts are fun to see and can add color without spending any money. In the summer, I love to bring out photos of beach vacations and photos of kids in sparkling blue swimming pools to add more color.
- KEEP IT MOVING:
- Spring Cleaning – Remove items / dust collectors. Box them up and rotate them out. Sometimes it is better to display a few things you love rather than everything you own. Too much stuff is not visually appealing.
- Take everything off of your mantel or book cases, line it all up, and start over… add a few new items or use half as much stuff. Sometimes re-arranging the items you already have can freshen up an area without spending any money.
- Remember that your room never has to be “finished”. It is okay for a room to remain a “Work in progress” with constantly evolving décor that grows with your family and changes with your needs. I find that as soon as I say a room is “finished”, I start to grow tired of it. Small changes help keep rooms fresh and continually editing what you display and updating with something new now and then can keep rooms from feeling very dated.
- ADD LIGHT
- Consider whether it would make sense to re-arrange your furniture to make a window your focal point.
- Open up the blinds, find the sunniest spot in the house, and make that a special area for reading or relaxing.
- If a room does not have a lot of natural light, add more lamps. Lighting from lamps changes the look of a room by accenting certain areas where overhead lighting is just intended to light the entire room.
- ADD LIFE:
- The most obvious way to bring spring into a room is fresh flowers or a new houseplant. Spring flowers like tulips or daffodils brighten your space and your mood.
- Instead of a traditional houseplant, try potting fresh herbs near a kitchen window. Fresh mint, basil and cilantro not only look beautiful in your kitchen, they smell great and will add freshness to your kitchen.
- A big bowl of fresh lemons is the summer equivalent to decorating with pumpkins in the fall.
- If you use scented candles in the winter, a new scent for spring can brighten your mood too. We love citrus scents.
How do you like to welcome spring to your home?
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