12 Fresh Updates to Get Ready for Spring
As spring approaches, embrace the brighter days with these uplifting changes and additions to your home
It’s that tricky time of year when spring is almost here but there are still some chilly days ahead. While you’re waiting for the sunshine and greenery to make a proper appearance, try boosting your mood by adding a few cheery touches to your home.
2. Buy yourself flowers. A bunch of colorful blooms is the quickest way to give any room a lift and will remind you that spring is (nearly) in the air. And studies show that flowers and plants don’t just brighten our surroundings, they’re good for our mental health, too.
Here, individual floral sprigs have made place settings extra special. Whether you go for a simple bunch of daffodils, a potted hyacinth or some backyard cuttings, flowers really can help blow away the winter blues.
Simple Pleasures: Treat Yourself to Cut Flowers
Here, individual floral sprigs have made place settings extra special. Whether you go for a simple bunch of daffodils, a potted hyacinth or some backyard cuttings, flowers really can help blow away the winter blues.
Simple Pleasures: Treat Yourself to Cut Flowers
3. Create an indoor conservatory feel. It might still be too cold to sit outside, but you can still create a spring-like atmosphere indoors. This sunshine-bathed living area has been given a conservatory feel with the help of cane-framed mirrors, lush foliage in vases and a gorgeous green rug that’s reminiscent of a spring meadow.
4. Make coffee breaks an occasion. Sometimes the small things really do make a difference to your mood. The thought of that next cup of coffee or tea is what gets us many of us through the day, especially during the winter.
Why not turn your next cuppa into an event by treating yourself to a lovely teapot or coffeepot, plus matching cups? This cool vintage set has plenty of retro attitude and looks stylish in and out of use.
Browse coffeepots on Houzz
Why not turn your next cuppa into an event by treating yourself to a lovely teapot or coffeepot, plus matching cups? This cool vintage set has plenty of retro attitude and looks stylish in and out of use.
Browse coffeepots on Houzz
5. Refresh your paint. It’s a fact of life (and interiors) that every few years, the paintwork will probably be in need of a fresh coat. Now could be a good time to get going: It’s still too chilly to spend much time outdoors and, once the job is done, you’ll be free to enjoy the sunshine. Plus you’ll doubtless feel far happier when your newly painted room looks as fresh and light as this kitchen.
Bulletproof Decorating: How to Pick the Right Kind of Paint
Bulletproof Decorating: How to Pick the Right Kind of Paint
6. Spruce up your bed. Taking time to make your bed properly can have a big impact on how you feel, both in the morning and at night. Turn your mattress, iron your sheets using fresh-scented linen water and plump up the pillows.
If your duvet cover is looking threadbare, perhaps it’s time to invest in a new one. If you usually pick plain linens but want to dip your toe into pattern, trying mixing up for bed linens. Here, patterned pillowcases are teamed with plain sheets. Finally, luxuriate under the covers until the spring sunshine arrives.
13 Simple Steps to a Perfectly Made Bed
If your duvet cover is looking threadbare, perhaps it’s time to invest in a new one. If you usually pick plain linens but want to dip your toe into pattern, trying mixing up for bed linens. Here, patterned pillowcases are teamed with plain sheets. Finally, luxuriate under the covers until the spring sunshine arrives.
13 Simple Steps to a Perfectly Made Bed
7. Have a candy crush. Bright hues can be a mood lifter. Much of the jewel-like color in this room comes from accessories, such as the collection of blue vintage bottles and the kitschy lunch box display. Consider creating a collection of your own, be it of multicolored china animals or retro packages, that will make you smile every time you walk by.
Display Ideas for Collections of All Kinds
Display Ideas for Collections of All Kinds
8. Plan a serene writing spot. Studies show that keeping a gratitude journal is one of the best ways to boost happiness. Think about turning a quiet corner into a writing spot, like the serene space here. Try putting down your electronic tablet and channeling your inner Victorian: Hunt for your prettiest notebook and fountain pen and practice your long-neglected handwriting.
Simple Pleasures: Put Pen to Paper
Simple Pleasures: Put Pen to Paper
9. Enjoy the view. We might not all have a picture window with a fabulous woodland view like this, but too many of us are guilty of keeping blinds and curtains half closed, especially when the days are dark.
Instead, let the light in and make the most of the view from your room. Clean the glass so it sparkles, plant daffodils in pots on sills and throw open curtains (or even get rid of them entirely). If you’d like a greener view, start planning one now — gardens are often as much about how they look from inside the house as how they look on the outside.
Instead, let the light in and make the most of the view from your room. Clean the glass so it sparkles, plant daffodils in pots on sills and throw open curtains (or even get rid of them entirely). If you’d like a greener view, start planning one now — gardens are often as much about how they look from inside the house as how they look on the outside.
10. Cozy up with a smart blanket. Banish boring beige blankets and find one you positively enjoy huddling under. A lovely blanket can turn an ordinary armchair into a special seat. This woolly throw adds a jolt of sky blue to this pale cottage parlor and goes brilliantly with the crisp white.
Slow Down: The (Lost) Art of Laziness
Slow Down: The (Lost) Art of Laziness
11. Use your nice things now. We’re all guilty of putting aside that pretty china set, lovely perfume or beautiful dress for a “one-day-it’ll-come” special occasion. Instead, make every day more pleasurable by keeping your favorite things on display and using them regularly. Here, a white Welsh dresser has been used to show off a spirit-lifting collection of pretty china plates and bowls in pink, cream and blue.
Tip: A vintage-style radio is another way to add a little extra pleasure to ordinary days at home.
Tip: A vintage-style radio is another way to add a little extra pleasure to ordinary days at home.
12. Tidy your entryway. The entryway is the first room you see when you get home from work or the school run, and an ordered, calm space can help you work toward an ordered, calm mind. Consider investing in a multipurpose unit like this, which features a bench to sit on to take off shoes, hooks for jackets and coats, and storage for assorted paraphernalia, such as umbrellas and shopping bags.
7 Keep-Tidy Tips for Compact Entryways
7 Keep-Tidy Tips for Compact Entryways
Browse towels on Houzz