Spring Decorating: How to Bring Life Back into Your Home

It’s been a long, dreary winter for most of the country, which gives us that much more of a reason to celebrate the return of spring.

Of course, spring is about much more than just changing weather patterns. It represents the annual renewal of hope and life. It is the season of budding leaves, blooming flowers and blossoming love.

And it can’t (or shouldn’t) be contained to just the outdoors. Spring is a great time to brighten up your indoor space: to shake off the cold and gloom of winter and bring new life into your home.

To help you liven up your living quarters, here are some timely decorating tips for spring.

Spring marks the return of sunshine and color to the world. Days get longer, and “spring forward” gives us an additional hour of sunlight in the evenings. Greens, yellows, reds and other warm colors start to brighten up winter’s dreary color palette.

The first and easiest way to bring some spring to your home is to let the sunshine in. Open up the window blinds and replace those heavy winter drapes with something light and airy.

For color, you don’t necessarily have to add a new coat of paint (though spring is an ideal time to do so, and even a single accent wall can drastically upgrade the look of a room). You can quickly and easily add seasonal color by changing your duvet cover, for instance, or throwing in some bright throw pillows. In the dining area, table runners or napkins in yellow, orange or red can add warmth to the room. And, of course, fresh flowers add beautiful splashes of color, such as the radiant orchid that is one of this year’s style trends.

Besides the color provided by fresh bouquets, floral patterns and accents are obviously a big part of spring décor.

For wall hangings, consider framing pressed flowers—especially if they are sentimental favorites, such as the first rose you ever received. You can also make pressed flower coasters, or swap out your winter candles for more cheerful flower or grass versions.

As symbols of new life, eggs are strongly associated with spring. There are seemingly endless options for Easter eggs, which can be arranged in baskets, bowls, faux nests or birdcages. You can even incorporate live birds by hanging a hummingbird feeder or bird bath directly outside a window.

You can further bring the outdoors in with garden elements, such as garden plants in watering cans (as vases) or an old garden gate (as a headboard, or as a framing element for a collection of photos).

Spring is largely about new life, and a great way to decorate for spring is to bring living elements into your home.

It is possible to garden indoors, and in more creative ways than your standard terra cotta potted plant. Vertical gardens, for instance, allow you to incorporate a lot of greenery in a very visible way, and while taking up almost no floor space. Likewise, terrariums can be stacked, wall-mounted or even hung from the ceiling.

If you have the room, a planter box bulb garden can grow a variety of flowers and greens together. And an indoor tree, such as a fiddle-leaf fig, can give even a high-rise apartment the feel of a country courtyard.

Overall, just be creative and have fun with your spring decorating. You can’t go wrong if you make it uniquely you.