10 Quick and Inexpensive Ways to Brighten your Home
for Spring
By Kathy Wilson
Spring is a sign of renewal in many areas of our lives, and
our homes are no different! There is something energizing and refreshing about
bringing that bright, airy feeling of Spring into your home. Here are the 10
best ways to spruce up and revitalize your rooms, on a dime!
1.Add white! White with your present color scheme will both cool and brighten,
adding the freshness that only white can! If your room colors tend toward the
warm side, such as yellows, browns, or reds…then choose creamier white such as
ecru or ivory. If you have cooler colors in your room, such as greens and blues,
go with the brighter, cleaner whites.
2.Try painting your focal wall, (that is, the one most seen) in a sunnier,
brighter, or lighter shade of your current wall color. It will add lightness to
the room without drastically changing the whole scheme. Don't worry, you can
always go back to that rich red in the fall, but how about a little petal pink,
or sky blue? Remember, its only paint, its cheap!
3.Add a floral print fabric to your room. Using the primary colors already in
your room, visit your fabric store and pick out a floral fabric you love with at
least one of those primary colors in it. (The more, the better, but don't feel
you must have every color in the room also in the fabric!) Use that floral
fabric to make table scarves, placemats, pillow covers, and simple seat cushion
covers. Pair it with a solid fabric color already in the room, and you have a
custom coordinated look, for just a few dollars and some simple straight sewing!
4.Pick up some pretty colored glassware from the dollar shop, and display it
where the sun will light it up! You could even use clear glassware, and fill it
with colored water to coordinate with the room. Use your glassware as vases,
pencil holders, or candy dishes, but make sure it is seen! Glass sparkles and
adds a bit of sunshine to a room.
5.Take down your curtains, and just leave your mini blinds underneath. Don't
leave it bare, though, we don't want boring! Swag some dried or silk flowers
over the top of the blinds, or use some muslin to twist around a curtain rod for
an informal but airy valance. (No sew!)
6.Keep your windows sparkling clean. Dirty windows cut down on a surprising
amount of light, and make a room look dull. As a bonus, clean windows mean more
sparkling glass, and that makes room feel larger and brighter!
7.Pot up some pansies from the garden center and use them indoors as
houseplants. They are cheap, easy, and add flowers to a room without the cost of
replacing floral arrangements every week! You can even coordinate the flower
color to the color scheme of the room. Don't match the colors, just pick
something complementary.
8.Clear most of the artwork and accessories out of your room, and just keep a
few larger, simpler pieces. It declutters the room, and helps to put the focus
on the freshness of a room. Consider picking up a white lattice from the garden
center, and hang it on the wall as a focal point. Place a potted plant in front
of it, or hang small framed garden catalog prints from it. Let it be a reminder
of the outdoors all season long!
9.Use a stencil or a stamp to add floral and nature motifs to your room for very
little money. Stencil vines around windows and doors, hand paint seasonal
sayings over doorways with a paint pen, or stamp a floral bouquet on the front
of cupboard doors. You can always paint over those small areas with touch up
paint in the fall. (Or you might love them so much, they stay year round!)
10.Finally, don't forget your entry area when you are creating that spring glow
all around your home. Remember, your entries are a visitors first impression of
your home! Add a pot of pansies on the porch, paint your entry a fresh spring
color, and hang a handmade wreath or a basket of flowers on the front door.
All these ideas take very little time, little or no money, and do wonders for
your spirit and the spirit of those who you love. Take a little time to brighten
your lives!
Kathy Wilson is an author, home decorating columnist for
LifetimeTv.com and editor of several popular home and garden websites. For
hundreds of free do it yourself home and garden ideas, please visit her websites
now at http://www.TheBudgetDecorator.com
and http://www.TheGardenGlove.com . Also visit her at
http://www.Women-on-the-Net.com
to learn how any woman can make money on the internet!