Here’s a simple checklist to lighten up your space for the new season and give your home a spring refresh.
Springtime butterfly art on the Frame TV!
With spring officially in the air, I am always on a mission to lighten up our home – give it a seasonal refresh – after the long winter season concludes. I aim to bring bright colors upstairs and make the space feel bright and cheery.
Sometimes it only takes a bit of rearranging, a quick spring clean, and a fresh flowers to brighten up a space and refresh your home. You could even rearrange the furniture for a “new room, new me” vibe. I used to rearrange my bedroom all the time when I was younger. (For all the spring cleaning tips, check out this post: Spring Cleaning Tips and Tricks.)
We have a few updates to our living room!
After going nearly five years without one, we finally added a coffee table back to our living room! When Birch started to walk, we took it out and used a soft ottoman for a long time. And then we’ve had no coffee table for the last six months. It’s so great to have a drink resting spot (or Lego building spot if you’re 5 years old) again. The room feels more complete.
Does it look a little familiar? That’s because this is a new version of the one we already have: the West Elm Industrial Storage Coffee Table in Mango. We looked at lots of different options, including round tables like this shaker style and this rustic one to match our dining table, but ultimately loved the size and shape of the West Elm one we previously had for the space.
Our original one is almost 10 years old and a bit warped and dirty from being our porch coffee table now. We debated all the ways to swap and refinish the old one and buy something new for outside, but we decided to just keep them both and got a new one for inside. It really is the best coffee table ever!
New Pottery Barn Rug
We also have a new living room rug! When we moved into our house last summer, I had the Kian Performance rug from Pottery Barn. I wanted something super durable for Gus, and unfortunately the wear after only six months was pretty bad. All the threads were puffing up.
You can see where the couch was and wasn’t in this picture and how badly worn the upper left corner is with fibers coming out
When I emailed PB for a suggestion on what to do, they told me this wear wasn’t typical and I could return the rug. So I swapped it out for a new one! When I had originally ordered the Kian, I thought I was getting a light blue rug and the one I got was much darker, so this ended up being a great thing because I got to choose a lighter rug.
The Capitola
I almost bought this one last year and wish I had! It’s lighter and airier. I absolutely am worried about Gus and mud staining it, but we are mostly a shoeless house, and we’re working on a solution for Gus too (a dog bed close by).
Here are some more ways I’m working to air out our home for spring and prep for the warmer months ahead.
Spring Home Refresh: How To Freshen Your Space
1. Deep clean or replace kitchen and bathroom rugs that are dirty or worn
Give all the small rugs in your house a wash. Bathmats, small area rugs, and even the big ones can use some spot cleaning. Charlottesville Earthly Cleaning is where I take our bigger rugs when they are ready for a good deep clean. I’m hoping to do this once a year for our new rug.
2. Play throw pillow roulette
I do the throw pillow roulette every spring by simply swapping the throw pillows on the couches and master bed. I like neutral pastel colors all winter and brighter colors in the warmer months.
I purchased a few newer throw pillows from Hearth & Hand a while back, so now we have a bunch of pillows all in navy blue, patterns, and coral to mix and match. I’d like to get some light blue or green throw pillows to bring the blue-ish green in the new rug out, but I’m nervous because the boys still toss all the pillows on the floor immediately after sitting down. TBD!
3. Air it out
Get ready for warmer weather by cleaning the windows and putting the screens back in. I LOVE to open the windows on any day that is warmer than our thermostat’s temp. Not only do you get that spring breeze, but you’ll get to hear all the sounds of outdoors, too.
I grew up sleeping with our windows open all summer (we didn’t have air conditioning in our bedrooms until I was in middle school!), so I love the sounds of summer nights. Make your home feel like you’re camping! (Just watch out for pollen!)
We have so many windows to open now!
4. Decorate your home office or dining table with a fresh bouquet of flowers
All of the tulips that are popping up outside can bring some cheerful color inside, too! A bright bouquet of tulips from the local grocery store or a farmer’s market bouquet will brighten up any room. Lauren gave us this orchid as a gift a few years ago, and it’s bringing lots of spring vibes into the house on its third or fourth bloom!
5. Awake your senses with a new citrus or botanical candle
Make sure all of your fall and winter scented candles are stashed away until next season. Then add a lemon or rose candle to your entry way, coffee table, or office space to feel fresh. My favorite candles are by Grow Fragrance because they have a transparent ingredient list. Try the Hibiscus Tea for spring!
6. Wash your winter wear.
Not the most exciting task, but think about all of your seasonal wear and give it a good wash before you store it away until the fall: coats, duvets, sweaters.
Wash your heavy winter coats (or even drop them off at the dry cleaners for a deep clean), then pack them away and make room for your spring/summer wardrobe. Give less-used duvet covers a run through the laundry, and areas you rarely vacuum a little attention. Now is also a great time to BUY winter coats since they’ll be on sale. And donate any you didn’t wear this past season to organizations that will need them next.
Some of the pros will tell you to wash all of your curtains once a year, and this is precisely why I have very few curtains in my house – heh.
7. Give patio furniture a pat down.
Hose off dust and spider webs from the patio and outdoor furniture so you can start using it for the spring season! (But maybe wait until pollen season has passed – golly, that green pollen gets everywhere!) Our outdoors space is simply covered in it, and we have to hose everything down right around the first of May.
These are the Nantucket Rocking Chairs from Grandin Road. THEY ROCK!
8. Be bold with brighter colored décor
While I love neutral home decor, it’s fun to sprinkle in some color once this time of year to bring some energy to your interior design. Candles, throws, pillows, vases, pitches, napkins – all the accessories with pops of color come out of hibernation.
9. Get the garden going
Make a plan for your garden this year. (I always seem to wait too long!) Till the soil, pull the weeds, clear the brush. We have this herb planter for our screened porch and I am hoping this is the year we can really get a decent herb garden in it (last year we missed out due to the renovation).
10. Spring Clean the closets!
When the seasons change I always try to go through the boys’ clothes and remove anything that is too small. I keep Mazen’s (nicer) old clothes for Birch to use in the coming years and send anything of Birch’s to Goodwill. If they need anything new, Old Navy 40% off sale is my go-to! Always on the list are new SPF rashguards.
What’s one thing you must do to welcome spring?
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