Spring is a wonderful time of year - a time of renewal. It is in the Spring when people across the country begin shaking off the final dregs of winter, opening their windows, and hanging clothes on the lines to dry. It is also the time of year that most people associate with cleaning; however, few people associate Spring with home decorating. Interestingly, there are very few times of year when it is more appropriate to decorate your home. Let's face it, for most of us, this is one of the few times of year that we are actually happy about cleaning.
Most likely, during the summer months we clean because the kids (young and old alike) are constantly tracking dirt, mud, grass, and goodness knows what else into the house. Cleaning in these days tends to be a chore and yet we still manage to bring out the patriotic colors and celebrate America in style for July 4th. Goodness knows how we find the time with all the extra cleaning and nearly double amounts of lemonade and iced tea being consumed daily. Still we manage to decorate for the summer holidays and take great joy in doing so as if some right of passage has been achieved by our home decorating efforts.
During the Thanksgiving and Winter months we clean house because we just have no other choice. Friends and family will be visiting and they expect our homes to be well decorated and clean for the holidays. This I must tell you is quite an accomplishment with the rush of the holidays and yet somehow we manage to muster up some Christmas cheer when others are around while playing Mr. Scrooge when it comes to running the mop and the broom around our rooms.
Spring is the one season of the year in which our cleaning efforts are nothing short of inspired. Yet it is also the spring that often eludes us when it comes to inspiration for decorating our homes. Perhaps we are over tired from all of our cleaning efforts to seek the inspiration to decorate. If this is the case with you, then my hope is that some of the ideas mentioned below will help bring some serious decoration inspiration your way:
- Flowers. Spring is the time when flowers start blooming. Flowers are all around us. You can use fresh cut flowers and candles to create beautiful arrangement and centerpieces throughout your home. Find beautiful colored vases to use in all of your rooms.
- Candles. While briefly mentioned above candles deserve their own spot among the top five decorating ideas, to say the least. Candles and small oil lamps can be soothing, relaxing, invigorating, inspiring, beautiful, elegant, and simply smell good. Candles are great no matter what time of the year it is however, if you select candles in bright spring colors and fragrances you might be amazed at exactly how uplifting these candles can be.
- Linens. Use towels and other linens to brighten up your spaces. In your kitchen and your bathrooms use bright, bold colors that signify spring, birth, and renewal. These little touches can make a huge difference in not only your attitude about cleaning and decorating but also your attitude about cooking.
- Fragrance. Although most people do not realize it, the fragrances we use around our homes is a type of decoration. It makes our noses happy to some degree but also the potpourri and candles are often beautiful decorations in and of themselves. Put out bowls filled with brightly colored and lightly scented fragrance balls, dried fruit, and other delights. Gourmet potpourri can be found in all kinds of gift and fragrance shops and is a rather inexpensive way to add a fragrant touch to your home decorating as well as the fragrance of your home.
- Fruit. Place bowls throughout your home filled with fresh fragrant fruit. Not only does this add yet another layer of fragrance to your home but it is also visually appealing and edible. There are three checks in the 'pro' column for this simple decorative step and I have yet to find one in the 'con' column unless you consider the fact that it must be eaten before it gets too ripe.
For those needing springtime home decorating ideas and inspiration I hope this has helped. If you haven't found some outstanding suggestions above I at least hope that you will have been inspired to find your own fabulous finds for spring decorating.
