Spring is a time for renewal. It's the time of year when people across the country are starting to shake off the final dregs of winter, opening their windows, and hanging clothes on the lines to dry. It's the time of year that many people associate with cleaning but very few associate with home decorating. Sadly, there are very few times of year when it is more appropriate to decorate your home. Face it, for most of us this is the only time of year that we are really excited about cleaning.
During the summer months we clean because the kids (young and old) are constantly tracking dirt, knows clay, grass, and goodness what into the house. Cleaning these days is a chore and yet we still manage to bring out the patriotic colors and celebrate America in style. Goodness knows how with all the extra cleaning is going on and they almost double the amount of lemonade and iced tea being consumed daily. But we manage to decorate 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 have no choice. Friends and family will come over and they expect our homes to be well decorated and clean. This I must say is quite an accomplishment with the rush of the holiday at the time 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 broom around our rooms.
Spring is the time of year when our cleaning efforts are nothing short of inspired. But it is also the spring that often eludes us when it comes to inspiration for decoration. Maybe we are too 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 some serious decoration inspiration your way.
1) Flowers. Spring is the time for flowers. They are all around us. Use fresh cut flowers and candles to create beautiful arrangement and centerpieces throughout your home.
2) Light. As briefly mentioned above they deserve their own place among the five least. Candles can be soothing, relaxing, invigorating, inspiring, beautiful, elegant, and simply smell good. Candles are great no matter what time of year it is, if you select candles in bright spring colors and fragrances you might be amazed at exactly how uplifting these candles can be.
3) Towels. Yes I said towels. In your kitchen and your bathroom, you need bright, bold colors which means spring, birth and renewal. These small details can make a huge difference in not only your attitude about cleaning and decorating but also your attitude about cooking.
4) fragrance. While most people do not realize that the fragrances we use in our homes is a type of decoration. It makes our noses happy to some degree but also the potpourri and candles are often decorations in and of themselves. Extinguishing bowls filled with colorful and lightly scented fragrance balls, dried fruit and other delicacies. Gourmet potpourri can be found in all kinds of gift and fragrance shops and is a fairly inexpensive way to add a fragrant touch to your home decor, as well as the scent of your home.
5) Fruit. Have bowls placed 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 controls in the "pro" column for this simple decorative step and I have yet to find one in the "con" column if 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 have not found some outstanding suggestions above I at least hope that you will have been inspired to find your own fabulous finds for spring decorating.
