homesense
Bright colours make for on-trend accessories this season. These serving dishes from HomeSense use hot colours such as turquoise, orange and brown.
Spring is, and has always been, a time of renewal, a time to update and freshen up our homes, to clean off winter dust and dirt, and to let the new light shine through.
While spring cleaning will certainly add a welcome sparkle to your home, the design team is also a big believer in the benefits of freshening up decor every once in a while. We think spring, the season of renewal, is the perfect time!
• You can refresh your living space simply, and often with surprisingly minimal cost, by updating fabrics, colours and perspectives.
• Try rearranging furniture to focus on the great view outside the window, rather than the fireplace. Remove what no longer works.
• Store dark colours and heavy fabrics. That means putting the winter blanket draped over the couch, and the plush cushions away for the season. Replace them with pillows or covers of light-coloured fabric, preferably cottons, silks or linens.
• If your curtains are heavy and textured, try putting them away and replacing them with sheers or light, cotton drapes.
• Try refreshing paint in the entrance or other areas with heavy traffic so the look is fresh and clean.
• Replace dark lampshades with new, lighter-coloured ones.
•Move around your art to create a new sense of perspective. Art often takes on a different look in a different position, and in a new light.
• Add a few new and inexpensive accessories. Pump up the volume by adding splashes of bright colour: perhaps a throw pillow in bright turquoise, or a bright yellow piece of furniture, or a bright glass vase. But use some restraint; too much bright colour will produce a design crime! Pastel is past, so stay away from lighter shades this season.
• Purchase or borrow new table linens to freshen up the look of a dining table.
• Try orange and brown; these colours are enjoying a resurgence after being banished after the excesses of the ’70s.
• Clean your porch, deck or balcony and set up your outdoor furniture. And don’t forget the accessories such as vases, candles, plants, a coffee table or a side table, reading materials and a lamp (in a protected area), or whatever it is that makes the space livable for you. Remember, you are extending your living space outdoors.
• Also think in term of bringing a flavour of the outdoors inside. For example, you might want to set up an arrangement of painted watering cans. Another easy way to bring a little outdoors into your home is to display plants, or cut flowers inside.
• If you’ve got a little more cash to spend, try slipcovers for your sofas and chairs if your upholstery is in need of a change. New trends in fabric include solids and tone-on-tone. Finishing details like piping, double or single top-stitching are popular this season. Reserve big patterns for accent pillows and throws.
When you put together the decor of any room, do not make it too matched, or too symmetrical. Mix it up according to what you like, and tie it together with colour, theme, shape or design. Think of decorating as if you are cooking a sublime and well-spiced dish. An artful combination of flavours will work wonders!
But don’t forget one of the main rules of interior design — maintain a focal point in each room, perhaps a special piece of furniture, a painting, or bright throw pillows against a neutral background. Finally, after all your hard work, kick back, relax and start enjoying your freshly renewed spring decor!
