Eight Easy Ways to Bring in Spring

If you are tired of the snow and rain of winter, now is the perfect time to bring spring into your home. Adding cheery touches to my home decor always lifts my spirits, and I hope it will do the same for you. Here are some simple tips for changing over your decor without spending lots of money or leaving you with boxes and boxes of things to store once the season is over. Since I move about every two years — but love to decorate — I have come up with some simple ways to decorate for spring and the Easter season that will not require you to buy a trunk full of decorations.

Here are Eight Easy Ways to Bring in Spring:

1.  Use  Pretty Pastels

There is no need to change the whole color scheme of your house to make it feel like spring. Pick a few seasonal colors ( I recommend pastels for spring and the Easter season.) that complement what you already have and then incorporate them into your decorating plan. Throw pillows, wreaths, flowers, linens, and dishes are all great ways to add seasonal color without the expense of purchasing new big-ticket items.

In my case, I already had everything you see in the picture below except for the turquoise plates. When I was grocery shopping at Carrefour here in Tunis, Tunisia, I saw that they were running a sale and selling glassware by the kilogram.  I chose six glass plates, put them on the scale, and then the checker labeled the bag — just like they do when they weigh vegetables. I took home a versatile addition to my spring decor for under five dollars!

2.  Find Floral Fabrics and Table Linens

Whenever I visit Italy, I love to go to the open markets and home stores in search of linens for my table. Changing the tablecloth brings fresh colors and patterns into the room. I often use a square of beautiful fabric and place it in a triangular configuration over a plain tablecloth.

This tablecloth is a large one, but you could easily use a small patterned one over a plain large rectangular one. I find many of my floral and linen card table-sized cloths at estate sales and flea markets.

3. Incorporate Eggs

Along with spring comes Easter, and what better way to welcome the season than with some eggs. Display Easter eggs you have dyed, or use any faux eggs that match your decor.

The eggs on my table are made of alabaster and came from the lovely town of Volterra in Tuscany. The light from the window shines through them since alabaster has a translucent quality.

4.  Use Nests in Your Spring Vignettes

Since spring is the time that the birds return after a long winter, nests are appropriate to include in your decor. Either buy a nest at a craft store and decorate it with ribbons, flowers, and eggs or just take some Spanish moss and mold it with your fingers until it resembles a nest. Place one large egg or several candy eggs in the center, and voila, you have a rather convincing nest.

5. Tuck in Some Birds

My yard is full of birds in their migratory pattern returning from their winter in Africa back to Europe. Since they currently fill my yard with song, I incorporated their likeness into my decor for spring. Birds go well with a nest and a few branches. If you are fortunate to have flowering cherry or plum trees in your yard, you can place some branches in a vase on your table with your birds. The little birds will feel quite at home.

6.  Buy Some Lemons

Decorating does not necessarily mean that you have to go to a craft or home store to find decor. I lean toward incorporating natural elements. Try picking up a bag of lemons at your grocery store or Costco. They bring some beautiful fresh color to an otherwise dreary corner of the room.

7.  Frame a Vintage Postcard

No matter the season, I hunt for vintage holiday postcards and incorporate them into my decorating. Flea markets, estate sales, and antique shops all carry them. I try to choose ones with great illustrations and an appropriate greeting for the season.

For spring, search for postcards depicting chicks, rabbits, lambs, or Easter religious themes. If you can’t find vintage postcards, look online for printable computer images you can size to the frame you plan to use. Most postcards are either 3×5 inches or 4×6 inches and fit standard photo frames. Use the frame over and over again season after season, just by changing out the postcard.

8.  Buy or Pick Fresh Flowers

Nothing says spring like daffodils and tulips poking their cheery heads out of the ground after a long winter. Even the grocery stores stock primroses and pansies to perch on shelves at their doors as harbingers of the season. Fresh potted flowers, cut bulbs, and flowering cherry or plum branches will all make your home feel brighter after the winter.

The little white garlic flowers pictured below are from the open market in Tunis near my home.

Bring in spring and give these tips a try!