These 5 ways to brighten your home can be done in no time!
I love the change of seasons, and I’m grateful to live in a state (North Carolina) that affords our family the ability to experience all four seasons each year.
Spring came early for us this year, and I’m excited to share some ways we’ve been able to celebrate this new season’s arrival!
5 Ways to Brighten Your Home in Spring
1. Open the windows.
I love the tiny period between both summer and fall and winter and spring when it’s not too hot and it’s not too cold to open the windows.
Not only does this welcome in a gentle breeze to cool the whole house, but it also allows the music of new birds singing to waft through the house.
(Perhaps those of you in some areas have a longer season where this is possible, but we live and breathe air conditioning here in the South!)
2. Diffuse spring-scented essential oils.
We love to diffuse oils all year long, but in the spring it’s fun to bring out fresh scents, like lavender and lemon or these spring blends!
This is our favorite essential oil diffuser. We have one in our bedroom and one in our living room, and we love it!
3. Switch out throw pillows.
As long as the colors coordinate with your walls and curtains, why not switch out darker colored pillows in the winter with lighter colored pillows in the spring?
It occurred to me recently that this would be a quick, easy, and relatively affordable change that can potentially give your living area a whole new look!
We have purchased inexpensive yet beautiful throw pillows at stores like Kohls, Big Lots, and I even found some at ALDI recently!
Or, you can opt to get throw pillow covers in a variety of colors, to keep things fresh. For spring, I love these pillows with the bike and flowers. They are so cheery and colorful.
4. Light spring-scented candles.
While I typically think of candles bringing warmth to your home in the winter, spring-scented candles can also serve to brighten your home.
I only recommend non-toxic candles. I LOVE the woodwick candles from Free Reign Farm (use codeTHH10 for 10% off your order)
5. Decorate with fresh flowers.
There’s perhaps no better way to brighten up your home in minutes than to add a vase of fresh flowers to a table, bookcase, or nightstand.
Whether you cut these from your own yard, order a bouquet online, get them at a local florist, or swing by ALDI (our personal choice!), they will look lovely and will lift the whole mood of your home in no time!
If fresh isn’t your thing, they use silk flowers, like these tulips, to add a pop of springy color around the house.
Amanda
Love these ideas! I love when my husband brings home fresh flowers to spruce up our table!!! It’s still too cold to open up the windows but I can’t wait to get the plastic off of them, so I can open the windows soon!
Erin
Thanks, Amanda! After we had a super early spring, it’s gotten chilly again the past two days! It was ironic that I had to wear a sweater to church the day after I wrote this! Oh wishy-washy spring! LOL Can’t wait to re-open my windows!
Lydia @ frugaldebtfreelife.com
As a fellow southerner I know what you mean, that brief window of pleasant weather is a treasure!
Erin
It sure is! And we had a cold front come in this weekend, so we are back to windows closed and heat on again! LOL
Lisa @ This Pilgrim Life
I’m in the middle of redecorating for spring at my house! Changing up my mantle to display lighter color items (lots of whites and green), spring quotes, birds, etc makes a big difference. Also, just cleaning and decluttering surfaces always makes things feel lighter too ;-). I love the idea of changing out the pillows. That can be such a quick and easy improvement! Fresh flowers are nice, of course, but I have such a hard time keeping potted plants alive, I usually just opt for pretty artificial flowers/plants that I can use over and over in different ways.
Erin
I love the mantle ideas! The couple who hosts our church community group always has the prettiest mantle! The wife changes it out for each season! I love seeing it each week! I’m so glad I’m not the only one who does not have a green thumb! LOL My husband is the one who keeps our plants alive–sad but true!
Katy
I read this, and I had to laugh, because the pillows and the flowers were from ALDI. Definitely an Erin post!
Erin
You know it, Katy!! LOL!!! ALDI has my heart!!
Debra Needles
We had an Easter egg hunt in T-shirts Sunday night followed by snow Monday morning. Utah weather is insane, but I too love four seasons. Especially how snow and spring make the earth seem so clean. Trust me, with Salt Lake’s air pollution, that IS an accomplishment!
Erin
Wow!! What a whirlwind of weather!
Eliza
I love your ideas! I love opening the windows to let the fresh air in (here in tropical northern Australia we have a very short season where this is comfortable – but I am enjoying the fact that right now is that season!)
I also love scented candles, especially citrus scents.
Our house is fluro light central, so I also love lamps – nice soft yellow lights are so much nicer than the bright white light from the overhead lights. It makes night time feel cosier and helps to brighten the room of a day time.
Sharon H.
I’m thinking of getting some birch logs to put in the fireplace over the warmer months. I’ll need to wash down the glass doors too; they’ve gotten sooty and dusty.
We have seasonal artificial wreaths that I switch out each season. The eucalyptus wreath on the front door is good for year-round though. 😉
I change the table cloths and napkins for each season. I just organized the cedar chest where I store them, and sorted things so they’re in seasonal bundles. I’ll put a season on top as it comes around the calendar, so I don’t have to dig.
In the bedroom, I take off the winter bedspread and put on a white cotton matelasse bedspread with a decorative one folded at the foot of the bed.
I wash and put away the heavy Scottish plaid wool lap rugs that are everywhere that we have seating in the house. I have just a few lightweight ones that take their place.
Erin
Sounds so inviting and comfy!