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| Budget Stretcher's Articles |
10 Quick and Inexpensive Ways to Brighten your Home for
Spring!
By Kathy Wilson
Spring is a sign of renewal in many areas of our lives, and
our homes are no different! There is something energizing
and refreshing about bringing that bright, airy feeling of
Spring into your home. Here are the 10 best ways to spruce
up and revitalize your rooms, on a dime!
1.Add white! White with your present color scheme will both
cool and brighten, adding the freshness that only white can!
If your room colors tend toward the warm side, such as
yellows, browns, or reds…then choose creamier white such as
ecru or ivory. If you have cooler colors in your room, such
as greens and blues, go with the brighter, cleaner whites.
2.Try painting your focal wall, (that is, the one most seen)
in a sunnier, brighter, or lighter shade of your current
wall color. It will add lightness to the room without
drastically changing the whole scheme. Don't worry, you can
always go back to that rich red in the fall, but how about a
little petal pink, or sky blue? Remember, its only paint,
its cheap!
3.Add a floral print fabric to your room. Using the primary
colors already in your room, visit your fabric store and
pick out a floral fabric you love with at least one of those
primary colors in it. (The more, the better, but don't feel
you must have every color in the room also in the fabric!)
Use that floral fabric to make table scarves, placemats,
pillow covers, and simple seat cushion covers. Pair it with
a solid fabric color already in the room, and you have a
custom coordinated look, for just a few dollars and some
simple straight sewing!
4.Pick up some pretty colored glassware from the dollar
shop, and display it where the sun will light it up! You
could even use clear glassware, and fill it with colored
water to coordinate with the room. Use your glassware as
vases, pencil holders, or candy dishes, but make sure it is
seen! Glass sparkles and adds a bit of sunshine to a room.
5.Take down your curtains, and just leave your mini blinds
underneath. Don't leave it bare, though, we don't want
boring! Swag some dried or silk flowers over the top of the
blinds, or use some muslin to twist around a curtain rod for
an informal but airy valance. (No sew!)
6.Keep your windows sparkling clean. Dirty windows cut down
on a surprising amount of light, and make a room look dull.
As a bonus, clean windows mean more sparkling glass, and
that makes room feel larger and brighter!
7.Pot up some pansies from the garden center and use them
indoors as houseplants. They are cheap, easy, and add
flowers to a room without the cost of replacing floral
arrangements every week! You can even coordinate the flower
color to the color scheme of the room. Don't match the
colors, just pick something complementary.
8.Clear most of the artwork and accessories out of your
room, and just keep a few larger, simpler pieces. It
declutters the room, and helps to put the focus on the
freshness of a room. Consider picking up a white lattice
from the garden center, and hang it on the wall as a focal
point. Place a potted plant in front of it, or hang small
framed garden catalog prints from it. Let it be a reminder
of the outdoors all season long!
9.Use a stencil or a stamp to add floral and nature motifs
to your room for very little money. Stencil vines around
windows and doors, hand paint seasonal sayings over doorways
with a paint pen, or stamp a floral bouquet on the front of
cupboard doors. You can always paint over those small areas
with touch up paint in the fall. (Or you might love them so
much, they stay year round!)
10.Finally, don't forget your entry area when you are
creating that spring glow all around your home. Remember,
your entries are a visitors first impression of your home!
Add a pot of pansies on the porch, paint your entry a fresh
spring color, and hang a handmade wreath or a basket of
flowers on the front door.
All these ideas take very little time, little or no money,
and do wonders for your spirit and the spirit of those who
you love. Take a little time to brighten your lives!
Kathy Wilson is an author, columnist, and editor of The
Budget Decorator. If you would like hundreds more great
budget decorating ideas, visit her at
http://www.TheBudgetDecorator.com. Don't forget to sign up
for her free newsletter and ebooks while you're there!
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