The word SPRING immediately brings one image to mind ….. color! After a long cold winter we finally started to see bursts of color emerging from the ground and inside our homes too! Nothing beats fresh flowers for a quick pick-me-up. Changing out certain elements in your home and introducing flowers is a sure-fire way to brighten up your interior for spring.
FABRIC: A great way to have flowers throughout the season is to pick floral fabrics. One of my favorites is our Embroidered Sunflower fabric from http://www.onlinesilkfabricstore.com . This fresh and new pattern looks at home in both contemporary and traditional settings. I love to use this fabric when doing window treatments as it is the first thing people tend to notice when they walk in the room. The flowers are raised and textural and the silk reflects different colors depending on how the light hits it. With the leftovers from drapes, I have my seamstress make up coordinating pillows that showcase the sunflower. People just love running their hand over this fabric.
PILLOWS: Lighten and brighten! Pack away all those chenille pillows and anything with heavy tassels. Spring is all about lightening the effect. Simple linen or plain silk pillows look fresh without looking stuffy. Keep the trim to a minimum, simple cording or self-welting is all you need to finish off a spring throw pillow. As mentioned above, one or two fantastic pillows that showcase a favorite flower are always a good bet. If you choose the flower wisely, it can take you all the way through fall. Again, that's why I like the Embroidered Sunflower fabric – sunflowers start showing up in our decorating around Spring time and keep going strong until Fall.
FLOORING: Roll up your area rungs and show off those beautiful wood floors. If the thought of naked floors makes you shudder, purchase simple sisal throw rugs. Just be sure to keep them in place with a good rug pad. Use brightly colored accent rugs all around the house – in front of the kitchen sink, by the bathtub, or inside the front door. And for goodness sake – change out your welcome mat! You can find some very reasonably priced and seasonally attractive welcome mats at your local home improvement center.
WINDOW TREATMENTS: Window treatments are, in my opinion, one of the first decorating elements you see when you walk in a room. You may not consciously notice them, but they are at eye level and your eye almost always gravitates towards the window. Therefore, this is one great spot to freshen up your look. If you currently have heavy drapery panels switch them out for simple silk panels. With silk becoming more and more affordable, I encourage clients to go bold and try out a shocking color of dupioni silk drapes. They are fairly inexpensive and can be moved from room to room. A classic neutral dining room becomes a decorator showroom with a simple pair of canary yellow dupioni drapery panels.