Image credit: Crown Paints
This month interior designer Clair Strong shares some of her quick and easy tips for revamping your home ready for the spring
Spring is the perfect time to revamp your home. Small design changes can make a real difference to your house and give it a new lease of life. I believe in the power of a good spring clean and declutter to get ready for warmer summer days ahead. A spring revamp doesn’t have to mean major renovations or big DIY projects - here are 25 quick and easy ways to update your home this spring.
Tidy the front of your house
After this long wet winter, you’ll find your garden path, walls and any external woodwork can look a bit tired. Get out the pressure washer and blast any dirt away. Then you can get on with repairing any loose mortar and repainting window cills and doors to freshen them up.
If your front door is looking a bit tired, a good sanding down and a couple of coats of paint will give it a completely new look. I am loving all the dark blue and olive green doors I am seeing now.
Chiltern Oak Furniture
Revamp your outdoor furniture
While you are focusing on the outside of your house, give your outdoor furniture a lick of paint and create a whole new look to your garden. I love a brightly coloured bistro set or a pretty blue and white seaside inspired look to transport me to sunnier climes.
Paint your floorboards
If you have old floorboards which aren’t in good enough shape to stain, why not paint them? White-or pastel-coloured floorboards look pretty in bedrooms and can just be repainted when they get dirty. Black or dark grey floorboards look chic when varnished to give them a sophisticated look. You do need to sand your floorboards to prep them but after that it’s an easy job.
Upcycle an old cupboard
Spring is the time flea markets and car boots start up again and I love to look for old bits of furniture to upcycle. Reimagine them with a new coat of paint and a new function. An old pine cupboard can become a kitchen larder, or a melamine display display cabinet can hold all your favourite toiletries in the bathroom.
'I love a brightly coloured bistro set or a pretty blue and white seaside inspired look to transport me to sunnier climes.'
Buy some new house plants
Adding house plants instantly makes a home more spring-like. Remember though, that your choice of plant pots is as important as your choice of plants. Colourful Mexican pots and macrame plant hangings give a boho vibe, while crisp white ceramics in geometric shapes look fresh and contemporary.
New curtains or blinds
Replace any dark heavy curtains for light fabrics like linen and voile to let in plenty of light.
Your curtains and blinds are a great way to introduce colour and pattern into your home. In a neutral home, the introduction of a bit of pattern on a Roman blind can be all you need to lift a room from bland to beautiful. I love bright florals or pretty stripes.
Let there be light
Don’t underestimate the power of changing your lighting. A backlit mirror, a picture light over a statement piece of art or dimmer switches in the kitchen can make a huge difference to the atmosphere of a room. Lamps create interesting lighting in a room and there has never been such a huge choice of lampshades as there are now.
Go crazy for cushions
Cushions can add texture to the room and are a great way of changing the style and feel of your home in the spring. Swop wool or velvet cushions for linen cushions in soft muted colours and you’ll have a completely different look.
Image credit: Cozy Living
Replace your rug
A new rug can also create a completely new look. A fabulous, patterned rug will add depth to a room and pull an open plan space together. Layered rugs look great on a wooden floor. If a rug isn’t big enough, a top tip is to buy a large sisal rug and use that as your base.
Reupholster old furniture
Spring is a great time to upholster tired furniture. Give an old family treasure a new look with some dramatic fabric and create a real statement.
Image credit: Neptune
Pantone Peach Fuzz
Pantone Peach Fuzz is Pantone’s colour of the year in 2024. It’s a comforting hue softly nestled between pink and orange that was chosen to express a yearning for community and cosiness during uncertain times.
Peach Fuzz is supposed to be “a compassionate and nurturing soft peach shade conveying a heartfelt kindness,” Try this velvety, pastel colour this spring to be bang on trend.
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Go green
Green is the colour we associate with nature, energy, and the Great Outdoors and so it’s the perfect colour choice to use in the spring to help you feel calm. Green is a quiet restful colour that can help you feel less anxious. There are more shades of green than of any other colour, from soft moss greens, through bright emerald greens to zingy lime greens. There are bright grass greens, dark forest greens and soft pale eau de nil greens. Green goes with everything so you can’t go wrong!
Charming chintz
Chintz is back this spring and looks great with greens and pastels. Chintz creates a lovely retro look in a contemporary space and goes with a lot of different colours. I love it with fresh white woodwork and soft neutrals.
'Green is a quiet, restful colour that can help you feel less anxious.'
Gild old picture frames
A postcard or doodle can be elevated into a work of art simply by framing it beautifully. Old frames are easy to come by in flea markets and can be transformed with a coat of paint or some gilding wax or gold leaf for an antique look.
Get zoning with paint
Zoning an area using a contrasting paint colour to the rest of your room is a clever trick to revamp a room. Paint an arch of colour over the desk in your home office or highlight a fireplace or the wall at the top of a landing by using a different colour; simple ideas can completely transform your home. Be brave and make a statement with a bold colour.
Divine Savages
Natural materials
Natural materials are on trend this spring - they’re durable, environmentally friendly, and look stylish. Whatever your interior design style, there is a natural material that will look amazing. Look for natural materials like bamboo, rattan and wicker when redesigning your home this spring. Baskets, chairs, and lighting are all great choices.
Colour drenching
Colour drenched walls can be the single most effective and affordable way to transform a room this spring. Just paint the whole room from ceiling to skirting boards in one colour. It’s a simple trick that will instantly modernise your home.
Go maximalist
Maximalism is still a huge trend for 2024. I’s all about expressing your personality and creative flair through your choice of colour, pattern, and accessories. Layering, texture and toning colours will create a space that is stylish yet comfortable to live in.
Get wallpapering!
Wallpaper adds instant style to your home and is really on trend this spring. There are so many styles available now and they are so affordable. Floral wallpaper works with any decorative style – whether it’s vintage, retro or contemporary. Geometric prints give instant art deco glamour to bedrooms and bathrooms and nature-inspired papers will inject nature into your home all year round and instil a sense of serenity and calm. Wallpaper borders are also making a comeback but without the 80s vibe!
Image credit: Divine Savages
Make your kitchen island stand out
A big trend this spring is to paint your kitchen island in a contrasting shade to the rest of your kitchen. You can indulge your love of a bright colour without committing your whole kitchen to your favourite deep rhubarb or azure blue.
Create a statement staircase
Many houses in the UK have wooden staircases. Pull up the carpet and give the stairs a lick of paint. You can even paint a runner up the middle if you don’t want to commit to painting the whole staircase. You can make a real statement by painting your stairs a beautiful bright colour like a bright pink or teal blue.
Jazz up an interior door
Painting just one side of a door can lift an otherwise boring room. Or how about just painting the edge of your door a gorgeous coral colour for a subtle take on the look? That must be the quickest DIY job for a spring weekend!
Paint the inside of cupboards
One trick I love is to paint the insides of display cabinets or cupboards a different colour to the doors. In a display cabinet a dark tone can really set off some of your favourite glasses and china. A bright colour inside a cupboard, can elevate your kitchen storage.
If you are looking to revamp your space, working with an interior designer will really help you use your budget wisely and create a look that feels cohesive, pulled together and will stand the test of time.
We are a friendly, boutique business based in Bath, providing a range of interior design services for residential and commercial projects. With over 15 years experience, we work with a trusted network of professionals and trades offering complete design and refurbishment. From city centre apartments and retail units to large Georgian houses, our portfolio includes projects of all sizes. Our ethos is to take a collaborative approach with our clients, working with them to create spaces that meet their needs, improve their lives, and exceed their expectations.
You can see many of the projects I have worked on since 2006 on my website at www.clairstrong.co.uk or click the buttons below.
