DIY Home Decorating

Ignore the weather for just a second...Spring is almost here! While I technically don't Spring clean (I clean all year), I do like to change the decor from season to season. I'm not a professional decorator, but I enjoy watching HGTV and keeping up on what's new in home decor. I enjoy perusing stores for home decor and planning my next project!

Here are just a few things you can do to spruce up a tired home:

1. De-clutter. Your spaces will look much bigger and cleaner with unnecessary objects and furniture removed. It's okay to have "free" space in your room. It's relaxing.

2. If your room allows, pull out furniture from the walls and create a cozy conversation area. Furniture pushed up against the walls leaves dead space in the middle of the room.

3. You don't have to match everything to make the room look decorated! In fact, if you have a patterned comforter, switch out your curtains for something more neutral or vice versa. Throw a new pillow on the bed to pull it together. Duvets are a great way to change the look of your bed without spending a ton of money! Oh, and the bed should always be a focal point. Make it look inviting! You should be looking at the headboard when you walk in, not the side or foot of the bed.

4. Lamps are a great way to add ambience to a room. Overhead lights can be harsh and overpowering. Lamps will make the room cozy and inviting and tone things down.

5. If you haven't already, coordinate all the rooms in your house to be color-interchangeable. This way you can pull decorations from one room to another easily. My colors are brick red, soft sage, butterscotch, and browns. Each room has more of one color than another so they don't look the same. It saves buying new accessories when you can share them with other rooms, and it can feel like a new room when you're done.

6. Check out your wall art. Is it hanging at eye level? It should be! No matter what the size of your art, it needs to be "anchored" by the piece beneath it. Art can look disconnected when it's just hanging there. You should never have to strain your neck to look at art, and you should not have to look down at it either. The middle of the picture should be at eye level or slightly above. The only time to break this rule is if you are doing a wall composite with many types of pictures and mirrors that complement each other. Be sure to "pull" colors out of your art with accessories. Large pictures look best over large pieces, small over small, you get the idea.

7. Family photos are great, but they can look cluttered if you're not careful with them. Hang them in similar frames, and group them together in odd numbered groups. Don't be afraid to mix metal with wood. It can look more interesting. Try an all black and white grouping for a more dramatic look.

8. Be sure to let in as much natural light as you can. Open up drapes and blinds. It can improve the look of a room in a hurry. Be sure not to skimp on curtains. They should look full, not sparse.

9. Bring the outdoors in! Clip a few forsythia branches or pussy willow branches, place them in a clear cyndrical vase with natural stones in in the bottom. Watch them bloom. Place 2 on a mantle or sofa table for more interest.

10. Don't be afraid to add color. If you can't afford to paint, then add elements of color by using throw pillows, vases, pottery, candles, baskets, books, throws, etc...

Your house doesn't have to look like the cover of Good Housekeeping, but it is fun to change things up without having to spend money. Even if you don't like to decorate, we all like a pretty home. After all, it's our haven, and it should reflect who we are and the things that bring us joy!

Happy Homemaking and Happy Sort-of Spring!