10 easy ways to brighten home for spring

Valley interior designers suggest welcoming spring into your home by incorporating simple decorating ideas that mirror nature's seasonal transformation. These 10 ideas will help you get started.


1. Less is more

"Start by taking a surface and cleaning everything off," said Scottsdale interior designer Judy Fox, whose firm is Judy Fox Interiors. For example, remove books, accessories and other items cluttering the top of your coffee table. When you redecorate it, put back fewer items, leaving the top less cluttered. This will give the room a more open, spacious feeling, she said.

Another idea: Roll up those big, heavy rugs. They provided a cozy, comforting feel during cooler weather, but their removal will make your rooms appear larger and more open during spring and summer.

2. Awaken your decor

Have your furnishings become tired-looking? Change them out, revamp them, toss them or donate them to a charity.


3. Bring the outdoors in

Longer days are knocking, so let them in. Put fresh flowers in a decorative vase on your dining table. Flowers such as tulips and lilacs say spring, although they aren't typically grown in the Valley. Or opt for the exotic, such as orchids. Then consider Crate & Barrel's O-shaped Ona vase, made of hand-blown clear glass, $18.95.


4. Let the indoors out

Extend your home's brighter, lighter spring look to your patio and landscaping decor. One possibility: Pier 1's outdoor butterfly and dragonfly glass lanterns, 7 1/2 inches high and 4 3/4 inches in diameter. $16 each. Or pick up one of Pier 1's outdoor oil burners, $8 each


5. Lighter and brighter

Reds, tangerines and greens are key accent colors this season, says Phoenix interior designer Sherry Hauser of Hauser Designs. Store your master bedroom's dark decor items, such as the brown, black and gold duvet and matching pillows, and replace them with brightly colored accents and furnishings, such as Anthropologie's Inked Leaf Bedding. The duvet cover retails for $248-$298; a set of two shams is $88-$98.


6. Pillow might

Pillows are an easy way to change your decor's look and feel, no matter the season. Spring looks include bold flower patterns, such as Crate & Barrel's Fiori 20-inch pillows in chartreuse and coral (front), each $49.95, and Pier 1's 18-inch Diamond Flower Applique pillow, $34.95.


7. Marine core

Fill a clear bowl with sand and layer it with shells you've collected at the seashore. The Shell Glass Bowl, $29.99 at Cost Plus World Market, is ideal. Don't despair if you haven't been to the beach lately. Shell out $19.99 for a bag of large shells at World Market.


8. Take a journey in your own home

Incorporate styles and patterns from abroad as accents, such as Paris-themed pillows for sofa and chairs and, for an Asian look, these Sumba ikat chairs, $499 each at Z Gallerie. Matching 24-inch pillows are $59.95 each.


9. Sense appeal

Candles, crisp fabrics and decorative bowls filled with grapes and berries provide sensual appeal. Capture the feeling with Pier 1's vanilla-scented dragonfly pillar, $10, and tropical mimosa-scented butterfly pillar, $8.


10. Make mealtime more festive

Supplement your dinnerware with colorful appetizer or dessert plates, such as egg-shaped Rebecca Egg Plates from Cost Plus World Market. A set of four plates is $19.96.


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