accessories

Freshen Your Home for Spring With These Designer Tips by Margaret Chambers

This bedroom in a Turtle Creek home feels like spring all-year-round with its pink check lampshade, pink wallpaper, and beautiful linens.

Spring is the perfect time to declutter, tackle home improvement projects, and breathe new life into your rooms with seasonal colors and accessories. By starting the process now, you have the whole rest of the year to enjoy the fruits of your hard work. As a Dallas interior designer, I have many years of experience helping my clients renovate or refresh their homes. These are my tips for getting your home ready for spring.

Decluttering is a no-cost way to give your home a fresh start. Take a look at your belongings to see if there’s anything you haven’t used in a long time. Now is also the time to rotate your heavy linens and winter clothing into storage. When it comes to clutter, the entryway is a common hotspot. If you’re the type to drop off keys, mail, and sunglasses as soon as you get home, pick a place where they can go, such as a pretty decorative bowl.

Have your rugs and carpets professionally cleaned (or rent a steam cleaner). Wash your windows too so you can take full advantage of the spring sunshine.

You can filter in even more spring sunshine by replacing dark drapes and shades with light and sheer curtains, like the ones in this Dallas home.

Many Texas homeowners worry about leaks this time of year. If you’re one of them, consider getting leak detectors; they’re a quick way to solve a problem before it ever happens. Detectors can be placed underneath sinks, behind toilets, underneath hot water heaters, and behind washing machines. You can also help prevent leaks by making sure that your roof stays in good condition.

If you don’t want to renovate but still think your home could use a facelift, consider repainting your front door or your interior walls. A new paint color will instantly change the energy of a space. Don’t forget about your fifth wall—your ceiling. Painting the ceiling a different color or adding wallpaper has become a trend in recent years.

You can get your bedroom ready for the season by swapping out your comforter with a thinner coverlet. Replace dark sheets with ones in lighter colors (like crisp white) with bordering or monogramming, depending on the style of the room. Bedding with botanical prints will really complete the theme.

Crisp white bedding with bordering and monogramming is a popular look.

Small design elements, such as hand towels, lampshades, accent pillows, and blankets can be easily switched out for items in seasonally-appropriate colors, like pastel yellow, pink, orange, or green. And nothing says “spring” like fresh flowers or Easter-themed accessories. Flowers associated with the spring season include daffodils, tulips, and hyacinths. Adding more potted plants to your home can improve air quality while introducing an organic element to your interior design.

Instead of buying all-new furniture, try rearranging the furniture you already have. You might be able to find a new layout that has more breathing room or is easier to navigate. Rehanging or rearranging your art is another way to shake things up.

The garden theme for this table setting is perfect for spring. The china has hand-painted botanical and butterfly motifs.

Freshening your home for spring can be as simple as swapping out decorative pillows or cleaning your closet. But if you’ve got bigger plans—like renovating your house, or changing the entire color scheme—consider tapping into an interior designer’s expertise. In my own design projects, I love to work with soft, spring-like colors. I’m passionate about helping my clients transform dark or dated spaces into classically beautiful homes that will look gorgeous in any season.

Interested in working with Chambers Interiors & Associates? You can reach us by sending an email to info@chambersinteriors.com or calling our Dallas office at 214-651-7665.

RELATED ARTICLES:

Creating a Coastal Cool Style for Your Weekend Getaway by Margaret Chambers

Accessories made of rope, like this mirror frame in a Cape Cod style bathroom, are a great choice for coastal style.

Accessories made of rope, like this mirror frame in a Cape Cod style bathroom, are a great choice for coastal style.

Coastal interior design style has many admirers for a reason. It’s unfussy, relaxed and casually elegant all at once, and its combination of neutrals and cheerful colors appeals to a wide variety of tastes.

Not everyone who wants the look lives by the coast. Some people have fond memories of vacationing at the beach and want to bring that nostalgia into their current home. Coastal is also a popular theme for individual rooms, such as guest bedrooms, children’s rooms, and powder rooms. You may find the following design pointers useful if you’re designing a themed room, own a beach or lake house, or simply want to bring this carefree look into your Dallas home.

Feel free to mix different shades of blue in your coastal room. This room features navy, indigo and cobalt blue patterns.

Feel free to mix different shades of blue in your coastal room. This room features navy, indigo and cobalt blue patterns.

Narrowing Down the Coastal Look You Want

Before you start shopping, take a moment to decide on what kind of coastal interiors you want for yourself. Do you like lots of patinas and distressed finishes, or a sleeker contemporary look? You should also be aware that there are different regional styles to draw inspiration from. “California coastal” is more modern with understated colors and subtle tone-on-tone patterns. Floridian beach house style has brighter colors (such as turquoise) and more nautical accessories.

The Best Colors for Coastal Homes

The classic colors for coastal style are white, blue, and sea green. The blues can be in almost any shade, from robin’s egg blue, to turquoise and navy. Your neutral colors can be sandy beiges, creams, and storm grays. Although coastal style is almost always light and bright, navy would also be a perfectly appropriate choice for a moody accent wall.

This Cape Cod bedroom in a Dallas home we designed uses rough textures but soft bedding to keep things comfortable.

This Cape Cod bedroom in a Dallas home we designed uses rough textures but soft bedding to keep things comfortable.

That said, you are not strictly limited to blues and greens for color. Some warmer colors that can be incorporated into a beach home are muted oranges, bright reds, and terracotta, which brings the Mediterranean to mind.

Incorporating Natural Materials

The next step to designing a coastal home is choosing natural materials. You’re drawing inspiration from a natural environment—the beach—so your design won’t hit the mark unless you can bring nature into the indoors.

Rough textures are a must, and there are many easy ways to incorporate them. For furniture, go for painted finishes, wicker, or rattan; for rugs, choose sisal or jute; and then add woven baskets and linen bedding. Driftwood is currently very popular because it reinforces the nautical theme without being too cutesy. It can be used in many different ways: for example, as a base for a glass-topped coffee table or as bookshelves and organizational boxes.

To contrast the rougher textures of the wood, rope, or rattan you may be using, include smooth textures: metals, glass (especially sea glass), and ceramics. Gold hardware pairs nicely with white, blue, and gray, which are all great cabinetry colors in a coastal kitchen.

The hardwood floor and soothing neutrals in this dining room give it a coastal feel even without nautical accessories.

The hardwood floor and soothing neutrals in this dining room give it a coastal feel even without nautical accessories.

There is a reason you don’t see carpet in beach houses. Sand is hard to clean out of it, and carpet will also get musty in humid environments. For these reasons, hardwood or natural stone floors, with rugs to soften footfalls, is the preferred choice for flooring.

Adding a Touch of Nautical Whimsy

The most common pitfall with coastal design is overdoing the theme. In decades past, homeowners loved to go all-out with oars on the wall, sailboats, seashells, and crab print everywhere. This kind of look is now considered kitschy and dated.

Some of the nautical accents in this bedroom include the seashell on the bedside table and the coral drawer pulls.

Some of the nautical accents in this bedroom include the seashell on the bedside table and the coral drawer pulls.

A contemporary beach house should be subtle with the theme. A few nautical accents is more than enough. One way to make a room feel more nautical without being too overt is to add striped patterns. For your seating areas, mix and match decorative pillows with different patterns to create a relaxed and carefree look.

Anyone with a beach or lake house will want to see as much of the view as possible. Even if you’re not actually living on the water, treat the windows in your coastal style home the same way: by letting in lots of natural light. If you need blinds for privacy, go for wooden ones.

While there are a lot of things to consider when you’re aiming for a coastal look, getting them right is a worthwhile goal. A well-designed beach house can make you feel like you’re on vacation every day. And in today’s world, building your own personal oasis is more important than ever.

If you want to make sure your coastal room or residence is on-theme but still classically elegant, feel free to reach out to our design team. For more information, call our Dallas office at 214-232-9501 or email us at info@chambersinteriors.com


RELATED ARTICLES: