Simple Spring Decor Refresh

You don't need to take a lot of time or spend a lot of money to give your living space a simple spring decor refresh. Here are tips to use a new color and pretty blooms to update your rooms for spring.

Happy spring, friends! We have finally felt a change in the weather pattern with a few days of warm sun in between western Oregon's normal spring rains. And so it's time for being outside in the yard and garden (don't let the weeds get ahead of you - start now covering them with paper and mulch!) and time to bring some of that spring feeling inside.

I've never decorated a ton for the seasons, though I used to do more - this was a cute mantel one year, but this mantle was more typical.

Over the years I've realized that no matter where we are (our former cottage, living with family, in a temporary home) I always like to do two things:

• switch out accessories like pillows and throws
• add seasonal flowers

Most of the time I'm inspired by what I find in the yard and I can't help but bring them inside to enjoy them. If you think that flowers don't really matter or make much difference in our lives, I'm here to say, try it and I bet you'll like it!

I used to think that, actually. When I first started gardening I grew mostly flowers, but I didn't want to "mess up" my yard by clipping all the blossoms. I'd bring a few in every now and then - mainly for a centerpiece when we had guests - but I didn't think about enjoying them on regular days, too.

And if I didn't have anything blooming, I'd never buy flowers. That seemed like such an extravagance. And actually it was at that time in our lives for a couple reasons - we were struggling to make it on one income, and the flowers available were not cheap.

Now we have places like Trader Joe's where you can get a bouquet for $3.99 that lasts for a week. Four dollars for a week of fresh blooms that make me smile every time I walk by? Deal! Not to mention the seasonal specials they have like bunches of daffodils in bud for just $1.49 each.

But also, this changed: I realized that my family and I were worth it even on "regular days." That taking the time to clip flowers and arrange them in a vase - or buy some - made a difference in how we all felt.

It's FUN to mark the seasons with your kids, to talk about each one and what makes them special and different. It's a JOY to see flowers or updated decor. It made us all want to take care of our house more and it helped make our home a place we all liked to be.

So every spring to mark the change from a season I'm usually anxious to say goodbye to (sorry, winter is not usually my friend...), I do a little spring refresh of our decor. I'm sharing what it looks like in our temporary space (as we work on making the farmhouse fixer livable), what I changed and used, as well as some tips and sources so you can do a simple spring decor refresh too!

Simple Spring Decor Refresh

Spring Living Room

Through the winter I had left our pillows the same from the Christmas plan - dark green and black and white buffalo check. When I was starting to think about spring, I headed to my favorite place for inexpensive home decor and found the perfect pillow covers.

I was so glad to read this season that green was back "in" as a decor color - it's never out for me, since I love it and use it all the time - but it meant there would be options in my favorite color. The covers were such a good deal I could get them for all the pillows on the couch and chairs.

They are all in a soft sage-green color family so they all coordinate. Here's what I got for the couch:

• 16x16 Green Floral Pillow Cover
• 20x20 Green Washed Linen Pillow Cover

And those cute floral pillows are only $3.99 each, can you believe it? They are really nice quality, too, with a zippered opening and thick textured fabric.

For the French chairs I added these pillows with a sweet fern pattern, which is called a Green Leaf Patterned Cushion Cover.

And those branches? Those are from our flowering cherry trees in the front yard. It was easy to clip a lot this year because they were damaged so much from our snow that branches are lying on the ground. Sadly, we lost one completely, as the weight from the heavy snow uprooted it from the ground.

But I wasn't going to let them go to waste there on the ground, that's for sure. There's more out there, too, so I think I can clip branches and enjoy them for the next three weeks or so. Then we'll have to do a hard pruning on the tree left to bring it back.

Of course, daffodils just sing spring, don't they? Luckily, the deer don't like them so they grow around the property and I was able to cut a bunch. 

I did buy a lighter weight throw in green, since all our other throws are wool or fleece - both a little too heavy for the warmer weather ahead. This exact throw pictured isn't available anymore, but this soft green throw is similar (and I think I almost like it better!).

In this fuller shot of the living room, you can see how the colors play together and how the flowers bring so much into the equation. Bring on the flowers!

I do love green and was happy to go monochrome this time, though I think mixing colors is great, too. Go with whatever you find that makes you happy. Look through your existing pillows and throws and see if there's a new way to put them together for spring.

Spring Dining Room

I really hesitated to share this with you because it certainly isn't all 'done up' like you find on home decor blogs, Pinterest, or Instagram. But you know what? AOC's tagline isn't "Simple Homemade Life" for nothing - I really do like to keep it simple, and if you're reading, you probably do, too.

So here is simple: add a springy table runner (or table cloth, or placemats - whatever you like) and more spring blooms. Done and done. I even used a vintage Mason jar for a vase - use what you have!

The runner is from Target last year - here is a similar one I found that's available now. And I'm in love with those sweet jadeite green salt and pepper shakers from Hearth & Hand at Target. They don't carry that style anymore, but this is the current style that is super cute, too.

These flowering cherry blooms make me so happy every time I walk by. I even like it when they drop onto the table since it's all a part of nature!

Thank you for stopping by and reading all the way to the end! I appreciate you so much and my greatest desire is to inspire you to live a life you enjoy living. I hope you've found some ways to bring a simple spring decor refresh to your living spaces, too. 

And definitely let me know what you like to do to bring that breath of spring into your home - what flowers are your favorite? What color reminds you of spring?