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Spring is here... or, so i'd thought!

3/20/2017

Bring the party inside with spring refreshers for the home

Who is excited that spring has arrived, building more anticipation for the summer? I know I am! This winter has been pretty good to me. I am not a fan of the cold, and a few warm days in the recent past had built hope for sunnier times. That thought alone must have jinxed the weather - bringing the snow and slowing down the blooming of the cherry blossoms! However, you can always count on inspiring and creative home decor to remind us that spring is here! The best part of spring is the changing of hues from darker and moody shades, to brighter and longer days. Ample amounts of sunshine make up for the lost leaves, and welcome new beginnings, pretty flowers, tropical plants, bright colors, and long awaited cherry blossoms. These beacons of spring also call the bugs, birds, and butterflies! With all the outdoor changes and fun activities that the season brings, there comes an even greater need to harmonize and elevate our living space. One way to do this is by introducing a few fresh, new indoor vibes. While the weather outside is changing, let's celebrate the season by welcoming spring into your lovely abode.

Quick and Easy Spring Refresher for Home

Achieving a renewed look for your home is quite easy and even essential to keeping your mind feeling refreshed and relaxed! I've used an artificial orchid in a pot right outside my door, hung up a season-appropriate framed wall art, and added a hanging glass planter and a floral doormat to welcome my guests. The easiest way to spruce up your decor and start getting it spring-ready is to simply bring in some new life - in the form of fresh flowers and live indoor plants. Who can say ‘no’ to that? Houseplants (in moderate number) not only liven up your decor, but they also help you breathe fresh air - literally. Unlike outdoor plants, indoor plants are easy to nurture and they are mobile! You can choose plants that are great for cleaning indoor air and don't always require high maintenance. Some of my friends find it hard to believe that I would get my hands messy in dirt. I actually find gardening both relaxing and enjoyable. It's almost therapeutic. Having painted for years, I’m comfortable with a little mess and dirt if it has the potential to create something beautiful and living. Besides, you don’t need to mess with too much dirt when you are playing with house plants.

Beautiful things can grow inside your apartment, too! You don’t need a big lawn to enjoy the outdoors and exercise your green thumb. (I have a black one!) An apartment windowsill, and a few fully-landscaped patio spaces are more than enough to let me flutter my wings. I have Aloe Vera, Snake plant, Mass Cane, easy-to-grow succulents - String of Pearls (Note: Toxic for children by touch), Zebra Cactus, and Jasmine (I picked out a few stems from my parents' planter). Did you know the Jasmine plant can grow in containers right at home and produces amazingly scented blooms? Simply place them in water for a few weeks, and plant them in soil once new roots start to develop. Go beyond store-bought flowers. Look for shrubs, perennials, tropicals, and even herbs! Set up your planters and pots in different locations around the house. Recycle or think outside the box wherever you can. Did you fall in love with a chic and geometric tumbler or a pencil-holder or toothbrush-holder? Can it be used as a pot to hold plants? I used candle holders as planters, and even replaced candles for tropical air plants to go inside my tea-light sconces. Now, I need to bring in tulips and invest in a Peace Lily, which is not only beautiful and unique, but is listed by NASA as one of the top ten household air-cleaning plants. Need I say more?

Let’s go and invest in a small plant or two! Have a little fun by getting a couple of cute pots to go with it. Place them by your windowsill and as you watch them grow, see how they add a bit of life and color to your home. And, if you're still not convinced that you can maintain an indoor plant, incorporating fresh flowers, mixed in with faux flowers/plants, can totally do the trick! Once you've made some small changes, your home will feel renewed, inviting, and on it's way to getting season-ready!