**This post was written in 2023 and due to a few circumstances, it was never published. While the decor looks a little different this year, I still use the decorating tips mentioned as a guideline to help me achieve the look I want for little to no money 😉

Can you believe we finally made it to spring!?

Did anyone else feel like winter would never end? Maybe it’s all of the sickness this year (seriously, I may just change my mailing address to the Dr. Office at this point), or maybe I’m just over all the freezing rain and random ice storms. Either way, this past weekend, the kids and I went to my Mom’s to help her decorate for Spring. My husband hoped this would get all of my decorating “out of my system” but that’s the thing with us creative-at-heart type of people…we just fuel the fire and can’t wait to get our hands on more creative projects. In this case, decorating my own home to celebrate Spring’s return!

I wanted to share with you some of the decorations we used to hopefully serve as some inspiration for your own home.

We pulled her old decor items from storage which means everything we used was something she already owned. The challenge was to use these items in new and creative ways so that it felt fresh and fun, and not like a repeat of last year’s decor.

It’s always fun to go out and shop for new pieces to decorate with (one of my favorite ways to gain inspiration!), however, it is not always necessary. One of the biggest mistakes people make is thinking that because Target dropped a new line of spring items, they need to run out and purchase those in order for the season to feel “complete”. Just because all the designers are using bunnies and easter eggs in their decor doesn’t mean that you have to; keep your space more minimalistic in design. If going all out with themed decor is your thing, and bunnies, easter eggs and pastel colors bring you joy, please do it!

The point is, you shouldn’t feel like this is a competition or a race to keep up with what everyone else chooses to decorate with. Your home is just that, YOUR home. Feel that freedom, take all the inspiration you want from others and then make it your own! It’s more fun this way, friends!

Remember, shop your own home first. What do you have that you could reuse in another room? Don’t forget about blankets, books, candles, even clippings from outside that you plop into a vase of water. Rearrange the furniture, move pictures around, swap rugs…whatever you can think of. This is the fun of decorating! Play around with layouts and decor items. Nothing is permanent here!

1. Incorporate year-round staple pieces: I want to point out the items that remain year-round in the photo above: the picture frame, lamp, Love sign, bookshelf and wire baskets are here regardless of the season. These are things we knew we would work around. I started by adding in the burlap runner for a little texture and separation from the dark wood of the bookshelf. This helps to soften the overall design and adds interest to the design.

2. Varied height and creating balance: Next, we stacked a few books under the lamp to add a little more height and balanced it by placing the white planter and greenery to the left. Notice that even though both sides are tall, the heights are varied. This is so that the design doesn’t feel too symmetrical and is easier on the eye, especially with items on the wall directly above them.

3. The rule of grouping in odd numbers: This is a design hack that I love to adhere by. I personally love designing in groups of 3. Next to the planter on the left, I added in a small, empty crock and in front of those, a next with neutral-colored eggs. On the right, there is a grouping of 5: stacked books with the lamp and a small bird figure on top, a honey tea scented candle and a metal arrow in front of the grouping. Designing in odd numbers helps to make the groupings feel complete but not too busy. You don’t want it fill the entire top of the bookshelf, especially if the shelf below is going to be full as well. It will start to feel cluttered and lose a bit of the intentional design look. I prefer using 3 items because my style tends to lean more minimalist.

4. Utilize hidden storage: These fabric-lined metal baskets are used to store grandkids’ toys, books and games on the shelf. They are durable and lightweight, and perfect for keeping the kiddo’s items all organized. There are so many options for hidden storage containers (wicker, wooden, plastic, metal) that make it easy to adapt to your own personal design style.

5. Play with textures: This little shelf is a dark wood and decor items can fall flat or get lost on the shelves. To combat this, we add more texture! Wicker baskets and soft greenery/floral pieces soften the area, while the pops of metal help to cool the warmth of the wood. Adding neutral pieces (especially stone/pottery items) also helps to balance out the dark wood and draw your eye down the shelf.

6. Bring nature indoors: While the greenery used here is fake, the real antlers help to bring a laid-back, foraged look to the top of the bookshelf. If you don’t want to spend money on real plants (or fake ones) to bring life to a design space, go outside and see what you can bring in. Use clippings from trees, flowers, or even herbs in the garden, gather pinecones, antlers, feathers or unique rocks and display them in an interesting way. Never underestimate the beauty of nature and don’t be afraid to bring some of that beauty inside your home!

With this side table, we are playing with height and textures again while trying to bring a bit of nature indoors. Even though both the lantern and the hurricane glass are tall, they are not the same height and compliment each other without feeling too cluttered. The two stacked, old books are used to bring a little height to the hurricane glass, but also add a pop of color and fun texture to the side table. Books are always a great decorating tool! You can turn them around with the pages facing out to keep the look more neutral, or leave the spines forward for a color statement like we did here.

I hope this post gave you a little inspiration to decorate your own home for the spring season and provided some helpful tips for fail-proof decorating year-round! If you have any tried-and-true tips of your own, please leave them below! I always love learning new ways to make homes feel more cozy.