Use what you have decorating ideas to refresh your home decor for spring without having to buy anything new or leave your house.
Spring arrived last week. I totally missed it and was sad that such a usually happy day for me was so easily forgotten in the midst of what is happening in the world.
I enjoy changing up my decor for the seasons and now more than ever is the time to make sure my home is my comfy, cozy sanctuary. My safe place away from what is going on in the outside world.
Taking on refreshing your home for spring is also a way to make your home feel happier and give you a feeling of something you can control right now in your life.
Over the weekend, I started to paint the the foyer. A project that has been on the back burner for years. While the paint was drying, I went up to my attic stash of decor to see what I could find to bring a little spring into the house using what I already own.
My mantra… “Just because I have the same stuff, doesn’t mean I can’t use it in different ways.“
I enjoy using what I have to decorate my home, but I also like to buy something new every now and then, even if it is small to keep my decor from getting stale.
This year, I really shouldn’t go out to shop. Furthermore, if the economy is going to suffer, right now I don’t want to spend money for things that are not a necessity. Instead we are budgeting to help the local restaurants in our town by ordering food to be picked up.
Hopefully this way of life won’t last long as I enjoy getting out to see what is new at my favorite home stores. I like to shop and already miss doing it.
When I was up in the attic looking for items to use to refresh the house for spring, I came across something I haven’t used since moving to the lake house.
I wasn’t sure what I found would work the way I was thinking, but it was worth a try to see if I could give my kitchen table a refresh that would help to cheer me up.
Do you remember I had a dining room in my previous house? I made chair back slipcovers for the dining room chairs 10 years ago. When we moved, I gave the table and chairs to one of my daughters because the lake house doesn’t have a dining room.
She didn’t want the slipcovers so I kept them for no other reason than they were neutral in color and classic. I didn’t think I would ever use them again, until now.
Here is how my kitchen table and chairs have looked for the past year. I really like this and the blue and white cushion covers I made.
I figured I had nothing to lose if I tried to see if the white slipcovers would even fit the backs of the Kubu Dining Chairs around the kitchen table. To my surprise… they did!
Total WIN! I am so happy that I made the decision to keep them even when I thought there no longer was a use for them.
So I washed and pressed them and now my kitchen has taken on a fresh, simple and casual look that makes me happy to be at home.
I know not everyone has slipcovers like this. Instead, the reason I am telling you about what I did is so that you can look around your home in search of items you already own which can be used to change the decor.
You may even just want to refresh some of the rooms in your home, not only for Spring, but anytime of the year.
Plan a ReDesign Day for Your Home
“When you live with something a long time, your eyes don’t see its full potential anymore.”
If you have newfound time on your hands, why not set up a day to ReDesign a room or rooms in your home?
Try These Use What You Have Decorating Ideas…
- Start by going through all the old paint, fabric, gift wrap and other decorating supplies you have on hand or leftover from previous projects.
It is time to get creative with them. If you really want to take on a new project at this time and need a tool or product, check Amazon, Target, Walmart or Michaels online for it. They sell many craft store items that can be delivered to your home.
- Remove all the photos in the frames displayed around your home, print photos from your phone to refresh all the photos for the frames.
- Remove one or two cabinet doors from your kitchen. If needed, paint the inside of the cabinet with leftover paint or line with leftover fabric, wallpaper or gift wrap and then style with your favorite kitchen items in the new open shelving. Store the cabinet doors somewhere safe so you can put them back someday. Fill the holes with a piece of white chalk or if the cabinets are stained or a color – crumble a matching color crayon and push the bits into the holes. This way if you are not sure how long you plan to keep the doors off, you can still reattach using the original screw holes.
- An old vanity that no longer fits your decorating style, can be reconfigured, painted, reupholstered, or relocated to another room or used as a TV cabinet or a bar in a dining room.
- Slide two end tables together in front of the sofa to create a new coffee table. Place your existing coffee table at the end of your bed to make bench.
- Turn a stool into a side table for a sofa, chair or bed.
- Do a switch-a-roo. Move your dining room chairs to the kitchen and the kitchen chairs to the dining room. Or mix and match them in each room. Move the table lamps from one room to another.
- There’s no point in keeping interesting items if no one ever sees them. Remove a few objects from your china cabinet and use them to style a vignette on a coffee table.
- Use a tray to group a collection of small items together to give it more impact. Place on a table.
- Color coordinate the books on your bookshelves.
- Bring in cuttings from the trees, bushes and flowering plants in your yard. Place in vases and then place on a kitchen table, counter, coffee table, bedside table or in an empty fireplace.
- Candles create a soothing atmosphere in a room even when they aren’t lit. Gather a few you have laying around and place on a tray that can be carried from room to room. Arranging candles in an unused fireplace is another way to freshen up an otherwise dark and unused spot in a room.
- If working from home is new for you, here is an idea to help you stay organized if you don’t have a dedicated space to set up your computer and files and are working from the kitchen table. Find a large basket or tray to place the items you need to work. When it is meal time, you can simply move the tray out of the way when needed. If you don’t have any trays, try cutting down a box that held a recent delivery to your home. Cover it with gift wrap if you enjoy seeing color at your work space.
- Instead of using a matching set of anything, mix and match colors from napkins on your table setting to candles, pillows on the sofa.
- Re-pot a plant. Look at containers around the house from pretty teacups to plastic food containers. If you have some spray paint, consider painting the plastic.
More Spring Decorating Ideas Using What You Already Own
Links to Spring decorating ideas shown in the photos above:
- Using Items From the Trash To Decorate
- How to Make Large Comfy TV Watching Floor Pillows
- How to Decorate Using Unused Gift Wrap
- Easy Floral Arranging Tip
- Spring Living Room Decorating Ideas
- Free Printable Easter Bunny Napkin Rings
What matters when you use what you already own to decorate is that you setup, decorate and organize in ways that work for you so that you are happy and content! Change what you can with what you own and then enjoy what you have changed.
Have you done anything over the last week to create a refreshing, comforting sanctuary in your home? I would love to hear what you are doing to find comfort in your surroundings.
New Spring decorating projects I am working on to help bring fresh color into my home.
- A Decorative Sofa Pillow Cover made in a unique way
- Easter Basket Made from a Bag
- No Dye Needed Easter Eggs
- Paper Flowers
- …and more!
