Spring decorating on a budget

Ready to throw open the windows and welcome a little spring into your home? Though redecorating might not seem like a priority project with the echoes of a recession all around us, perhaps it should be. After all, chances are you’re spending more time at home than ever.

“It’s especially in times of economic stress, the end of winter blues and a fast-paced work week that you should make sure you are giving yourself the peace you need,” says Jessica Helps from Carey Mudford Interior Design. “Having a personalized space that’s inviting is priceless. When feeling anxious and on edge, people need their homes to be positive spaces, calming and welcoming.”

As the trees begin to bloom outside, you can have your home bursting with new life in no time—it just takes a sprig or two of imagination and effort.

Choose colour
Nothing says spring like a few good hits of colour. A coat or two of paint is a low-cost, high-impact way to instantly add new life to a room. Paint garage sale finds with a punch of colour or white for a fresh country look. Ask paint stores for discounted cans—either returned product or colours mixed by mistake. You can also introduce pops of springtime hues with a great new accessory or a bunch of lively flowers from your garden.

Be selective
Springtime pruning isn’t just for your plants. Take a look around each room space and ask yourself what can stay and what can go.

“Less is more,” says designer Tracy Kundell, owner of Avalon Interiors. "Pare down and donate anything extra or unneeded.”
 
So, what’s worth keeping? “I like to preserve pieces with historical reference, a sense of high style or simple, cleanly designed lines which can easily fit into your new transformation,” says Helps.

Use what you’ve got
Rearranging your furniture can often give a space a whole new flow and dynamic. Or, consider reupholstering what you have if brand new pieces aren’t in the budget. If you already have a neutral base, like a solid-coloured couch, pair it with a new throw.

Or, suggests Helps, change the legs of your couch or the base of your coffee table for a fresh look. Other low-cost accents you can pick up are candles, plants and flowers.