Bring in Spring, Part 2: Spring Decor Ideas Under £50

There’s just something about Spring, isn’t there? We are always so hopeful that the sun will shine, the daffodils will bloom, the rain will lightly sprinkle before sunrise leaving a coat of dewy freshness on the grass for us waking in the morning…but in actual fact the sun rarely shines, the rain always falls, and our daffys end up drooping under the weight of the downpours and high winds that batter them long after winter is supposed to have finished. Welcome to Britain, people!

However, spring remains the perfect time for new beginnings and fresh starts, for cleaning out the dusty cobwebs and preparing ourselves for the remainder of the year ahead. With the dark months of winter behind us, with the clocks going forward, with our Christmas debts almost paid off and forgotten about, using your April to find freshness feels like the perfect way to bring lightness into your life and home.

And doing so doesn’t need to cost a fortune. It would be easy for me sit here and type about all kinds of expensive things you could buy, all the big projects you could undertake to freshen up your home, but that’s not what this blog is all about. This blog is about real life solutions for real life homes that normal people like you and I can undertake. So I have challenged myself to share with you some ideas for spring decoration that you can manage easily and without great expense.

Sheer Curtains

I am not suggesting that you replace your blackouts with sheer curtains only, however there is always the possibility of double hanging your curtains to create a layered look. Normally we would shed layers as lighter days and warmer weather comes in, but adding them in this instance will add lightness to your room.

Sheer curtains allow light into your room without losing privacy so they are perfect for when the days get longer, allowing you to wake up, get up, and get ready without exposing yourself to the neighbours in the process, and without turning on a light to be able to see. They also filter the light coming in to your room so that on a dull day, their whiteness will brighten the room despite the lack of sunshine. Lastly, sheer curtains will hide a multitude of sins (like our dark brown, badly maintained, faux lead lined windows which are in dire need of replacing and do not match our interior decor at all).

To achieve this look, you will need double hanging curtains pole and brackets (click here to shop), and a set of sheer curtains (click here to shop) like those below:

Cushion Covers

We all love a throw cushion, and I have some collection of them! However, I’ve recently started buying more cushion covers instead of the full cushion. This keeps my costs down, but also allows me to swap the covers and put some into storage as the seasons change.

As winter leaves and spring arrives, think of swapping out your heavier, knitted, chunky cushion covers for lighter fabrics, patterns and colours that bring the new season into your home. Swapping out just the cushion covers allows you to mix up colour on a neutral base and make you room feel completely made over with barely any effort.

Blue and Yellow:

Two of my most favourite colours, and in my opinion, the absolute epitomy of warmer climes…think sun, daffodils, baby chicks, blue skies, walks round the lake, and spring showers. As you may have noticed, I’m sort of obsesses with H&M Home because their products are inexpensive, fresh and unique while remaining good quality. So here is a little selection of some of my favourite cushion covers in blue and yellow designs which vary from around £3.99 to £12.99 each.

Dusky Pink and Green:

With the botanical trend set to go nowhere any time soon, we might as well all embrace it and incorporate it into our homes. But botanical doesn’t have to mean old fashioned. Combining dusky green and blush pink with some natural prints is the softer way to incorporate the biggest trend of the last year into your home.

Again, see some of my favourite picks from the H&M cushion cover selection below to inspire you on how to bring spring into your home inexpensively. This selection costs between £3.99 and £8.99 per product:

Plant Life

Flowers

What says spring more than some beautiful fresh flowers in your home? There are a selection of delivery services now that offer you fresh flowers to your doorstep for a monthly subscription. Check out:

• Bloom and Wild: monthly subscriptions through your letterbox starting at £18 per bouquet click here
• Freddie’s Flowers: weekly subscriptions through the letterbox starting at £20 oer bouquet click here
• I would recommend searching instagram for these company’s latest brand reps who regularly offer discount codes to followers. Try searching hashtags like #bloomandwild and searching the feed for relevant reps and codes

I am aware that there are similar subscription services for plants as well now. The only service I have used is Bloom and Wild, back when it first launched, and the flowers lasted for a couple of weeks which really is exceptional.

For the more cost conscious, spring flowers can be picked up as part of your weekly grocery shop for around £5 a bunch. Try eucalyptus and pussy willow stems for neutral perfection that will last for weeks and weeks on end. I have eucalyptus I got at the Colombia Road Flower Market in London 6 weeks ago and it is still as fresh as the day I got it, even if the scent has died somewhat.

And, for the even more cost conscious, I can’t recommend faux flowers enough, I have them all over the house. My favourite retailer of faux is actually Ikea. They have such a  vast selection of stems, and most stems are 50cm at least meaning you can cut them down the size you need for your vase. I have also got some gorgeous faux flowers from Dunelm Mill so check them out too for more inspiration.

Plants

Guys, I am not green fingered, it’s pretty shameful how fast I can kill a plant. But I do have a few live plants in my home, the rest are all faux plants from Ikea and The Range mainly.

There is just something about the colour green that screams fresh new life, and therefore I would highly recommend using them to make your home decor suitable for the spring season.

Daylight Bulbs

Such a simple solution, but what a massive difference they make. Daylight bulbs have a much cooler, fresher colour of light than traditional yellow light bulbs. Where standard bulbs can be good in winter to create warmth on dark cold nights, daylight bulbs are definitely the best option for spring as they are designed to prolong the feeling of natural daylight in our homes.

I get my daylight bulbs from Wilko’s www.wilko.com which has an amazing selection of screw, bayonet, spotlight, and all kinds of wattages. Their daylight bulbs cost around £5 each, dependent of course on the size and type.

Go White

Freshen up any space with the addition of white into a room.

• Paint: banish yellow, peachy magnolia for white on your walls with a basic white emulsion. Extremely large tubs of white matte emulsion can be picked up in most stores for around £15 each. White, but that’s so clinical, you might think. Trust me. White opens up a space, makes it look larger and brighter and reflects light around the room. Forgive these work in progress shots of our hallway, but they help to show my point. Note how even with the dark carpet on show the space still looks lighter and brighter with the walls changed from magnolia to white. (ps.the carpet is being replaced in a fortnight, yippee!)

  

  Magnolia

  

  White

  

  Comparison

  
  
• White bedlinen: is crisp, fresh and clean and can always be dressed up with pillows and throws if you want to add a splash of colour. I have the most amazing non-iron bedlinen that I picked up on Amazon would you believe. You can access it here for only £15.99 for the set including king duvet cover and 2 pillow cases:  Poly Cotton Duvet Set with 2 Pillowcases By Sasa Craze Bedding (King, White)

  

White towels: I got some amazing inexpensive ones in the John Lewis sale. Just don’t go wrapping your hair up in them after dying it (I did that yesterday!) *Top Tip: pop your towels in the tumble dryer for 15 mins before folding and putting away and they will be extra fluffy when you go to use them.

Go Natural

Winter is a lovely time to brighten up your home with sparkles, metallics, glass and shiny things. Spring is a lovely time to take it back to nature with the incorporation of natural materials and fabrics.

Try out some woven placemats on your dining table, recycled glass bottles on your mantlepiece, jute rugs in your hallway, seagrass belly baskets as plant pots, and wooden candlesticks….well, everywhere! Check out the Shop my Instagram page for links to some of the loveliest items currently in stores made from fresh and natural materials, and all of them well below £50 in cost.

Spring Scents

Think fresh, fruity and floral. I am a massive fan of Daisy Blue Candles from where you can buy one of the loveliest freshest fragrances around: Plum and Rhubarb. Its so zingy! My favourite is actually the reed diffuser because it emanates fragrance all day without the need to light it like you do with a candle. Lorraine also sells some wax melts in the same fragrance which I really need to try out.

Try out some of my easy, simple and cheap ideas for bringing spring into your home and let me know how you get on. Leave a comment or send me a message with any questions, and good luck, it’s so much easier than you might think. All products I recommend in this blog are simply things I have chosen myself, I am not working with any brands to advertise the products on this page.