Spring refresh

By Linda Diamond
It's starting to warm up in California, and I just finished a "spring clean" of my home. I started by simply rearranging things and moving small items around. Along the way, I wondered why I hadn't done this before. Placing decorations in new settings made me fall in love with my home all over again. The best part was that I only needed to buy a few things to complete the cleanup.

The few new purchases made a big difference! My favorite purchase was the blue and white floral ceramic plates – the perfect shade of blue for my home. Other purchases included a wicker picnic basket that I filled with some of my favorite things, a small picture of a bunny with the words “Let Spring Begin” (which I placed on a small wire chair), a wire wreath for my front door, and last but not least, my luckiest find… a picture that now hangs in my multipurpose room that reminds me of a Monet painting. But the special thing is that when my husband and I stayed at a B&B in Maine last year, this picture was hanging on the wall and I fell in love with it!

As part of the refresh, I took apart curtains I already had and sewed five small cushions from the toile fabric. They match the fabric curtains I previously sewed for our multi-purpose room. Since I was in the mood to sew anyway, I reconstructed a curtain I bought in France several years ago and hung it in my laundry room.

I replaced some artificial greenery with flowering plants I already had and moved others to new locations. A little reshuffling makes a big difference! I also strategically placed a blue ruffled table runner around the outside of a large wicker basket to add a bit of color.

I've discovered that the best place to shop is in your own home! Going forward, I'll be taking the time to reevaluate and refresh my home more often!