This post is presented by New View Designs By Laurie Cole

Spring is *finally* here!

After what seemed like the longest winter we’ve had in a long time, the weather is starting to warm up and it’s time to start the annual spring clean-up. What better time to refresh your home?

From introducing soft natural tones to welcoming some fresh greenery into your spaces, it’s as easy as 1-2-3 when you can use the outdoors as inspiration to decorate your home. 

My first and favorite tip: choose natural elements that incorporate your style and connect you to your interiors. Greenery can be a simple and inexpensive way to add the perfect natural element. Tropical leaves, and plants, or fresh flowers, these all can add some pizazz to your space and green is the perfect accent color that works well with any scheme. If being a green thumb is a challenge for you, then try plants such as the jade, aloe, or snake plants that require very little care. 

You can take any element in nature and turn it into inspiration for your interiors even going as far as going out into nature and finding objects to incorporate into your space. Try taking the kids out for a fun family outing and searching for objects from nature you can use in your home.

Here are some examples: 

• Rocks – there are so many interesting shapes and sizes that can be used in your home to create groupings, add to a shelf, use as a door stop, or just as a collection. Amethyst crystals are becoming very popular and come in various sizes and shapes. You may be lucky enough to find one on your outing, but these can be also purchased at décor shops and are a great piece to use as an accent on the coffee table, as a book end, or on a bookshelf. 
• Firewood – stack in front of your fireplace, in a built-in cabinet, or add to a large vase. 
• Objects from the ocean – shells, beach glass, coral, and starfish – depending on your design direction, these are easily integrated into several styles: cottage, coastal, and nautical. They make for an easy vignette or collection on shelves, in a bathroom, or just about anywhere you are trying to add that cottage/coastal feel. 
• Branches or driftwood – look for interesting shapes. These can really add impact to a space because of their elegant simplicity. Position on top of a stack of books or use alone on a mantle, this is one of my favorite objects to style a room with. I have even used white birch branches as curtain rods at my cottage for that rustic touch. 
• Antlers are another on trend accessory and can provide a rustic appeal in a cottage theme or use them in a modern space as a juxtaposition. 

Other ways to incorporate nature are to use beams as an architectural element into your home.  Using natural style furniture such as a farm style table or aged cabinets can also give the feeling of nature. 

If sleek modern spaces are more your style, then adding wood items to an all-white room provide that warmth in an otherwise cold space. Keeping it simple is the recommendation here. It only takes one statement piece to pull it off. 

If you aren’t into using actual items from nature but still want a natural feel, it can be achieved by using the colour of nature on your walls or in your fabrics and textures. A mixture of textures can be interesting as well: soft velvets next to a leather accent or layering a sisal style rug with a shag rug, don’t be afraid to mix these textures to create dimension in your room. 

Rarely do we see clean, crisp lines in nature. Use natural and organic shapes and patterns to cozy up your space. Introduce a new round mirror to your foyer or dining room or switch out your living room or bedroom curtains to panels with a soft and subtle organic pattern. 

Feel free to use your creativity here and remember to keep with your own personal style! 

 

 

 

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