After months of chilly temperatures, snow days, and gray skies, spring brings a welcome sense of a fresh start. It’s an opportunity to find a new walking route, try a recipe using seasonal produce, or swap out your winter wardrobe for your favorite warmer weather pieces. It’s also an opportunity to freshen things up around your home.
Many use this time to “spring clean” their homes, but it’s also a great time to rethink the design of your space if you’re feeling uninspired or wanting to try new trends.
According to Leah Walder, interior decorator and owner of Leah Walder Interiors, “Spring is for clearing away any dust and welcoming in all of the extra sunshine. Outside, trees and plants are blooming, and introducing some of those colors inside your space can make your home (and you) feel revitalized.”
Designing with Intention
Walder’s approach to decorating is driven mainly by her clients’ needs. Each new project begins with a questionnaire to help her get a sense of their lifestyles, preferences, and needs. Do they often entertain guests? Do they have pets? Do they have any collections they’d like to display? These are just a few of the many considerations she takes into account when decorating someone’s space.
Walder, who’s been in the business since 2017, even asks clients to show her their closets so she can get a sense of the colors and styles they gravitate to. For example, someone with a closet full of Lilly Pulitzer probably isn’t afraid of bold patterns, while someone who owns mostly J. Crew pieces likely gravitates toward more timeless design. “It’s a people business,” she says. “I want to see how my clients live. I want to learn more about them. The better I know my clients, the better I can help them.”
Understanding these details about her clients allows Walder to “design with intention.” This ensures that all aspects of the design, from the color palette to fabric types, make sense for the space and the client’s lifestyle. “When the colors work together, it brings structure and order to a space. The scale of furniture and layout is important because it impacts how we live,” says Walder.
Finding Your Style
But what about those who don’t have a distinct style? Or those who like aspects of many different styles? Walder recommends looking for inspiration to see what stands out to you.
One way this can be done is by visiting different home stores and showrooms. “They do a great job of curating their spaces, and they have room scenes set up, so you can see how they pull different colors together and actually decorate a space,” Walder says. Similarly, you could look at home magazines and catalogs or professional design accounts on Instagram or Pinterest. Collecting examples of rooms or design elements that you enjoy seeing can help guide you toward the way you should decorate your own home.
Travel can be a source of inspiration, too. “Travel is great for seeing how different regions handle color palettes, design styles, and layouts,” says Walder. “When we’re on vacation, I always take note of how hotels arrange the lobby, the colors they’re using, and how they make me feel in the space.”
The Importance of Interior Decorating
The feeling a space can give you is the value of interior decorating. According to Walder, your environment and the space you come home to everyday can impact your mood and your daily life – for better or worse.
For example, if you move into a new home, it may still feel like someone else’s space even after you’ve moved in your own furniture and belongings. This can especially be the case for newly built homes that feel like a blank canvas. Spaces like these can leave you feeling disconnected and like you’re living in a house rather than a home.
Incorporating your personal style, considering how you plan to utilize the space, and displaying your favorite pieces – all aspects of interior decorating – can make it feel like your own. “I think design can feel very generic if you’re starting from scratch and don’t have any personal touches,” says Walder. “Anything you can incorporate into the design that you’re excited about can make it feel more personal.”
It’s these personal touches – your favorite books, photos of your family, or treasures you’ve collected during your travels – that create a well-designed space you’ll enjoy and make the most use of. “It’s not just about making it pretty, it’s about using the space and making it a room that you want to be in,” says Walder.
Do It Yourself
While an interior decorator like Walder can help you achieve this feeling of home and make professional recommendations for your space, there are also small changes that homeowners can make to revamp their homes in the spring.
To add some color for the spring season, Walder recommends bringing in potted plants like trees or peace lilies – real or fake, depending on the level of your green thumb. Swapping out blankets, throw pillows, or draperies for ones with lighter fabrics or fun patterns can also help brighten up a space. If you have photos or trinkets on display, changing those out for more spring-themed pieces can help refresh your space as well.
Sometimes these small changes are all you need to pull a room together and feel like you’ve transitioned your home for the new season. If you want to make a bigger impact in a room, though, Walder suggests rearranging the layout of your existing furniture. “Sometimes it can be as simple as adding a couple pieces to bring everything together, and sometimes we need to rearrange the layout or add a couple pieces,” she says.
When it comes to updating your home for spring, don’t forget the outdoor spaces, too – whether it’s adding flowers to your front steps or decorating a patio. “You can create a whole other living space outside with furniture, a rug, and a fire pit,” says Walder.
Form and Function
Another important consideration during the springtime is how functional your home is. With the weather getting warmer, kids are likely spending more time outside or playing sports, which means more toys and equipment laying around the house. Luckily, Walder says, “having a functional and well decorated home is easier now than it used to be,” so you don’t have to sacrifice form for function.
Incorporating closed storage into your home is an easy way to combat some of this extra clutter. Walder suggests benches with drawers, decorative baskets, or storage ottomans to easily stash items. Establishing drop zones near the entrances and exits of your home can also help corral things like shoes, jackets, and backpacks and avoid having them thrown around the house.
“Making sure everything has a place makes it look a little bit better, a little more polished,” Walder says.
So, whether you’re hoping to bring more intention into the design of your home, establish your personal style, or just revamp your décor, spring is an excellent time to refresh your space and make it a place that feels like home.
