Simple Home Updates for Spring

Does your home still feel dark and heavy from the winter? I find that my home gathers up all the cozy things in the winter (or rather, I gather them up and fill my home with them), and then when spring rolls around, they’re still hanging on, and my house just doesn’t feel like it’s spring. It feels like perpetual February. And that’s not really what I’m going for.

I’m not the girl who has bins of decorations for every season. Some of you might have guessed that from being around here for a while. I err on the side of more minimalist approaches to my home, from my cleaning routines to the products I buy to the way I decorate. I like to be able to reuse things and have pieces that can transition from season to season, and I opt for pieces that have both form and function instead of cluttering up my space with lots of items to just look at.

I’m sharing my top tips for you here to transition your home from winter to spring. Take what works for you, and feel free to leave the rest behind. And do it at your own pace! Part of the beauty of transitioning your home for the seasons is that you don’t have to do it all at once (unless you want to; you do you!).

Swap lighter fabrics for heavier ones

One of the first things I do is trade out my heavy blankets for lighter ones. I keep blanket baskets in virtually every room of my house because I’m notoriously wimpy about the cold, so I don’t necessarily have to pack up blankets when they’re “out of season,” but I do swap out the blankets that drape on my furniture. I tend to hang a blanket on the arm of our big armchair in the sunroom and the back of one of the couches in the living room. In the winter, they’re heavy plaid fleece or flannel ones, and in the spring, they’re lighter cotton ones.

I also swap out a couple of my pillowcases in our living room. Our living room is the main place we congregate with any guests, and I spend a lot of time in there when I’m home, so I tend to focus my decorating efforts there and in the rooms surrounding it (our dining room, kitchen, and sunroom). I have navy velvet pillowcases in the winter (and fall) and light blue striped pillowcases in the spring/summer to visually lighten the load of the couch. It might seem like a small difference, but between the blankets and the pillows, it makes a difference to me. The room feels more cheerful, and it makes me ready to welcome spring. You can see the winter-y setup on the left and the spring setup on the right in the photos below. Note that I also flipped my blanket basket around so the heavier blankets are now toward the back, even though I didn’t take any of them actually out of the basket.

swap out scents

I have my candles sorted into two bins— one for fall/winter kind of scents (warm spices, hot cocoa-scented, etc) and spring/summer scents (greenery, floral, etc). I simply choose candles from the appropriate bin when the seasons change, choosing whatever smells good to me in the moment. I tend to tuck a couple behind a large picture frame on one of my shelves so they’re readily available when I want to light a candle instead of having to dig through a large selection.

I also run my diffuser in my living room throughout the year, but I change the oils and oil blends I use seasonally. It’s a good reminder to do a thorough cleaning of the diffuser between seasons, and it gives me the chance to make something new. Sometimes I look online for good seasonal blends to try, other times I just mix a couple of my favorites and see how I like it. For spring, I’m thinking eucalyptus, lemon, and lavender, probably in combination with some others!

Another place I know people change out scents is in their soaps and cleaning products. I personally don’t do this since I use a lot of unscented products or just use the same scent all year long. But I love Mrs. Meyers products (I get them from Grove, and you can get a discount on your first order with my link here), and they have a lot of seasonal options if you do want to change out your soaps and cleaners throughout the year!

Choose a focal point

I don’t like to put a whole bunch of seasonal décor around my home because it just feels like too much to maintain, and I don’t like having to store all of it when I’m not using it. However, I do have one bin of extra photo frames and another bin with a couple extra pillowcases and my artificial flowers I use for centerpieces. I have one vase that I leave on my dining room table all year (sometimes swapping it out for a different centerpiece for the Christmas season, but that’s it), and I rotate what I fill it with. I love real flowers, but I’m so particular about how things look in my home, and real flowers wither so quickly! Plus, if you’re looking to save money (I always am), the artificial ones can be reused, which means they last a lot longer. I have several different pieces that I mix and match for different seasons. I’ve even started gathering them together with rubber bands to I don’t have to re-arrange them every season (every spring, every fall, etc) and can just pop the seasonal arrangement into my vase and call it good!

My dining room table is one of my main focal points, but the biggest thing I change there is the arrangement in the vase. I sometimes switch out my placemats from a darker color in the fall/winter to a lighter color in the spring/summer. I also sometimes update my mantel in our sunroom if it feels too heavy (black candlestick holders, really too much black anything) to lighten it up, but I don’t always to that. It’s helpful to prioritize areas in your home so you can make the biggest statement wherever you’ll get the most enjoyment out of it, and then add other things if you have the time, energy, and resources.

You can see in the photos below that I changed the flowers in the vase on the dining room table (more blue and green, less white cotton. I also swapped out the blanket on the arm of the chair in the sunroom in the background to one that has some mustard yellow in it to brighten the space up a bit.

Things beyond decorating

I like to change out my perfume seasonally because I feel like I’m carrying a little bit of something special around with me throughout the day. I mix my own blends of essential oils in roller bottles, and I just label them for the different seasons. I’m so glad we’re getting back around to spring, because the spring one is my favorite! You certainly could buy perfume or body spray for different seasons if a DIY solution isn’t your jam, too.

I also try to cook with the seasons. I’m certainly not perfect at it (I do buy food out of season, but I try to limit it because it’s 1) more expensive, and 2) less flavorful), but I give it a solid effort. I make more soups, chilis, and curries in the winter, and I make more salads, stir fries, and cobblers in the spring and summer. I’m looking forward to asparagus being in season in April, and strawberries and cherries later in the summer!

I have a drink bar on the counter in my kitchen, and I had ingredients for mulled wine (or cider) as a focus in the fall and hot chocolate for the winter. I’m still trying to come up with something I could have for the spring. If you have any ideas, I’d love to hear them! I like to keep it simple (of course), and I always have tea and coffee fixings, but I like to pivot my focus and have a sort of “signature drink” for each season. I feel like the warmer months might be interesting since I typically gravitate toward cold beverages. We’ll see!

Decide what spring means to you

Ultimately, you get to decide what spring means for you and your home. Does it mean brighter colors? Maybe you want to add a pop of whatever color feels like spring to you. I tend to add more green and yellow this time of year. Maybe it means removing blankets or candles or things you associate with colder weather. Maybe it means adding fresh flowers. Or a new tablecloth in a spring color or pattern. Maybe it means buying some plants (I gravitate toward succulents because they’re harder for me to kill ;). Maybe it doesn’t mean adding anything at all, just removing winter things and cleaning so everything feels fresh.

How do you transition your home from winter to spring? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!