Clean your way into the spring season
I’ve been at home ... a lot. Sound familiar? Surprisingly, I have not been that motivated to take on the many much-needed spring DIY and cleaning chores around the house. Perhaps my lack of motivation is driven by isolation and fewer visitors coming through the front door.
But now that the weather is changing, it’s time to open a few windows, let in some fresh air and start tidying the house. Of course, you already know the basic steps to spring cleaning (tidy, dust, launder and wipe are on my list), but the cleaning efforts I’m most motivated by are more about bringing spring right into my house. To that end, I’m adding three more steps to my routine. I call them switch out, lift up and take down, and they’re helping me visually lighten the house for the coming season and summertime easy living.
SWITCH OUT
I remember that, as a child, I always got excited by spring cleaning. My mom would not only scrub the house down, she’d also move the furniture around (probably her way of cleaning behind and underneath). As a budding decorator, I always wanted to draw the plans as to how the furniture could best be placed for the summer months — taking advantage of the outside view and sitting closer to the windows were always goals.
Moving the furniture then snowballed into replacing artwork, so that it complemented the seating arrangements, and while the artwork was down, my father would freshen the walls with a coat of the same colour paint. For quick touch-ups, pouring and storage of paint, Behr Marquee Paints and Primers now offer a complimentary premium — a twist-off lid and pour spout to keep your paint fresh and paint can clean of drips. It’s a great way to keep your paint can clean and ready for touchups.
Freshening the walls and moving furniture? Consider using console tables between the sofa and windows, restyle your coffee table with summer-related accessories and do a decorative pillow switch-out to give the room a new look for the summer months. For this young decorator wannabe, it was the most exciting time of the year. I still do this and recommend the exercise. Oh, and be sure to use a durable, temporary wall hook for artwork that you plan to move around seasonally.
LIFT UP
Take up carpets, scatter rugs and runners, polish the floors and leave them cool and bare. It’s the perfect time to send rugs out for their yearly cleaning. If you’ve got a beautiful rug and want to enjoy it, consider mounting it on the wall behind a sofa or bed — it will give you an entirely new perspective on it. Next, look around for all those warm and fuzzy additions you made last fall and opt for fewer items, or for objects with a visually lighter tactile quality better suited to warm weather.
Winter duvets and comforters will also soon be prime for a summer vacation. Wash and dry clean them, then it’s off to summer camp in the linen closet until Labour Day. The lighter, thinner layers on the bed will keep you cool and be a welcome visual lift to your bedroom. Lighten up the bathroom, too, by lifting up the colour scheme with summer shades in a new shower curtain, towels and bathmat.
TAKE DOWN
Lightening and brightening the house will definitely make it feel more spring-like. If your windows have heavy drapes, remove them (leaving a bare curtain rod for the summer months creates a fresh-air feeling — opt for a clean-lined, unfussy blind or shade for privacy when needed. Forget to close your blinds at night? Ikea now sells Fyrtur smart wireless app-controlled window shades, so waking up to the bright summer sun means grabbing your phone and lowering the blinds to block out the sun without ever getting out of bed.
If you love the softness of drapes, you can always order some inexpensive pre-made panels online (keep the colours light and fabric lightweight) to create a breezy, billowy effect when the windows are open. If you already have lightweight drapes, hand wash them — how do you feel about letting them line-dry and hanging them back up with natural wrinkles for a super-relaxed look during the warmer months to come?
SEASONAL SWITCHES
Clean all you want, but here are some super-easy seasonal switches that will help cool your home this spring and summer.
Reverse the motion of ceiling fans. Forward rotation (counter-clockwise) will push air down to you, creating a cooling effect.
Cool-coloured light bulbs. Bright white bulbs create a cooler light, perfect for balancing the hot sunlight and visually cooling down a room.
The power of plants! Use green houseplants indoors, and position outdoor plants by windows so that you can enjoy them from inside and out. Bonus: Outdoor plants in front of windows block sunlight and create a cool (green is a cool colour), lush, shady effect inside.
Do you have a decor dilemma or want to give feedback? You can contact Karl on Facebook at Karl Lohnes Designer.
Karl Lohnes is the editor-at-large of Style At Home magazine and has worked as a home decor expert and product designer for 25 years.