SPRING IS FINALLY HERE
The march of spring is now unstoppable, lambs are gambolling in the fields, the magnolia is in full bloom and daffodils are flourishing in the strengthening sunshine and longer days.
The time for hunkering down is coming to an end, and we can start looking at livening up the home décor.
One easy step to add life to your home is to introduce flowers or plants. I visit my local garden centre and buy small, colourful, outdoor plants that are in season, which means they are not too costly. I then carefully repot them in my glass containers and vases (from Ikea). I have lots of moss in my garden, so to finish off when planting I pack the displays with a covering of fresh moss to conceal any earth. To make them last longer I put them in my utility room overnight – this can make them last twice as long. If you don’t have a cool, indoor room just put them outside your back door.
A large indoor fig in the corner of a living room, a selection of small pots lined up on a window sill, or a few trailing plants on a high shelf in the kitchen or bathroom can provide the finishing touches to an interior scheme too, as well as helping purify the air.
If you don’t have green fingers then have a look at artificial options online. I have just had a gorgeous range of artificial flowers and plants to use on my interior projects from Abigail Ahern (www.abigailahern. com); the colouring is subtle and so realistic. Nothing like the plastic flowers of old!
Botanicals in print form are everywhere too, so refresh your living room with some new cushions. Look for small design flowers rather than lush and tropical designs, if you want the latest look.
I have just added some Cole & Sons wallpaper (www.cole-and-son.com) called Forest (from their Botanical Collection) into a large cottage kitchen. It’s rich and dark and has so much depth. If you want to freshen up with something more delicate, their Sweet Pea design is graceful and frilly.
Easter is very close, and decorating for this holiday has become very popular. I have bought a gorgeous artificial wreath to hang on the door from Lights4fun (www.lights4fun.co.uk) - I just couldn’t resist it. Also, for fun at Easter time, their chick and egg micro fairy lights are hard to resist at £6.99 they will decorate my hallway.