Are you ready for a room refresh? Lucky for you, spring isn't just for cleaning—it's also a great time to revamp your room. We’ve put together some tips to help you spruce up your space and start the new season with a fresh style.
These decorating suggestions can fit any kind of lifestyle—whether you’re a meticulous type A organizer or a type "Who Cares" bon vivant. So, wash away your winter worries and get ready to start decorating your digs.
1. Take Time to Plan Your Palette
Are you drawn to calm pastels or wild neons? Do you prefer grounded earth tones or sprightly jewel tones? Choosing a color palette can help you design the vibe of your space before making big moves in the redecorating process.
Take this opportunity to pick an overall style you like too. Your palette can inform your aesthetic and vice versa. Use Pinterest or an IRL cork board to collect ideas and carefully craft the mood of your room.
Alternatively, you could just start moving stuff around and putting new junk on your walls. Who cares if there’s no unifying vision to the space? Freestyle it. Set up your crypto-mining rig next to that Earth Day poster. Display your pristine signed Taylor Swift vinyls alongside your ratty Cannibal Corpse concert tee. Get weird with your color combos. Power-clashing is a thing, right? Life is too short to limit yourself.
2. Group Your Tchotchkes in Odd Numbers
Have you ever heard of the rule of three? Events happening in groups of three is a common pattern that shows up in many storytelling traditions. This rule generally applies to aesthetics as well, odd numbered groups are exciting to look at and can be manipulated to draw the eye in particular directions. Lots of professional interior designers will give this advice for displaying objects in a room.
Alternatively, you could ignore the experts and go full William Blake Tyger by embracing thy fearful symmetry. Divide your room in half and make each side a mirror image of the other. This will probably end up looking kind of spooky and unnatural, like your room is inhabited by possessed twins. But hey, we here at CPL will never yuck your yum and if that’s the vibe, that’s the vibe.
3. Make Your Bed Every Morning
Making your bed is a fabulous habit. It’s a great reset for the day, keeps your room looking fresh and tidy, and crawling into fresh, tightly tucked sheets at night just hits different. If you like your space ordered and clean, then a well-made bed is an absolute must.
Alternatively, you could go full Goblin Mode and leave a mangled mess atop your mattress. Pack a nest like you’re some kind of feral beast and don’t fight against the natural entropy of the universe. Eat a bag of Cheetos while watching Netflix under the covers and wipe your orange fingers on the pillowcase. Keep a half eaten bowl of cereal on your dresser to invite new pestilent friends to visit. Build a soiled laundry mountain at the foot of your bed. It’s not sloppy, it’s “lived in.”
4. Do the Marie Kondo Thing
Go through all your stuff and throw away everything that doesn’t spark joy. Minimalism will always be hip, and a sparse space just looks classy. You don’t need all those old Funko Pops and Legos and polished rocks. You need order and clean lines and well-lit open layouts.
Alternatively, what if having a lot of stuff is what sparks joy for you? Go for a maximalist look and load up on anything and everything you can find. Toys and books on the shelves, art and photos on the walls—maximalism is the aesthetic of excess. Indulge yourself. Single accent walls are for cowards, so make every surface of your room pop with color and texture and aim for zero blank space. Go big or go home.
5. Just Add Plants
Plants are a great way to add some character to a space and breathe life into a room. Keeping a vase of fresh flowers can become tiresome, but nothing beats that natural bloom of color. If you’re not interested in replacing your plant regularly, succulents are solid permanent potted plant choices with minimal upkeep requirements. If you’d like to try something a little bit more involved, a Fiddle Leaf Fig can be an elegant addition to any room. You could also try a carnivorous plant to add an air of exotic danger.
Alternatively… actually there’s no alternative. Having more plants is always going to be a net positive. If the #plantparent aesthetic isn’t your style, try growing something practical. An aloe plant can be great to have on hand if you’re prone to sunburns. Growing herbs like rosemary and basil can be fun, and if you enjoy cooking, having ready access to fresh sprigs can be life changing. Or get some lavender for fragrant purple blooms that can actually help to relieve stress.
As always, ask one of our librarians for help if you’d like more information on interior decorating, or tips on how to personalize your spaces. Happy sprucing!
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