Freshen Up Your Home for Spring: Tips From Award-Winning Designer & Mama of 4

I’m blind to the nicked walls, faded paint, and dated furniture in my house. I have three kids, so my eyes are busy spotting the unsigned permission slip, the wet towel on the hardwood floor, the spilled cereal, i.e., the top-ranking mess or I should say task at that moment. But when warmer temps hit, my blinders come off.  I feel the itch for a spring home refresh. I’m positive not the only one who gets this urge, so I put together some top tips to help you freshen up your home for spring, too.

I interviewed my friend Rania Yacoub who is a mother of four and an award-winning interior designer.  Based in Seminole, Rania’s talent for design has touched homes in Tampa, restaurants in St. Petersburg, and commercial space throughout Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. Yeah, she’s designed for Very Important People (um, Natalie Morales and Jay-Z), but she makes time for little ol’ me, too.

Rania helped me figure out how to freshen up my house for spring by focusing on the areas that will make the biggest impact.

Prioritize the Purge

Without pause, Rania said that my entryway is the best place to start my redesign and spring clean. I’m going to zero in on the shoes that have created a gauntlet of sorts for anyone entering the house. Then, I’m going to clear the entry of bins and boxes that are cluttering the space. Her suggestion is to use a closed cabinet for shoes and backpacks, or anything that litters my entry area.

The entry becomes a welcoming space when you see family pictures, landscapes, or positive words framed and hanging on the walls. The key is to choose images that spark joy in you when you see them. (I’m adding black-and-white pics of my kiddos.)

Paint Colors and Wall Textures to Freshen Up Your Home for Spring

According to Rania, painting my living room a neutral color (think creams) would brighten up the house. If I’m going to paint, I want my project to be current, so I may paint one of the walls an accent color. Rania said that painting my TV wall a dark color like charcoal would look sharp.

When I paint, I intend to choose a sheen for the walls, a semi-gloss, like she suggested. Rania added that a Venetian plaster “jazzes up the walls and is more interesting.”  It can be an alternative to wallpaper, adding layers of protection to the wall.  Her award-winning design of the restaurant Tropez in St. Petersburg features Venetian plaster. Its “modern applications could make for a sleek cool wall” in the home. Branching out to try different colors and textures is an easy and fun way to update any room.

Mom-to-Mom Advice for the Kids’ Bedrooms

While we tend to treat children’s bedrooms as dumping grounds for their toys, clutter shouldn’t overwhelm rooms intended for rest. “Be creative in your organizing,” she said. Bedrooms are for sleeping, so remove the toys and organize them elsewhere. Rania’s education in Fend Shui design principles backs up the priority that bedrooms—even for kids—be only about relaxation. I may remove my kids’ desks so that they do homework in our main living area. Their cluttered desk and Oregon Trail of toys on the floor do not create calm and tranquility.

What to Add to Your Vision Board for Home Design

Having a vision board is a great way to set goals and amp up motivation for any project. When it comes to bigger projects like freshening up your home for spring, it can take a little time and planning to make it all happen. It can be easy to start with the smaller steps like freshening up my entry way, but weekdays are so busy, I will have to save most of my home refresh work for the weekends.

I didn’t want to lose sight of some bigger refresh ideas so after chatting with Rania, I added luxury vinyl plank flooring to my vision board. The durability will be a smart match for my circus of children and the new flooring will be a great addition to my refresh.

Although I’m saving most of my spring refresh for the weekends, there are a few quick and easy updates I can throughout the week, too. Rania said an easy project is to go through the pictures on my phone and print my favorites via an online printing company. I could print photos directly to the canvas and have them on the walls within days. How easy is that?!

With only a bit of effort and creativity, you can freshen up your home for spring too!

Jackie Sager is a licensed mental health counselor intern at Rise Above Counseling Services of Tampa Bay, LLC. She has three kids, a dog, and a constant craving for Mom’s Lasagna.