INTERIORS : Let the Bright, Fresh Look of Spring Come in From the Cold

Now that spring is in the air, thoughts are turning to the outdoors, to sprucing up the patio furniture and planting flowers in the garden.

Sometimes, in the rush to get out, the inside of the house gets left in its winter doldrums. With a little time and imagination though, a house’s interior can, like a garden, be transformed with the seasons.

Here are a few tips from professional designers for bringing the bright, fresh look of spring into your home with a minimal expenditure of energy and cash.

Bedrooms can be transformed from their heavy winter look--beds piled high with blankets and heavy comforters--by changing the bedding. What could be easier than changing the sheets and bedspread or comforter? “You can have one bedroom design for winter and one for spring and summer,” said Carolyn M. Wuille, whose interior design business is based in Irvine. “White cotton with Battenburg lace is a great (warm weather) look.”

Keeping the dust ruffle neutral to the seasons can make the change even easier. If you have round tables and night stands, change the cloth to a bright spring shade or match it with the new spring sheets. A matching tablecloth can be made easily from an additional sheet.

Dining rooms or eat-in kitchens can be spruced up for sunny weather by changing tablecloths or place mats. Sunflower motifs are the hottest things this season, and accessories with the bright yellow flowers can be found at most discount stores. Changing small details such as the kitchen towels and pot holders helps create a fresh environment.

When choosing fabrics for bed linens and tablecloths, designer Terri Salazar of Kitchen Del Mar in Corona del Mar suggests staying with the color schemes already in the house but choosing lighter hues. Fresh flowers also make an interior brighter, she added.

Another trick for making a room seem brighter is to use glass accessories instead of pottery. “Glass vases and bowls add a designer touch but do not take up visual space,” Salazar said. Transparent objects do not “stop” the eye the way solid objects do.

For a long-lasting spring look, nothing beats potted flowering plants, according to Lisa Weber, who heads her design business in Fullerton. The key to keeping plants healthy and in bloom is to rotate them from outdoors inside.

“My house does not have enough light to keep plants blooming,” Weber said. “So I buy three or four plants and rotate them once a week. This way I have a show of flowers inside as well as on the patio.”

If you have more time and a modest budget, changing window treatments can add a new lighter look to any room. Drapes are too cumbersome to change, but replacing curtains or mini-blinds with light colored fabric casually draped is an inexpensive way to update a room’s look for spring.

“The best thing you can do is bring as much of the outdoors in as possible,” said Lana Barth, a Huntington Beach interior designer. “To do that you want to keep the view from the windows as unobstructed as possible.”

Barth suggests using natural colored gauze or even cheesecloth for windows. If there are already curtain rods, simply drape the cloth over the rod. If you must hang a new rod, a lightly stained wood rod is a good bet.

If you do have heavy drapery, try putting up a new valance or using new drapery ties to freshen the look for spring.

Painting the walls is always a good way to brighten a room, but who wants to paint twice a year just to cater to the changing seasons? A simple way to use paint seasonally is to limit the amount of surface being painted. Only paint the trim in a room, or, if you have old wood furniture, don’t be afraid to experiment on it with paint.

“Why not paint a tabletop white and then paint each of the chairs a vibrant color?” Wuille suggested.

Slipcovers are a popular way to change the fabric on sofas and armchairs, but do not overlook the kitchen chairs, Wuille said. “Straight-back chairs can get a dramatic new look with simple tie-on slipcovers.”

For a big change, replace heavy area rugs with natural sisal rugs, Wuille added. “Actual sisal is great for spring and summer because it’s light and casual. Pick a flat weave and you can even stencil a border to pick up motifs in your house.

“Just make sure it’s a large-scale stencil so the pattern doesn’t get lost in the nubby texture of the rug.”