Lighten Up For Spring

Take a new approach to spring cleaning, and reconnect with nature.

By Niika Quistgard

Spring's just around the corner, but if you work in a windowless office and eat tropical fruit year-round, you may not always know what month it is. Although modern life has made it easy to lose touch with the shifting seasons, it's not that hard to reconnect with the rhythms of nature. Make these changes in your home to lighten up for spring.

CLEAN UP Simplify each room's furnishings. Get rid of clutter. Store couch throws, extra pillows, fireplace tools, quilts, and furry slippers until next winter.

LIGHTEN THE PALETTE Change the color of your accessories (pillows, picture frames, vases, linens) from warm hues (like reds, oranges, and yellows) to cooling blues, lavenders, greens, and whites. Fill a few pastel-toned vases with fragrant rose, freesia, or fern. Set out soft-hued towels in the bathroom.

CHANGE YOUR TEXTURES Switch to natural, breathable fabrics—cotton rugs, a sofa draped in linen, a bed fitted with organic percale sheets.

DIM IT DOWN Soften the sun's heat and glare by shading windows in cool, natural materials. More thoughtful placement of artificial lighting can help, too.

FRESHEN UP Use nontoxic cleaning products made with citrus, oxygen bleach, or baking soda. Fill a spray bottle with water and a few drops of jasmine, rose, or lavender essential oil for misting furniture, linens, and carpets.

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