Bringing Color & Spring Time Into A Rental Home

The coolness of winter is a memory for now, and springtime is here again! Spring is a season of renewal and refreshment, and it’s my favorite season of them all. I like my home to reflect the current season, and spring is so much fun to bring indoors. I got to work as soon as March arrived (actually, I put my hubby to work as soon as March arrived), and I’m happy to share the results of my (his) labor with you.

First of all, let me say that we rent our home. Our landlady has asked that we not paint due to a color catastrophe brought on by the previous tenants. The walls are all lovely, neutral shades of beige though, so I don’t mind as much as I would if they were stark white. I must have color in my house, and lots of it. When we moved in, I set up all my furniture and noticed a lack of color- everything was black! I desperately needed to start adding color, so I turned to Pinterest for inspiration. I found lots of tutorials on painting furniture and color pallet samples, which turned into action.

First, the front door. The entry door is the gateway to what your home holds inside. People get a small glimpse of your style and the mood of your home just by driving by. Guests’ moods are set as they walk your entryway and knock on your front door. It’s important.

I like to have a wreath decorated for whichever season we’re currently in on my front door. Like I said, it really sets the tone for guests.

 

Here’s my spring front door wreath.

Wreath: $4.99 at Hobby Lobby

Paper flowers: $2.00 each (normally more but these were on sale)

This is my handsome and terribly sweet husband, Brian, hard at work on some wall art I dreamed up. Thank you, sweetheart!

I found this fabric at Hobby Lobby for $8.99 a yard, but found out at check out that it was 40% off. Score! I bought about three yards to use on various projects around the house. This is just a large, cheap canvas wrapped in the fabric. Hubby used a staple gun to attach it. It was a two-minute project that filled up a large wall space that was really getting on my nerves.

There wasn’t anything hanging above my vintage sofa either. I inherited this lovely piece of furniture from my great-grandmother and it sits in my living room, which you can see into right when you walk through my front door. I wrapped more canvases in that beautiful fabric and voila! Another wall filled, for practically nothing.

Onto the family room…

I chose seafoam and deep teal as my colors. Nice and bright since I can’t paint the walls.

 This chest of drawers was given to us when we first got married.

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Ahhh…much better!

 I got two of these little tables along with one long one for $50 at a garage sale last year. When my coffee table broke after our move, these became our new coffee tables. The problem? I think they were hideous. Shiny, white, boring. Hubby got the sander out…

Step 1: sand

Step 2: paint

Forgive me for the lack of color in this photo. I couldn’t get the seafoam to show up like it does in person.

 I wanted to bring my beautiful fabric into this room of the house, so I wrapped a clear vase with it using Mod Podge. Flowers didn’t look quite right in a floral vase, so I went out back and plucked some branches off an old tree from the foreclosed house’s yard next door.

My mantel is the center of attention in this area of the house. It’s big, high, and gorgeous, even when un-decorated. It’s lovely at Christmastime, but spring decor was a new challenge.

I picked up some paper flowers at Hobby Lobby (66% off) and stuck them in a wine bottle, which I spray painted. It ended up being a beautiful pop of color. I also stuck a couple paper flowers in my winter wreath to turn it into a spring wreath. I found a large “C” at Hobby Lobby for a couple bucks, spray painted it the same deep teal as my previously-black chest, and glued some tiny flowers on it. Goodbye winter, hello spring!

 

Next project area: the kitchen…

 There was this large blank spot above my stove, so I bought some cheap cardboard letters at Hobby Lobby ($1.50 each) and wrapped them in fabric using Mod Podge.

 My kitchen table was all black. The top had heat stains and paint chips on it, and I was dying to re-vamp it.

 

Hubby re-did the table with a fresh coat of glossy, black paint, and did the stools in the same seafoam as the coffee tables to tie the two areas together. I love it!

 

I made this yarn-wrapped wreath and glued some pre-made fabric flowers onto it to bring a touch of spring into my kitchen. I bought all the supplies for this at Hobby Lobby (where else??) and it cost me about $10.00 with my 40% coupon.

As homemakers, it’s our responsibility (and joy, hopefully!) to bring warmth and beauty to our homes. I hope the way I have brought that into my haven is inspiring to you to do it to yours. Happy homemaking!