Guest Post: Spring Decor

Happy Wednesday, bloggers! Today's post comes from Christina Johnson who recently contacted me about doing a guest post on home decor. Her article features great decor tips for your home. Please enjoy her spring decor article below!

Design Ideas for Springtime

Article submitted by Christina Johnson

Many interior designers are looking to tropical islands for color inspiration but combining them in such a way that it doesn’t look like a tropical motif. To balance vibrant tropical colors and cool ocean shades, designers are selecting cool neutrals as a backdrop. Inky blue or black provides an accent and gives an elegant, serious note to the design. Of all these color choices, Pantone, the global authority on color, has declared tangerine the color of the year for 2012. Here are some quick ways to bring this year’s spring colors into your home.

Bright, tropical colors: tangerine, sunny yellow, fuchsia and orchid

Choose one of these colors to give your rooms a pop of color. With these intense hues, a little goes a long way. Put some bold-colored pillows on your sofa or bright flowers in a vase. Add some vivid napkins and candlesticks to dress up your table. Your pictures may need a little updating, too. Abstract artwork with a pop of vivid color will bring your room to life. Another up-to-the-minute way to use these colors is in a bold single-color pattern against a white backdrop, perhaps as a wallpapered accent wall.

Cool sea colors: light ocean blue and sea-glass green

These cool tints provide a perfect counterpoint to bright tropical colors. Barely there aqua and the light bluish green of sea glass are easy on the eye and can be used in large or small quantities. Given the clarity of these tints, they are perfect as transparent glass vases, bowls, plates and cups. If you have more time, paint is an inexpensive way to perk up a room. Use these colors to cool down a room that receives lots of afternoon sun. Greenish tones also work well in rooms with a wall of windows that overlooks a green backyard. The green blends with the scenery, making the walls seem to disappear.

Cool neutrals: driftwood gray and sand

Try these neutral tones as slipcovers for your furniture. If you’re in the market for an occasional table, try blonde wood. Small hits of tropical color sing against light, neutral wood. Fill a large, flat, rectangular plate with bleached coral or smooth stones, and put some large candles in the middle.

 Inky blues and black

To keep the room from looking too beach-y, anchor the color scheme in deep blue or black. Some designers go all the way with this concept by painting a dining room navy blue or black. If this is too bold for your taste, bring in a grouping of pictures framed in the same black frames. To avoid purchasing new frames, spray paint a collection of pictures you already own. The frames don’t need to be the same size; the common color will unify the collection.

Another easy, inexpensive way to dress up a room is with a ribbon of black or deep navy blue sewn or attached with fabric adhesive to full-length curtains or Roman shades. Run the ribbon a few inches from the bottom or down the inside seams of curtains. If you have Roman shades, run the ribbon a few inches from the outside edges.

Christina Johnson works remotely for Douglas Elliman Real Estate in the Hamptons Real Estate market.  She is using her journalism major to combine what she loves most, writing and her career. Her specialties include home decor design and DIY home improvement projects.