Spring Guide to Your Home

Us New Englanders love the harbingers of spring—cool, fresh air, crocuses popping, and baseball bats swinging at spring training. When that clock springs forward we embrace the season of longer days with to-do lists of home improvement projects, rewarding ourselves for enduring winter by planting perennials, and outfitting outdoor spaces for entertaining. This spring, as the snow melts and fresh, warm air rolls in, enjoy taking the time to revamp your home from the outdoors in.

Reimagine your space this spring

“Spring is the perfect time to open the windows, let mother nature in, and welcome a renewed feeling of hope,” says Brandy Souza, Vice President of Kitchen Views at National Lumber.

“We are seeing a lot of building projects such as mud rooms and built-in cabinetry like bookshelves and storage spaces. Spring is a great time to get organized. People have access to inspiring tools online like Houzz.com and Pinterest so they can customize their space and make it work for them,” Souza adds.

One of the spaces that has been reimagined is the laundry room. “People are looking at laundry space differently,” says Souza. “It’s a space where you have to spend a decent amount of time so they are adding fun décor and painting the space with merry colors.” How do you make your laundry space more organized? “Adding things like drying racks, baskets for single socks, and sinks to scrub down sporting clothes makes the area more efficient,” Souza says.

One simple way to prepare for spring and revive your home is to get going on some spring cleaning. She gives these simple suggestions of how to jump start your cleaning projects:

• Declutter and donate. It feels fabulous to get rid of things that really don’t resonate anymore, and donating them to charity feels even better. Then, only put back what you need.
• Adding new hardware on your cabinets is a great way to refresh a room without having to do a major renovation. A simple pop of color or an interesting design is a great way to lift your spirits.
• Try adding in simple fixes like curtains or rugs. It is amazing how a few soft window treatments or fresh carpets can make a room feel brand new.

If you’re already a neat freak, try adding in a new pop of color! Warm colors are on the horizon for home decor. “Adding warmth will play a big role in home design this spring,” says Souza. “We see a lot of clients selecting titanium appliances and adding metal finishes like gold hardware and using gold and brushed antique finishes,” she adds.

Photo by Schrock for Kitchen Views at National Lumber

Make it pop with PANTONE Color of the Year 2017 “Greenery”

PANTONE Color of the Year 2017 “Greenery” is the perfect shade to welcome the spring season. Illustrative of flourishing foliage and the lushness of the great outdoors, the fortifying attributes of

“Greenery” signal individuals to take a deep breath, oxygenate, and reinvigorate. “While ‘Serenity’ and ‘Rose Quartz,’ the PANTONE Colors of the Year 2016 expressed the need for harmony in a chaotic world, ‘Greenery’ bursts forth in 2017 to provide us with the hope we collectively yearn for amid a complex social and political landscape,” says Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute. “Satisfying our growing desire to rejuvenate, revitalize, and unite, ‘Greenery’ symbolizes the reconnection we seek with nature, one another, and a larger purpose.”

“Spring is a great time to bring this beautiful color into your home. Greenery is a great color. Bring splashes of this color in your space through bath accessories like towels and paint colors,” says Donna Zinckmoore, Director of Operations at Splash and Spritzo. She recommends keeping everything else neutral when pairing with this year’s hot color.

“The tangy yellow-green speaks to our desire to express, explore, experiment, and reinvent, imparting a sense of buoyancy,” says Eiseman. “Through its reassuring yet assertive vibrancy, ‘Greenery’ offers us self-assurance and boldness to live life on our own terms, during a time when we are redefining what makes us successful and happy.”

More ways to be green

Aside from splashing the earthy hue around your home, there are many “green” solutions to help you save energy, money, and the planet this spring. Zinckmoore recommends these five ways to be green this spring:

• Lower flow toilets save gallons of water and lots of money. So many new designs are available with improved performance.
• Faucets and showerhead aerators deliver a mixture of water and air and help you conserve water and reduceenergy costs.
• Touchless faucets are a great way to save water and are sanitary.
• Light-emitting (LED) lighting is a high efficiency way to save money, energy, and enjoy better lighting.

When embarking on a home improvement project, whether it is a total renovation or a small redesign, be sure to think about your lifestyle to make the right choices on product that will simplify the way you live advises Zinckmoore. After all, simplifying your life could be exactly what the doctor ordered this season.

Tapping in the call of nature

Getting outside and tending to nature and your landscape is often the best way to get ready for spring. Sean Bilodeau, certified arborist and horticulturist at Acorn Tree and Landscaping, suggests using organic products with fewer chemicals and pesticides to treat your yard. He notes that pesticide-free products keep getting better and better which is great news for people that are looking for organic solutions.

Bilodeau gives these tips noting that spring is a great time to transplant trees and shrubs or install new plants on your property:

• Assess your trees and shrubs to make sure they are healthy.
• Remove storm damage from your landscaping.
• Be sure to care for your turf with an early first fertilization. Prepare plant beds and edging.
• Do not over-mulch trees and shrubs.

Bilodeau sees many people creating outdoor entertainment spaces ranging from extravagant spaces with swimming pools, multi-season play courts, outdoor kitchens and fire pits to smaller spaces with

cottaged landscapes, mini fire pits, and quiet sitting areas with great views. “I would like to see people incorporating edibles like vegetable gardens, fruits trees, and a few chickens to enjoy teachable moments with their children,” says Bilodeau.

Whether you plant a vegetable garden, create a new laundry space, or add a pop of color that brightens your world, there are plenty of ways to enjoy beautifying your home throughout this season of renewal.