Even though the calendar says it’s spring anytime after March 21st, most of us know that this season typically takes her sweet time actually arriving. In Canada, we have to coax her out of hiding gently, but assertively – adding pops of colour to brighten our spaces, clearing cobwebs with reckless abandon and forcing branches to bloom indoors with some warm water and sunlight.
This year, I have felt so drawn to cleaning and refreshing everything about our house, and in fact, my life. With a burgeoning new business venture (that I’m so desperately excited about), a now-walking, kinda-talking 18-month old who’s curious as a monkey and a shameless desire to spend more time silly dancing in the playroom than cleaning said-playroom…I have been taking every opportunity to simplify, add joy and clear the cobwebs.
Last month, on a Friday morning after a particularly long week of demolition in the playroom, colds and flus and work deadlines – all three of us packed in the car and decided our destination was Giant Tiger. To be honest, I wasn’t totally sure what we were going to find, but I knew I wanted to pick up some affordable items that would help refresh the house despite the looming chaos. What was I looking for?
- Items to help me organize and simplify my cleaning routines
- Items to help me update our guest room ahead of summer visitors
- A few things to contribute to my ongoing quest to de-neutralize (aka add colour to) the main floor
Once we got home, it took me a couple of hours to get everything in place and it felt SO GOOD. In the guest room, I pulled off all the sheets and refreshed the old bedding with new sheets, a super amazing cozy body pillow and a new comforter that is a great weight for spring nights. (Admission: I decided I love this body pillow so much that it’s spending more time in my master bedroom than the guest room now LOL)
I’m loving the pops of teal and the deeper blue on the comforter. A lot of people ask me about mixing patterns and if it’s “okay to do” or if there are “rules for how to do it”. I’m definitely NOT an interior designer and I’m pretty sure there are rules, but in my world, I see it two ways. You can mix patterns of similar feel and scale if they are similar colour families; this room being a prime example of that where the comforter and wall paper are blue and white and both similar scale patterns. OR you can mix different scaled patterns (like large floral and a pin stripe or large stripe and a tight floral) if they speak different but complimentary colour languages. That’s my ten cents about it. Mostly, I just go by my gut and if it makes me smile, I keep it. This room is a smiley room. 
Also, every room needs a cat. Or at least this room wouldn’t be a cozy room without Mr. Louie. Honestly, as soon as he realized I was putting this bed together, he was up there lickety split. I was literally fluffing the pillows around Louie because… cats. 🙂 
I added more life to the corner with this faux daisy in a cute little concrete planter. Want my thoughts on faux plants? Here goes. I LOVE them. Because I feel incredible guilt when I buy a live plant and let it die a slow and languishing death. Faux plants are especially great in rooms I don’t use daily (like this guest room) because they take care of themselves, just need a bit of dusting every once in a while and bloom all year. So I am on Team Faux. Hundo-p.
Then it was tea time. The guest room took me exactly 1/2 of one nap time to pull off, including getting the old sheets downstairs and in the laundry. I decided the second half of nap time would be for me time. I picked up a new cozy throw for the couch in a soft blush pink, replaced the old barn board wall hanging with this amazing large scale painted floral and even found a glass terrarium for my air plants. <— which somehow are thriving!
Here’s the thing about refreshing and spring cleaning – I think it’s equally as important to carve out time to refresh yourself too! Read a book in the sunlight. Warm up with a good cup of herbal tea and just be. The winter can really get us down, so taking a few cozy minutes is often a surefire way to just brighten your mood. Plus – that painting. OMG. Basically my favourite living room change in FOREVER.
Lastly, I picked up a new waste basket and hand towels for the new powder room. I love having towels specifically for the main floor bathroom. It makes sorting laundry easier and they feel a little more special. 
I’m so glad I took the time for these simple updates. And they are all motivating me to keep pushing my colourful boundaries to keep introducing more pops of vibrancy to all our rooms. Next up – the playroom and… outside!!
-E
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This post is sponsored by Giant Tiger and I have been compensated for my work and time. My opinions are my own and I have much appreciation for my partner brands who are part of the DIY Passion story. See my full disclosure policy here.
