Spring is around the corner, and soon we can bid farewell to the short days and dark winter evenings. Here are five ways in which we can maximise natural light and allow the sunshine to pour into our homes. Start by giving your windows a good clean. You’ll be surprised at the difference simply washing the glazing and window frames will make, and how much brighter everywhere will look!
🌱Fresh Flowers & Plants
Foliage is an easy way to bring a springtime feeling into your home. A pot of spring bulbs, such as hyacinths or daffodils, or a vase of tulips, is a great way of bringing in colour and fragrance. If your windows allow, think about adding hooks to the top of the window recess and hanging jars filled with cut flowers.
When you’re considering what changes you want to make, consider the purpose of the room. For example, a room with great views or one that connects with the garden doesn’t want to be obscured by heavy window treatments. Maybe it’s an east-facing bedroom that receives early morning sun; therefore, having options to block out light will be a key factor. A room that receives a lot of light throughout the day may benefit from multi-layered options such as curtains and blinds, which will provide light control flexibility.
🌅Draw back the Curtains
Over the darker months, we’ve become accustomed to drawing the curtains or pulling down the blinds and hibernating away. Now it’s time to pull back the curtains and let the light in. There are numerous designs of holdbacks and tie-backs that can easily be added to any windows. These can be especially beneficial for north-facing rooms or rooms with small windows.
Jim Lawrence has a beautiful wrought iron holdback, which is a simple yet stylish way of draping the curtain off the window, allowing it to stack neatly against the wall. Alternatively, you can opt to use a matching tieback for your curtain; Laura Ashley has lots of collections to choose from. Alternatively, if you fancy using something different, use a leather tieback, which looks lovely against a country-inspired interior.
🪟Sheer Curtains and Blinds
You may fancy the idea of having a complete change, and what better way to do this than by taking down your existing curtains or blinds and packing them away for the summer. Think floaty delicate fabrics such as cotton, linen, and muslin that can billow in the spring breeze. Soft neutrals, warm beiges, and muted pastels will sit seamlessly against any window. The beauty of these sheer drapes and blinds is that they will diffuse the sunlight in the parts of your home that get midday sunshine and offer an element of privacy to those rooms that need it, such as bedrooms.
Alternatively you may prefer something simpler in the style of a sheer roller blind. When pulled up it virtually disappears, blending in with the colour of the surrounding walls and window frame.
When decorating windows in a bedroom, light is one of the major concerns as not everyone wants to get woken up at the “crack of dawn.” Fitting a Roman blind inside the recess will help prevent morning light from entering, and with the addition of blackout lining, this will solve all problems. To soften the hard edges of the window reveal, why not add a sheer curtain, but draw this back onto one side and secure it with a delicate beaded tieback, allowing the fabric to gently drape and puddle on the floor.
For those rooms that have large expanses of glazing, such as the bay window in a living room, natural bamboo or rattan-style blinds can work effectively when combined with lined curtains. Sunlight can discreetly work its way into the room through the woven natural fibres of the blinds, and during the colder months, the heavy-lined curtains will offer insulation and stop any heat from escaping.
❄️Glass Frosting
If you’re not a fan of curtains, blinds, or any other type of window treatment for that matter, adding frosting to the glazing could be the answer. Brume and Purlfrost offer a wide and varied range of styles, patterns, and colours, making their products suitable for both contemporary and traditional properties. This is the perfect way to add interest to a bland or boring window or to a window that requires privacy.
🎨Colourful Patterns
What better way to brighten up a room than to add a splash of colour! Maybe your room is looking outdated and ready for a refresh. A simple way to do this is to change some of your accessories. Swap your winter textured wool and velvet cushions for more delicate fabrics such as cotton and linen and opt for brighter and bolder colours such as cerise pink, zingy yellows, and greens. Blend large and small floral patterns together to create impact. Pack away heavy knitted throws and replace them with lightweight cotton for those chillier evenings.
For those of you who are feeling much more confident, why not choose a combination of different fabrics to create real impact? To successfully achieve this, start by selecting 3-4 colours. It’s a good idea to incorporate 1 or 2 plain fabrics with your selection and then choose fabrics with both large and small-scaled floral designs to create interest. The key to this working successfully is to mix and layer up fabrics, combining a range of textures. These might include silk, linen, cotton, and velvet.
If you want to create more of an impact, explore mixing up different patterns. Who would have thought mustard yellow diagonal-striped curtains would work with floral wallpaper? Colour expert and interior designer Sophie Robinson has collaborated with Harlequin and designed a range of fabrics incorporating floral and leafy designs alongside basketweaves, vertical stripes, and diagonals in her signature bold and vibrant shades of pink, blue, yellow, and orange colourways. What better ways to celebrate and embrace Spring 2024?
