This is not about spending big money. Spring is, after all, the most gentle of seasons-a time when we can stop making all those harsh demands on our homes for heat, light, shelter and even entertainment (who wants to go out in the snow and cold?) and start letting ourselves and our homes loosen up again.
We asked a few decorating and design professionals to share some simple ideas for that indoor transformation-ideas to make our rooms feel fresh all over again. Then we rounded up a few products that are sure to help the cause.
Marian McEvoy, editor in chief of Elle Decor magazine, gets on a roll with the subject of spring: “Fabric is an easy place to start. Think of getting rid of the heavy brocade and damask fabrics and pillows, retiring the velvet curtains-anything that looks `Oh my God, that would be hot to sit in.’ Slipcover. Get out the sailcloth, the linen.
Give ’em the slip: “One thing we really loved–we saw a house where instead of slipcovering the dining room chairs, they used a see-through fabric, almost like a chiffon. But they were light, transparent, cotton slipcovers slipped over the back of the chairs so you could see the bones of the chair through them. It was like putting on a cool, lightweight, sheer, linen dress.
“My dry cleaner has done slipcovers for me. I tested the dry cleaner first (before hiring). I had him do alterations (on clothes). . . . Have your dry cleaner over. Get him or her in the house first, so he knows what you are talking about. Those kinds of things–little slipcovers–aren’t expensive. Your regular upholsterer could do it too.”
Breathing room: “If you have great floors, think of rolling up the rugs, exposing that wood. It makes a room breathe.”
Now that the fire’s out: “Also, there’s the fireplace problem. A fireplace with a big, gaping, black hole in spring and summer is pretty sad. Put a large piece of photography or an architectural frieze in front of that big black hole. The opening will also act as a frame for whatever you put there.”
Pots on top: “Also, get a little madcap when it comes to a spring table. Use terra-cotta pots of different kinds of flowering bulbs and mass seven of them together. Different ones. Make sure they’re not so high that you can’t see across the table. . . . A lot of bulbs come in wooden flats–fabulous. Group three or four on a table.”
Cheers: “Invest in a set of tall drink glasses for iced teas or fruit juices or water–real tall, very generous glasses. They are much more cool than short, squat highball glasses, and they’re available everywhere from Pier 1 to Baccarat. Get a beautiful pitcher–clear glass or crystal. Actually, get a couple of them. They look wonderful on a table. And get an ice maker installed in your freezer.”
Don’t forget to clean. “Spring cleaning exists for a reason–20 cocktail books on a table looks too heavy. Retire them. Put them in a bookcase, a closet. Bring them back in fall. Bring out a few gardening books. That always puts people in a springy mood.”
Air aid: And finally, “Open the windows. Don’t be afraid of drafts. Clean the windows. That’s very important.”
The painter speaks
Jan Carmichael, a Chicago-based decorative painter, advocates buying artwork for its life-enhancing qualities. Two local art schools to check out, she says: The School of The Art Institute of Chicago sponsors student exhibitions in the spring at both The Betty Rymer Gallery, 280 S. Columbus Drive, 312-443-3703, and at Gallery 2, 847 W. Jackson Blvd., 312-563-5162. The School of Art and Design in the College of Architecture and the Arts at the University of Illinois at Chicago holds its student exhibitions at Gallery 400, 400 S. Peoria St., 312-996-6114.)
A fine reflection: Also, says Carmichael, “I have been doing a lot of aluminum leaf ceilings. It’s the inexpensive approximation of silver leaf. Aluminum has a very modern feel, and you can even put a tinted varnish over it so it takes on a color. At any rate, it reflects light like nothing else. It really brightens up a room.”
An architect’s sense
Spencer Fung, a London-based architect and furniture designer, recommends:
Incense. “Smell is very important. . . . Burn some nice light incense. . . . Sandalwood. It’s woodsy. It starts you remembering the forest, remembering nature.”
The style-maker’s cue
Christy Ferer, author of “Decorating on a Dime: Trade Secrets from a Style Maker” (Warner Treasures, $14.95), contributing style correspondent for NBC-TV, and owner of a New York-based video production company that produces lifestyle programming for television, says:
Look down below: “Lightening up for spring, for me, means bringing light into the largest space you can. The floors, the walls. Rather than go to the time and trouble of painting the walls, it’s easier and cheaper to throw some lightness onto the floor–whether it’s a sisal from IKEA or finding a light-colored remnant and having it bound.”
Shades of spring: “An easy thing to do is change the lampshades to a different color. Change dark ones to beige or white.”
WHERE TO BUY
Here are the stores where you can buy the home furnishings featured on our cover:
For his Weeds series of contemporary color photographs, Chicago photographer Howard Bjornson collected plants from the Chicago area. The images measure 20 by 24 inches and cost $450 each, unframed. Other sizes are available. Shown are Wild Bergamot (from left), Buttonbush and Allium prints. Call Bjornson at 312-243-8200.
Wire tulip basket by Umbra has a nickel-plated finish and measures 13 1/2 inches wide by 11 inches high, $20 at The Great Ace, 2639 N. Elston Ave., 773-342-0300.
White hand and bath towels, $6.99 to $16.99 apiece at Strouds stores; call 800-787-6837 for nearest location.
A trio of bud vases: Striped varieties come from New Jersey ceramist Jonathan Adler who likes to point out he is from country Jersey (“a farm town called Bridgeton”) and who takes his inspiration from vintage pottery. The vases come in a 2 1/2-inch-tall, round shape with a green stripe and a 4 1/2-inch-tall, curved shape with a blue stripe, $25 each or $45 for a set of two from the Garnet Hill catalog, call 800-622-6216 (Item No. 5756).
Rhode Island glass artist Tracy Glover (company name: Off Center) designed and fabricated the pretty pink vase with apple green, winglike handles. It stands 6 inches tall and comes in a number of colors, $48 at Past Basket, 200 S. 3rd St., Geneva, 630-232-4191.
Hand-dyed cotton throws come in 54-inch squares and in already-cut pieces that measure 72 by 108 inches (for a twin-size bed or as a covering for a loveseat) and 90 by 108 inches (for a full-size bed or larger sofa), $18 to $30 at Urban Outfitters, 935 N. Rush St., 312-640-1919; and 2352 N. Clark St., 773-549-1711.
Aluminum single-stem vase stands 4 1/4 inches tall, $12.99 at Target stores; for nearest location, call 800-800-8800.
