It seems that spring fever hit even before the blast of winter this year.

“It’s like we just got all the holiday stuff put away, then I’ve been doing all this stuff to do with taxes, and I’m feeling like as soon as I’m done with all that, I really want to do some things for spring,” says designer Diane Stege.

The first step to giving rooms a spring lift, she says, is to declutter. Get rid of all mail, magazines, gloves — just stuff — maintaining a chokehold on your rooms. Then seriously clean.

“That way, everything smells clean,” she says.

Color correction

Winter, besides being so cold, is so monochromatic. Gray skies. Dirty snow. Dark branches. The antidote is color.

“Color is huge. It has such a big impact,” says Lynn Shouse, owner of a decorating-design store. She also helps clients redecorate with what they already own. “Yellow and green especially lend themselves to springtime.

“If you don’t have any yellow in your room, just adding a dash of it can be unexpected,” she says. Spring motifs such as florals can lighten the mood.

The easiest way to add color to a room, Stege says, is with paint.

“But you don’t have to go nuts with it. You could paint one wall,” she says.

Say add a light, springy sage on one wall, then in six months, change it to a trendy brick color, she says.

Lighten up

During the darkest time of the year, you might want to bring in additional lighting to make up for what you miss outside, Shouse says.

Stege, who admits that lamps are her “big thing,” says creating a fresh look might mean adding a lamp, swapping lamps from another room, getting a new lampshade or merely using bulbs in a different wattage.

“It’s as much about a feeling as a look,” she says of lighting.

Add and subtract

You might just need one new accessory to spiff up a room, Stege says.

That might be a plant, which is a great way to bring life into a room and also add interesting texture, she says.

Or maybe it’s a colorful area rug in front of the fireplace or to define two chairs and a table. You can add area rugs even on top of carpet.

Added Shouse: “You might use finials on a table instead of the candlesticks we all expect. You might put out some rabbits instead of your flower arrangement.”

It might be something made of feathers, she says. “Feathers are so strong right now.”

At the same time, taking things away might make all the difference.

“If you say, ‘I’ve had those accessories there for 10 years,’ why not just move them somewhere else?” Stege says.

Do a switcheroo

Some people switch their artwork with the seasons, Stege says, leaving the dark hunting scenes for winter and changing to something lighter in theme and color for warmer weather.

Likewise, some people use slipcovers to create different looks for the seasons. If you normally have slipcovers on your dining-room chairs, maybe it’s time to go with bare wood, she says.

Shouse added that it might be simply a matter of moving artwork or other things from another room.

“If you have that flow that we all hope to have, you can move things back and forth, and they all look great.”

Over the years, Stege says, she’s learned that the key to creating a new look is simply courage.

“When I look back at the mistakes I’ve made, they’ve been not doing enough, leaving it too wimpy,” she says.

Shouse agrees. “Don’t be afraid to do something you haven’t seen before. Try it out!”

Source: About.com/Gannett News Service via :www.greenbaypressgazette.com