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How We’re Refreshing Our Homes for Spring

April 15, 2021

By:

Erin Schrader

Spring is officially springing here at LIY! You know what they say– April showers bring… err, home improvement projects? While the warmer weather isn’t quite in full swing yet here in Indiana, the LIY Team is determined to make our own sunshine. From DIY projects to shelf styling, little sprouts of spring are beginning to blossom around our spaces. Today we’re sharing a look into our latest projects around the house and all the spring decor to go with it!

ps. If all things home-related are your jam, you can find more posts here!

Erin’s Spring Decor

You know what they say — go big or go home [or in these terms, go big AT home]. After purchasing our lake house last summer, we knew we wanted to get our hands on it and make it our own, there’s just something about leaving things “as is” that Shawn and I can’t wrap our minds around apparently as it seems we always have a project going on. This spring’s project — our living room. We wanted to lighten things up, make it feel like a true lake house but bring a cozy peaceful vibe alongside it. The photo above shows our “after” and well, to appreciate it fully I should share the “before” so you can see where it all started….

As you can see we did quite a bit. From adding shiplap to the back wall [white paint color is Sherwin Williams Atrium White], painting the fireplace white, adding a wood mantle, getting new furniture [for those wondering about our couches, you can find them here!] and spruced op our shelf decor which I’ll show you below! For the majority of other items in our living room, you can find them here! Now let’s take a look at these shelves and their little spruced up selves, shall we?

Seeded Glass and Wood Pillar Candleholder Brown // Unscented Pillar Candle White // 6″ Decorative Stone Wood Ball Natural // 4″ Decorative Stone Wood Ball Natural // Geometric Glass Block Bookend // Creative Co-Op Nautical Rope Knot Cotton Door Stop // Textured Ceramic Jar Candle Sandalwood & Tobacco

Natural Mango Wood Candle Hanging or Tabletop Lantern with Rope Handle (Set of 2) // Creative Co-op Small Paulownia Wood Vase // 13″ x 14″ Artificial Fern Arrangement in Pot // 13oz Wood Lidded Ribbed Glass 3-Wick Mandarin Orange Blossom Candle

Becca’s Spring Decor

Samsung Frame TV // Beige Bezel // Abstract Art Design // Vase [similar] // Dried Floral [Similar] // Faux Eucalyptus Tree // Lidded Seagrass Basket [Similar]

I spent some time looking for art designs that would make our new Samsung Frame TV look least like a TV, and landed on this pretty abstract piece from Etsy! [If you have a Frame TV, I highly recommend checking out Etsy for art options, they have countless incredible art options all for around $5.] The trick I think is to find something that has some texture to it, as well as keeping it on the darker side with little white in the image. Then I turned the brightness all the way down in art mode. I’ve been happy with the result!

Faux Eucalyptus Tree

Little by little we have been decorating our new home, and I love that while these items are fresh and spring forward, they really can last all year round! From the new Studio McGee line at Target, I snagged this cute faux eucalyptus tree. It was actually bigger than I thought, but it works well in this corner next to the fireplace. I love the white ceramic pot, and the branches were really flexible, so I was able to work the shape.

Wooden Frames

I have these beautiful wooden frames in two different sizes throughout our home because I love them so much! The mid tone wood really brings some warmth to our white walls, and the simple, thin frames with the large matting keep it modern and really turn our photos into artwork.

Steph’s Bathroom Vanity Refresh

Bathroom Vanity Before
Bathroom Vanity After

Countertop Paint Kit [White Diamond] // Peel and Stick Backsplash [Railroad Calacatta] // Tissue Box Cover [Matte Black] // Faux Potted Plants // Mirror [40 X 26, Grey]

The bathroom transformation continues! BUT I feel confident saying that it’s been fully wrapped up now that the counter top has been painted and backsplash installed! More to come on this countertop kit later, but I’ll leave you with this – it seemed much more scary than it actually was! 

This peel and stick backsplash was SO easy to install, is amazing quality and totally transformed the look of the space! The only warning I have is that the quality of the tiles is so good, they were pretty difficult to cut. We ended up scoring the surface with a box cutter and carefully snapping it then sanding. That sounds a lot more difficult than it was, cutting included this backsplash was installed in less than half an hour. I would just say that I don’t recommend this particular brand if you have a ton of cuts around outlets and things (unless you own some sort of electric saw, which we do not!). Cassidy on the team has used this brand on a few projects and cuts it with kitchen scissors easily. Throw in a new tissue box cover and faux potted plants and the space is finally complete!

Cassidy’s Bathroom Tile

Bathroom Floor Before
Bathroom Tile After

Quadrostyle Vinyl Peel and Stick Floor Tiles [8”]

Say hello to my new and improved powder room! We have a small half bath in our tudor home and I wanted to give it some character much like the rest of the house! The floors underneath were a wood vinyl that had some cracks and wear so I decided to dress them up a little! I didn’t actually mind the previous floors, but I thought these peel and stick tiles would be a good way to temporarily change up this small space! I love how it turned out and they really are so easy to apply! I did little measuring and never used a straight edge and it turned out great, ha! I initially ordered a pack of 24 but had to reorder 12 more to complete my space [but like I mentioned, I didn’t really measure anything!] We have had them for a few weeks now and they have held up nicely and come clean with just some soapy water! Absolutely recommend these peel and stick tiles, you could use them on stairs, in laundry rooms, bathrooms, kitchens, the list goes on and there are so many fun styles to choose from!

Lauren’s Outdoor Decor

22” Faux Boxwood Wreath

I’m a sucker for a faux boxwood wreath, and this big one had me sold as soon as I saw it! I love the classic look of boxwood, and the denseness of this one! You could easily add on your own bits of flair for certain holidays, like flags, or ribbons!

20” Black Beadboard Square Planter

April Showers bring… well, April Flowers in this case! This year, I’m not waiting until May to get my plants potted, because mama’s got new planters! I liked it so much I bought a second one! First, let me say, this planter is BIG! I laughed when I pulled it out of the box, but then once I actually put it out front I realized I liked the size, but be warned! Because it’s so large, I filled most of mine with cut up pool noodles, so I didn’t have to use as much potting soil! Also, don’t forget to drill drainage holes in the bottom before planting!

Katy’s Guest Bedroom + Centerpiece

Long Lumbar Pillow // Dot and Fringe Comforter // Throw Blanket [beige] // Pillow Covers [cream]

I wanted to brighten up our guest room with a few simple changes (left, before → right, after)! When I first thought of mixing white, cream, and beige it seemed strange, but a few pinterest inspos later and I was ready to commit. I got this comforter in the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, so I just popped that baby in this room instead! I’ve had these cream pillow covers for almost 4 years now and have used them in our room, couches, and now the guest room. Two pack for under $14? Yes please! This throw blanket was just the weight and color I was looking for. It’s not going to keep you warm in super cold weather but I love it as an accent on the bed! Basically anything McGee and Co makes is going to catch my eye, but this pillow really ties the whole bedding look together in my opinion.

  Artificial Flowers [Light Pink and Milk White] // Serving Board // Dried Moss // Flameless Candles // Vase

My apartment needed a little Spring pep in it’s step! I thought this centerpiece decor added a hint of Spring without overdoing it! I started with this Vase (that’s actually a Carafe) because I already had it from our “Fall Home Decor” blog post. Next, I wanted to add some artificial flowers that were light and feminine. You could fill a whole vase with one pack, but I got two because I wanted mixed colors! So this moss, I put in the vase and around the board to bring a little “natural” and “bloom” vibe to the centerpiece. This stuff is actually real, dried, moss so it has an outdoorsy smell when you first take it out of the package, but that goes away pretty quickly once it’s out! To finish this whole thing out, I struggled for a bit with what else to place on the board! My first purchase were these candle holders, but unfortunately they arrived broken (Target was great about refunding). Honestly, it all worked out because I am in LOVE with these flameless candles! They actually come in a 3 pack, but for this decor I just used 2! They have a remote you can use to turn them off/on and a timer….one less thing to think about! 

Claire’s Spring Shelves

Candle // Wooden Frames // Ceramic Planter // Books // Stoneware Vases // Similar Tray // Tissue Box Cover // Faux Succulent

To be completely frank; shelf styling is not my calling. Our built-in bookshelf was in need of a spring facelift, so I turned to good ole trusty Pinterest to get my decorative juices flowing and hit up Target for a few spring touches. I love playing with neutrals because they never go out of style and they’re easy to pair with other seasonal decor throughout the year. While I’ll probably end up changing it around again [approximately a gazillion times], it’s off to a good start!

Lori’s Spring Decor

Artificial Fiddle Leaf Plant // Metal Planter Vase

Lori Here! Who doesn’t love shopping Target’s decor. Spring is in the air and it was time to update my fireplace hearth. Check out this lifelike fig plant with a brass pot. I love to mix metals and really needed some more gold/brass in my living room. So, I purchased the fig plant and pot separately. All I did was drop the fig plant in the brass pot and added some moss to the top. Goal accomplished!!!

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