Easy & Affordable Ways to Decorate for Spring

“March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb.” I am counting on this saying to hold true. We’ve had quite a “lion” of a March/beginning of spring thus far. It’s been cold and dreary and just plain ick.

BUT in less than a week, it will be April. (I am hoping that we can just skip over the whole “April showers bring May flowers” bit. Surely we’ve had enough rain and snow this last month to satisfy those May flowers…hopefully?)

The snow really was pretty. (And if I’m honest, I much rather prefer the snow to the cold rain we’ve been having, but…well. let’s just say mama is READY to spring.

When the weather isn’t feeling very “spring-y” inside, we could either:

Grumble and complain. (I kind of did a little of that above….oops!)
Buy some flowers from Trader Joes, stick our fingers in our ears, say “la la la”, and stare at said flowers
when the weather report comes on the tv.
Decorate inside and pretend like spring didn’t oversleep. (That goundhog wasn’t foolin’ about those “6 more weeks of winter”…You better watch out Phil. There are a lot of disgruntled people that have been missing the sunshine. You don’t have to worry about me… but….well, I would make myself scarce if I were you!)

I am all in favor of #2- Trader Joe’s flowers are my JAM, but I surprisingly opted for #3. (Minus the whole groundhog hit-man scenario. Ahem.)

Now that I’ve completely got you worried about my mental state AND about what my spring decor will even LOOK like. You are probably looking with just one eye open. holding your head at an angle, trying not to peer at your screen too deliberately; you’re anxiously wondering: “What is going to pop out at me? This lady is bonkers! Should I even keep looking?” But curiosity is getting the better of you….

Rest assured, dear reader, NO animals were harmed in my creative pursuits. Would you believe me if I told you the inspiration for my decor came from sweet Beatrix Potter books? Promise. Pinky swear.

So with that said, come on it, friend! Let’s go ahead and take a peek, shall we?

The Inspiration

My daughter has a bunch of these little Beatrix Potter books that had been my uncle’s. (My uncle is my age- no need to wrap your head around it. Just know that the two of us are finally at the age where our childhood items are now considered “vintage”… but not antique…yet.

So, I sorted through the collection of “vintage” books [wink] and pulled out some that I thought would be the perfect addition to a spring or Easter table setting.

Nothing says “spring” like flowers or bunnies, right?

{This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience. Using these links might result in me receiving a small commission, but at absolutely NO cost to you! You can read more about my commitment to transparency, by visiting my Disclosure Statement.}

Let’s Start in the Dining Room

One thing I am glad my 21-year-old-self did was register for white dishes. You just can’t go wrong with white. They match with everything, look great at every holiday, and are easy to mix and match with other pieces.

I recently bought some white linen napkins at Home Goods. I love the look and feel of linen. I figured these would be another good staple for table settings that would be a good “basic” to add with my white dishes. (Almost identical ones here.)

I love how the white dishes mixed together with my great grandma’s china look. That little book on top just seals the deal for me. (I need to use books for place settings more often! Wouldn’t it be kind of funny to use them as place-cards? You have everyone guess where they think they should sit based on either the title or the author’s name? In my head I think it could be fun, but in reality it would probably just cause chaos. Then we’ve got “hangry” people and that just puts a damper on a dinner party for sure! Ha!

The bunny in the center of the table is from Hobby Lobby. I got him on clearance (I love the ones here too). To create the centerpiece I used a wreath I had and also some little flowers I already had (pilfered them off another wreath. I think something like this would also be beautiful!)

I placed all of it in a big “Magnolia Market” dish I got for Christmas and put the bunny in the middle. It needed a little “extra”, so I got some green moss from Dollar Tree to place around it. Such an easy and cheap centerpiece that adds a bit of texture and “fun” to the table, but is easy to move if needed.

Moving around the room, you might notice a few other spring touches. In the corner, I have a few (faux) peonies in a white vase.

I feel like spring lends itself to more feminine touches, so a ruffled banner just seemed to fit, ya know? This one was a super simple DIY I added to our $100 playroom makeover. (Here)

To finish off this space, there are some candles and (faux) eucalyptus branches and white flowers on the buffet.

Let’s Head to the Living Room

I guess we could say that spring was brought to the living room by faux-florals. (It’s like Sesame Street. “Sponsored by the letter ‘B” for bargain hunting and brought to you by the letter “F” for faux-florals.) Ha!

We spend a lot of time in the evenings in the living room. (Lately because we’ve been trying to keep WARM, so we’ve been lighting fires at night, which is so cozy!)

To try and coerce spring into joining us soon, I added some simple decor to the mantle: my all-time-favorite bunny and some simple boxwood topiary balls keep everything simple and seasonal.

Thanks to a recommendation by Layla from The Lettered Cottage (who also helped to inspire the wreath-sitting-bunny in the dining room), I found the cherry blossom stems for $5 at Walmart. They are so big and pretty! (I actually cut about 5 inches off of them!) I found mine in the craft area at my “Super-Center” Walmart. The forsythia branches I have had for years. I just added them to some metal buckets I got at the Target Dollar Spot this past fall-one used for the fireplace and one placed in the magazine rack (below) and spring has SPRUNG (at least it has inside, for now).