The Spruce Ideas, Tips & Guides

As spring and summer approach, bringing the outside in through our home decor starts to feel very appealing. And as we've been filling our homes with floral bouquets and scrolling for the perfect seasonal pieces of home decor, a certain shell-like motif keeps popping up.

As the temperature starts to rise and the days get a bit longer, it’s easy to skip from spring into a summer frame of mind. But to enjoy the most that summer has to offer when it does arrive, there are some tasks homeowners should tackle now.

From online services to big box stores and local nurseries and garden centers, there are tons of different ways you can find and purchase plants to add to your landscape. Often, it’s a matter of finding the balance between convenience and quality. But is one option truly better than all the others? 

Whether you've just received the keys to your new home, or are redecorating after a few years, a new bedroom paint color is the perfect way to refresh your room.

Stunning florals are synonymous with springtime, and chances are, every social channel you're scrolling through is bursting with beautiful blooms. 

If you're craving a bit more color in your living room but are renting your home or are not looking to make any major, permanent changes, by no means is all hope lost.

If you’ve spotted the "Sunday reset" trend on TikTok, you might wonder if this is the tried-and-true way to jumpstart your week. After all, it could be challenging to think about resetting your home all in one day—especially on a day made for rest and relaxation.

In the world of cleaning TikTok, it seems like every new hack looks easier and more efficient than the last. This is especially true of the latest trend of mixing together multiple cleaning ingredients to power wash one dedicated space.

Decorating your outdoor space can be just as rewarding as sprucing up the inside of your home, if not better. With plenty of outdoor furniture trends circling around the design world, including indoor-outdoor furniture and warm color palettes, there’s an endless amount of inspiration to pull from.

Mother's Day is just around the corner—a time of year that can bring both celebration and reflection. For those who find their sense of home in people rather than place, a mother is often at the center. Her influence helps shape the decisions we make in the spaces we create for ourselves and our loved ones.

When you think of yellow hues, do you think of flowering plants in the early days of spring, like yellow archangel, golden chain tree, hybrid witch hazel, forsythia, and yellow bird magnolia? Does it remind you of spring, as daffodils begin reaching through the sidewalk cracks? Does it remind you of summer, when you can finally start harvesting your yellow pear tomatoes and Irish gold tomatoes, and when lemon trees start blooming?

If you love decorating with the flowers that you've worked hard to grow in your backyard garden but are looking to change things up a bit when it comes to display, we're here to provide you with plenty of creative ideas.

Winter is for enjoying time in your home, and summer is for enjoying time in your yard. But shoulder seasons—fall and spring—are for preparation. In spring, we venture outdoors to nurseries and begin looking to fill our gardens with the best flowers and greenery the year has to offer. 

Even seasoned interior designers started their careers somewhere—and that somewhere may not have included all the decorating tips and tricks they keep up their sleeves now. That's why we asked several interior designers which decorating secrets they now incorporate into every space. Their secrets are out. Spare yourself the trial and error of decor woes, and read on for eight decorating musts designers wish they knew about sooner.

If you're a plant fanatic, chances are you love adding new houseplants to your home any chance you get. However, with so many choices, styles, and maintenance levels, choosing which plants will thrive in your space isn't always easy. So why not let the stars give you some guidance?

Decorating your living room on a budget doesn’t mean downplaying your style. In fact, there are plenty of ways to give your living room that wow factor without spending a ton.

If you've ever marveled at the cozy ambiance of a room, chances are a great lighting scheme was at work.

As we continue to declutter our closets, wardrobes, and dressers in favor of swapping out our winter wear, you've likely come across your fair share of garments you no longer need.

The minute it's nice enough to be outside for more than 10 minutes, you won't wrangle me back indoors. My little square of outdoor space is my second living room—between work calls and running errands, if you can't find me, check outside.

With the harsh days of winter behind us, you might be looking out at your yard and realizing your lawn needs some major TLC. You’re certainly not alone—now is the perfect time to shift your focus on bringing your yard back to life.

Choosing to hire an interior designer is no small decision, and if you haven't ever worked with a professional in this capacity before, it can be difficult to fully determine whether a specific person is the right fit.

If finding gifts for birthdays and holidays like Mother's Day strikes a little fear into your heart, I can empathize. Some parents never want anything or are quick to say that the best gift is you, their child.

Bathrooms are clutter collectors, and there are a few reasons why this tends to happen. It's an easy place to leave clothes and jewelry after a shower, it might have enough storage space to harbor extra supplies, and it's a seemingly logical spot to keep medicine.

If you put forth the effort to fertilize your lawn, you already have great intentions. However, you can end up doing more harm than good if you aren't armed with the right knowledge and tools.

Recently, we asked our followers on Facebook to tell us their current favorite kitchen paint color. From readers who responded with pictures of their own kitchens to the colors readers could agree on most, plenty of Spruce fans chimed in.

If you're dealing with an awkwardly shaped room in your home and are coming up short on how to best arrange furniture within the space, professional interior designers are here to help.

When it comes to buying flowers, I love a frillier bloom. Give me a bouquet of peonies, ranunculus, and fringed tulips over almost anything else and I’m happy.

April is Earth Month, which means there’s never been a better time to brainstorm ways to reduce household waste and live more sustainably. Recycling everyday household items like plastic is an easy way to make a difference in your everyday life. Plus, finding creative uses for plastic items that would’ve otherwise hit the landfill can save you money on your grocery bill in the long run.

Can Tyler Cameron really do it all? The reality TV star won all of our hearts in Hannah Brown’s 2019 season of ABC’s «The Bachelorette» and is now making his way to our small screens with his new show on Amazon Prime called «Going Home with Tyler Cameron.

Martha Stewart is the queen of many things: cooking, baking, decorating, aging with style, being best friends with Snoop Dogg, and, of course, gardening. She has written books on gardening and consistently notes that April is a great month for getting to work on your vegetable garden.

Gardening and landscaping can be a rewarding endeavor—transforming outdoor spaces into beautiful and functional retreats. However, without proper planning and consideration, common mistakes can detract from the overall beauty and functionality of your landscape.

Thanks to their quality and affordability, it's pretty easy to love IKEA furniture. Though the pieces often feature basic lines and simple structures, they make the perfect blank canvas to personalize, and from that came IKEA hacks.

Color choice is important, but timing is actually everything when it comes to painting your home’s exterior. If you’re tackling this project as a DIYer, now's the time to get to work.

If you feel it’s time to refresh your home, but fear the cost and work involved, think again: you don’t need to break the bank or hire a professional to revamp your home or a single room. Nor do you have to go on a shopping spree to completely overhaul your home’s decor.

While we’re all used to swapping around our inside decor throughout the year, our outdoor spaces get understandably neglected during the colder months. The upside of this is that it’s often much easier to pull in new trends to enjoy once patio season returns.

As much as we adore forecasting upcoming trends here at The Spruce, we love seeing those trends executed in real life even more.