Spring is here at last. And with warmer days, longer evenings and the blissful chorus of birdsong waking us each morning, we're all feeling a home refresh on the horizon. From swapping out heavier fabrics to updating curtains and blinds, a new coat of paint on the walls to brighter scatter cushions and candles, it's easier than you think to update your home this season – without breaking the bank or adding to your stress levels.
1. Update your paint colour
While rich, retro shades are making a comeback this year, there's still room for bright, breezy spring shades in your interior. A new coat of paint on the walls is instant gratification in any room, transforming your space quickly and cost-effectively.
This spring, delicate pinks are still bang on trend, and we're loving Potter's Pink by Neptune – a delicate reddy-pink which looks incredible in sitting rooms and bedrooms and glows in soft English light. Rose-Tinted White by Edward Bulmer Natural Paint does a similar job and works brilliantly in smaller spaces, particularly if you're inclined to double-drench in low-ceilinged cottage-style rooms and hallways to make the room feel bigger.
Yellows are also high on designers' wish-lists this season. Try Persian, from Edward Bulmer Natural Paints – the most jewel-like of yellows, it's show-stopping in a cloakroom or hallway. Brimstone is perfect in a morning room or conservatory while Naples Yellow will lift a playroom or home office. Neptune's Saffron, with its mustard undertones, looks great in a kitchen, on walls or cabinetry – or both.
Soft blue-greens, redolent of seaside holidays and coastal walks, bring calm to any space. In kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms we love Powder Blue by Neptune – a soft shade which hovers between blue, grey and duck egg depending on the time of day. Lucca, by Edward Bulmer Natural Paint, is a truer blue – light and uplifting.
We stock emulsion and eggshell by both Neptune and Edward Bulmer Natural Paint in our showrooms. Call us on 01886 884665 to check your colour is in stock.
Six nostalgic paint shades making a comeback
2. Change your curtains
Changing your curtains or blinds is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to totally transform your space, season by season. While in autumn and winter we hunker after richly-textured textiles to cocoon us, spring and summer is the time for lighter treatments. Think carefully about your windows, their shape and size before you start. For example, if a hallway or garden room isn't overlooked, do you really need curtains? Leaving statement windows clear introduces maximum light.
In rooms where you do need privacy, our in-house Curtains & Blinds Specialist is Pippa Burns is here hand to help and advise. With a wealth of experience transforming homes and hotels across the country, she'll deftly help you choose the right treatment for each of your windows, and will help you find the perfect fabric to create it. Think soft voiles, delicate florals and linens to lighten your rooms for spring.
How to choose the right curtains and blinds
3. Introduce spring scatters and throws
The shelves in our Interiors Room are always laden with scatter cushions in every shape, size and pattern. So whether yours is a neutral scheme and you simply want to lift it with pretty linen cushions, or it's a richly-patterned space and you need something to bring it together, you'll find it here. In our Neptune store-in-store, discover gorgeous textiles from Fermoie and Neptune's own spring range of cushions and throws in this season's fabrics.
4. Make scents of the season
While it might not be quite warm enough to throw open the windows to let the scent of freshly-mown grass drift in, candles are the next best thing. Our own collection of candles, diffusers and wax melts are inspired by the Worcestershire countryside that surrounds our showrooms. So whether it's Mown Grass you're after, Herb Garden, Country Garden or Bluebell, there's a home fragrance collection for you. You'll find them all – and handmade shower foamers – in our Gift Shop.
Neptune's new collection of candles also celebrate the great outdoors, from Rose Garden to Wild Meadow and The Lavender Field. Deeply evocative, they'll bring spring indoors, whatever the weather's doing.
5. Have fun with florals
Our Interior Design studio is full of hundreds of fabric books from the world's best-known textile houses. From grand Colefax & Fowler country house florals to contemporary prints from Iliv and GP & J Baker, while away an hour or two finding your perfect pattern and shade. From occasional chairs – pretty in a bedroom or hallway – to conservatory furniture, scalloped headboards, lampshades and cushions, there's always a way to introduce a playful floral for spring.
Too much choice? Ask our interior design team to help you choose. They'll take time to understand your style and will know exactly which fabric book to turn to, before sending free fabric samples straight to your door.
BOOK AN INTERIOR DESIGN CONSULTATION
6. Refresh your rugs
in our Interiors Room, you'll find rugs in all shapes and sizes. Introducing a statement rug is an easy way to transform a room and bring your existing scheme together. From stunning wool Anta rugs, inspired by the heather-covered landscapes of their Highland home, to washable recycled rugs from Weaver Green – great for indoors and outdoors, when the time comes – they're a great investment and can be stored away for the winter when you swap for something richer and heavier. We love Neptune's new collection of rugs, beautifully textured and in soft spring-like colours.
Visit our Worcestershire showrooms
Visit our showrooms – they're a one-stop shop for homes and gardens. In spring, our Gallery Showroom is full of new-season garden furniture, gorgeous outdoor cushions and rugs, garden lighting and parasols. Outside in our courtyards, you'll find terracotta pots in every shape and size, plus antique statuary, urns, staddle stones and troughs for your garden. Make a day of it and enjoy a deliciously seasonal brunch, lunch or indulgent afternoon tea in the Glasshouse, our award-winning farm-to-fork café.
visit us
