It’s been a particularly erratic weather year, but snowy days are finally behind us and tulips are out in full bloom. These last few weeks you’ve probably jumped on every warm weather opportunity to work in the yard. It’s such an exciting time of the year—making your home look its best as prepare the ground for planting veggies and flowers and relish the bright green palette in your front yard. Soon, May showers will arrive, offering you the perfect opportunity to return indoors and think about sprucing up the inside of your house, too. Below, we’ve compiled a list of ideas to make your dining areas feel like they’re getting a fresh start, too.

Bye bye, winter décor. 

Get rid of the heavy velvet curtains that you delighted in while having cozy winter meals at your dining room table. Sheer, brighter colors will maximize the natural light of the room. (Be conscious of direct sunlight hitting your solid wood dining furniture, though! Visit our recent blogs on protecting wood furniture to find out more.) If your dining room table centerpiece is made of dark, dried flowers, switch it out for fresh flowers (from your yard, if you were proactive and planted bulbs last year!). In the kitchen, trade out winter throw rugs and hand towels for bright, fresh ones that remind you of the bright colors outside your window.

Pull a switcharoo. 

Shuffle around your dining room furniture; you’ll feel like you just went shopping and got all new things, at the bargain price of $0!

Dress the table. 

Don’t be color-shy—colorful placemats, napkins and table runners will make a huge difference to the look and feel of your dining room table. Embrace prints, too…this is the time of year to really liven your dining room furniture up!

Spring clean. 

You know the drill, so we want bore you with the details (we will, however, encourage you to use eco-friendly cleaning products!). Trust us—your scrubbing will not be done in vain; people will notice the freshly waxed sheen on your dining room table and that *gasp* the antique wood floor you had hidden under that heavy winter rug is absolutely beautiful.