What are your top recommendations for refreshing your home this season without a major overhaul?

This spring and summer has me yearning for more colour! Fresh flowers are usually how I get my colour fix. We have a flower shop on our street that I visit weekly to choose a few stems. The kids also love a family outing to the local Granville Island market, where we’re able to pick up seasonal florals and veggies.

Spring is also when we plan our family summer vacation. I get carried away looking through photos from past holidays, realizing I’m overdue to print and frame some, and find that one new piece of framed art ends up making a huge difference in the look and feel of a room.

I also love a seasonal bedding refresh. Linen sheets, lighter blankets, textures that subtly shake up a room’s ambiance in a great way! I’m a huge fan of Wilet bedding and One Wednesday’s throw

How can small changes in decor make a big impact in transforming the look and feel of a room?

Rugs! Even if all furniture and artwork is left as is in a space, the addition of a new rug has the ability to ground a space, breathe new life into it, and help define how the room is used. For example, I just added this round Sundays rug to my older sons’ room and love that its playful shape orients the youthfulness of the room.

Lighting is also a heavy hitter. Adding a dimmer can make a huge difference. Swapping overhead lights for floor lamps is another simple way to dramatically shift the feel of a room and direct the eye to specific furniture and art. 
 

How are you decluttering and (re)organizing your home this season?

My husband and I live in a condo with our four children, so let me tell you, there’s nothing I love more than a good spring cleaning. Decluttering is a big focus, especially donating toys that the kids have grown out of. To maximize easy access storage, I swap clothing out seasonally, moving sweaters to top shelves when warmer weather arrives, storing winter boots and scarves, etc.

A super simple–and aesthetically pleasing–organization hack: entry bench with storage. We just added a bench in our foyer to make putting on shoes more comfortable. A lovely bonus is that it’s created a more inviting nook to tuck away shoes. I like placing a couple tasteful baskets or storage boxes under our bench, like these utility boxes, to get smaller items out of eye sight while still easily accessible.

How do you decide which seasonal trends to incorporate into your home and decor?

I’m not too worried about following trends, instead, I like to do what brings me lightness and joy. I know that maximalism is in, but, for me, decluttering and having a clean countertop is paramount for me to feel cozy at home.

We’ve started a tradition with the kids where, each spring, everyone gets to pick out their own plant from a local nursery for the balcony. We make a morning out of it. The kids get so much pride from the entire process: picking their plant, repotting it at home, getting habituated to water it on a weekly basis. The mess of planting is worth it for the sense of ownership the kids get from tending to their plants and watching them grow.

Can you share any tips on rearranging furniture to create a more dynamic and inviting space?

There’s so much you can do through simple adjustments to the furniture you have. One practice I’ve come to cherish is to periodically rearrange my artwork. Each piece in our home holds significance, as we’ve made a tradition of commemorating life milestones with a new piece of art. The deeper significance behind these pieces amplifies the transformative effect they can make in a room, taking me back to the specific moment when each artwork became part of our family story.