How to Prepare Your House for Spring

When the weather gets warmer and flowers start to bloom, you’ll most likely have more energy to start decorating, painting, cleaning or maintaining your property. Spring is an excellent time to make changes to your home because you can open your windows and let in the fresh air while you work. Check these items off your to-do list when preparing your house for spring.

Decorate With Bright Colors and Floral Patterns

After the cold winter has passed, you can add new life to your living space with some decor. Bright colors and floral patterns are now in season, so you can use them in your design. Here are some ways you can decorate your home for spring:

• Add some fresh flowers: Natural plants add a little touch of color to your living space. You may want to keep them in clear glass vases to show off their attractive green stems.
• Add planter boxes to your windows: Even when you spend time indoors on cooler days, you can enjoy the view outside with colorful window boxes. These inexpensive planters enhance your home's curb appeal and give you a place to plant new flowers each spring.
• Turn your windowsill into a living landscape: Bring the outdoors inside by putting some potted plants on your windowsill. Choose flowers with vibrant colors that enhance your home's aesthetic appeal and boost your mood.
• Hang a wreath on your front door: You can decorate the outside of your home by putting a springtime wreath over your front door. If you're creative enough, you can make it yourself. Otherwise, you can pick one up at your local crafts store.
• Put wall art in your entryway: Your entryway is the first impression guests have of your house, and it welcomes you after a long day of work or errands. Decorate this area of your home with letter boards with creative spring sayings.
• Create a gallery wall: A gallery wall is a set of pictures in matching or complementary frames that can bring back fun memories to your living space. Besides setting up a gallery wall, you could also rearrange the photos or paintings you already have on your wall.
• Update your throw pillows: Replace the faded or worn-out cushions on your couch with lighter ones for the spring. Change out the thick throw pillows in your bedroom for cotton and linens.
• Put new bedding on your bed: Create a relaxing, inviting bedroom by taking off those heavy blankets you used in the winter and replacing them with spring-appropriate fabrics and colors.
  
• Swap out dark curtains for sheer panels: Dark, heavy curtains kept your house warm in the winter, but you can now let the spring sunshine in with sheer ones. Decorate with floral window treatments to boost the mood in your home.
• Change up your bath mat: A complete bathroom remodel might be costly, but you can update your bathroom's appearance and atmosphere on a budget with a new bath mat. Choose a fresh spring color to make your room more inviting for the warmer weather.
• Put a new welcome mat outside: Since you no longer have to wipe the salt and slush from the winter off your feet, switch out your heavy-duty doormat for a more seasonal one. Consider a floral pattern for your welcome mat to match the rest of your spring decor.
• Decorate your dining room table: Search through your tablecloths and table settings for spring decorations to give your bare table an updated look for the new season. You'll enjoy hosting your friends and family with colorful plates, utensils and centerpieces.
• Update your area rugs: In the winter, you probably needed area rugs around the house to make the floors warmer and more comfortable. You can clean up your living space by removing area rugs or replacing them with something cooler for your feet.

Paint the Interior

Spring is an excellent time to paint because you can keep the windows open to allow each coat to dry faster. A fresh coat of paint could change the look and feel of your interior living space. You can paint the following: 

• Your cabinets and drawer knobs: Remodel your kitchen on a budget by refinishing your cabinetry with a new stain or a fresh coat of paint. If you decide to change your cabinets' color, you may also want to update the drawer pulls and knobs.
• Your baseboards: The baseboards throughout your home may begin to look worn out after excess wear and tear from opening and closing doors and heavy foot traffic. Updating the paint on your baseboards will give each room a vibrant new look.
• Your walls: Whether you want to update your whole house or just a room or two, repainting the walls can give your home a new look and feel. You can choose neutral wall colors that make your decorative accents pop or bright spring colors to wake up your dreary space after the winter.

Paint the Exterior

The color of your home's exterior is your property's first impression for guests and potential buyers. You might want to paint the following items outdoors:

• Your front door: If you're on a tight budget, you can easily update your home's design by painting the front door. If you want to sell your home soon, consider painting the door a dark gray or black instead of a unique color to attract potential buyers.
• Your home's siding: To transform the look of your home, you might want to paint your siding. Look around your neighborhood to get color ideas from other houses. You can also replace loose, cracked or worn-out panels before you paint.
• Your patio furniture: When the weather gets warmer in the summer, you'll probably want to entertain guests outside. Update your worn-out, chipped patio furniture by cleaning it, sanding it and applying a few coats of furniture paint to modernize your decor.
• Your deck, porch or patio: Besides your patio furniture, you could also paint your whole outdoor entertainment space. Resealing and treating your wood deck at least once every few years can help prolong its life span and maintain its appearance.

Do Some Spring Cleaning

Get rid of the winter debris around your home to make room for your spring flowers. Follow these tips to clean your property this season: 

• Rearrange the furniture: Moving the furniture in your home doesn't cost anything, but it can help you clean up hidden dirt and find objects you may have lost. You may want to put your living room furniture in a different area or move a couch to the other side of the room.
• Clean gutters and downspouts: After the weather has warmed up outside, you should clean your gutters and downspouts. These pieces control the flow of water away from your home during the spring rain. By removing debris from them, you can protect your property from water and pest damage.
• Remove debris from around your air conditioner: If you have a central air conditioning unit outside your home, you'll need to remove any plants, leaves and twigs around it to make sure it continues to function efficiently. You may also want to check the inside of your unit for lawn debris and remove it as necessary.
• Change the air conditioner filter: Over the winter, when your air conditioner wasn't running, it may have accumulated some dust and debris. It's helpful to clean or replace your air conditioner filter to get it ready for all the times you're going to use it this spring.
• Spruce up your landscaping: Once the warmer weather hits, trim the shrubs and trees around your home to prevent the branches from damaging your siding. You'll have to mow the lawn and trim your shrubs all spring and summer long to keep away pests.
• Clean the windows: You should clean your windows so they'll be ready for you to keep them open when the weather gets warmer. Use some soap, warm water and a cloth to remove the dirt from the tracks and windowsill.
• Mop, sweep or vacuum your floors: Get rid of the winter residue on your flooring by mopping, sweeping or vacuuming. Consider which method is best for your flooring material. For example, mopping is best for tile, but vacuuming is best for carpet.
• Reorganize your closets: After putting away your winter clothes for the season, you may want to rearrange your closets so your warmer clothes are more accessible. Since the spring has some unpredictable weather, it's helpful to have a few jackets and pants on hand if you need them one day.
• Clean the baseboards: If you didn't want to paint your baseboards, you could wipe the debris off of them. Use a vacuum cleaner to remove dust, soap and water for scuffs and a cotton swab for hard-to-reach areas.
• Wipe the scuffs off your walls: Your home may develop some scuffs on the walls from shoes, moving furniture and other objects. If you didn't paint your walls, you could get rid of these marks with baking soda, dish soap or a melamine sponge.
• Steam clean the carpets: Besides vacuuming the carpeting, you should steam clean it once a year to remove hard-to-reach stains and restore its fluff. You could either buy a steam cleaner and do it yourself or request professional steam cleaning services.
• Bring out the spring scents: Winter usually comes with soaps and candles that smell like pine, holiday cookies or candy canes. Switch out the scents in your home for smells that are more inviting for the spring season.

Inspect and Maintain Your Home

Inspecting and caring for your house will prepare it for the summer weather. Follow these tips: 

• Use LED light bulbs: Increase your home's energy efficiency by replacing your incandescent light bulbs with LED ones. Since they run much longer than regular bulbs, LED light bulbs can save you money on energy and replacement costs.
• Inspect around your home for termites: In the springtime, termites can cause significant damage to your home. Look for winged insects flying around your home's woodwork and call a professional pest control company to treat them.
• Remove standing water: The best way to prevent mosquitoes from ruining your summer party is to empty the standing water around your property. Empty the kiddie pools, buckets and other containers around your home throughout the spring, especially after a rainstorm.
• Check for roof damage: After a harsh winter season full of snow and wind, inspect your roof from the ground and note any missing or broken shingles. Consult a professional roofing company to repair or replace the damage on your roof before the spring rains.
• Check gutters for damage: As you check your roof for damage, you should also inspect your gutters. If you don't feel like cleaning your gutters, you can at least replace any rusted or broken parts that may have gotten damaged in a heavy snowstorm.
• Inspect your driveways and walkways: In the winter months, freezing and thawing can expand the cracks in your concrete or asphalt driveways or paths. Walk around your property and look for damaged surfaces. Call a professional if you notice any significant cracks or gaps.
• Check your sprinkler system: Inspecting your sprinkler system allows you to save water and keep your plants saturated in time for the warm weather. Check your sprinkler system for proper water flow and broken or damaged heads.
• Inspect your screen doors and windows: Screens let the breeze in from the outside while keeping out the bugs. Check your home's screen doors and windows for tears and replace them as necessary.
• Inspect the windows: As you check the screens in your windows, you may also want to look around the frames for peeling or cracked caulk. Apply silicone caulk to your windows if you notice anything missing.
• Schedule air-conditioning service: Besides cleaning your air conditioner, you might want to get it serviced to keep it working efficiently when the warm weather hits. Check your air filter for holes and rips, and schedule a professional HVAC technician to look at the various components of your system.
• Check the foundation: The warm spring season is an excellent time to check your home's slab, basement or crawl space foundation for cracks and other damage. These gaps could bring pests into your home.

Browse Our Selection of Paints at Aboff's

If painting any part of your home is on your spring maintenance to-do list, browse through our selection of paints that we offer. As Long Island's number one Benjamin Moore Retailer, we provide interior and exterior painting products to suit your renovation needs. Locate a store near you or call 631-427-2008 for more information.