Spring cleaning advice

Homes and property expert Louisa Fletcher shares her ideas on brightening up your home for Spring.

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Isn't it lovely?

Spring is here, the air smells of grass that's just been cut, the daffodils are out, the skies are finally blue and...oh, your lounge looks dull and dingy and your bedroom looks like, well, you'd just rather not look...

Do you need to drag your home out of the winter doldrums and inject a bit of lightness and colour in anticipation of the brighter days ahead? Get in the mood with a few of these ideas:

Get ready to revamp

De-clutter your home and give it a good clean. Chuck out stuff that you've not used for 6 months or more - chances are, you won't miss it. Once your environment is tidy and spotless, you'll have a better idea of what needs updating and what space you have available. Storage an issue? Ikea (www.ikea.com) always have a great range of options to keep clutter at bay.

Grass and pebbles are the new inspiration

In 2007 and 2008, the hot new colours for homes will be green and grey. Green is a fantastic colour to use in a home as it's actually very neutral - think about it, grass is green and it goes with everything, so why not start experimenting with different hues around your home to bring a bit of the spring inside? Because green is very calming and restful, it lends itself beautifully to a lounge colour scheme, or could be used perhaps to create a funky yet relaxing dining room. Grey, used carefully, is a very restful and clean. As with green, the grey palette can offset most colours and can be used throughout the home, but my favourite would be in a bedroom, using light stone tones on the walls through to moody charcoal for bedding to create a sexy, atmospheric look. Contrast with a vibrant emerald green or hot fuchsia pink as your accent colour for maximum impact and to add a bit of brightness. Check out John Lewis (www.johnlewis.com) for beautiful, trend-led bed linen and impactful accessories.

Let the brightness in

A common mistake is to use yellow in a small, dark room to add light. Yellow isn't really very 'now', and the only thing that is going to make a small, dark room look lighter is clever use of mirrors and lighting. Think about using a subtle palette (a white with a hint of your favourite colour could work quite well) then get the biggest mirror you can and place it on the wall opposite the window to bounce all that lovely sunlight into the room. Ikea (www.ikea.com) have a great value, wide selection of mirror to suit all tastes and budgets. Be careful with windows in small rooms too - roman blinds allow maximum light, whereas curtains can sometimes swamp and detract. Keep your window treatment to a neutral or toning colour in keeping with the walls, so that they don't stand out and attract attention which draws the room in.

Warm up your bathroom

Blue (found in a lot of bathrooms) isn't the warmest or most inviting of colours, and I always find blue bathrooms chilly and unwelcoming. The 'Zen' look is hot for bathrooms now, so why not have a rethink, and go for a light grey or pebble colour for the walls, and then update your look with accessories with a more organic feel - you can find bargain bathroom accessories in wood, stone and marble at Marks and Spencer (www.marksandspencer.com) or BHS (www.bhs.co.uk). Compliment your spa-feel bathroom with tactile white fluffy towels (don't even think about coloured towels, white is the way to go, so much more chic and the only way to get the 'five star hotel' vibe). Wall mounted candle holders with church candles make for a lovely atmosphere, whether you are bathing solo or 'a deux'...check out The Pier (www.pier.co.uk) for a sumptuous selection of scented candles and accessories. Now you've got your very own sensual environment at home where you can pamper yourself as you scrub and buff up ready to bear all on the beach!