The change of seasons is the perfect time to refresh your home with a good old-fashioned spring clean and some changes to the styling around your home. We’ve gathered the styling questions we get asked most often and answered them below to help you get your home ready to spring into spring.

Happy styling!

HOW CAN I REFRESH MY LOUNGE ROOM FOR SPRING?

There are some super simple steps to take to change up a lounge room for the new season but before you start, pull the cushions off the couch, clear the coffee table and have a good dust and vacuum. Then it’s time to style. These are our favourite quick and inexpensive ways to inject some life into a tired lounge room:

1) Change the cushions - introducing a new colour palette is the quickest and easiest way to instantly refresh a room.

2) Pop on a throw. Rugs and throws are versatile styling items because they can be thrown or folded over the arm of a chair or sofa to inject colour, or used to cover the seat cushions of the couch to change its whole look (like we did below at Bonnie’s house).

3) Add some greenery. Real or faux, we’re not fussy but bringing the outside in through a potted plant in the corner of the room or a vase of spring flowers on the coffee table is guaranteed to freshen things up.

4) Restyle your coffee table (scroll down for our easy ‘how to’ guide ⬇)

5) Light a beautiful scented candle, sit back and relax!

WHAT SIZE RUG DO I NEED IN MY LOUNGE ROOM?

Finding the right size rug is kind of a big deal… and rugs can be tricky items to choose! The general rule with rugs is “the bigger the better”. Go too small and your room will feel bitsy. Think of the rug as the glue that holds all your furniture together, so it needs to be a decent size to connect all the pieces.

In lounge rooms, we look for rugs big enough to sit under the legs of the couch and any occasional chairs – 30 cm of rug under the leg is ideal but we’d settle for less. If your rug doesn’t reach under the legs of your couch, that's okay, just as close as possible is the aim of the game.

TOP TIP: Big rugs can be expensive! We think it’s totally fine to overlap two rugs instead. They don’t even have to match. We’ve done this before when our budget doesn’t stretch to an oversized rug.

WHAT PIECES DO I NEED TO STYLE MY BATHROOM?

When you’re styling a bathroom, less is definitely more! Nothing kills a styling moment faster than a cluttered surface, so all those bottles, brushes and tubes on your vanity have got to go. So, what can stay? There are our favourite items to use when styling bathrooms:

1) Hand soap, but make it pretty. If space is limited, you can attach your dispenser to the wall as an extra space saver.

2) A candle or a small marble or gold tray (perhaps with some gorgeous perfume bottles on it) - but don’t overdo it! We usually showcase one or two decorative items depending on how much space we have.

3) Towels - you can’t go past fluffy white towels when you’re styling a bathroom but it can also be an opportunity to add some colour or texture to the room. If that’s the case in your bathroom don’t be afraid to go bold. Hang them on hooks, roll them in baskets or clam shells, fold them on rails… whatever works in your bathroom.

4) Baskets - if you need a washing hamper or somewhere to store your loo rolls, a gorgeous woven basket will do the trick while looking good too.

5) Small stools - somewhere to sit while the kids are in the bath, a step for small people to reach the basin or somewhere to pop your wine glass and candle when you’re in the bath… stools are winners in bathrooms.

A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO STYLING A COFFEE TABLE?

Start with a blank canvas by totally clearing your table and giving it a good wipe-down/polish. It’s spring cleaning time after all!

When you’re choosing styling pieces for your table, first think about the height of those items. We usually go for one of two height options:

You might choose a cluster of objects that are different heights from each other to create some variation. For example, you might place something tall (like a plant) next to a mid-height item (like a large candle) and a low-lying piece (like a bowl or book). Or you can style using objects of different shapes and textures that are the same height. It’s up to you!

Then think shape… and the same goes. You have two options: the same shape to make a statement or perhaps a mix of rectangular and round items, to create balance on the table. We love both looks, so it comes down to personal preference.

It will depend on the size of your coffee table but as a rule of thumb 2 or 3 pieces work well most of the time. As your styling confidence grows, you can add more, but this is a good starting place. A stack of books counts as one piece and a bowl filled with beads one piece. A few small items clustered together on a tray can also be one piece…. you get the picture.

Now, create a group with those items - it might be 2 items side-by-side on a rectangle table or a cluster on a round or square table. Keep moving them around until you find a layout you love. We’ll often also add a touch of timber for warmth or brass for a bit of bling depending on what we feel it needs.

Once you’re happy with your layout, stand back, admire and send a pic to a friend for their feedback.

TOP TIP: style your coffee table last, after everything else in the room is in place. This way you can make sure that the colour tones, textures and materials used on the items on the table work with the rest of the room. This isn’t the time to get bored with your vision board and try something new! Stick with the theme and colour palette of your room and use objects that make sense in that space.

WHAT ARTWORK WORKS BEST FOR A LARGE BLANK WALL?

Art can make or break a room so it’s important to get it right! When it comes to choosing art, colour is king. Colour plays a massive role when styling a space and when it comes to choosing art, colour is the best place to start. We say this because colour is the fundamental element you need to get right when choosing art. If you get the colours wrong, the rest doesn’t really matter.

When we’re choosing art for our homes, before jumping in to purchase our favourite pieces we always add the artworks to our furniture plan for the room to check that they tie in nicely with everything else we’ve chosen.

In a smaller room, one large artwork generally makes the room feel bigger while multiple pieces can make it feel more busy. If you’re going large, the bigger the better. If you’re going for two pieces side by side, hang them at eye level and close together.

The most common mistakes we see with hanging artwork are too high (eye level is ideal), too small (if in doubt, go BIGGER!) and too wide (10 cm apart is usually a good guide).

Check out The Art of Choosing Art for more tips to get you started.

HOW SHOULD I STYLE A KING-SIZE BED?

Start by dressing your bed with sheets. Unless your vision board demands otherwise, you can’t go wrong with white sheets. They create the perfect blank canvas to build from, for whatever style story you want to tell. Colour can come through later with those cushions, doonas and throws.

Then choose your doona (that’s what we Aussies call a duvet or quilt). We always upsize so if we’re styling a queen bed we’d choose a king doona. This ensures good overhang because you don’t want to see the side of your mattress. Sometimes we style with an additional doona for extra fluff (perfect for winter, not so much for spring!) Style one as you would a normal doona (flat over the bed) then place the second doona folded in half or thirds towards the bottom of the bed. It looks luxurious, brings that coveted extra volume and gives you that extra layer of warmth if you get chilly mid-snooze.

Throws and blankets bring another layer of texture and colour to a bed. They also break up the visual expanse of the bed to keep it feeling multidimensional. A big, chunky knit gives off cute, cosy vibes in winter, but in summer you can opt for a lighter fabric like linen. A trick we use is throwing a bed sheet or empty doona cover right across the width of the bed and using it as a throw. This looks great, works a treat and doesn’t cost any extra money.

Pillows and cushions are where you can bring some personality to your bedding through pattern and print. There’s no hard and fast rule as to how many pillows you should use on your king bed but anywhere between 6 and 10 is ideal. #moreismore

One of the easiest pillow/cushion combos to go with is 4 standard pillows at the back and 3 decorative cushions in front. You can boost this basic combo by simply adding a pair of euros to the mix for some height. This is a great look to go for when you’re after that luxurious boutique hotel feel (who doesn’t love that?).

WHAT IF I HAVE TWO STYLES THAT I LIKE? HOW DO CHOOSE?

Mel Noller, Three Birds Styling School Student

Alix Eileen, Three Birds Styling School Student

A common challenge when styling your home is not being able to articulate what your style is or loving lots of different styles.

If you’re struggling to articulate a single style you love (and even if you’re not!), creating a really clear vision before you start styling will be essential. Your vision board might be a combo of several styles and that’s ok! But you need to see them together to know they work. Taking chances on a vision you can imagine in your head but can’t articulate on a board can be costly and time-consuming in the long run. The beauty of a vision board is that it will force you to focus and narrow your vision down until you’re telling one story – a story you really love. Once your vision is clear, pop that vision board somewhere visible and refer to it frequently. You could even save it as your phone background if you really want to keep it front and centre.