4 designer-approved decor updates to cheer up your home

Although we are slowly coming out of the depths of winter and spring is on the horizon, it can be a bit of a struggle to keep your home feeling joyful and inspiring at this time of year.

If you’re looking for a switch-up, remember that you don’t need a total overhaul of your home. There are plenty of easy and impactful ways to bring some cheer into your home, and uplift every room so it brings you joy each time you enter. Designing happy rooms isn’t just about the obvious, like repainting in cheering colors, or buying new pieces that bring you joy, it’s about creating spaces that have meaning for you personally.

We spoke with interior designers to pull together a quick list of things you can do right now to cheer up your home. Nothing major, nothing costly, just simple tweaks to bring you joy at home.

Table of Contents

1. Incorporate florals and greenery

Dining room with arched window, round white dining table, rattan pendant light, plants and wooden dining chairs

(Image credit: Pooky)

Decorating with flowers is of course something we are all familiar with when you want to make a home more cheerful. Buying a bouquet is a long-loved way of making a space feel new and inspiring, achieved through the fresh scent and pretty blooms. So it’s no surprise that many designers have suggested incorporating natural elements to lift the home.

Christine Gachot Co-Founder of GACHOT labels flowers as a ‘non-negotiable’ for a cheerful home. She says, ‘Fresh blooms breathe life into a space, and a candle instantly makes everything feel warm and welcoming.’

‘When looking to cheer up your home, choosing natural wood elements and florals will help brighten the environment,’ agrees Austin DePree, cofounder of Northworks. A big bunch of greenery is guaranteed to bring cheer to any room. Opt for a large, rustic vase and fill it with a collection of your favorite vibrant stems, or bring together a collection of smaller stem vases that can line shelves or surfaces.

Caldwell Vase (Medium)

Ceramic Faceted Vase Collection (Medium)

Dried Dutch Field Mix Bouquet, Coral (Small)

2. Add sentimental touches

Scandi style office with wooden round table and wooden woven chairs, hanging pendant light, noticeboard with pictures

(Image credit: GACHOT)

No home is complete without displaying family photographs, pieces of meaningful art, or handwritten notes. The sentimental decor and small reminders of good memories are bound to bring joy into your rooms.

‘Keep sentimental notes from family and friends close – a handwritten message, a doodle, a card–these small moments of connection make a space personal, filled with love and good energy,’ says Christine. Pictured above is an office designed by Christine which features a pinboard of personal photographs and images made to inspire the occupants and cheer up the space.

‘Let the items that have real meaning for you – such as artworks and sentimental possessions – have the space around them to be visible,’ say Stephania Kallos and Abigail Turin, founders of Kallos Turin. ‘For sentimental people, we often sneak in narrow storage spaces for personal and nostalgic objects to live and then be rotated into view. It is interesting that if you are looking at the same object or photo day after day you often stop seeing it. And if you rotate things you give them new life each time they come out of rotation.’

Amelia Wooden Frame

Radius Frame 4x6

Marble Decorative Box

3. Prioritize natural light

pink kitchen walls with a window banquette seat and cafe table

(Image credit: Neptune / Nigel Hunt)

Although obvious, prioritizing natural light is a proven way to cheer up your home as it will instantly brighten a room and cheer up your home.

There are plenty of light-boosting hacks but tweaking your layout is an easy way of ensuring natural light can stream in. Make sure to move any furniture obstructing windows or doors and instead create a seating area that faces the light source. This will allow the room to be brightened by the sun, a simple yet fail-safe way of cheering up the home.

Stephania and Abigail always ensure to design a space around sunlight and natural components. ‘Many of our projects let nature feature prominently. There is nothing like a space flooded with natural light to inspire and cheer,’ they explain. ‘Whatever your space, consider how it can be configured to optimize natural light and integrate plants, letting nature do its work inside as well as outside.’

4. Focus on comfort and softness

Rustic living room with wooden beam, fireplace, glass doors, coffee table with ceramic urn with flowers, sofas with patterned cushions

(Image credit: Northworks)

Comfort goes hand-in-hand with happiness. It’s important to make your home feel cozy and inviting by introducing snug seating arrangements to make you feel relaxed and at ease.

‘While accent mood-boosting colors and unique furniture spark creativity and playfulness. Thoughtfully designed seating areas, focused on comfort and conversation, transform a house into a home,’ says Austin. Your home is your haven, so make the space feel both comforting and functional. ‘Our goal is always to cultivate an intentional way of living,’ he adds.

There are many ways to be happy at home but designing an intimate communal space will encourage interaction and stimulation. Use lounge-style furniture and plenty of warm lighting. A plush ottoman brings a paired-back feel to a space while providing extra seating for guests. Incorporating a low-profile Togo chair will serve as a source of comfort and relaxation for the sitter.

These effective designer tips proved that even the smallest of tweaks can make a difference when it comes to cheering up your home. Whether arranging a display of flowers or updating your living room layout, there are plenty of ways to improve a space, even when you’re tight on time or budget.

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