The way you decorate your home matters. After all, home is the place where your family works, plays, and, most importantly, relaxes together every day. Because of this, it should be a space that is as beautiful and inviting as it is functional and comfortable.

Fortunately, you don't have to be a professional designer to curate areas in your home that are gorgeous, welcoming, and practical. With some thoughtful planning and a few simple tips, you can effortlessly bring any room in your home to life to suit your unique personality and lifestyle.

Check out these easy home decor trends for spring 2021 to help you accomplish just that.

Pantone's 2021 Colors of the Year

Before you start shopping for furniture and accessories to incorporate into your living spaces, it's helpful to create a vision of how you'd like to revamp home. One great place to start is choosing a color palette to build upon. If your home could use a fresh pop of color, look no further than Pantone's two official colors for 2021: Ultimate Gray and Illuminating.

Classic and subtle yet modern and fresh, Ultimate Gray is shade that is brimming with presence and personality. While neutral enough to be painted on your walls, Ultimate Gray is still bold enough to be used as an accent against more muted colors, such as white or cream.

On the other hand, Illuminating is a more adventurous shade that exudes brightness and positivity. It's the perfect color to sprinkle sparingly throughout a room for bold pops of color or dive right in and paint a door or an accent wall for an unexpected spirited statement.

Whether used alone or together, incorporating these dynamic colors is sure to elevate virtually any room in your home this spring and beyond.

Mixing Old & New

Something that is making interior design stand out like never before in 2021 is the pairing of old and new pieces. Rather than replacing your furniture, decor, and accessories with brand-new alternatives, try mixing in vintage items with contemporary ones.

It might feel strange to pair your parents' antique dining room table with modern, metal chairs at first, but you should definitely go for it! Your family and guests are sure to love the cozy yet visually intriguing result of combining pieces from different eras and styles.

Just remember, less is more. There's no need to go overboard by adding everything your grandmother owned to your current living spaces. A few vintage pieces can go a long way in making a bold statement while letting your personality shine this year.

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Prioritizing Light

This season, we are seeing people really focusing on the lighting in their house. Maybe the winter blues forced people to see the need to update or add better lighting to their spaces Or maybe people are just seeing the value of good lighting!

The way in which a room in your home is lit can make or break its entire ambiance. Whether natural or artificial, light has the power to make a space feel open and airy or small and closed in.

It can affect your mood as well as the practicality of the space, even more so than the wall color, artwork, or even the furniture can. For this reason, it's important to light the rooms in your home appropriately.

Here's how:

• Layer Light Sources: To ensure that every room in your home is well-lit and feels balanced, be sure to use a combination of ambient, task, and accent light sources. While overhead ambient lighting is a must to illuminate an entire room, it can often be harsh or too bright for constant use. To remedy this problem, it's best to incorporate task and accent lights to meet the room's specific needs. For instance, table and floor lamps would work well next to a sofa or armchair for reading, while wall sconces or recessed light fixtures are ideal for illuminating bookshelves or artwork.
• Update Light Fixtures: If you can't remember the last time you replaced your light fixtures, it's time to make it a priority. While most folks don't think about how they choose to illuminate their home, you absolutely should. Swapping out dull or dated light fixtures is a simple way to transform even the smallest of rooms in an instant. For a clean, contemporary result, you can't go wrong with a simple chandelier or sleek lighted ceiling fan.
• Use Mirrors: Helping your home feel bright and open isn't just about what lamps and bulbs you use. Mirrors can play a big role in enhancing the brightness of your living spaces as well. If a room in your home feels particularly small, dark, or closed in, considering adding a mirror or two to brighten it up. Be sure to position the mirror opposite a lamp or, better yet, across from a window to instantly double the amount of light of your space. You may be surprised by how refreshing the room feels by simply bringing in a mirror.
• Emphasize Natural Light: Lamps are great at incorporating style and light into your home, but nothing can replace the effect of good old natural light. Regardless of what room you're redesigning, it's always a good idea to prioritize its access to natural light by not blocking windows with bulky furniture and choosing simple window treatments.

Incorporating Greenery

Bringing the outdoors inside has been a popular trend in home decor that's not going away any time soon. That's because flowers, plants, and outdoor elements are not only effective at bringing much-needed color and texture to our living areas, but are known for their ability to boost folks' moods and help us feel good.

If you'd love to add some more greenery to the rooms in your home, but don't know where to start, don't overthink it. Houseplants have become more accessible than ever, and many are particularly low maintenance, which means they'll look great without much effort on your part.

To effortlessly embellish your living spaces with greenery, be on the look out for snake plants, spider plants, pothos plants, and succulents. As common as they are stylish, these plants are easy to find and care for and would make the perfect addition to your living room, bedroom, or office in 2021.

If you have more of a "black thumb" than a green one, don't fret. Artificial plants have come a long way and are looking more realistic than ever. Investing in a faux plant or two for your bathroom or kitchen can still add warmth and charm to your home without piling on the pressure to keep a living thing alive.

Embracing Navy Blue Accents

Blue is in! While the bare palette of minimalist decor has reigned supreme in recent years, 2021 is all about embracing rich, saturated colors once again. Known for its classic drama and effortless elegance, Navy blue is one color that will never go out of style.

Subtle enough to behave as a neutral in some settings, Navy blue can work as a bold accent in others. Consider bringing this comforting color into your bedroom for a relaxing vibe, your home office for a perfect video conference backdrop, or even on your patio to add for a nautical spin.

Best of all, Navy blue would be a beautiful complement to the Pantone 2021 colors we previously mentioned, Ultimate Grey and Illuminating. From accent pillows and curtain panels to throw blankets and wall colors, Navy blue is one color that is worth incorporating into your home this year.

Artisanal Accessories

No one wants their living room to feel like it came straight off of a furniture store showroom. Your home should be a reflection of your individual taste, personality, and interests.

To make every room in your home feel like your own and have an atmosphere that is as distinct as you are, consider accessorizing with one-of-a-kind artisanal decorations. What exactly do we mean? Furniture, artwork, pottery, and decorations made from real-life people, preferably local to your community, beat store-bought home decor finds any day.

By decorating with pieces made from local artists, you'll not only be putting a creative stamp on your home, but you'll also be supporting the folks in your community, which is always a good thing!

If you're looking for ways to save a few bucks while adding some artistic flare to a space, consider making a few of your own unique home decorations or even displaying your children's artwork.

The result will be a funky, fresh spin on modern home decor.

Stylish Bookshelves

Bookshelves aren't just for holding books anymore. In 2021, these once overlooked furnishings are having their moment to shine, and for good reason! Along with storing your favorite novels and family albums, bookcases are the perfect place to display items that you love, such as photographs, add color to a room, and decorate with unexpected items, such as souvenirs. To arrange your bookshelf in a manner that is both stylish and practical, keep these pro-tips in mind:

• Start by emptying your bookshelf completely to have a blank slate to work from.
• Next, arrange large items in a zig zag pattern from top to bottom. Pick a top corner to position a statue or vase, then work your way down, being sure to alternate sides to position other big pieces, such as picture frames and pottery.
• Once the big items have places, fill in the spaces with smaller items.
• Organize books in a thoughtful way. For a playful twist, arrange them by color or size, then mix things up by stacking some books horizontally and others vertically.
• Fight the urge to fill in every available spot. Leaving some shelf space empty will make the items on your bookcase pop while helping the room its in feel open and clean.

Multi-Functional Spaces

If there's one thing that 2020 taught us, it's that the comfort and functionality of our homes are worth investing in. As more families have shifted to working, going to school, and entertaining themselves at home, designing multi-purpose areas in our homes has become essential.

Fortunately, you don't have to own a mansion to create living spaces that are inviting and practical. Here are some tips to make the most of any multi-purpose room in your home.

• Define the Needs of the Space: How much room do you really need to create an office or an at-home exercise space? You don't necessarily need an entire room for one activity. Consider how you could optimize a space by allowing it to be shared for multiple activities, such as a guest room that doubles as an office.
• Choose Versatile Pieces: Multi-purpose furniture is your friend. Be on the lookout for furnishings with hidden storage capabilities, such as ottomans and coffee tables, to free up space in high-traffic areas like your living room.
• Use Vertical Space: A great way to maximize floor space in a small room is to use the walls to hold everything from houseplants to musical instruments. Don't be afraid to think outside the box to make your room feel bigger by storing household belongings vertically.

"Smart" Home Features

This year is all about embracing technology in your home! More people than ever don't just want homes that look great and feel relaxing, they want them to be convenient and user-friendly as well.

To bring your home up to speed in 2021, smart home features are a must-have. Whether you choose to turn your ceiling fan on with a remote control, crank on your favorite music with a voice command to your Google Assistant, or adjust the temperature of your bedroom with one click on your phone, smart home features are more affordable, accessible, and convenient than ever.

After you've given a few of them a try, you'll wonder how you ever lived without them.

Mixing Old & New

Something that is making interior design stand out like never before in 2021 is the pairing of old and new pieces. Rather than replacing your furniture, decor, and accessories with brand-new alternatives, try mixing in vintage items with contemporary ones.

It might feel strange to pair your parents' antique dining room table with modern, metal chairs at first, but you should definitely go for it! Your family and guests are sure to love the cozy yet visually intriguing result of combining pieces from different eras and styles.

Just remember, less is more. There's no need to go overboard by adding everything your grandmother owned to your current living spaces. A few vintage pieces can go a long way in making a bold statement while letting your personality shine this year.