Simple Spring Dining Room Hutch

I’m in love with spring in Japan, there’s something so magical about it that makes me smile everyday. Everywhere you go you see the cherry blossom trees in full bloom with its perfectly shades of pinks. Every local store greets you with beautiful fresh flower displays, people sure love gardening around here. Since our move, I’ve been trying to decorate without clutter… to simplify my home decor and it’s been very hard not to buy new things. The reason for my simplicity is simply because we will move again next year (hopefully to Italy) and we are already over our weight limit when it comes to overseas moves. The more I reuse the things I already have, the less things I will have to worry about when our time in Japan comes to an end. I hope my simplicity inspires you to use what you already have to decorate.

A special thanks to Jennifer at Town and Country Living for coordinating this Spring Styling Tour. The best part of this week long event is that bloggers will be sharing their styling process! All the links will be at the end of this post.

Clear Out The Space

I usually never post before pictures, but in this blog post I will be showing you a simple way to add spring touches to your dining room hutch. Here is the before picture, curtains are up and I still need to screw on the knobs. I also like to clear out the area before starting. Clearing out the space before starting to decorate helps me visualize the colors I want to use and it gives me a white canvas to work with.

I’ve been moving things around in the dining area, as you can see I’ve decided to switch my white curtain panels with the blue and white striped ones. These curtains have been in our living room, Luke’s room, and now they make their way to our dining area heheh. I have also decided to put the doors back on the hutch! I’ve been enjoying the open shelve look, but it’s time for some change and why not have a little fun with it this spring.

Use Texture

I decided to cover up the hutch windows with fabric I bought from our local Daiso (Japanese Dollar store). I lined it up, cut to the length of the window, and used strips of washi tape to hold it in place. Easy peasy, right! The hutch looks so different just by adding the fabric.

Command strips have become my best friend here in Japan, so I added a clear hook command strip on the side of the hutch to hang my kitchen apron. And yes, both the apron and faux greenery are from Daiso too!

I bought Japanese post cards when we first got here, my intention was to mail them out to family, but they were too pretty and I kept them… yes, yes I did. Postcards and greenery are another great way to add texture and dimension.

Add Color

Adding color is a great way to change the look to any room. I decided to add pops of yellow to my spring hutch. Fresh yellow flowers, and a mini yellow painted chicken did the trick for this display. I also planted grass in blue coffee mugs to compliment the pops of yellow… it’s starting to look like spring don’t you think?

I hope you enjoyed this simple spring hutch and remember to check out the rest of this weeks Spring Styling Tours!

XOXO,

Norma

Monday – Living Rooms

Town and Country Living / Maison de Pax / Duke Manor Farm / Decor Gold

Tammy Damore / Kelly Elko / Shabbyfufu

Tuesday – Dining Room

House by Hoff / Happy Happy Nester / Paint Me Pink / Craftberry Bush / Designthusiasm

Wednesday – Kitchen

Sincerely, Marie Designs / The Happy Housie / Zevy Joy / A Burst of Beautiful

Tidbits / In My Own Style / Sand and Sisal / Thistlewood Farms

Coming Thursday – Porch/Entryway

Vinyet Etc. / Shades of Blue Interiors / Taryn Whitaker / Unskinny Boppy

The Happy Housie / Bless’er House / Seeking Lavender Lane / Rooms for Rent