I don't know if anyone read my last post regarding how my love for decorating all started for me with TLC's show "Trading Spaces" way back in middle school... but today I received a text from my friend Lindsay Q to say that TLC is bringing this show back and it will premiere on April 7th!! Very exciting for anyone who loved that show as much as I did as a pre-teen. If you want the full story check it out here at this link: 

https://www.today.com/home/tlc-s-trading-spaces-returns-watch-trailer-here-t121205    

... I , for one,  am excited to see if Hilda will be back to fill beach sand from wall to wall in some poor soul's master bedroom again... : P

Anyways, last week we hit a record in NY with temps reaching as high as 78 degrees on Wednesday. This was the green light for me to officially put away anything left that was "winter decor" and switch our house over to spring.

This includes changing the greenery on the mantel, front entryway, in bathrooms, vases and tablescapes around our home. My chalkboard has been officially changed as well, from New Year's Resolutions to the countdown to my favorite day of the year... Daylight Savings and "Spring" ahead (which btw ...is only 14 days away). I just can't wait to have more sunlight everyday and spring is my favorite season. (However, I always rethink Spring being my favorite when Shad and I have to have all our windows sealed because our allergies have us wanting to scratch our eyes out.) 

One of my favorite seasonal decorating changes around our home is changing out the centerpieces on our two tables. I love replacing winter artificial-pine greenery out with the bright colors of spring greenery. 

Recently my friend Dani texted me and said "You should do a post on what to put in the (expletive) box". This idea was piggybacked when my sister-in-law also texted me asking me for ideas of what to put in her table centerpiece box. So this post is dedicated to them as well as others who I built the "table box" pictured above for as Christmas presents back in December. 

So my formula for decorating a table centerpiece is: 

"Box" + Greenery stems + Flower Stems + Decorative Filler + Plier/Wire Cutters

Here are some examples of what I mean:

Although you will probably be decorating your homes for spring- this formula can be used for all seasons. Check out some of my examples below: 

Gather your choice items and follow these simple steps: 

1. Grab a set of wire cutter pliers and clip all the branches off your greenery and flower stems. 

2. * If your "box" is not shallow like a dough bowl, grab some tissue paper or plastic bags and fill the bottom of the box with them. Then put burlap ribbon on top to cover up the filler. This is so you don't have to spend a ton of money buying greenery and flowers to fill up a part of the box you're not going to see.

3. After you've cut all your branches, spread them out within the dough bowl/box/centerpiece. 

4. Grab your decorative filler of choice and distribute evenly throughout the dough bowl and greenery. 

Direct Links

If you're reading this post this week (Feb 25- March 3) Hobby Lobby is actually having their 50% off sale on greenery/flower stems and decorative sphere mixes. Here are some of my favorites from HL :

(Click on the picture for a direct links) 

Decorative Spheres all seen here are between $5.99 and $12.49, one box is sufficient enough: 

Greenery also 50% off this week:

Flower Stems, also 50% off this week:

For the box, I purchased mine in Grapevine, TX on a trip to see the Dallas Cowboys play with my dad. (And it was quite comical to see us take this thing on the plane.) The large dough bowl pictured in my essentials 101 image was recently on Decorsteals.com for $54.99 but quickly sold out. Here are some other smaller options depending upon the size of your table. I build a larger box for my dining room table because it is 8 feet long and smaller boxes didn't look good on it. 

Lastly, some decorative filler options available at Target for $9.99 a box (Note: There are a ton of options on Target's site, just type Vase Filler into the search bar): 

I hope these suggestions helped guide you if you were looking to spruce up your house for the new season! If you enjoyed reading this post, found it helpful, and are planning on trying it out for yourself, please feel free to comment below. I would also love to see how your centerpieces came out- so please tag me @thedecorformula in any pictures you might post on social media. 

Happy Spring!! 

:) Barbra

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