Lighten up your decor this spring:

Spring always begs lightheartedness, and the new decorating themes back that up.

Light backgrounds on walls, floors and furniture set the stage while pops of colour with accessories and fabrics bring out the owner's personality.

The light background colours include cream or beige, white and soft grey. The pops of colour are all up to you. Whatever colours make you happy will make the room pop just fine.

That light colour on furniture is particularly visible in woods. Dark wood was popular before, but the trend is definitely moving toward light wood or mid-toned natural-wood finishes.

Furniture arrangement has shifted from the wide-open spacious look to a more intimate plan. Think of how you can arrange your furniture in a more familiar, cozy way with conversation areas well-defined.

What about fabrics? Is there is more to the fabric selection than simply beige? Well, there is. To the simple neutral colours, you will find metallic threads added. This is in keeping with the light look as the metallic threads lift the visual feel of the fabric.

Oh, and there is a comeback some might be happy about but others not. Faux fur and textured knobby fabrics. Go figure. But the choices are more than that. The current trend in fabrics also includes plaids, stripes and modern florals, mostly in bold colours.

As mentioned, your favourite colours are the ones you should use. However, here are the popular ones for this year: jewel tones, such as emerald green, golden yellow, sapphire blue and ruby red. As seen in the metallics woven into the fabrics, gold, silver and other metallics in accessories and accents are in.

Since it seems everything old is new again, mirrored furniture and accessories are back.

As far as style, any one you prefer is fine, whether contemporary, country, traditional or eclectic.

Many of us are strapped for money these days, so redecorating might seem out of the question, but it still is possible if you are willing to search for items.

Refurbished secondhand furniture from thrift stores or consignment shops is one option. The entire house doesn't have to be a hand-me-down place, but a few reclaimed pieces actually add charm and personality to any room.