Spring arrives slowly in Britain — a warm Tuesday, then a week of grey drizzle — but the light is unmistakably changing. By late March the days are stretching out, and rooms that felt cosy in January can suddenly seem a little heavy. The good news is that refreshing your home for spring doesn't require a full redecoration. A few deliberate, inexpensive moves will shift the whole mood of a room, and most of them can be done in an afternoon.

Let the Light Back In

Before you buy a single cushion, deal with the thing that makes the biggest difference: light. Choose a dry, mild day and wash your windows inside and out — a drop of washing-up liquid in warm water, then buff with a microfibre cloth or crumpled newspaper to avoid streaks. You will be genuinely surprised how much brighter a room looks.

Next, strip back the layers. Heavy velvet or thermal curtains that felt comforting in December can come down and go into storage, replaced by lightweight linen, voile or nothing at all if privacy allows. Move furniture a few inches away from windowsills so nothing blocks the light, and consider repositioning a mirror so it faces a window — it will bounce daylight into the darker corners of a narrow room.

Finally, clear your surfaces. Take everything off the mantelpiece, the kitchen worktop and the bedside table, wipe them down, then put back only what you genuinely love or use. Two well-chosen objects on a bare surface look far more considered than ten crowded ones.

Swap Heavy Textiles for Lighter Layers

Spring styling is largely about weight. Wool throws, faux-fur cushions and chunky knit blankets have earned a rest — wash them, fold them and store them somewhere dry with a lavender bag. In their place, bring out cotton, linen and seersucker.

• Bedding: drop to a 4.5 or 7 tog duvet and switch to pure cotton sheets, which breathe far better as nights get warmer.
• Cushions: swap two heavy covers for three or four lighter ones in a soft palette — sage, chalky pink, pale butter yellow or warm off-white.
• Rugs: a flatweave cotton rug in a hallway or living room instantly feels less wintry than a deep wool pile, and it's far easier to shake out.
• Throws: keep one lightweight cotton throw folded over the arm of a sofa rather than draped across the whole thing.

Stick to two or three colours per room and let texture do the interesting work.

Bring the Outside In with Seasonal Flowers

Nothing signals spring like a jug of daffodils, and there's no need to spend much. A supermarket bunch of narcissi or tulips, split between three small vases and placed on a windowsill, a shelf and a hallway table, will lift a whole flat. Change the water every other day and trim the stems at an angle — they'll last noticeably longer.

If you have a garden or access to a hedge, flowering branches are the most generous spring arrangement there is. Forsythia, cherry blossom and flowering currant can be cut in bud, conditioned by splitting the woody stem ends with a sharp snip, and stood in a tall vase of cool water. They'll open over a week or so and last far longer than cut flowers.

For a longer project, force hyacinth bulbs in a glass jar of water on a bright windowsill — the scent alone is worth it, and children find watching the roots grow irresistible.

Give Your Houseplants a Spring Reset

Your indoor plants are waking up too, and early spring is the ideal moment to check on them.

• Check the roots: slide a plant out of its pot. If roots are circling the edge, pot it up into a container just 2cm wider, using fresh houseplant compost mixed with a handful of perlite for drainage.
• Resume feeding: from March onwards, feed at half strength every fortnight. Full-strength feed on a plant that's been dormant can scorch new growth.
• Water more, but check first: light levels are rising, so plants will drink faster. Push a finger 3cm into the compost before watering rather than sticking to a schedule.
• Clean the leaves: dust blocks light. Wipe glossy leaves with a damp cloth and give fuzzy-leaved plants a soft brush. While you're there, check the undersides for pests — mealybug and spider mite both surge in spring.
• Move them closer to the light: a metre nearer a bright window makes a real difference, but keep tender plants out of harsh midday sun for the first fortnight.

A Gentle Room-by-Room Deep Clean

Forget the marathon spring clean. One room a day is far kinder and more effective. Work from the top down: dust ceiling corners and light fittings, then picture rails, then skirting boards and radiators. Pull furniture out from the walls where you can and vacuum behind it.

Wash cushion covers, throws and curtains, and launder or air bedding. Sprinkle bicarbonate of soda on carpets, leave it twenty minutes, then vacuum thoroughly — it lifts stale smells without any harsh chemicals. A cut lemon rubbed onto limescale around taps works better than most sprays. Throw the windows open while you work, even if it's chilly; the whole point is to move the air through.

Small-Space Moves That Make a Big Difference

If you're working with a flat, a balcony or a single windowsill, think vertically and seasonally. Line up terracotta pots of herbs, cut-and-come-again salad leaves and pansies along a window ledge — they'll give you scent, colour and something to eat by May. A slim shelf bracket or a hanging planter adds greenery without eating floor space.

Try keeping one small side table or stool as a rotating display: a vase of the season's flowers, one candle, one small plant. Change it every fortnight. It takes two minutes, costs almost nothing, and it's the easiest way to make a small home feel like it's keeping pace with the year.