Designer David Allan Ballas of David Allan Ballas Interior Design uses colorful accent pieces such as towels, vases and candles to signal spring's arrival in a bathroom in this Randolph Square home.

"I am a color fanatic," said Mary Anne Hooker, interior designer and owner of Mary Anne & Co. "I personally love color so much I keep springtime in my house all the time just with colors." David Allan Ballas of David Allan Ballas Interior Design says you don't have to reinvent an entire room to bring in color and light to add spring to your home. "Visually, get rid of the dark colors in the room for a while," he said. "And just by changing one or two things, you can make a huge difference."

CREATING CHANGE AND COLOR Ballas suggests starting by adding or subtracting accessories.

"If you have a table with 12 family photos in frames, then take several away to open it up and lighten up the table top. If you have dark wood blinds, take those down and get some inexpensive roller shades and do a stenciled pattern of colors you can pull down," he said.

"You could add colorful paper shades on a chandelier. On a table add a table runner or create a table setting you can leave out to add color and brightness."

Interior Designer David Allan Ballas lightens up a living room in this Randolph Square home with flowery textiles for window treatments and a mix of fresh and artificial flowers. He uses a glass tabletop covered with glass globes to give visual interest but not heaviness.

JUST GO LIGHTER "I like to tell people to look at all of their textiles, from pillows to window treatments," said Jennifer L. Stoner, president and principal designer of Mosaic Interiors Inc., who says that just switching to a lighter fabric on pillows makes all the difference.

"For instance, trade out heavy tapestries and velvets for bright linens and .oral cottons. Consider changing out heaving drapery panels for lighter-weight sheers." Stoner also suggests removing heavy, dark Persian-style rugs and putting in lighter inexpensive sisal or jute rugs.

FLOWERS SAY SPRING Hooker says, "Colorful bright flowers and plants scream spring, so bring them into your home." She suggests a combination of real and artificial plants and fresh flowers and artificial flowers.

"I use mostly cut flowers, but I am nuts over the artificial flowers now. They are so spectacular," Hooker said. "I do a lot of combinations of cut greenery and put artificial flowers in with it. That way, they last longer." Hooker suggests flowering plants like geraniums or forced bulbs like crocus or paper whites. She especially likes hyacinths because "the scent of hyacinth is intoxicating." "As far as cut flowers, some will last longer than others. Like irises don't last long, but some tulips and daisies will last," said Hooker, who along with Ballas loves the idea of the less expensive fresh flower arrangements you can buy at the grocery store. "I think it is fantastic that almost every grocery store now has flowers. The other nice thing is they do a bit of the arranging for you… ," Hooker added.

CHANGE CHAIRS, SLIPCOVERS Making changes to furniture in your home can also add a touch of spring.

"If you have an occasional chair that is not a huge piece, move it and put in a painted wicker piece from a yard sale," said Ballas. "It is easy to change the upholstery on a chair that has an upholstered seat. It just requires you to staple the fabric." "Consider slip covering furniture with light color slipcovers," said Stoner. "Dark wood dining chairs get a great lift from a simple, crisp white slipcover."

LIGHTING OFFERS LIFT Lighting in your home is another area to consider when trying to achieve that spring feeling.

Ballas says to change dark lampshades to white, ivory or cream to let the light come through. Another inexpensive way to change and brighten up a room is to change the light bulbs, he says.

"Don't have everything at the same wattage," Ballas said. "Various colors and wattages create different moods. So add a 25 watt to a room with some 60s, or add a 15 watt for a candlelight glow or three ways for bright lights." Stoner also suggests you switch bathroom towels to something lighter and brighter. And lighten up the smell of your home with candles. "Trade out all of your heavy winter candles for lighter, fresh-scented candles," she said. "Or add fresh flowers and spring-scented potpourri." So think light and bright colors, light smells and letting in the sunlight. "It is all about renewing and refreshing and coming back to light," said Ballas.