Now that my birthday is over (thank you all so much for the well wishes, by the way) I feel like fall is officially here and that means it’s time to decorate my house for the season. Part of me dreads this because it’s work and also because it’s a slippery slope to Christmas once the fall stuff is up but mostly I love the fall stuff I have. It makes the house look cozy and inviting and that’s my favorite way to have my house look. Today I’m going to share with you 3 tips on readying your house for the fall season.
- Add lighting. While I abhor an overhead light I just love warm table lamps and candles and strings of twinkle lights – everywhere! Sadly enough, the days are getting shorter and to me there’s nothing cozier than twinkle lights and burning candles. They drive out the darkness and shed a soft glow over everything. Bonus points if your candles are autumn scents like Macintosh and pumpkin.
- Change your curtains. In the summer I have sheers with valances in the living room but when fall arrives I take down those valances and I put up red and white buffalo check drapes. They make the room darker but they make it warmer and super cozy. The red is great for fall right through Christmas and even on to Valentine’s Day. I also swap out throw pillows and table runners at this point, replacing summery blue ones with warm red ones. And then I put soft throws and patchwork quilts everywhere.
- Use seasonal decor. My mantle is loaded up with pumpkins. My kitchen window and dining room chandelier are draped with silk leaves. I have special autumn wine glasses in the dining room cabinet. I’ve got Halloween signs up now and those will be taken down and replaced with Thanksgiving ones when November hits. It’s warm and inviting and charming, perfect for entertaining friends for football games, eating chili and stews, and baking something delicious.
That’s how I get my house ready for fall. Are there special things you do? I’d love to hear about them in the comments.
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I started decorating too. I hate saying good bye to summer but I love making our home cozier this time of year. I just have to finish outside now.
1) Change the bedding from light and summery to my sheets with printed fall leaves, then to red jersey by Christmastime. So cozy.
2) Pick apples at the farm in Ipswich, and also get a greasy bag of cider donuts to eat in the car!
You can track the seasons at our house by observing our bedding. Slowly, more covers get added to the bed, and the downhill slide to winter begins in earnest once the flannel sheets come out. We even have different levels of coziness in those flannel sheets. Eventually, the process reverses in Spring.
I guess we’re staring right at October, aren’t we?? Ah, summer…
I don’t even begin to think about fall decorations until after I get back from Michigan, but I do have a wonderful handmade Pumpkin Man – I love him and he sits in a chair in the living room! I don’t swap out curtains but I do put down the wooden blinds which helps with the cold windows. Great ideas!
We do not decorate until October 1, as a general rule. This year though, I have let my daughter pull out her Halloween sheets a bit early. 🙂
I’ve got gourds and pumpkins around the inside and the 5 small pumpkins above the front door. And definitely fall scented candles burning!
Your house sounds so cozy and inviting! I’m in MD now and haven’t decorated at all, so even pumpkins and mums will be an improvement if I can get it together this week. It probably doesn’t count that I’ve eaten several pieces of Halloween candy!
I love all your ideas, but to be honest, I am too lazy to change much in my house based on the seasons. I love the way it looks in other peoples’ houses. I do put up twinkle lights to chase away the dark (thanks to Margene), but that’s about all I do for fall. I admire your energy, Carole!
I would love to decorate for fall but our house is in such a disarray. We’re doing some remodeling/renovating/been in the house 14 years maintenance and it’s taken over the entire house, inside and out. The front porch furniture is in our entryway, furniture from one room is in another while we paint and yet another room’s furniture is somewhere else while we replace the carpet with wood flooring…. And we (ok, my husband) is doing it so it’s happening in what feels like 15 minute increments a night – when he feels like it and depending on the weather. It’s going to be fantastic when it’s finished….. if it’s ever finished… and if I don’t completely loose my sanity in the meant time.
You have so many great ideas. I have a few Halloween decorations (and lights) some of which can transition to fall/Thanksgiving. My main focus for winter months, in general, is light. Everything from soft twinkle lights and candles to full on “light up the world” lamps.