Post from MilitaryByOwner
It’s time to cozy up!
Fall is on its way, and there’s no better time than now to transition from summer decorating straight into the comfort and warmth a cool weather mini-makeover carries throughout your home. No matter if you live in a rental, base housing, or your very own place, there are plenty of ways to bring fall festiveness straight into your favorite rooms.
Let’s start with the home’s first true living space, the front porch and entry.
First Impression Charm
Incorporating elements of fall is simple because you’re already working with a natural color palette background provided by mother nature. Red, yellow, and orange are simple to coordinate with seat cushions and potted mums. Stick with this classic trio of colors and you can’t go wrong.
Repurpose summer time plastic or melamine outdoor serveware used at the pool or during backyard barbeques. They transform into safety-first containers for floral arrangements or candle holders. Add in natural and free items found in your neighborhood like dried hydrangeas, cattails, and decorative branches.
It’s effortless to run with the traditional fall leaves theme, but choosing something altogether different for your porch might suit the style of your home better. If the house is more modern than farmhouse, stick to a neutral or monotone color palette. Multiple groupings of white or light green pumpkins are the perfect way to inject cheerful minimalism outside.
Fall is the perfect time of year to update the paint color of your front door. The weather is less humid and the temperatures are cooler, providing better coverage and quicker drying time. A new coat of color is easy to get done in a day’s time, so instant gratification folks, this is the update for you!
Be sure to try a few samples of weather resistant paint and watch how the color changes throughout the day. As the sun shifts, the color will take on new shades. Just in case you were wondering, black, charcoal grey, many shades of blue, and classic red all are best sellers and could even get your home sold for more money.
Inside, greet your guests with a spruced-up foyer, complete with a new plush rug and updated lamp shades or light fixtures. Adding warmth to the area really welcomes friends and family to come in and stay awhile. A touch of fall scent either from a hidden outlet plug-in or from a bottle of reeds diffusing a cinnamon or other festive smell completes the transformation.
Fireplace Focal Point
Do take advantage of your fireplace and mantel. There’s no reason to view it as completely utilitarian. Think of it as a display shelf or section you’d see in your favorite home store. This is the area to show off the collections of items that mean so much. Heirlooms and antique picks are just two options. Strategically place seasonal décor, and the fireplace becomes an enhanced focal point. For more personality, consider painting over dated bricks to freshen the space to make an even bigger impact.
Don’t worry if you don’t have a fireplace to work with. Improvise. A large couch console, sideboard, or even a temporary event table cleverly decorated can become a beautiful first impression in a living space.
To collect displayable items, start with your own belongings and then set off to buy a few key pieces. You’ll want to look for classic items that can be used season to season but look current with a few seasonal tweaks.
- Candles, candlesticks, and votives.
- Silver platters or pottery pieces.
- Neutral garlands: pine cones, branches.
- Vintage wooden items: cutting boards or dough bowls.
- Multiple but similar picture frames: silver, wooden. Dig up family photos from holidays in years past to display chronologically.
- Artfully arrange carefully curated books with colorful covers. Or, wrap the volumes in seasonally related paper. These can be used horizontally to elevate different items to increase visual interest.
Fall Ready Fabrics and Colors
Change the airy, thin fabrics conducive to summer temperatures into sumptuous and snuggly materials that are ideal for nesting all season long. Throughout the house, you’ll want add velvets, thick cottons, ultra-suedes, and any other thick fabrics that bring a sense of comfort. Update window coverings, couch slipcovers, bedroom linens, even the guest bathrooms and bedrooms. Both will probably get used much more throughout the holiday season.
If you are looking for color inspiration for new item fall items, all versions of dark blue and navy are taking over the shelf space in high-end and budget stores. The added bonus of using this color for paint and accessories is that it acts like a neutral and easily pairs with endless amounts of colors from season to season.
In the fall and winter, jewel tones such as ruby, emerald, and amethyst paired with a deep blue like sapphire are quintessential luxury colors. For spring and summer months, navy and white (or a natural color like wheat) complete the nautical style that continues to be iconic no matter the decade.
Preparing your home for the cold days ahead is so easy and informal. Adding simple items like Sherpa blankets to a couch with new comfy down throw pillows adds in textures and colors that represent the season ahead. Fall is a rebirth season of sorts, so take advantage of a creative time of year and go ahead and give your space a mini-makevover for your family and friends to enjoy.
