I am a reluctant seasonal decorator. I absolutely love the thought of decorating my home to usher in each season. But, the thought of putting things out only to be taken down and stored a few weeks later brings my lazy side to the forefront.
This year, I haven’t even started adding any Fall decor into my home. In all honestly, we are still wearing shorts and flip flops in Central Texas, so it’s hard to embrace the new season. I have been thinking about it, though, and I have come up with some ways to help me decorate for Fall without feeling like I’ve gone overboard.
In case you also consider yourself a reluctant seasonal decorator, I offer you four ways to embrace Fall in your home:
1. Start Small
When seasonal decorating feels overwhelming, start small. Often times, the best styled rooms just give a hint of the season at hand.
Take this gorgeous living room by Julia at Cuckoo 4 Design. She usually has some mini disco balls in the coffee table vignette. By replacing them with some mini pumpkins, she was able to give a nod to Fall without moving around everything in her room.
Caitlin at Desert Domicile has done something similar with her console table. She simply filled her white shell bowl with a collection of pinecones. I love how the pinecones work with her existing decor. If you are like me and don’t live in an area where it’s easy to collect fallen pinecones, you can grab bags of them at Michael’s quite inexpensively.
2. Add Warmth
Fall always makes me think of cooling temps and flannel shirts, although both of those are rarities this time of year here in Austin. To bring that feeling to your decor, you can work with throw pillows and blankets to give the illusion of chilly Fall days.
Catlin from Desert Domicile warmed up this pair of chairs by adding faux fur (or maybe sheepskin?) pelts to the seat of the chairs and velvet sequined tiger throw pillows to the backs. This wasn’t a change that she made for the Fall (she actually changed only up the vignette on the gold trunk), but it is the perfect statement for this time of year.
And as a sidebar: Yes, I featured her twice in one post. Her house is good. REALLY good. Be sure you click over there to check it out.
Our contributor, Lindsay from The White Buffalo Styling Co., also added some sheepskin pelts to her Eames-style chairs. The addition of the white and silver/gold metallic snakeskin-esque throw pillows help to easily usher Fall into her home, too.
3. Blend In
Now, I’m normally not a girl who likes to blend in. However, if you don’t want it to look like that Fall exploded all over your home, stick to the same color palette you already use in decorating.
Gina from The Shabby Creek Cottage loves aqua and white, so she kept her Fall touches in the same color family. Here she displays some mini white pumpkins in front of her aqua trimmed chalkboard.
In the same vein, Gabbi from Retro Ranch Reno styled her home with pumpkins that she painted to match her lively color palette. I love the way the pumpkins don’t look out of place on her dining room table since they repeat the same colors used in the rest of the room.
4. Be Free
When you are a reluctant seasonal decorator, you really don’t want to spend a lot of money on items that you will just have to store for most of the year. So, head outside and pick up some things that can set your budget free.
The Nester had a great idea using the branches of brown leaves in her newly updated barn space. I actually love this whole vignette, since the only thing that screams fall to me are the branches. She can leave the rest of it in place year around.
Kelly at Eclectically Vintage also added branches to her home this year. Instead of brown leaves, though, she chose leaves that were in the transition of turning from green to red. And as she said, “Leaves don’t cost a thing.”
As I slowly inch my way into adding a few seasonal touches to my home, I’m going to keep these four guidelines in mind. I think they will keep me from feeling overwhelmed and maybe keep my lazy side at bay.
What about you? Are you a big seasonal decorator or are you reluctant like me?
These are such great tips! I’m not much of a fall decorator either but thank you so much for featuring two of my fall vignettes! 🙂
You are so welcome. I’m OBSESSED with your house right now. 😉
Love this post. I’m usually reluctant too, but this year I was on top of it. You are right, it is hard when it is still so hot out (I’m in So. California, so we are still in shorts too.) I kept my decor simple and focused on a few key areas. I also used bright orange, so I think it still goes with the weather happening outside. Love these tips! Have a great week 🙂
Thanks, Corey! I hope you’ve had a great week, too!