Fall in Love with… Your Home

Aside from dealing with mounds of leaves outside, this time of year my attention turns inward to sprucing up our home rather than outward toward yardwork.

{Okay, you caught me. I actually gave very little attention to yardwork this summer at all.  It’s a goal to work on for next year.  Until then, I apologize to our very patient neighbors for being “that house” on the block.}

Yes, I would say that October is the perfect time to…

My thoughts start swirling toward the guests we’re expecting over Thanksgiving as well as creating a cozy ‘nest’ to hibernate in all winter long.  Which means lots of blankets and throws within grabbing distance.  Large baskets are the perfect holding place for them when guests arrive…

and when we’re not expecting guests, you’ll find them draped all over our couches.

I also rearranged the items on our living room built-ins and put some of the summer items into storage.  Not all the summer items– I do think it’s important to carry a bit of summer with you all year round– but many of the clamshell planters, beach prints, and more went into my prop closet* until next year.

* ‘prop closet’ = basement.  But doesn’t it sound so fancy?

Instead, I pulled out my winter themed items like my sweater vase from my recent visit to Concord.

In summer it’s all about flowers, but fall means branches.  And branches are FREE.  So fill those vases with some branches, sparkly acorns, or paper twigs like these from Crate and Barrel:

Throw pillows are an inexpensive way to change things up quickly.  You can even buy custom covers on Etsy to go over existing pillows, or spend a few bucks at HomeGoods if you find ones you love.  Switching them out is a cheap way to make a big difference.  These are my summer ones, I’m still scouting out new ones for fall and winter.  Do you have any patterns you love?

Lightbulbs.  Sigh.  The former homeowner was an electrician so we have recessed and track lighting everywhere.  Which means lots of bulbs that burn out all. the. time.  Fall is a good time to do an inventory and change those suckers before it gets dark at 4:30PM every day {can you tell I’m not a winter girl?}  We just had this room painted, which is why you just see nails on the wall.  Don’t worry, I’ve got this.  It’ll get done the day before Thanksgiving, I’m pretty sure.

Photos and art are another way to bring warmth to your home, and again, it doesn’t have to cost a fortune.  Find a favorite family photo and have it put on wrapped canvas to breathe new life into your home.  I snagged a Groupon for this one, so it was a fraction of the cost of normally priced gallery wrapped canvas photos.

Or, make your own gallery canvases like Ginger from Literally Inspired did for next to nothing (and yes, that post has been pinned 469K+ times.  Ginger’s a Pinterest rockstar!)

The photos of this room make me cringe, but it’s next to impossible to get a decent shot so I’m swallowing my pride.

I blew up a few architectural photos and put them in the bathroom.  It’s a tiny room, so the large photos make bring your eye up and it made it feel bigger because it has a high ceiling.  Between the cost to blow up photos ($5 each) and getting the frames on sale (stacked with a 25% off frame coupon) from Michaels, the total cost for this ‘art’ was thirty dollars.

I also had some Kohl’s cash burning a hole in my pocket so I got a these hand towels and new eco-friendly bamboo based soap pump.  Whole. New. Room!

Duvet covers are my favorite way to completely change a room for just a little money.  I’ve found great deals at Crate and Barrel and sometimes even find them at HomeGoods.  I switch mine out every few years and the change can be as dramatic as painting the entire room!  Here’s a few favorites (I’m scouting out new duvets for our guest room, do you love any of these as much as I do?)

I’m working on organizing my pinboards by room, so here’s a few more ideas on my brand spankin’ new Bedroom Design pinboard if you’re looking for more duvet covers or bedroom decor ideas.

It’s also the perfect time to get a new set of sheets.  I usually buy one new set a year, typcially in anticipation of company arriving with the side benefit of then having a snazzy set of soft sheets.  Favorite places to find them are HomeGoods, Kohls, and Macys… mostly because if you stack a coupon with a sale at those last two places you can end up with some beautiful new sheets for a song.  Though, I do wish I had time to organize them as beautifully as Amy from A Nest For All Seasons:

Autumn offers so many chances to fall in love, whether it’s with our family, comfort food, pumpkins, or our home.  And with that, I’m off to go rake some leaves and clean out the garage.  Have a beautiful weekend, friends!

 How do you bring fall into your house?  What do you do to spruce things up inside and out?  Are you a blanket hoarder lover like us?