School is back in session for many of us, and with that comes the changing of seasons. Does anyone else feel the pull of nostalgia at this time of year? For me, one of the best parts of mom-ing is reliving so many special experiences through Lucy. The first day of school jitters. Picking out a new fall jacket. The sometimes painstaking move from sandals to sneakers. The homework!
Getting back into routines is good for my soul, and as if on auto pilot, I’ve already found myself swapping in new throw pillows, digging through our drawers for spiced candles and pulling out my favorite faux fur throw and wool blankets. It’s also the time of year that I like to touch up paint on the walls and baseboards, caulk and fill any gaps in preparation for cooler weather and set our smart home timers to turn the lights on just a smidge earlier than usual. Fall is (almost) here!
This is another round of Collective Q+A, a blog series focused on sharing voices other than our own to promote new ideas and encourage outside-of-the-box thinking. Today we’re asking: How do you show your home love as we transition from summer to fall?
The changing of the gourds hits the spot every year! — Mandi Johnson
Mandi Johnson, Making Nice In the Midwest | The first hit of the holiday season is exactly what I was looking forward to when I designed and built this custom shelving wall in my eat-in-kitchen area. I imagined these nooks filled with stacks of pumpkins and maybe a couple of mildly spooky accents. I usually wait until mid September before I can’t stand it any longer and I simply must to head to my favorite pop-up pumpkin vendor and fill my cart with big pumpkins for the front porch and little guys for the kitchen wall. The changing of the gourds hits the spot every year!
Follow along with Mandi on her blog, Making Nice In the Midwest, and on Instagram @mandimakes.
We like to bring the magical coziness of fall into our home through easy-to-add pieces of decor that also serve a purpose. — Matt and Beau
Matt and Beau, Probably This | Like pretty much everyone else in the world, we strongly feel that fall is hands down the best season. No contest! We like to bring the magical coziness of fall into our home through easy-to-add pieces of decor that also serve a purpose, like overstuffed throw pillows for softening up furniture, earth-toned plush throws for curling up under, and layered rugs to create a more lived-in look and feeling in our home. We also add autumnal aromas through candles (shameless plug: our Night Cap candle is the perfect fall candle!) and also mulled wine and mulled cider, which both fill the whole home with the scent of baking spices.
In general we try to keep seasonal decorating relatively simple as we don’t love spending a lot of money on items we won’t use year round and try to be conscious of keeping our storage spaces decluttered, but we find these extra touches—most of which we keep up through winter—help us enjoy the season so much more. Happy fall, y’all!
Follow along with Matt and Beau on their blog, Probably This, and on Instagram @probablythis.
As much as I love the hustle and bustle of summer energy in our home, I also love the quiet organization and potential that comes with the arrival of fall. — Charlotte Smith
Charlotte Smith, At Charlotte’s House | Summers for us means a lot of bodies enjoying our home which also means a lot of… mess. With five kids, there is a constant hum of creating and eating and snacking and playing and stuff ends up everywhere. The laundry room is overflowing. The playroom is completely disorganized. Neat and tidy toy bins have been unpacked and rediscovered. You get the idea. I love the lazy days of summer and watching the kids imaginations run wild, but I also love the peace and quiet that back-to-school and the arrival of fall brings to the home.
Year after year, I find that “fall cleaning” is much more accurate for us than spring cleaning. Fall means reorganizing bedrooms and bookshelves to make room for homework stations and textbooks. Fall means refolding beach towels and getting the mudroom in order in anticipation of winter weather when hats and gloves and boots will be needed. Fall means putting my pantry back in order to justify a trip to Costco for lunchbox fixings.
As I work on each of these spaces, I have the time to day dream and think about how we’re going to decorate our home for fall and Halloween and Christmas. These quiet moments of busy work are the times when my creative brain can get to work dreaming and planning for the season ahead. As much as I love the hustle and bustle of summer energy in our home, I also love the quiet organization and potential that comes with the arrival of fall.
Follow along with Charlotte on her blog, At Charlotte’s House, and on Instagram @atcharlotteshouse.
Thank you for supporting the creators that inspire us every day! How do you transition your home from summer to fall?
As someone who lives in the part of the country with the best summers, I fight the turn of weather. But yes, we transition to more routine and I love fall foods like butternut squash and all the soups! Charlotte’s laundry room just lit me up, I love finding new folks to follow!
Soup forever! We just stoked up on some favorites over here as well.
Could you please share links to your pillows? Love the colors for Fall but having a hard time finding similar ones!
Many of them are old! Mostly Target, CB2 and Crate & Barrel.