Simple Tips for Decorating your Apartment for Fall
The days are gradually shortening: long shadows reach out in a lazy stretch, an amber sky casts a glow on rooftops, and tree leaves rustle, carrying the soft percussion of an autumn breeze. As we take a collective sigh of relief from the summer heat, it’s hard to not get caught up in the coziness of Fall! But with our fast paced, busy work weeks, it can be hard to find time to slow down and celebrate the season. Luckily, there are many simple and easy ways to enjoy sweater weather in the comfort of your own apartment! Even if you don’t have time for festivals or apple picking, our own homes can be a warm and comfy celebration of the changing leaves.
Shed a Little Light
Dusk now falls earlier and the days will continue to shorten as we approach the Winter Solstice. Dwindling sunlight and the oncoming time change leave us stuck in dark, dreary rooms. While this may be the perfect spooky ambiance, decreased light can cause fatigue and a lack of productivity.
Plan ahead to prepare your home for the darkening days by adding extra lighting around the house! Second only to pumpkins, stringed lights and candles are quintessential Fall decor. Hanging lights around the apartment can brighten up a space, giving it a warm, inviting, and whimsical atmosphere. Simply drape them across the wall above the sofa, line them around a mirror or door frame, or lay them out on a shelf to bring a sparkle to any dim spot of the room. If a dark corner doesn’t have an outlet near enough for plug in lights, battery powered wired lights are a lightweight option that can be easily placed just about anywhere.
For smaller vignettes, candles will do the trick! Both wick and battery powered candles alike provide much more light than one might expect. Candles cast an intense radiant light versus the scattered soft glow of stringed lights. They can create a moody, relaxing, or spooky atmosphere when arranged strategically. Place them on coffee tables, end tables, and hearths to illuminate focal points of the room.
It is important this time of year to be mindful of how much light we get to take care of our mental health. Simple lighting solutions can help bolster our mood, keeping the season festive and joyful. Best of all, accent lights can stay up all through winter, making them low effort decorative items!
Find Your Fragrance
Perhaps more than any other time of year, Autumn nostalgia engages every one of the senses. Think warm lighting, comfy textiles, sweet desserts, soft jazz, and spicy scents! Fragrances can immediately alter the entire atmosphere of a space. Find the right scent, and half your work is already done!
Fall associations are different for everyone. For some pumpkin spice is the obvious harvest scent, plain and simple. Perhaps you’re a little burnt out from pumpkin overload, though. With so many cozy candles out there, there is a fragrance for everyone! Maybe the smooth sweetness of an apple candle can remind you of Grandma’s famous pie. A rich, woodsy scent can immediately transport you to your favorite campground in the mountains. Or perhaps a cooler, perfumy fragrance like Aspen and Fog can feel like a misty morning on the front porch! There is no end to the possibilities to create the atmosphere best suited to your preferences!
While candles smell amazing, they can also be harmful to pets, irritate allergies, or pose a fire hazard if not chosen and handled with utmost care. Luckily, there are wonderful candle alternatives that can still create that warm, comforting atmosphere! If you’re looking for an alternative to lighting candles, try using a diffuser. Essential oil blends of cinnamon, clove, citrus, and eucalyptus provide comforting aromatherapy. Be sure to carefully consider which items you are purchasing, making sure to find pure, organic oils without fillers. Another popular option is doing a simmer pot. Simmer pot recipes consist of all natural ingredients that fill the air with delicious scents! Most are very easy to make by combining seasonal fruits and spices in water, bringing them to a boil on the stove, then turning down the heat so the aromas slowly release. While properly monitored, simmer pots continue to give off aromas for hours and can be stored for reuse for up to four days. Just refill the water every 30-45 minutes to make it last all day. Try out a few of the plethora of recipes available online until you find just the right blend!
It’s all about Accents
Redecorating for the seasons does not have to be a big fanfare. Sometimes, we may not have the time or energy to turn the house into a mini Haunted Mansion or recreate Stars Hollow in our living room. In these cases, small items make a big impact to cozy up the apartment!
Find complementary fall colors to your home's current color palette to warm up the vibe without changing the whole look! If your color scheme is primarily blue, burnt orange and brown can instantly turn a summery palette to a natural, rustic aesthetic. For green interiors, deep jewel tones like garnet red, amber yellow, and amethyst purple take a fresh spring palette and turn it dark and warm to reflect the changing leaves of the trees. Use mood boards such as Pinterest to brainstorm inspiration and make purchasing easier.
The best way to easily accent your space is with small items such as pillows, blankets, and shelf decorations. Throw pillows changed out every couple of months allow you to alter the entire aesthetic quickly. In order to conserve money and storage, consider purchasing pillow cases that fit your current pillow forms. Pair with a matching chunky blanket and you're ready for movie night!
Sometimes, we don’t need to use new decorations to bring out the season in our home. Try rearranging items or displaying items from storage to change the tone. Place warm colored and nature themed items in focal points throughout the room.
Get Crafty!
If you’re looking for new decorations without spending too much money, crafters have thousands of easy DIY instruction blogs and videos available to inspire your next look. Arts and crafts are cozy activities that get us in the autumn spirit, and they don’t have to be complicated. Press leaves and flowers such as sycamore leaves, ferns, ivy, and sunflowers to make stunning, trendy wall hanging art. Find a few frames from a local thrift store and arrange your foraged items to bring a little bit of the outside in. Eclectic or matching frames have their own unique aesthetic to suit your design preferences.
Other easy crafts to make include wooden bead garlands to hang about the house for a festive, natural look. Wreaths can be very expensive to buy, but homemade ones are far more cost effective. Just about any crafting materials can be used for personalized wreaths! Flowers, twigs, leaves, small faux pumpkins, and fairy garden items are just a few of the countless options to incorporate into your design. Paint recycled mason jars or old vases for quick accent pieces that tie your theme together. Spray paint adheres well to glass and lasts for a long time. With a good base applied, it becomes easier to hand paint textures and designs with any craft acrylic paint.
Get Cozy!
While festivities and outings make each season uniquely exciting, we often forget the value of decorating simply and taking time to relax. Try a few of these ideas to enjoy your fall to the fullest, busy schedule and all! Once the house is ready, don’t forget to set aside time for much needed rest. Light a candle, brew a cup of tea, and curl up with a good book on the sofa to take in your newly decorating home!