Easy Decor Ideas to Transition Your Home from Summer to Fall

Whether you’re in denial about summer’s conclusion, or you’re excited for cooler weather and the all-pumpkin-everything that makes fall, well, fall, making several tweaks to your home decor can help ease the transition between seasons. A few small accessory updates will help you crave extra time at home, as the days become shorter and the temperatures dip.

These tips will create a retreat to enjoy the longer upcoming nights, by incorporating rich textures, a neutral palette, and cozy accessories.

Layer with texture

As you pack away the breezy fabrics of summer, make room for fall’s rich counterparts. Incorporate plush, soft fabrics throughout your home by adding faux fur throws, swapping your bright throw pillows for cable knit versions, and displaying woven baskets filled with soft blankets. For more of an investment, consider a velvet ottoman or layering an extra area rug for added comfort and warmth underfoot.

Go Neutral

Summer is all about bright hues, a carefree state of mind, and capturing as much fun as possible in those 100 fleeting days. Use the change of seasons to ground your home with a more calming presence. Select a neutral palette of creams, whites, grays, and tans for your new fall accessories.

Bring The Outdoors In

Spending an entire season outdoors can leave you dreading the shift to indoor living. Ease the transition by bringing the best of the outdoors inside. After a summer of showcasing bright colored blooms and the fruits of your garden labor, start the new season with a clean slate. Incorporate more neutral flower bouquets (in-season: hydrangeas, spray roses, mums) and extra greenery. Instead of a predictable fall tablescape filled with tans, browns, and burgundies, opt for a fresh, neutral setting, swapping out orange pumpkins and gourds for their white counterparts, dried eucalyptus leaves, artichokes and birchwood branches.

Swap Bedding

Take advantage of the short window between air conditioning and heating seasons, by cracking the windows when you sleep. Add several extra layers to your bedding, or swap out your linen sheets for a cozier set of jersey or microfiber fleece sheets.

Update Lighting

During the summer months, it stays light out longer and you have the luxury of using your outdoor space as a bonus room. As you plan to spend more evenings inside, assess your existing lighting. Determine if you need additional task lighting, such as floor and table lamps, or if you should invest in installing sconces, to elevate your lighting display. To create a more ambient setting, replace your white light bulbs with light pink bulbs for a softer glow.

Finishing Touches

Since you’re spending more time indoors, take the time to make the small updates that will help you re-fall in love with your space. Refresh your coffee table reading with new books or magazines you’ve been wanting to read, update your picture frames with favorite summer memories, replace your bathroom hand soaps with a fresh scent, and splurge on a fall-scented candle that will have you craving more indoor time.

Update Your Outdoor Space

Just because the temperatures have dipped, doesn’t mean you completely need to say goodbye to your outdoor space. Mimic the cozy feel of your living room by making a few tweaks to the backyard. Hang fairy lights for an instant atmosphere upgrade and build an easily accessible collection of inexpensive blankets to help with an evening chill. Take your backyard upgrade a step further with an outdoor rug, outdoor throw pillows, and a portable fire pit to take full advantage of the remaining lights you can spend outdoors before the true cold sets in.

Very few experiences can compete with the magic of summer. But, as all good things do, it must come to an end. As you turn the corner into fall, use this time to ground your home and know you have those sweet summer memories to carry you through another year.

Written by Deanna Kane
Deanna Kane is an interiors, home decor, and real estate writer. She enjoys taking on her own home renovation and design projects, and staying current on the local real estate market.