261: 5 Ideas for Welcoming the Seasons into Your Home

"A home should reveal the personalities of its inhabitants. At its best it should be a portrait of who you are . . . Look at your house as an artist would and have fun creating vignettes as a painter would a still life." —Kristin Perers, author of A Home for All Seasons

Fall will arrive next week on the 23rd and spring for the southern hemispheren on the same date. The changing of the seasons, as I recently shared in an interview on the Synced Life podcast, is a consistent and dependable way to be present in our everyday lives.

By choosing to be present during each season we are acknowledging that its presence in our lives is evanescent, fleeting and in three months' time will transition into something different. Waiting nine more months is necessary to experience the gifts of each season. Simply knowing the reality, we have all the more motivation to revel in the gifts of each season.

Last month TSLL reader Tracy emailed me and introduced me to Kristin Perers' book, A Home for All Seasons which was released quite a few years ago. But as one might imagine, since we have the same seasons each year, it is a classic of a book to refer to every three months - if nothing else, to serve a reminder for ample inspiration.

Perers suggests that when we decorate with the seasons, revolving with them, we make our home feel much more alive and dynamic, but at the same time, reflective of the home's inhabitants. And in so doing, we improve the quality of our days as our moods due to our emotions are elevated with each day we spend in our sanctuary.

Below are a handful of ways to decorate and adorn seasonally as inspired by Perers' book.

1.Let the seasonal blooms make their statement

Whether you pick up your blooms at the farmers' market or from your yard and garden, appreciating the daffodils in early spring, the peonies in late spring, mums in fall and dahlias in late summer, remind us to savor until the blooms are no more.

2. Textiles - slipcovers, curtains, table linens, bed linens, pillows

Depending upon what you have in your home that is upholstered, if you have slipcovers, changing the type of fabric if not the color as well is a way to eagerly begin a new season as well as care properly for the linens you have.

3. Determine the focal points of each community room (living room, dining, kitchen, etc.), and change or decorate it differently for the seasons.

For example, if your fireplace is the focal point, adorn the mantle with seasonal details. If your dining table is the focal point, either with table linens or blooms, choose what you place on top of it to align with the seasons.

4. Create space to contemplate the beauty of nature

I love this suggestion that Perers makes, and while she suggestions physically bringing things in from outside and placing them about the home to prompt us to ponder nature's beauty, I think as well it would be delightful to create somewhere in the home where you can look outside and be cognizant of what season it is. For example, my parents have a sun room in their country home, and with each season my mom will rearrange the furniture: spring - space is made for young seedlings in preparation for planting in the coming months; in summer, ample seating is the preference as it serves as a wonderful place to soak up the sun when stepping outside due to work projects inside is not possible; autumn and the arrangements and bouquets change; and in the winter, the holiday tree is adorned for the festive, wintery season. All the while, we can see outside to observe and celebrate the beauty of the outdoors.

5. Give the bedroom special attention

While making sure to attend to all four of the previous items above for our bedrooms — different blankets, duvet covers and pillow covers for the bed; seasonal blooms for the side table, etc. — always keep in mind the power of a space we inhabit, especially in such an intimate fashion as our bedrooms. Here are a few ways to welcome the changing of the seasons in our most intimate room of our sanctuary:

• Different candle scents for each season
• Intentional framed photos or artwork to inspire your most current dream.
• Linen curtains in the summer, and while selecting the same hue, choose a heavier fabric for late fall and winter to add warmth.
• Different robes and sleepwear for each season.

~Discover and learn more about Kristin Perers' book A Home for All Seasons

SIMILAR POSTS/EPISODES from the Archives You Might Enjoy:

~Why Not . . . Prep for a Great Fall?

~10 Ways to Welcome Spring: An Opportunity to Start Fresh

~Why Not . . . Savor the Reason for the Seasons?

Petit Plaisir:

~Papier hardback customized notebooks (UK site; French site; Australian site; German site)

~TSLL post: Why Not . . . Make Lists? 20 Lists to Keep in Your Everyday Life?

~Check out the second season of The Simply Luxurious Kitchen, the cooking show!

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~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #261

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