I count time by the passing seasons and holidays in a year. I get asked all the time how you incorporate the multiple holidays into your current home décor. One way that I keep Coastal Cottage of Amelia’s and our customers’ home décor fresh and ever-changing is to add a little touch of the season going on outside their door to the inside of their home and our showroom. I think people tend to associate seasonal and holiday décor with Christmas but do not the effect mixing up your décor through the year can have on your home interior. It’s a fabulous and festive way to celebrate everyday life. Here are 10 easy-to-incorporate tips to help you add the beauty of each season and holiday to your home and have it play nicely with your existing décor.
1. Add seasonal elements
This is the easiest way to show our love of the season in your home. A bowl full of shells or a hurricane lantern filled with pumpkins, and even a nest on top of a footed cake plate. Nothing is prettier than a little bit of the season mixed with what you already have. The key is to be tasteful and edited. A little bit goes a long, long way.
2. Add seasonal color
Adding color is such an effortless way to hint about the season in your home. Not as obvious as adding seasonal elements but very effective. Add colors that represent a season. A nubby winter-white throw when the weather is frosty, a robin egg-blue bowl on your kitchen counter when spring is blooming or a red, white and blue table runner when the fireflies are lighting up summer evenings.
3. Bring the outside in
Each season has its own distinct beauty. I love to display organic elements in my home. It’s a charming way to extend the outdoors to the inside. Again, think of a sweet nest or forcing branches in spring, a bowl of pinecones during the winter or a big bouquet of hydrangeas from your yard in the summer. There is something so magical about natural elements inside your home.
4. Use seasonal pillows
I am a hopeless pillow lover. Nestling seasonal pillows into your decor gives your furniture a continuing new and fresh look. I buy pillows in seasonal colors and motifs and change them out as the season changes. Economical and space saving. I use under-bed storage bins to keep my seasonal pillows. Vacuum seal bag help with space saving. A rabbit pillow for spring, a pretty and subtle fir tree during Christmas and a patriotic or sandpiper pillow for summer are all welcomed touches of the season. Add just one or maybe two per room. In the case of seasonal pillows, less is best. Keep in mind you may need to edit and remove some pillows, as well.
5. Add a seasonal wreath to your door or table
Start a nod to the season at your front door. I think nothing says welcome like a beautiful seasonal wreath. Wreaths are versatile and can be used on an entry, coffee or dining table to add a note to the season within your home. Wreaths are a great investment as they can be used from year to year. This will put a fresh face on your door and interior space all year long. Think about something abundant and full for autumn, mossy and twiggy with flowers for spring, and what is better than a big evergreen wreath at Christmas?
6. Use seasonal textures
Lighten up in the summer. Go cozy in the winter. Texture is not only picked up by our sense of touch but with our eyes, too. Texture tells our brain rough, hot, cool, fuzzy, smooth, shiny, chunky. It’s almost a subliminal seasonal message. Throws can add to this affect and are functional for the season.
7. Plant something seasonal
Forcing paperwhites or amaryllis for Christmas is just about the most perfect example of planting something indoors for Christmas. You can also plant gorgeous rust-colored mums in a bowl or container. They need little attention, are cheaper than a bouquet of cut flowers and should last all season… or at least most of it. Very early spring, when I am itching to dig in the dirt, is my favorite time to plant an herb box indoors. Herb boxes or micro-greens are not just adding form but function, as well.
8. Layer seasonal décor
Seasonal décor, like most decor, looks better if you do a little layering. Most seasonal décor should not stand alone. Little pumpkins and a few pieces of “fluff” make the mums in a champagne bucket into a vignette. It almost tells a little story. Much more interesting than something standing alone.
9. Don’t overdo it
This might be the most important tip of all. Gone are the days of seasonal tchotchkes strewn in every room of the house. Now is the time to think carefully and thoughtfully about choosing seasonal items that will fit with the décor in your home. If you must put away boxes of décor at the end of the season (except maybe Christmas), you are doing too much. Give yourself a break; it’s OK to give away seasonal décor that is tired or dated or worn. Go with bigger and nicer items and less of them. One big, beautiful jar of good faux spring blooms works so much better than lots of small, out-of-style, superfluous spring and summer knick-knacks. Always remember to edit. You may need to remove a few items to place a few larger seasonal pieces to create your vignette.
10. Do what you love
Now that you have read all these tips for decorating your home for the season and doing it easily and tastefully, I’m going to throw in one amendment. Do what speaks to you. Do what you love. If you love lots of knick-knacks, then just do it. It’s your home, and it should reflect you. I’m just hoping you will use these tips to make a beautifully decorated home that reflects your taste and style. After all you are one of a kind, and your décor should be, too.
Jeanette Gaskill is the lead designer for Coastal Cottage of Amelia. She loves being able to work hand-in-hand with her customers to design the spaces they dream of. Gaskill knows that interior design is very personal so she considers it an honor to be invited into her customer’s homes. As part of the process, she takes time to get to know her customer’s personality and tastes which is always reflected in the final result – she can make magic.
Want to find unique holiday and seasonal decor? Shop Coastal Cottage of Amelia today for all your decor needs!
