Fall Is Here: Let Your Home Change With the Season
Simple ways to make your home feel warmer, brighter and more comfortable as the days grow shorter.
By Pamela Brown
Fall officially arrived this week, and here in the St. Croix Valley, we’re beginning to see and feel those little changes that come with a new season.
The mornings are cooler, the sun is setting earlier, and I’m finding myself reaching for a jacket when I head outside. We’re not quite ready to give up those beautiful days on the patio, but inside, our homes are beginning to feel different too.
That’s one of the things I love about living in this part of the country. Our homes change right along with the seasons. The way we use our rooms, the light coming through our windows, even the things that make us feel comfortable all begin to shift.
And fall might be my favorite time to embrace it.
Follow the Fall Light
One of the first changes I notice isn’t the temperature. It’s the light.
The sun sits lower in the sky, sending that beautiful golden glow deeper into our homes. It can make a room look completely different, but it can also create glare in spaces that weren’t a problem during the summer.
This is the time of year when I start paying more attention to how we use our window treatments throughout the day. Instead of keeping shades closed to block summer heat, we may want them wide open on a sunny fall morning, then adjusted later when that lower afternoon sun becomes too bright.
Let that beautiful fall light in when you can. There’s a warmth to it that you just can’t duplicate.
Windows Change With the Seasons Too
During summer, we often think about keeping heat and intense sunlight out. As fall settles in, that changes. A sunny window can be something we want to take advantage of during the day, while at night that same expanse of glass can make a room feel cooler.
This is where window treatments do a lot more than decorate a room. Opening shades when the sun is shining can allow natural light and warmth into the house. Closing them as temperatures drop adds another layer between your living space and the glass.
Some treatments do this particularly well. Cellular shades use pockets of air to create an insulating layer at the window. Lined drapery can add softness and another layer of comfort. Even simply getting into the habit of opening and closing the treatments you already have at the right times of day can help your home work a little smarter.
We talk so much about thermostats, furnaces and insulation when we think about energy efficiency that it’s easy to overlook the windows. But what we put on them, and how we use it, can be part of the equation too.
Good design should work as beautifully as it looks.
Privacy Starts Earlier
There’s another seasonal change we don’t always think about until suddenly we’re standing in a brightly lit kitchen and it’s completely dark outside.
During summer, our shades and drapery might stay open until eight or nine o’clock. As the days shorten, we start closing them much earlier for privacy.
It’s a small thing, but it changes a room’s feel. Closing the shades and drawing the drapery almost becomes part of settling in for the evening.
For homes with motorized window treatments, scheduling them to adjust around sunrise and sunset can be especially nice this time of year. I love technology most when it quietly makes everyday life easier without making it feel more complicated.
Bring Back the Layers
Fall always makes me want a little more softness around the house, but that doesn’t mean every room needs pumpkins, leaves and seasonal signs.
Sometimes warmth comes from texture rather than decoration.
Bring the throws back out. Add a pillow with a little more texture. Pull out the heavier bedding. Bring in some branches, hydrangeas or other natural elements from outside.
Fabric at the windows can create that same effect. Drapery adds softness and movement, and when layered over a shade, it can make an entire room feel warmer and more finished.
You don’t necessarily need more things. Sometimes you just need another layer.
Make the Evenings Feel Different
One of my favorite things about fall is the return of evenings at home.
As it gets dark earlier, lighting becomes part of the decorating. Instead of relying on one bright overhead fixture, turn on lamps at different heights around the room. Light a candle. Let the fireplace become the focal point again.
Even closing the drapery can change the mood. A room that felt bright and open during the day suddenly becomes softer and more intimate at night.
Those little rituals tell us the day is winding down.
Don’t Give Up on the Outdoors Yet
As much as I enjoy making the inside of the house cozy again, I’m never quite ready to abandon the patio.
September and early October can give us some of the best evenings of the year here in Minnesota. The air is crisp, the bugs are finally giving us a little break, and sitting outside around a fire with a blanket can be even better than a hot July evening.
Keep a basket of throws near the door. Bring out the lanterns. Add some warmer lighting. If you have outdoor shades, that lower fall sun is another reason to keep using them.
There will be plenty of time to stay inside later.
Let Home Change With You
I think we sometimes put pressure on ourselves to “decorate for fall,” when our homes naturally change with the season anyway.
We spend more time inside. We cook different foods. We reach for blankets. We turn on lamps earlier. We close the shades before dinner and start gathering around the fireplace again.
Those aren’t decorating trends. They’re simply part of living in a place where the seasons change.
And maybe that’s what I love about fall most. It reminds us that our homes don’t have to stay exactly the same all year long. They can shift with the light, the weather and the way we’re living right now.
Sometimes all it takes is opening the shades to a beautiful fall morning, pulling them closed on a chilly evening, turning on a favorite lamp and settling in.
Here’s to loving where you live, in every season.
— Pamela
Thinking About Your Own Windows?
If you’d like help finding the right window treatments for your home, we’d be happy to help. Schedule a complimentary in-home consultation with Budget Blinds of Stillwater & Lake Elmo.
