One of the best parts of decorating a home is the ability to change things up at any time. Bored with the color scheme you chose when you first moved in? Change it. Tired of the stuff you’ve had on the walls since 2018? Take it down and start over. Seasonal home decor offers the perfect opportunity to refresh your home and have fun with your design.
As the weather changes or a particular holiday approaches, I always get the itch to mix up my decor and embrace new colors or textures. Plus making seasonal changes in my home keeps me from getting bored with my decor.
You don’t need to overhaul your entire house. Even small changes can have a huge impact on how your home feels during different seasons or holidays. Switching out the throw pillows on your couch or changing the bedding can create an entirely different vibe.
Embracing Seasonal and Holiday Themes
Seasonal home decor brings a lot of different styles to mind. Whether you’d rather die than have anything in your house that isn’t neutral or you use more sequins than the Eras Tour costume designer, there are ways to add seasonal and holiday touches to fit your taste.
Adding spring decor can be as simple as using lighter-colored hand towels in your bathroom or as kitschy as a group of moss-covered Easter bunnies on your mantel. Something as simple as a new mat on your porch and a floral wreath on the front door can signify the changing season.
I just added bold new drapes to our dining room and sometimes it feels like I’m in someone else’s house. I get a hit of dopamine every time I look at them!
Quick Decor Changes for Every Season
One of the easiest ways to update your home decor is to embrace the colors associated with the season. Spring brings lighter colors and lots of green mimicking the signs of new growth found outdoors; summer is bright and vibrant; fall is full of deeper tones of red, brown, and even purple; and winter often features lighter neutrals like cream and gray.
Swap out the throw pillows on your sofa for those with the current seasonal colors and you’ll immediately get a different feel in your living room.
Texture offers another quick seasonal decor change with a big impact. Just as each season has certain color associations, we also find different textures at certain times of the year. In the fall and winter, we crave that cozy feeling from soft knit blankets and fluffy down comforters. With the warmth of spring and summer, we want lighter knits and linens.
Switch breezy linen curtains for velvet drapes and your bedroom will instantly feel cozier and moodier, perfect for fall.
Holiday Cheer: Decorating for Special Occasions
I believe that certain holidays are an opportunity to let your home decor freak flag fly. Even if your everyday style is pretty tame, holidays like Halloween and Christmas are a free pass to go all out. (Or maybe your freak flag is hanging proudly all year round… you do you!)
No matter what your style, bright and colorful, neutral and spare, or anything in between there’s inspiration to be found for holiday decor. It’s one of the best things about social media and the internet. You can even use different styles or color schemes in different rooms if you can’t choose just one.
Color and texture are always a great starting point if the thought of holiday decor gives you hives. Wall and shelf decor open the door to other possibilities. Some holidays are associated with certain decor elements, for example, pumpkins around Halloween or garlands at Christmas time. You can stick with tradition or infuse these common elements with your unique taste.
DIY Decor Projects for Seasonal and Holiday Accents
DIY seasonal home decor projects are a smart way to keep costs down and embrace some of your personal style. You can choose your own color scheme or decorative elements to make it fit better in your home. There’s no rule that says your pumpkins have to be orange.
One of my favorite DIY decor projects is a seasonal wreath for our front door. It’s a simple way to give the front porch a seasonal update. A few years ago I went to a Galentine’s craft party and made this fun Valentine’s Day wreath.
Other DIY seasonal projects include custom pillow covers, themed centerpieces, and wall or shelf decor. I used wooden embroidery hoops, faux greenery, and velvet ribbon to create this wall display for the Christmas season.
Maximizing Impact with Minimal Effort
One of the biggest roadblocks to having fun with your home decor is often a lack of time. This is where simple seasonal home decor swaps can help you get the most impact with limited time and money.
Add leafy green branches to a large vase to evoke the feeling of spring with hardly any time or energy. Change out artwork or photos in frames that are already hanging on the wall to refresh your wall decor much faster than designing and sourcing a new gallery wall.
If you use more neutral tones on your walls and large furniture pieces, it provides a base that’s versatile and easier to change depending on the season or holiday. For example, my walls are a light blue-gray and our large furniture pieces are gray, oatmeal/natural, and white or wood-toned. It’s easy to make seasonal swaps that don’t conflict with the wall color or furniture.
Don’t forget about the power of scent! A new candle can evoke a specific season or holiday just as much as things you can see. This candle warmer is one of my new favorite things because it releases the scent without a flame and adds a decorative touch and ambient light as well.
Bringing it All Together: Creating a Cohesive Look
Most of us don’t have the budget (or the storage space) to completely overhaul our house every time the season changes. But as we talked about earlier, you don’t have to change everything to make an impact.
By choosing seasonal home decor elements that fit into your home’s aesthetic, you’ll be able to make changes while maintaining a cohesive feel. Try to choose decor items that compliment your existing color scheme and style.
It’s also okay if your aesthetic changes during specific times of the year. For example, I don’t normally use much red in my decor but once the Christmas season hits, it’s like an explosion of red around our house. If you don’t like traditional colors, there are plenty of alternatives to be found.
While certain holidays like Christmas might replace your existing decor for a limited time, most seasonal and holiday decor is better as an accent. When you choose decor that compliments the style and color scheme of your home, it creates a cohesive look rather than standing out.
Seasonal home decor is a fun way to update and accent your home. Even small changes can make an impact. Experiment with different types of seasonal and holiday decor to figure out what you like.
You don’t have to change your decor for every holiday. It’s your home so make a big splash during your favorite holidays or seasons and do as much or as little as feels right to you.
What’s your favorite season or holiday to decorate for? Tell me in the comments!
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