If you live in an apartment or a small house with little storage, not to worry. Changing out your interior design from warm weather to cold weather doesn't mean you have to store furniture or tons of accessories. All it requires is a plastic bin or the plastic bins that slide under your bed large enough to hold a few curtains, throws, comforter set and maybe some accent pillows.
Let's go over the bare necessities of changing over your design!
First let's look at the color scheme and fabrics.
Spring and summer months cry out for light, bright colors like seafoam, yellow and vivid greens. They are cool colors that trick the mind into thinking the area is brighter and cooler than it actually is. But these colors won't work when the days get shorter, darker and cooler.
Always paint your walls a neutral color if you don't want to repaint them twice a year. A nice neutral shade of gray with a little hint of blue or green works well for both seasons. Behr has a great website that allows you to try the colors out on 3D walls in various room settings to get a feeling for them.
In the spring and summer months we tend to use linen and cotton for our window treatments, throws and slipcovers. While those fabrics work great for warmer months, they can literally leave you cold in the cooler months.
Hence the plastic bins. I change out my window coverings, slipcovers, throws, accent pillows and comforter sets twice a year. Tip: I love duvet covers! They take up very little space and all I have to do is slip it over my existing comforter to get an entirely new look.
I keep several low plastic containers under my bed. When the season changes from one to the other, I simply pull out the tubs, replace the items and (after laundering everything) put the "old" season items in the tub which gets shoved under my bed for another 6 months. Really simple and the impact is incredible.
Lighting
Even a small apartment or house can appear light and bright in the summer. However, once the days grow shorter and the light gets dimmer, it may (and often can) appear dingy, dark and depressing. Mood lighting is an absolute must.
I have 5 lamps in my living room. During the brighter months, I never turn them on during the day and only use 1 or 2 of them at night. But during the winter months, they are all on - all the time. The difference it makes to the appearance of my room as well as my mood, is incredible.
Accent Pieces
Swapping out a Turquoise accent pillow for a burnt orange or maybe a brown corduroy accent pillow can make a ton of difference in a room. I have a tall glass cylinder vase that I keep filled with shiny marbles and glass chips. In the warm months, those marbles are clear, turquoise, seafoam and lime green colored but in the fall, those marbles get swapped out for a bag of marbles in brown, amber and cobalt colors. Dried leaves with vibrant fall colors from your yard could also work.
There's no need to buy a new sofa or easy chair to change the seasons in your room. Just swap out the lightweight throw for a plush one in a wintery color...and of course...swap out the accent pillows.
Candles are both the cheapest and easiest thing to swap out when the seasons change. Take the white or light colored candles and swap them out for some darker warmer colored candles. Add some leaves, acorns, popcorn, dried peas or dried beans around the candle for that extra touch. Adding spices such as cloves, cinnamon, coffee beans or other fragrant material will not only look appealing but smell great too. For a red punch of color, try buying some plastic cranberries to throw in there. I don't recommend real ones for two reasons, out of season they are pricey and also because they will rot before long. Remember, all these items can easily be swapped out for spring/summer items once winter is done. Below are some great ideas.
Bathroom/Kitchen
Let's not forget these two rooms when we're transitioning our space from summer to fall! Something as cheap and quick as swapping out the towels can make a huge difference. Since most apartments and small houses have very limited counter space for decoration, less is definitely more. Unless you're very crafty and like the "over the top" experience, I'd recommend just a couple of changes in these rooms or you could be left feeling crowded.
In the kitchen, I'd recommend a decorative bowl filled with pine cones or a small arrangement of candles or a shelf filled with harvest items such as Mason jars, wooden utensils and placing a small collection of mums in vibrant colors on the window sill can immediately transform a room. Burlap is a very inexpensive material. Use it to wrap your spring/summer flower pots or to create a table runner to give them an instant fall appeal.
No apartment makeover would be complete without addressing the bedroom! Everything shown above can be easily transitioned into a bedroom decoration. Usually all that's needed to transform a bedroom from summer to fall is a thick throw at the foot of the bed, accent pillows, some of the candle ideas above and if inclined, a new rug in a fall color and/or new curtains. The rooms below have not been painted or their contents edited. Only simple changes have been made.
So spend a Saturday transforming your spaces into a winter wonderland.....on a budget!
As always, enjoy your space!
