How to Refresh Your Home Before Fall

Backpacks are hung by the door, calendars are filling back in, and somewhere between the last long weekend of summer and pumpkins at the grocery store, we start looking around our own homes and thinking: it's time for a refresh.

We just wrapped a few design consultations with clients who had that exact feeling. It felt like the perfect excuse to pull back the curtain a little and share how we think through a home refresh.

“Refreshing your home” doesn't have one definition. Sometimes it's a can of paint, new throw pillows, and a new rug. Sometimes it's wallpaper, drapery, and a reupholstered sofa. Or it can simply be furniture rearranging and adding a new pillow!  We love it all! Here's where we'd start.

Small Home Updates, Big Impact

If you're short on time (or budget) before the holidays hit, we recommend starting here. These are the refreshes that punch well above their weight.

• Rearranging furniture. The most cost effective way to update your home is simply moving your furniture and decor around. It creates the feeling of a “refresh” without costing you anything, besides your time. 

• Adding new decor. One of the most budget-friendly ways to refresh a space. A few new pillows, a stack of coffee table books, some favorite knick knacks, or a statement lamp can make a room feel updated without a big investment.

• Adding wallpaper or paneling. One of our favorite go-tos for a refresh. Instead of just swapping out decor, we love layering in a beautiful wallpaper or adding paneling. It gives a space real depth and an entirely new feel.

• Swap the rug. One of the easiest ways to shift a room's entire mood without touching a single wall. Depending on the look you are going for, our rug go to’s are either a natural, textural weave for something more subtle, or a vintage or vintage-inspired patterned rug with more color and movement. Same room, same furniture, completely different feeling.

• New drapery. Soft linen drapes in a warm neutral make a room feel finished. If your window treatments feel like an afterthought, this one's for you.

• Layer in lighting. A new pendant or a pair of table lamps can carry more of the “refresh” than you'd think.

Bigger Fall Home Refresh Ideas Worth the Investment

If you've got a little more time, budget, or patience, these are the updates that change a room's entire personality. We'd encourage you to start now, so they're finished by the time the holidays roll around.

• Wallpaper. Nothing changes a room's whole personality faster. Go for something like a warm, block-print pattern for something grounded, or a botanical floral for something softer and more romantic. Either one, paired with a little board-and-batten wainscoting, gives a builder-grade room real character.

• Reupholstery. Swapping a sofa's fabric or starting over with something new is one of the highest-impact big refreshes. Same floor plan, but feels like a completely different room.

• Built-ins and storage. Custom built-ins or shelving turns a media room/flex space into a room that can actually hold board games and everyday life, not just a TV. If your flex room has never quite worked, storage could be why.

• A full room replan. Sometimes a room isn't working because the furniture just doesn't make sense with the space or use. We love approaching a room with a clean slate and designing it to suit a client's specific needs. A sectional for a family to lounge together, a space carved out for a play area for kids or a game table for puzzles, cards and mahjong.

Designer Tips for Refreshing a Room, Whatever Your Scale

• Start with how you want to use the space and how you want it to feel. That's almost always where the refresh should begin.

• Pick one statement layer (wallpaper, a rug, an upholstery fabric) and let everything else stay quiet around it.

• Think through two real directions before you commit. We do this on every project, and it never fails to make the right answer obvious. Mood boards are your friend for starting to visualize.

Prepping Your Home Now for the Season Ahead

The holidays will be here before we know it, and if you start your refresh now, you can actually enjoy it. No one wants to be scrambling the week before Thanksgiving. Whether you're ready for a fresh paint color or a full wallpaper-and-reupholstery project, now's the time to start!

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