How to Get Your Home Ready for Autumn

nikkipatston3

6 days ago

4 min read

Autumn is probably the season when we start asking the most of our homes.

Once this balmy post-summer weather ends, we'll be spending more time inside, the heating goes back on, coats and shoes come through the door wet and, if you have a dog, you're suddenly reminded just how much mud one small animal can transport into a house.

So, how do we get our homes ready for it?

1. First, here's what we're NOT going to do...

Buy loads of 'autumnal decor' from Temu, Amazon and other such places that we'll inevitably throw away when December arrives and it's time to replace it with the 'Christmas decor'.

If you love decorating for autumn, I totally get it - it can be really fun. But use what nature is already giving us

Dried flowers and branches, natural wreaths, bowls of apples, conkers collected with the kids, and actual pumpkins that can become soup once they've finished sitting on the kitchen table looking lovely.

We really don't need to give huge corporations even more of our money for plastic pumpkins, fake leaves and seasonal signs that will eventually end up in landfill.

Right, rant over

Let's begin.

2. Deal with the wet stuff at the door

If there's one part of the house that's about to start working considerably harder, it's the entrance.

Wet shoes, muddy boots, coats, umbrellas, school bags, dogs...

Start with a properly sized doormat. I've had large recessed coir mats fitted across the full width of the entrance in clients' homes, giving you enough room to actually wipe wet or muddy shoes before stepping onto the main flooring. Because they're inset into the floor, they look neat and intentional too.

Then think about where everything goes next.

You don't necessarily need an enormous boot room. You need enough hooks for coats to dry, sensible shoe storage and somewhere for all the things that otherwise end up dumped by the door.

And if you have a dog, keep a towel nearby. It isn't glamorous, but neither is chasing a muddy spaniel through the living room - I talk from experience.

3. Choose materials that can handle real life

A home can be beautiful without being precious

Entrances and other busy areas need flooring that can cope with wet shoes, muddy paws and being cleaned regularly. Stone and good-quality porcelain are both brilliant options, and I love wool rugs in living areas because they're warm, hardwearing and only get better with a little life.

The same goes for sofas and chairs. If you have children or pets, think about how a fabric will actually live before falling in love with it. Texture can be much more forgiving than something completely flat and pristine, and washable covers can be a godsend.

It's not about choosing everything based on practicality. It's about putting the right material in the right place, so you can actually enjoy your home rather than constantly worrying about it.

4. Make your home feel warmer before simply turning up the heating

Autumn is a really good time to notice where your house isn't working quite as well as it could.

Curtains can make an enormous difference at this time of year, particularly in older houses. Heavier fabrics and properly lined curtains help a room feel warmer as well as making it look cosier.

Can you feel a draught around an old window? Is a sofa blocking a radiator? Are beautiful floor-length curtains trapping all the heat behind them?

And if you're renovating, think about warmth early on. Insulation, where your radiators sit and whether underfloor heating makes sense aren't the glamorous decisions, but you'll appreciate them far more on a freezing Tuesday evening in January than you will a new cushion.

5. Get the lighting right

This is probably my favourite part of the seasonal change.

The lamps start going on earlier and suddenly rooms that worked perfectly well during summer can feel completely different.

Rather than relying on one bright ceiling light, have several smaller sources of light around the room: a lamp beside the sofa, one on a sideboard, wall lights or a little lamp in a dark corner.

And make sure the light itself isn't too harsh. I generally prefer a warm white bulb of around 2700K in living rooms and bedrooms

If you're renovating, think about where you'll actually sit and how you'll use each room before deciding where all your lighting and sockets go.

And if you're not renovating? Moving a lamp from one room to another can sometimes completely change a corner. Shop your own home first.

6. Design for how autumn actually changes your life

This is probably the biggest one.

Rather than thinking about how to make your house look more autumnal, think about what becomes annoying as soon as the weather changes

Where do the wet coats go?

Where does the washing dry when it can't go outside?

Where do the football boots, school bags and umbrellas end up?

Where does the dog get cleaned after a muddy walk?

If you have a utility room, make it work hard. Think about somewhere to hang clothes and wet coats, good storage, durable flooring and, if you're renovating and have a dog, perhaps even a deep sink or dog shower.

If you don't have a utility, the same principle applies elsewhere. Give the things you use every day somewhere sensible to live.

These might not be the most exciting design decisions, but they're the ones that make a home genuinely lovely to live in.

Good interior design isn't about hiding away all the evidence that people live in a house. It's about anticipating real life and making it work - while still creating somewhere beautiful.

So yes, bring out the heavier throws, turn on the lamps and embrace the darker colours.

Just maybe leave the plastic pumpkins where they are.