You’ve just purchased your first home and you’re beyond excited. Fall is here and you get to decorate! Unfortunately, you might not know where to start. Read on for some tried and true decorating tips that will make your house stand out on the block and show your pride in your first home.
Virtual Reality is Your Friend
There are new virtual reality apps that allow you to take a photo of the space you want to decorate and play around with the designs on your mobile device. This method allows you to see what the changes will look like before you institute them. Thinking about adding a beautiful piece of art to your living room wall that highlights your favorite fall activities? You can snap a photo of the painting and a picture of the wall to see how it might look before investing hundreds of dollars.
Focus on One Big Update per Season
If you’re like many first-time home buyers, you may have bought a fixer-upper. Real estate inventory is low and the market is highly competitive. To get the house size you want in the neighborhood you love, you may have to settle for something that needs a few repairs.
Plan to update one big thing per season if your budget will allow it. The weather is mild in the fall which makes it an excellent time for home repairs. A garage door covers 35 to 40 percent of a home’s facade, so changing it up makes an instant visual impact.
Add Small Touches at First
If you aren’t quite sure where to start with fall decorating, start small. Add a collection of gourds and pumpkins to a bowl on your dining room table, put some potted mums on the front porch and add throw pillows with seasonal phrases like “Fall Y’all” or “Grateful.” Think about the things you love most about fall and how you can convey those things to your home’s visitors.
You also don’t have to buy all of your fall decor in a single year. Only buy things you love and take the time to build your fall decor collection. The first year, you might add a wreath to the door. The second year, you might invest in that painting mentioned above. Before you know it, your house will scream fall.
Declutter
If you want your fall decorations to stand out, get rid of unnecessary clutter. The fall is a great time to go through all those boxes you have yet to unpack. Create three piles — keep, give away and sell. Find a place for everything and get rid of those 50-year-old China glasses you will never use. If you must keep them, find a nice storage container to label and put them away. You could also gift them to another family member who hosts dinners and would have more use of them.
Pumpkin Spice Everything
One thing people either love or hate about fall is pumpkin spice. You can tap into this trend by adding some scented candles or burning wax to make your house smell like fall. Sometimes decorating is more about the feeling you create when someone enters your home and a pumpkin spice scent can bring back a lot of fond memories.
Another idea is to simmer a pot of water with cinnamon sticks and nutmeg — some people add a bit of orange rind as well. This trick helps make your home smell homey and fall-like. You can also add small touches, such as pumpkin spice handsoap in the guest bathroom.
Your First Home
It’s exciting to own your first home and decorate it for the various holidays. Remember to focus on the overall feeling of fall instead of trying to make your home look like something out of a magazine. People will remember how they felt when they were visiting more than the specific decorations you add. Create an interior and exterior design that is entirely your own and sets you apart.