Although this year has been anything but ordinary, summer still proved to be hot and invigorating, calling us outside for pool days and barbecues. But now, as we enter September, fall is fast approaching.

Sure, it’s still hot, but there’s a crisp air slowly settling in. And with the kids heading back to school and some of us heading back to the office, life is about to kick into high gear. It can be stressful getting schedules in order and routines set, but remember that there are positives to change. Instead of dwelling on the potential chaos of a new season, recognize fall as a time of renewal. A time to recommit to your goals and make new ones. A time for new beginnings and lessons to be learned.

While summer moved us outside, fall pulls us inward and inside, and it’s important to take its renewed energy with us as we go. That means embracing its fresh energy not just for and in yourself, but for and in your home as well. This season, with cooler weather and less reason to go outside, your home is going to see it all—eight-hour days in Zoom meetings, playdates with new friends from school, afternoons spent curled by the fire with a good book, family holiday celebrations. So do yourself and your home a favor and add some fresh perspective to tired spaces with these mindful home decor tips for embracing fall’s energy of renewal.

Mindful Home Decor: Tips for Your WFH Space

Your home office doesn’t have to be as stark as your work office. The fall season is reinvigorating, and with a few small updates, your office or workspace can be too.

Small changes, like adding your favorite fall-scented candle to your desk or changing your computer background to a fall scene, can breathe new life into the space you’ve been sitting at every day for the last year and a half.

Adding a new smart-locking furniture piece to your space can encourage a new routine and greater organization, something we all need as schedules ramp up this season. Plus, it gives you a safe space to store your laptop, headphones, and other work necessities as playdates and family visits become more frequent.

Mindful Home Decor: Tips for a Nesting Space

For those of us in colder climates, it’s about to cool off real quick, which means it’s time to prepare for those never-leave-the-house days. It’s fair to assume there’s a good spot in your home to get comfortable and watch TV, but what about a space to read a book, take a nap, or do something calming like work on a puzzle?

Having a space in your home to get cozy is quintessential fall energy. And the good news is, it doesn’t require drastic renovations to make one. Try these easy mindful home decor tips for your perfect fall nest:

• Embrace texture. Bring in fuzzy blankets, layer a couple rugs, hang new curtains, and add a bunch of pillows. Go for darker colors that compliment fall’s traditional burnt color palette.

• Create ambiance with lighting. Add in soft light with lamps. Keep them staggered and at different heights and angles so you can use them to set whatever mood you want.

• Layer in live plants. Bringing a touch of outdoors inside will add warmth to any space and remind you of your growth in the season ahead.

Mindful Home Decor: Tips for Entertaining

With fall here, the holidays are right around the corner, which means a lot of people coming in and out of your home for parties, dinners, and stayover visits. Getting ready for the season of entertaining requires planning and organization, and part of that organization means safely storing things you don’t want falling into the wrong hands.

Updating your home with a piece of smart-locking furniture not only helps to renew your space, it provides you a safe place to lock away everything from firearms to expensive bottles of wine. And it comes in handy for your next holiday party.

With a smart-locking entertainer, you have a space to set out a food spread and safely store your alcohol until it’s time to break it out (or break out more). And when the party winds down and people head home, you can safely store whatever you don’t want your stayover guests, or their children, to get a hold of.

Keep these other mindful home decor tips in mind as you prep for the season of entertaining:

• When decorating, stick to just two or three colors. This not only helps to bring the feel of the season inside, but it makes shopping easier and gives your decor a professional look.

• A fireplace is the perfect decor for any holiday party, but it can quickly overheat a room full of people in a small space. If you’re working with a smaller room or are expecting a large number of people, consider placing lit pillar candles in there instead.

• Refresh your table, chandelier or mantle for the fall and winter seasons by draping them with fresh greenery cut from your yard or local floral shop. This brings natural seasonal scents inside and is a great reminder of the changes in nature happening in your part of the world. (Plus, it’s compostable, and if you use your yard, it’s free!) 

Whether you live where it stays hot year-round or you’re already starting to feel the dry fall air roll in, this upcoming season is a time of change. With school starting, schedules changing, and holiday parties lining up, it can feel overwhelming, but embracing the renewed energy of fall with these mindful home decor tips will help you add a calming presence to your home that can help you combat the overwhelm and relish in this season of change.