Full overhaul or a few pieces of fall home decor: we have it all

Even though spring is traditionally when everyone is in a cleaning/organizing/updating mood, we’d argue that fall is one of the best times to tackle it all. It’s cooler outside, making it much easier to feel motivated (if you’re us, at least, but we bet you’re similar). The -ber months are also great for knocking out those home improvement projects, small or large, ahead of the holiday season. Not to mention, the kiddos are back in school, so you might just find you have a little more bandwidth to check out fall home decor or YouTube some DIYs.

Going all out? We have ideas. Wanting a quick refresh? We’ve got suggestions. Maybe we’ve had a few too many Iced Apple Crisp Oatmilk Shaken Espressos (it’s a mouthful, but they’re divine); maybe we’re just ready to be done with the heat. The point is, we’re all about fall this year. So whether you’ve had your fall home decor up since July, or you’re just looking for inspiration for the upcoming months, these fall refresh ideas are ready when you are.

The Nugget Play Couch in "Nuggeteer"

Nugget

You already love the Nugget, and they just launched this limited-edition color: Nuggeteer. We're swooning over this warm, vibrant orange hue that's oh-so-perfect for fall. The Nugget is both a piece of furniture, a fort, and a toy since it can be configured in any way your little ones want. Remember, Nuggeteer is only available in limited quantities—once it's gone, it's gone!

The Nugget Play Couch in "Nuggeteer" ($249.00)—Buy Here!

Unplug Soy Candles Fall Collection

Unplug Soy Candles

Known for their all-natural 100% soy wax candles that are handcrafted in an artisanal way, Unplug Soy Candles designs, pours, and packages each one with in Fishers, Indiana. Their fall and Halloween collection this year is absolutely adorable, plus they're designed so you pick your print and your scent. Choose from autumnal scents like Cranberry Chutney, Apples & Maple Bourbon, and Balsam & Cedar.

Unplug Soy Candles Fall Collection ($36.00/ea)—Buy Here!

Totter + Tumble Play Mats Artisanal & Ikat Collection

Totter Tumble

Totter + Tumble thinks soft and cushy play mats should look great (and we obviously agree). We've loved all their prints, and their new Artisanal & Ikat Collection makes it easy to update your house for the new season, give your little ones a soft place to play, and a wipes-up-fast cleaning surface. They're available in multiple colors, sizes, and shapes! And did we mention they're reversible? Because they are.

Totter + Tumble Play Mats Artisanal & Ikat Collection (From $110.00)—Buy Here!

NewAge Products Bold Series 7-Piece 24-Gauge Steel Garage Storage System in Deep Red

NewAge Products

If you've been wading through bins, boxes, and bags searching for your Halloween and fall decorations in your garage, you're probably swearing that this is the year you get it organized. Whether you need a little spruce up or a full overhaul, this storage set from NewAge is sure to finally get it all under control. With lockable doors, stain-resistant work surfaces, and multiple colors to choose from, this is an investment that creates a gift that keeps on giving.

NewAge Products Bold Series 7-Piece 24-Gauge Steel Garage Storage System in Deep Red ($2139.99)—Buy Here!

Sierra Asymmetrical Wreath with 48 LEDs

lights.com

A brass hoop with the perfect fall leaves and fairy lights? We're sold. We also can't resist the coordinating garland and pillar candle rings.

Sierra Asymmetrical Wreath with 48 LEDs ($44.99)—Buy Here!

Pura's Fall Home Fragrance Collection

Pura

We're already hooked on Pura. Their smart home (and car!) fragrance diffusers let us schedule, change strengths, switch between scents, and know when the fragrance vials are running low, all within the Pura app. Add scents that come from best-loved brand collabs (think: Anthropologie, Disney, NEST, and Homesick, to name a few) and your whole home will smell like a fall wonderland. It's a thing. Trust us.

Pura's Fall Home Fragrance Collection ($11.19+)—Buy Here!

Soltech Indoor Plant Lights

Soltech

One thing that's easy to miss about the summer is keeping your plants outside to soak up the sun. Instead of trying to keep them bundled up and safe from the cooler elements this fall, bring them inside and pop them under one of these chic Soltech Indoor Plant Lights. They're available in a bunch of different styles, so you can keep your plant babies happy and your cozy home aesthetic on point.

Soltech Indoor Plant Lights ($75.00+)—Buy Here!

Faux Fur Throw Blanket

Crate&Barrel

Why do reviewers rate this faux fur throw from Crate&Barrel 5 stars? Ultra-soft, perfect for the couch or foot of your bed, and machine-washable (so it'll even stand up against your kiddos)? That sounds 5-star worthy to us. Available in 7 fall-ready colors.

Faux Fur Throw Blanket ($119.95)—Buy Here!

Modular Closets

Modular Closets

The summer heat makes it genuinely difficult to want to take on projects, outside or inside. Now that it's cooling off, now is the perfect time to tackle the big projects ahead of the holidays (There. We said it.). Modular Closets designs custom closets, pantry storage, and garage solutions (if you're anything like us, you might be dreaming of organizing all three).

Modular Closets—Get Started Here!

Hypnotizing Fire Candle

The Harmonist

The Hypnotizing Fire Candle from The Harmonist might become your go-to fall scent. Pimento berries, Bulgarian rose, cloves, and more, all blend together for a unique and downright addictive fragrance. Bonus points for the sleek candle jar, too!

Hypnotizing Fire Candle ($98.00)—Buy Here!

Meyer Spark Edition 6pc Cookware

Meyer Cookware

Cookware that's pretty doesn't really do it for us unless it also works really well. The Meyer Cookware set delivers on both counts, and although we're partial to the Spark Edition colors pictured for the fall, there's also a grey-toned Cinder & Spark Edition that's so cool, too.

Meyer Spark Edition 6pc Cookware ($179.00)—Buy Here!

Google Nest Learning Thermostat

Google

The Nest Learning Thermostat is a smart thermostat that learns your schedule and programs itself to help save energy (really!). You can control it from anywhere with the Nest app, and it works with Alexa and Google Assistant so you can adjust the temperature with just your voice. And it’s designed to be seen, with a big, bright display and several different metal finishes. 

Google Nest Learning Thermostat ($199.99+)—Buy Here!

Nolah Evolution 15" Mattress

Nolah

A new mattress? Don't mind if we do. There's a really good chance you don't realize how uncomfortable your old mattress is. Maybe you just wake up stiff, can't get comfortable, or end up sinking into the low part one one side or the other. The award-winning Nolah Evolution isn't just comfortable. It literally provides cooling, heat-dissipating support thanks to 9 full layers of technology (or magic. We don't really understand how they're this comfortable. We're just glad they are.)

Nolah Evolution 15" Mattress (Starting at $999.00)—Buy Here!

Comfort & Joy Set

Lifetherapy

Okay, we admit, this set is meant for the holidays, and while it's perfect for the winter months, the notes of pine, cinnamon, and amber are just as cozy for the fall. It also doesn't hurt to snap a set or two up for gifts this upcoming season!

Comfort & Joy Set ($84.00)—Buy Here!

Edge Brass Entryway Mirror

Crate&Barrel

Mirrors make a huge difference to any room, but one in the entryway? Chef's kiss. It opens up large and small spaces, gives you a place to hang your keys, and comes in several metal finishes, sizes, and shapes, too!

Edge Brass Entryway Mirror ($299.00)—Buy Here!

All the products listed are independently & personally selected by our shopping editors.

If you buy something from the links in this article, we may earn affiliate commission or compensation. Prices and availability reflect the time of publication.

All images courtesy of retailers.

Photo: Photo by Jenn Evelyn-Ann on Unsplash

Yesterday, for the first time in 10 years, all three of my children went to day camp. Feelings of terror and excitement flooded through me watching them climb the bus one at a time and disappear into the tall rows of forest green leather seats. My youngest is four and I wondered if he would be okay. I reassured myself the camp has a specific group for his age, with trained counselors. He will be fine. Then I went home and looked at the clock. It was only 9:00 a.m. and I would not return to the bus stop until 4:00 p.m. to pick them up. I had seven whole hours in front of me to fill.

I swear I heard birds chirping outside my window, I saw the sun shining (even though admittedly the clouds were a bit heavy that morning). I couldn’t wait to dig into my options: the jobs, projects, ideas, cleaning, organizing, shopping, writing, reading, napping, everything I had compiled on my “To-Do List” for the last ten years since my first child came into the world. Nothing has been done since that day. And now, it was time.

But where to start? The list is so long! I had not a second to waste and yet all I wanted to do was turn on my favorite show and sit with my coffee, not moving a muscle. I looked around at the few little piles of toys and clothes and dirty dishes, small enough not to feel messy, but enough in the corners to make our home feel cluttered. They have been sitting there in different shapes and ways but present somewhere for the last ten years.

Did it happen? I wondered to myself. Did the days of babies and diapers, sippy cups and tantrums, mama pick me up’s, naps and refusing to nap days finally pass me by? They said it would happen, people out in public, random strangers, older relatives, they all said it. At the grocery store with one kid on my leg, one screaming in the cart, while the third chants in a British accent, “We’re panicking! We’re panicking!” a well-intentioned stranger seeing the actual panic in my eyes as I darted through aisles grabbing random boxes off the shelves would cheerily say, always, “These days will go by fast!” I hated them saying it because I didn’t care. The days were long and hard. Parenting small children is like living in a fog of overwhelming joy, excruciating fear, and overall survival (yours and theirs). Yet, as they grow, the fog lifts little by little until one day you send them off for the whole day and you realize you can see again. The days did not go by fast, but they did, apparently, go by.

Now, here I am sitting by myself at my kitchen table in silence savoring a dreamy cup of coffee. I can see clearly for a few hours. Just as it was at the camp bus stop, it feels exciting and terrifying at the same time. It is a new era, having big kids. They have been little for so long, it’s all I’ve known, the thick time-consuming hands-on seconds of every day. They are dwindling, and while I will miss them, I honestly cannot wait for the next phase. The one where they keep getting on the school bus every day and I am left for a few beautiful hours to do the things I have set aside for the last ten years. I will never get those little years back. And while they have been messy and wholly disorganized, I know they have been beautifully lived with giggles and smiles and play days. They have been relaxed and lazy and adventurous. Creative, intuitive, and open to the world around them, my kids have hopefully learned among the piles and dust that life isn’t about being perfect. It is about spending time, not orchestrating time. Making things up on the fly, not scheduling days down to the minute. Life is about living in the moment, not worrying about how it looks to everyone else.

The camp is only one week. They will still come home at the end of each day and need me. I will be refreshed and ready. The next ten years will still be about raising these little rebels into responsible capable people, they are not on their own just yet. But for this week, I am happy to soak up the precious hours of quiet, and I might try to clean at least a little bit in between my coffee breaks. Truthfully, as much as I am reveling in the calm of their absence, I can’t wait for them to pile off the bus again and tell me everything they did while they were gone.

Krissy Dieruf is a licensed marriage and family therapist. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and three children, loves to sing and dance around the house and has a soft spot for rebels and crazy hair. 

Nothing says winter woodland like an arrangement of pinecones, but you don’t have to be a craft-master to make your home feel more woodsy. Just try one of these insanely easy ways to make your whole house fit for a squirrel. Read on for ideas.

photo: amanda timpton via flickr

Pinecone 101: If you are gathering pinecones from the great outdoors (as opposed to a craft store) you’ll want to bake them before use. This helps to dry them out, reduce the sticky pitch drip, kill off unwanted wrigglers and gets them to “relax” so that they open out to a nice pineconey shape. Bake on a covered cookie sheet at 250° for about on hour for about 30 minutes (or longer if they are very wet).

photo: Tyler Rye Photography courtesy Mountain Side Bride 

Once you’ve prepped your little pretties, here’s a few simple ways you can trick out your home with minimal effort.

1. Pile the cones in a large large apothecary or candy jars. They needn’t all face the same direction.

photo: Jen Kim via flickr

2. Find a decorative wooden or glass bowl and fill it up with pinecones as you would fresh fruit. Place it in the center of the table with a few boughs of green and you’ve decked your table out, woodland style.

3. Ditto that for a basket. If it has a handle you can put a festive ribbon on it, and place it near the entry way. You can also mix in pinecones and ornaments for a uber-simple but totally holly-jolly decoration.

photo: Miia Sample via flickr

4. Take some clothespins and glue them (hot glue works best) to one side of the pinecone, and use the pinching side to hold holiday cards. If you don’t have glue you can try wedging the clothespin in, which works pretty well if you’re not moving the cones too much. (Flocking optional).


photo: Susy Morris via flickr

5. Convert your summer and fall pots into instant cold-resistant decor by leaving the pots in place, cutting back or pulling out the annuals and piling in the winter greens and pinecones. You don’t even need to remove the dirt, because it gives the pinecones the boost they need to be seen.

6. To get some winter-white textures, you can try bleaching your pinecones. This one requires a spot where the littles will be nowhere near it, and a big bucket or tub for bleach. Just check them periodically, usually after a day. Keep in mind they will have a bleachy-smell, so you may need to rinse them and bake them again to reduce it.

Have you got any pinecone go-to ideas for your holiday decor? Tell us about them in the comments below!

—Amber Guetebier