It’s cozy season! So grab a latte and read on with us…
We always joke that we live exactly where we are meant to live...in a state that gives us the gift of experiencing all four seasons as they are meant to be experienced! A fresh snow fall that leaves everything covered in what looks like sparkling white frosting in winter. The blooming of springtime and the hope of what's to come. Hot summer days spent in the garden and firefly gazing on the deck. All leading to fall...which boasts the most epic sunrises where the light shining through the trees leaves everything looking ablaze with impossible-to-replicate oranges and yellows. We don't know about you, but it makes us want to hike through the crunchy leaves and crisp fall air in cozy sweaters and come home to a fire and hot apple cider....at home!Speaking as the mother now, I am very aware that as a family with older children I am living in "the good ole days", at home, and part of my mothering and homemaking has always been to create "moments" for my family. Traditions that our kids will remember. Ones that include all 5 senses, because anytime all of our senses are involved, we can easily stir up a memory in our minds and recall exactly how we felt; where were we? What did the room look like? Smell like? Did we hear or taste anything that sticks in our minds so vividly that we set out to recreate it each year?These are core memories, and I know for a fact that they've made our family's life dotted with sequences of moments that we will hold onto with fondness forever.
As a trained Interior Designer, a large part of how I do this is by creating spaces that are beautiful. We are drawn to beauty; it's a God-given gift. This truth is evident just by looking outside at those early morning fall sunrises we mentioned before. Beauty is good, and it's one of the ways I create moments that make us truly say, to quote a favorite childhood movie, "There's no place like home." Moments that help us live in our homebody era!
Cozy fall living room decor.
We want to walk into our living room, grab a blanket from anywhere, and cozy up!
How we decorate our living room changes with the seasons, because when everything stays the same, memories become stagnant just like the space does. Over the years, we've picked up things here and there to decorate our home. Putting a space together takes time to collect and curate...it doesn't happen on a one-and-done shopping day. We try to create something aesthetic, but not sterile...something that feels cozy like it can be used. We like to create opportunities for those moments we mentioned by having nooks and layers. We have our prayer chair in the corner, facing the sunrise, adorned with sacred art and always stacked with the Bible and other books we are reading. The lounge chair in the other corner is the perfect recline to appreciate the changing colors of the leaves. And the sofa arrangement is an inviting space to chat, watch a movie together, or simply stare at the fire. Layers and colors that give a “friendly nod” to the season add to the moments created in this space.
Not all fall decor has to be pumpkins. Curate items that show your style!
Let’s talk about what we like to see when we pull up to the house…
Also known as curb appeal!
The joy of being home begins when you pull up to your house. Think about what you want to see after being gone all day at work, or finally coming home after an extensive day of errands. The same suggestions from 2 homebodies to another apply; do you see fall colors? Layers? What do you smell? How does it all make you feel? Does what you see adorning your front porch make you breathe a sigh of relief over being home, or stress over a never-ending to-do list? (Helpful hint: the to-do list will never be completely checked off, so don't stress over that; but seeing your home shouldn't automatically trigger feelings of never getting ahead.) It should feel like a warm hug, a respite, a place you're proud of because it IS a gift you've been given. Caring for that may mean "shopping" your basement to see what decor you already have that you can move around to new places, or getting a mum or 2 and a pumpkin that make you happy. Don't overcomplicate it. And don't tell yourself that beauty isn't part of the equation.
Layering mums and pumpkins (and plants still miraculously alive after summer) create beautiful curb appeal!
We’re not going for perfection. The art of “home” is an art that’s being lost…so how can you care for your home in a way that makes you want to be in it?
But where do you start?Here are some tips we came up with:1. Focus on some good smells...add seasonal essential oils to 1 part vinegar/2 parts water to create a fall cleaning spray, get a good candle, or bake something pumpkin-y and yummy!
2. Layer up with lots of cozy blankets that are easily accessible.
3. Have treats in fun bowls around the house.
4. Focus on warm lighting; lamps are far cozier than overhead lights!
5. Create a fall playlist and have it on playing softly in the background; our favorites are anything by Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, or Nat King Cole!
6. Light a fire or have candles dotted throughout.
7. Shop your basement/storage; what do you already have that you can set out for fall decor?
8. Layer mums and pumpkins of all sizes and colors to greet you when you come home.
9. Crack your windows and let in that crisp fall air!
Momma Mary, the ultimate homemaker.
We look to Mary as our inspiration.
Not only was she the first Christian, but she was also humbly at home for most of her life. We can imagine her gratitude in the home she had been given, where she raised the Savior and cared for her husband Saint Joseph. We like to keep this picture of her next to where we bake, remembering the moments she likely created for her family through beauty in the work she put her hands to. We pray you feel inspired to do the same...and step into your homebody era! Cheers, with a latte of course,
Isla and Nikki