Change Your Seasonal Decor Like a Pro

If you live in a place where the seasons are dramatically different, swapping a few decor elements isn't a frivolous adjustment but a necessary one. As summer transmogrifies into winter, you'll want to switch to fabric, colors, and other accessories that make your interiors and exteriors feel super cozy and welcoming.

When winter departs, as if by magic, the pieces that made your space feel warmer make way for a more easy breezy palette and cooler textures. Having a well-organized storage system in your attic or basement can make this a straightforward process and, hopefully, one that you look forward to.

The biggest clues you need about when to change your decor come from stepping outside. The landscape changes every few months, and the air on your skin will subtly morph. Of course, these hints become blaring announcements when you head to the shops and in-store displays reflect upcoming holidays and cultural moments.

Take your decor cues from nature. What fresh produce do you love that only comes around at a specific time of year? Find ways to artfully fill centerpiece bowls with foraged items such as pine cones, incorporate a fruit motif in seasonal wall art or scatter cushions, and play with scents. Hardy stems last long and add an earthiness to cool weather decor.

Can you feel the crispness in the air? The leaves will start changing soon, and you can look to their gorgeous colors for inspiration. Fall is a favorite time of year for many folks—it signals the forthcoming holidays and is just so distinct. Around Labor Day is an excellent time to move from summer decor to fall decor.

Fill bowls with apples and pears, and ensure your patio gets a little makeover with bright flowers. Leave center stage to make room for eucalyptus wreaths and hanging baskets full of tastefully selected gourds. If you want to be a little extra, you can drape magnolia garlands along your banisters.

Halloween isn't for everyone, but the over-the-top pageantry during the freakiest month of the year is a tradition perfected by Americans. Your fall decor's been up for a month, and you can leave it be—simply add the spooky elements that make October so fun.

You can lean into the kitsch-tastic with the likes of fake cobwebs and spiders, carved jack-o'-lanterns, skeletons, and gore. Or opt for a more subdued gothic approach with just a rusty cross, moody lighting in your front yard, jet-black candles, bats, cats, and ivy garlands.

Halloween's done and dusted, but you can keep the creepy decor up until the second week of November. Then it's time to pivot to winter decor. Don't go full-blown Christmas just yet if you're expecting friends and family over for Thanksgiving and Christmas—you want to keep things interesting.

It's time to bust out your jewel tones and plush rugs, throws, and pillows, if you haven't already. Scented candles and essential oil burners send forth odes to cinnamon, figs, pumpkin spice, and cedar. Turkey statues aren't quite our vibe, but in the timeless words of Sheryl Crow, "If it makes you happy, it can't be that bad."

"Deck the halls with boughs of holly; Fa la la la la la la la la." You heard 'em. Christmas is around the corner, and you can buy your tree and start hanging your baubles up as soon as Thanksgiving is over. Go classic with vibrant reds and greens, or stick with a chic winter wonderland with a white and cream mood board and twinkly fairy lights.

Snow globes, candy canes, stockings, Santas, elves, reindeer, candelabras, and other festive touches can sub in for the accessories you usually have on your mantel or wall niches, or on your porch.

Congrats are in order because you've made it to the New Year in one piece! We're Team Tay Tay, but we've gotta agree with John Mayer on this one—the Lover lyric should have been, "We can keep the Christmas lights on till February." As it is, Swifties will be taking down their Christmas decor at month's end, if not earlier.

Some Christians take their festive decor down after the Twelfth Night, around January 6th.

Spring has sprung. You know what that means: the Easter bunny is about to hop out with its assortment of pastels. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Before eggs and rabbits take over, nature is slowly flexing her muscles. It's time for flower power.

Blossoms in window planters and potted blooms accompany lighter fabrics and colors, and fresh smells. Swap your spicy candles for fruity and floral ones. Don't be afraid of artificial flowers, and make a point to spring clean and declutter.

June heralds summer, and it's getting hot in here. Spring's pastels can stay, or you can alter the mood with bold colors straight out of a blossoming orchard. These hues don't just apply to your lounge accessories; your bedding can also reflect them.

Houseplants add greenery, and string lights offer an enchanted feel to lazy summer evenings in the garden.

If you love entertaining and having loved ones over, the Fourth of July is a highlight on the calendar. It's vacation time for school-going kids, so there's a carefree spirit about the occasion, and your decor can reflect this laid-back feeling.

And, obviously, it wouldn't be Independence Day without a whole lotta red, white, and blue, and stripes and stars.