Getting Your Home Prepped For Autumn 2023

15 Minute Read

As the weather cools off from the height of summer and the nights draw in, we turn to home comforts to distract us from the chilly weather. Although there’s a lot to look forward to – Halloween and Bonfire Night aren’t far off, and beyond that, the excitement of decorating the house for Christmas is on the horizon – there’s a lot to do before we get to that point.

It might be a tradition we’ve imported from the USA, but we love the idea of prepping the home for autumn, adding fall décor, and getting ready to snuggle up and celebrate everything the season has to offer.

Getting Your Home Prepped For Autumn 2023

Autumn Decorating Ideas

Styling your home for autumn can feel a bit overwhelming – we all know how to style our homes for Christmas, but styling for the seasons hasn’t typically been on our agenda here in the UK. Here are some ideas to get you started, but don’t feel restricted – if an idea inspires you, go with it.

Dress Your Front Door

When you start to get home during the dark, you want to feel that your front door and entryway are warming and welcoming – not just for you, but for your visitors and guests too. Adding a wreath to your front door is typically associated with Christmas décor, but there are no shortage of autumn wreath ideas – and the great thing is, if you make it yourself, that you can use natural pieces from your garden or local area. Pine cones, fallen leaves in spectacular shades of reds and orange, and cuttings from late-flowering perennials in your garden are all ideal.

Add Floral Arrangements

Adding flowers in autumnal hues (reusable silk ones are much better than they used to be, and you can mix and match with foraged greenery too) are a more grown-up way to add colour to your home for autumn, but you don’t have to stop with vases. Filling bowls, baskets and unexpected containers like jugs, wine coolers, or even wellies with foliage, twigs, leaves and mini pumpkins can all look stunning too. Bring floral arrangements to your dining table, kitchen, and console tables in hallways.

Set Out Candles

Candles are always an ideal addition to homes in the autumn, and whether you go all-out with fall scents like pumpkin spice or not, candles can feature heavily in your fall décor. While you can make an impact simply by setting out candles together around your home, there are so many more inventive ways to use candles as autumn décor.

Up-cycling wine bottles by spray painting them black to hold tall orange candles, using jars with decorative leaves clued to the outside, or filling a bowl with acorns, conkers, or cinnamon sticks to surround the candle can look fantastic. Of course, it goes without saying to never leave candles unattended, and use battery operated candles if you have children or pets.

Switch Your Soft Furnishings

As the weather cools, switching out soft furnishings is an easy way to make your home feel more autumnal and cosy. Changing cushion covers and throws is a quick way, and whether you choose plaid, tartan or checked fabrics (yes, there is a difference between them!) bringing those patterns in will quickly make your home feel much more like fall.If you’re not a fan, plaids and tartans aren’t the only soft furnishings that will work. Look for fabrics in deeper autumnal hues, or layer up items that feature heavier textures such as knitted blankets, faux fur throws, and velvety curtains to create the snug autumn feel that we all love.

Decorate Your Dining Table

Whether your family eats at the kitchen table or you have a dining room, set the table with a seasonal runner or table cloth, then accessorise! Adding candles, pumpkins and other decorative fall accents can really increase the cosy feel of your dinners – whether they’re simple weeknight casseroles with your family, or a catch-up dinner with friends.

Style Your Shelves

You know we’re fans of the #shelfie, and restyling your shelves for autumn can help to refresh your home. Pick a colour scheme – whether that is orange and black, or another combination from this season’s fall palette – and collect decorative items, books, and house plants from around the home to suit. Don’t forget, you don’t have to stand books up the traditional way – stack them, turn them to hide the spines – anything goes these days.

Halloween Decor

There are so many ways to decorate your home with Halloween in mind, but remember that meteorological winter doesn’t start until December 1st (even if the weather outside suggests otherwise) so think about how you can make quick changes for November, until you’re ready to dress your home for Christmas.

Pumpkins are quite literally everywhere from the end of September onwards – even in your coffee, if you like it! Whether you go to the pumpkin patch to choose one, or just pick one up at the supermarket, pumpkin carvings sat on the doorsteps are considered pretty traditional. If you’re indulging in carving, there are a number of tips to keep your pumpkin looking fresh right into November here.

If carving pumpkins isn’t on the cards, then painting them is a great option. If you’re not buying pumpkins, there are some great ways to bring pumpkin-inspired décor in using jars, paper crafts and more – a Pinterest search will return way more ideas than we can list here.

Of course, if your family is big on Halloween, then you can really go to town with the spooky stuff! As soon as the kids go back to school, the shops are full of black and orange, pumpkins, witches, bats, ghosts, and spiders, so there are plenty of options. If the weather means you’re stuck indoors, then get the children involved making decorative items you can pull out each year. They don’t need to be difficult or particularly time-consuming, and there are loads of project ideas here – such a great way to make memories together.

Checklist To Get Your Home Prepped For Autumn

Although there are plenty of things to do around the home, year in, year out, there are a few jobs to be done in the autumn that can really make a difference to how much you’ll enjoy the fall. As every home is different, your own personal checklist might look different to this one, but these are some of the tasks that are well worth checking.

✅ Ready your kitchen | Give your oven a clean (or get someone in to do it for you!), pull out your casserole dishes and your slow cooker. Sausage casserole, chilli and pasta bakes are all super-warming, and are great to come home to after a long day.

✅ Do a deep clean | Think of all those jobs you do in your spring clean – wiping window sills, skirting boards, dusting shelves, and behind heaters and radiators. They’re all good jobs to get done now, so your home doesn’t smell fusty when the heating goes on.

✅ Clean your fireplace | & and get your chimney swept. There really isn’t anything like a roaring fire to evoke those feelings of hygge – and so getting it clean now means you can get a fire going quickly on the first cold evening.

✅ Find an Autumnal scent | Whether you prefer scented candles, an essential oil diffuser, or potpourri, picking a fragrance that uplifts your mood will make your home feel wonderful.

✅ Declutter | As the season changes, it is a great opportunity to clear out clothes that don’t fit, items that are broken, and so on. Getting rid of the things you don’t love anymore will make it much easier to write your Christmas wish list too!

✅ Get rugged up | We’ve all experienced the comfort of a great blanket on the sofa when the weather is horrid outside – so bring your blankets, throws and pillows to the living room, the bedroom, and your snugs so that you’re ready for those cold evenings.

✅ Switch bedding out | While we’re talking about blankets – switch your duvet for a winter weight one, put an electric blanket on the bed, and change sheets to winter style, or brushed cotton styles.

✅ Mow that lawn | Although your lawn won’t grow quite as quickly in the winter, getting it neatened up on a dry autumn day will mean that it is much easier to maintain through the colder months.

✅ Put garden furniture away | Giving your garden furniture a good clean off, and storing it away before the first of the frosts start to bite means that your table and chairs will last you much longer.

Final Thoughts

As we’ve already said, this post is just a starting point for decorating your home, and getting prepped for autumn. There are so many ideas to get your home ready for fall, but it really is up to you how much you want to do. Don’t forget to snap your autumn home décor ideas, so you have them to refer to (and improve on?) next year, and tag us on your Instagram posts.