Growing up, I marveled at the season- and occasion-focused decor that our family and friends did in their homes. Special china used only for Easter, cohesive color palettes across all rooms of the home at Christmas, and intentional use of florals during specific months of the summer all conspired together to make the home a new, rich experience each time the calendar advanced. I never wanted to own the heaps of decor elements I saw organized in carefully labeled boxes in the attics and garages of the matronly homemaking mavens I grew up with. Yet, its always been a hallmark of good home stewardship in my eyes; to keep the home comfortable and luxurious, while creating stimulating transformations to help mark and celebrate the passage of time.

While I’m still feeling out and experimenting with our home aesthetic, I’ve successfully landed on a few key vignettes and tips which allow me to greatly shift the flair of our home with simple transitions in decor. Here are my most successful recommendations for convertible home decor!

Commit to zippered/buttoned throw pillow cases.

Having primarily zipper or button closure throw pillow cases enables you to switch out the pillow cases easily. You won’t need to store a bunch of pillows and waste all your storage space. Rather, your off-season pillow cases can be folded and vacuum sealed into bags. Sewing your own pillow cases is a rather simple sewing project as well! It enables you to combine the perfect elements of texture, color, and detail to bring your decor together with aplomb!

Place a sturdy free hanging shelf where you intend to rotate artwork.

Paintings, photography, sculptures and other artistic decor elements can be more deeply appreciated when they don’t become white noise. Selecting artworks that suit the season or celebration and rotating them accordingly is a great way to keep things fresh. However, the variances in size and orientation and shape can all hamper you from these transitions if you’re simply hanging the art on the wall. My solution is to use a sturdy free standing shelf that creates a consistent bottom border for all artwork. By keeping the negative space beneath the artwork consistent, I can greatly transform the space with how much vertical positive space I take up (in addition to changing the color story and themes of the artwork itself.) Simply anchor the shelf into the studs of your wall and ensure it’s placed such that you have plenty of room for various shapes and orientations of art!

Take advantage of lightweight rugs.

Curate a collection of lightweight rugs which you can rotate to suit your other decor elements. Not only are they often less expensive than their heavier counterparts, they’re easier to store and to install. Consider different types of hides, flat woven rugs, jute rugs, and other lower pile rugs. These rug styles can facilitate decor conversions quite aptly. Focus on smaller areas in the home, like the welcome mat and hallway runners. Also think about layering these lightweight rugs over more permanent area rugs in larger rooms.

Consider all of your linens as major decor assets.

You most likely rotate quite a few linens in your home. Sheets and bedspreads, quilts and throw blankets need to be laundered fairly regularly. Ease your laundering burden by diversifying these linens within a defined range of colors and textures. Curate a variety of table cloths, cloth napkins, kitchen towels and bathroom towels to diversify further! Don’t forget window treatments as another option to transform the ambiance in your home. Aside from whatever neutral items are permanent fixtures in your decor, leverage all the rest of your linens as major pops of color and texture to complete your decor transitions.

Incorporate fragrances to bookend the decor efforts.

As I discussed in my post about intentional memory mapping, fragrance is a powerful tool. Seal your decor conversions by selecting unified fragrances that are on theme. If you are doing a sleek metallic theme during the cold seasons, pair this with dramatic white sage and crisp citrus. For a more sumptuous winter theme with soft, cozy decor elements, consider cinnamon and fuller bodied evergreen scents. If your summer aesthetic is airy and casual, go for bamboo and lilac. Should your summer environment lean more ornate and formal, think about rich florals. Use small candles in discreet locations that will be used up before you need to store them. Bonus points for you if they’re in jars that match the color palette and style of your decor concept! Also consider oil based fragrances that are plugged in or diffused (though exercise extreme caution with essential oils of course.)

Use artificial greenery consistently and accent it with a rotation of fresh blooms.

Select a few pieces of artificial greenery for key areas in the home, and accent it with various fresh, seasonal blooms. Get wreaths for the front door and dining table, and garland for the mantelpiece. Consider magnolia, eucalyptus, boxwood, fern, olive, and other types of greenery for the base. Wire in your fresh blooms as the seasons shift. In summer use white hydrangeas and blush roses. When fall arrives, incorporate marigold and chrysanthemum clusters. Once winter begins, pop in poinsettias and red amaryllis. Come spring, festoon your foliage with lilies and peonies.

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