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I got a catalog in the mail recently — don’t worry, this isn’t one of those posts — and there was something within that has me a bit perplexed.
It is possible for one to buy an autumn-themed quilt, the implication being that of course you should be changing your linens at the start of each new season I’m sure that if I did about a minute’s worth of research online, I could find more extensive bedding sets, complete with sheets, bed skirt, throw pillows, and possibly even a matching shower curtain for the bathroom.
While I understand the semi-annual necessity to change out one’s linens from hot weather to cold or cold weather to hot, it had not occurred to me that one might feel inclined to change out one’s bedroom each season or possibly even for holidays. That’s dedication that I’d be surprised if even The Martha herself had.
I also recognize the desire to welcome in the new season, whether it’s tulips in a vase in March or pumpkins on the porch in October or snowmen in January. I know people who decorate their homes at various times throughout the year — snowflakes in January, hearts in February, shamrocks in March, Easter eggs in April, and so on. Depending on my mood, I might or might not have a few things here and there, but with the exception of Christmas, I tend to keep it all small and manageable — usually some sort of arrangement on the kitchen table and that’s it.
So, I’m curious: Do you decorate your house for the seasons? And do you have seasonally-themed bedroom or bathroom linens? If so, which seasons? How long does it take to switch things out? And where do you store all those extra things when not in use?
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I know someone who changes her entire bathroom theme MONTHLY.
My MIL changes her house seasonally – throw pillows, art, throws, knick-knacks, etc, throughout the entire house.
I feel pleased with myself when I change the sheets for hygeine purposes never mind having to find time to do it for decorative purposes…and where does one keep all that seasonal linen?
This. This comment is why I love you.
This is where I am, too. Isn’t that enough?!
Summer: heavy quilt folded down at bedtime and sleep with the sheet on. Winter: sleep under the quilt. That’s about it for me.
I don’t do it, but I get it. I would do it, if I had the time, the money and the space. They wouldn’t be “seasonally-themed,” but I’d have a light, soft colored blanket for the summer, and a darker cozier one for the winter. I love the change of seasons, and I love switching out my clothes when the weather turns (in either direction). I think this would be along the same lines.
Instead, because I lack time, space and money, I just kick my comforter onto the floor all summer.
Okay, now you’re in my head.
I had been pondering a blog post about a catalog I saw where they suggested you change your CURTAINS for the season. No, I most certainly don’t change my linens for the seasons (except I do have Christmas hand towels).
The only time I go a little nuts is on October 1. That’s the day I let Jack (Nightmare Before Christmas) loose in the house. I don’t have a huge collection (yet) but every room will have something in it. I also go a little nuts with the purple & black twinkle lights. Those I wrap around any available surface…table legs, standing lamps, bunk beds. Everything gets left up until after the New Year, then I take it down and store in tubs in the garage.
I am a semi-former quilter (def: I used to work on quilts all the time. I currently don’t have the time or money for quilting but I still love it and hope I will be able to get back to it someday) and it is my dream to have a different quilt for each month. That’s a grand dream for many reasons and one of the reasons I haven’t started on it is I can’t figure out how to decorate the room to accommodate color schemes from Halloween to Christmas to 4th of July. So, yeah, I would like to recognize the seasons/holidays/months in my bedroom.
I am also a semi-former cross stitcher and I do have a number of holiday-themed framed cross stitch pieces – but only one for each holiday. I have one spot reserved for these pieces and switch them out appropriately. Which reminds me, it’s almost time for the Halloween piece!
I don’t change out the bed linens for the seasons, although I grew up with a mother that changed all the bed quilts and curtains twice a year.
I do change the decor in the big lantern by the front door…seashore theme for summer, fall theme, then Christmas theme. I also have different candle holders for the kitchen counter and table.
The only seasonally themed linens I have are some hand towels for Christmas. Our bedrooms look the same year-round. I have other “decorations,” but we stick mostly to what’s growing outside. This weekend we’ll lay gourds and pumpkins on anything not moving, for example.
May I guess you were reading Garnet Hill?
I would love to have seasonal/holiday linens but then I think about the fact that it would clash with the static decor of the room. So I have settled for fun pillow cases (and grandious plans to make them myself but never gotten to). I totally go all out for the fall and winter holidays–but sadly the spring ones get overlooked (can’t remember the last time I put out any Easter decorations). If I ever owned a BnB (secret dream of mine) I would have theme rooms or I would make sure the static decorations were so neutral that I could change EVERYTHING seasonally. I decorate right now by theme… all my pumpkins on the shelf, witches above the TV, bats and dracula in the “BATh Room”, Frankenstein in the foyer, and at Christmas I do Santa in the dining room and Snowmen in the basement.
I actually get the idea of changing out curtains if you live in a colder climate. I like breezy, light curtains in the warmer weather, especially when the windows are open, but in the winter I need heavy ones that block drafts. I’ve never gotten to that point, where I have two sets of curtains, instead I just compromise with light colored but heavy draft blocking ones, but I like the idea.
As for the rest… we have different weights of blankets that we use through out the year, but they aren’t themed decor wise. Most of them are just plain white. I do have a set of winter themed bedding for guests. I got it on sale though and it’s our designated guest bedding. Since most of our guests seem to come in winter, it works, but if they do come in summer, they get snowflakes then as well…
Oh, I could write a book. On what I do and what I wish I could do.
I am a “fiddly decorator”. After about 6 months I get tired of what I have. I either want to paint, rearrange my furniture, or pull new bits and baubles out. That is one reason this house has a massive storage space over the garage. A place to hold all my junk, er treasures. I have a probably nearly 20′ long wall in there lined with tubs of seasonal/holiday decor (almost half of it is Christmas though…my Santa Bear Collection takes up major room).
Old house: curtains were switched between summer and winter (light and breezy in summer and heavier in winter – that house was DARK with not nearly enough windows, plus no AC, so we needed to let the air in during the spring/summer/fall). New house: nope. But because I’ve put in Roman shades everywhere except the kids rooms and they need blackout curtains. Linens: Our room – switched about 3 or 4 times a year. Summer: fun lightweight stripey sheets with a light quilt I made. Deep winter: fun flannel sheets (I have 2 different sets), heavier quilt, and goose down comforter. Spring/Fall: heavier (but non-flannel sheets), one of the quilts, goose down dependent on temps. None of these are “holiday specific” and it’s more for function than fun. Kids – flannel in winter, light cotton in summer. But they don’t use the damn things anyway. They sleep on top and use whatever blanket they are currently obsessed with. Bathroom: decorated by holiday if I feel like it. Rest of the house: Over the top for Halloween and Christmas. Other decorations: New Years, Valentines, St. Patricks, Easter, 4th of July, and “Fall”. Mostly a wreath and a few “treasures” for the media center, the hall, and maybe the bathroom or kids rooms.
I did that 3 frame thing for a few years, switching it up monthly or even more often. I loved it, but I gotta admit – 4th of July is still in there right now and I’m seriously considering taking them down for something completely different for awhile. I have some canvases I bought for a project in the girls room that I never did, so we might make some fun art to hang there.
What I’d like: some more seasonal/holiday decorations. I have a whole bunch of wreaths pinned. And some other fun projects I haven’t made a priority yet. Because…
What I am going to do (soon): make at least 3 or 4 gigantic quilts to hang in our 2 story foyer. Ideally I’d like about 12 (including holiday quilts), but let’s aim for 3. They serve 2 functions: pretty up the empty looking upper foyer and help dampen the sounds between the two floors. I need to quilt up the 4 baby quilt tops I have done, make a quilt for G, and then those are next. After that: a quilt for the boy and a new quilt for us. We also just bought stuff to start finishing our basement…which will help with these goals since one of the first things I want done down there is my craft room. Dedicated sewing space? YES PLEASE.
See? Book. I could write it.
I admit that I once thought I’d “be” you. Not anymore — we downsized to a 3-bedroom house. But I did bring home a tub of fall decor from my mom’s house: a new wreath for the front door, and some nice faux fruit (sparkly!).
But I wanted you to know that I don’t think you are crazy.
What the WHAT!? People are you crazy?! Where do you even store all your extra crap?!
The most change-out we do is when it gets too hot for our down comforter, we stick it in the closet. It comes back out in October or so. I don’t DO holidays. I sometimes wish I did because it’s cute and funsy but by dammit I remember holidays in my house. My mom had 2-4 Rubbermaid tubs for every month. We’d redecorate constantly. The worst were Halloween and Christmas. I now hate Christmas decorations with all my heart. I had to decorate my mom and my grandma’s house for 19 years and I’ll be damned if I ever decorate my house more than slappin’ a tree up in the corner and calling it good.
I mean they went all. out. 2-4 tubs for each month, but 10-15 for JUST. CHRISTMAS. For both houses. And then after Christmas we’d go shopping just so they could add more crap to their collections. GAH. I hate few things in this life as much as I do Christmas Crap.
All those Christmas bins (x2!!) sound a little scary. I’ve tried not decorating, but then I get bummed around the holidays. Bring on the lights!
I have a couple rooms that I change the accessories for the seasons. Never change anything seasonally upstairs, i.e. the bedrooms. Can’t imagine changing bed linens!
Right now for fall, I have an orange throw on the sofa in the sunroom, a couple pumpkin spice candles, slices of a cedar tree that we cut down, pine cones, and come October I will add in some pumpkins of various colors and sizes. When the leaves turn pretty colors I do stick some leafy branches in a big vase. That will hold me until Christmas.
Mmmm…. scented candles. I forgot to list those… I keep them hidden from my husband so he won’t burn them out of season! LOL
I have some extra shelves and drawers in the garage area, which is where I store all my decorations. There is a drawer for autumn stuff (most of it decorates the front porch and kitchen entryway). I change out my garden flags every month or so (again, a drawer that also holds suncatchers). I also have a large bin for autumn stuff that I pull out for October/November indoor decoration: pumpkins, cornucopia, etc. I am lucky that there is plenty of storage in our house. There is much more cold-weather decor (October through Easter) than warm weather decor — I suppose I need more cheering up when it is cold and dark and dreary.
I do have a couple of seasonal hand-towels (Fall, Christmas, 4th of July), but I basically count those as decorations and keep them in the drawers and bins in the garage.
Yes, I’m spoiled when it comes to storage. This house has amazing closets, too, so I have more bedding than we can use at any one time. (Well, almost… when we have enough guests in the winter, we use every single blanket, so I can actually validate owning them all. The bonus room off the garage has a set of bunk beds and the room is unheated.)
There is are two sets of winter themed flannel sheets (one for my bed, one for the guest bed) along with a “normal” cold weather set of flannel sheets. We use flannel for about 5 months a year. (The twin beds aren’t as lucky: they mostly have plain ol’ sheets, year ’round. But boys don’t care about such things, right?)
The only changes made for my comforter is a duvet cover with dark colors that is put on for the cold weather. It’s a visual thing, making the room appear cozier (plus it coordinates with the darker colors in most of the flannel bedding). In warm weather, I remove the duvet color and enjoy the lighter colors of the comforter.
That’s not TOO much, is it??
Also…. that covered deck with the fireplace? WANT. Seriously lusting after such a beautiful space! So thank you for that picture. I’m going to Pin it to my dream home board.
Good lord, no. I’m too busy living life.
A few knickknacks for the major holidays (sometimes) and a pretty bang up job at Christmas, but that’s it. We don’t so much have the seasons here in SoCal, so I don’t even change bed linens. In fact, I don’t even have window coverings throughout most of my house–so the draperies would NEVER happen.
Unfortunately I am one of those people that changes the decor with seasons. The biggies are here are the fall/harvest/Halloween season and then Christmas. There is a bit for Thanksgiving thrown up in November. We have Christmas bedding but that’s it (so far I have looked into fall!). Our bathrooms do get decked out for Christmas. Actually every room including the kitchen does. I’m a geek that way!
As I age, I’m even losing my enthusiasm for having a Christmas tree, much less the idea of seasonally-themed bathroom linens!
I like – in principle – some decor. I like seasonal floral and plant decoration. I like real wreaths, flowers, potted plants that are of the season. I see no value whatsoever in plastic, paper or cardboard artificial decorations. Knick-knacks and displays are just dustcatchers, for me.
It makes sense to vary items that get changed out regularly for the season – tablecloths, bed linens, towels – whether its wintery warm or spring cool or Christmasy. But doing a whole room makeover? What’s the point?
I say all this in principle of course, but in reality as life goes on, I can’t really be bothered to do any of it.
OK – I didn’t mean for my comment to sound so curmudgeonly. I do think people displaying their own crafts is charming, whether seasonally themed or not.
It’s just that I have no urge to do so, personally.