Seasons Change

While combing through tear sheet files in preparation for an upcoming post, I found an article pulled from a past issue of Country Living magazine. Titled "Get the Look Every Season", it's about transitioning your decor from spring/summer to fall/winter, or vice versa, using color, pattern and texture. I understand this colorful, traditional look might not be your particular style, but I assure you, these ideas can be applied to your home too. Imagine a softer pallette or more subdued patterns and solids, and you'll see.

Start with the basics. Good quality furniture in timeless styles, a neutral floor covering, and wall colors that work with both looks provide the backdrop on which to make changes. In this home, furnishings are a mix of new and antique pieces. Wood flooring throughout and a sisal carpet cut to fit the living room plus yellow walls in the living room and red in the dining room provide the basic foundation. Notice too that the bamboo blinds at the windows stay in place all year. Only the fabric curtain panels change with the seasons.

Find a good upholstery workroom. Or polish up your own home sewing skills. Slipcovers, pillow covers, tablecloths and curtain panels have the greatest impact when it's time to change seasons. Choose your fabrics wisely—mix patterns and colors to your liking or ask the advice of your upholsterer, the staff at a full service home decor fabric store (like Calico Corners) or consult with an interior decorator. Trims, buttons, fringe and other dressmaker details like piping, gathers and pleating, add to a custom look. And be sure to choose machine-washable, stain-resistant fabrics that will stand up to everyday wear and cleaning.

In the photo below, you'll see that white slipcovers are used on the sofa's seat cushion and the antique armchair. Checks and patterns inspired by the homeowner's collection of blue and white dinnerware and porcelain accessories, cover the rest of the sofa, ottoman, toss pillows and chairs that flank the fireplace. Similar red and white fabrics add to the mix livening the cool blues and complementing the yellow walls. At the top of this post and directly above, you see how the room has changed for fall. Slipcovers are removed to expose darker, richer fabrics and warmer textures on the upholstered pieces. Casual, summery tie-top window panels have been replaced by red, floral patterned ring-tops.


Accessorize for the season. It's likely that your spring/summer look will be lighter and brighter in both feel and color than your fall/winter room. Your accessories should be too. In these photos, below, you'll see that the dining room chandelier shades are changed from summery blue and white checks to black for fall and winter. Likewise, the plants and florals that were springy and fresh, have been swapped out for dried varieties and seasonal fruits. Branches full of fall leaves and piles of pinecones or seed pods would work just as well. In the living room, in addition to the changes you've already seen, an area rug in rich, warm colors is layered on top of the sisal that was left bare for summer. A few more pillows and a plaid throw cozy up the look even more.

We've been reading everywhere that changing our mantelscapes is a quick and easy way to update our decor to reflect the season. This room is no exception and you can see in the photos below how simple a change like this can be. The mirror, wooden box, hurricane and candlesticks holding white pillars remain exactly the same. Only the florals are different: a potted orchid and cut flowers from the garden have made way for a bright red seasonal bouquet and rosemary topiary. Look a little further and you'll see that the sunflowers that filled the firebox and books stacked on the hearth in summer have also been replaced. Fall brings out the firewood, tools and screen that make it possible to light a warm, welcoming fire.

Convenient storage makes it easy. At the end of the season, when it's time for a transition, this homeowner finds most of the pieces she needs right here in the room. A skirted round table hides a storage cart, see below, that holds all of the fabric items: slipcovers, pillow covers, tablecloths and curtains. For summer, the area rug is rolled up and stored under the sofa. And the article doesn't say so, but it's entirely possible the the chandelier shades not in use are stored right there in the dining room's corner cupboard.

Details you may have missed: Most of the art used here is black and white photography, all framed in black for a consistent, season-spanning look. Black ladder back chairs in the dining room are given off-white slipcovers to cool and brighten the look for summer. Warm yellows and reds are predominate in both rooms all year round while the cool blues used in spring and summer virtually disappear for fall and winter. The tray on the ottoman appears to hold the same stacks of books and magazines and the same silver dish in both seasons. What changes is the textile under the dish—lacey and white in summer, dark and homespun in fall—and the contents—fresh green limes change to golden apples. So easy.

Every time I see this article in my files, I think about whether or not I'd be willing to go to such lengths to change my decor for the seasons. I always buy a new pillow or change a couple of covers when the season changes. I've even been known to switch a blue and white throw for a solid white or warm gold. And of course I change certain accessories: seashells get put away for fall, plants and florals follow the seasons and books piled on the coffee table feature appropriate themes and subjects. But change the upholstery? The rug? The curtains? Sure, why not! I never seem to find the time though to do more than think about it.

What changes with the seasons in your home? Major pieces like upholstery and rugs or accessories only? What do you think about changing your entire look the way this homeowner has done? Easy and practical or too much trouble? I'd love to hear from you.

Country Living article written by Anna Kasabian. Photos by Keith Scott Morton. Interior design by Matthew Patrick Smyth.