Fall is a great time to make some changes around the house

  • By Elizabeth Mayhew Special To The Washington Post
  • Tuesday, October 21, 2014 5:00pm
  • Life

The other day at the dentist’s office, I was having a one-way conversation with my hygienist Rose (she was talking, I was grunting as one does when in the dentist’s chair) about change. Rose’s tradition is that every fall, she makes a change — whether it be a new haircut or the color of her sheets — to keep life interesting. As she told me about her new lipstick color (another of her fall adjustments), I, muted by the fact that her hands were in my mouth, started to daydream about the small decorating updates someone could do to shake things up. Here are six fall improvements that cost little to nothing but are sure to be noticed by friends, family and, most important, you.

Change your scent. A change in fragrance can have as much positive impact in your home as a change in wall color. (It’s the reason real estate agents tell you to boil some cinnamon sticks in a pot of water or bake cookies before prospective buyers arrive.) In the fall I like to switch to a spicier, citrus-based or more musky aroma. In the summer I burn Jo Malone’s Nectarine Blossom &Honey scented candle, but come fall I move to her Orange Blossom fragrance ($65 each from www.jomalone.com).

Let the light shine. You need to wash your windows more often than just during the spring cleaning spree. The best way to freshen a room is to remove the grime and let the sun shine in. Start by vacuuming the sills, screens and window frames with a dust brush. Then clean windows with a squeegee with a sponge attachment dipped in a bucket of warm water that has a squirt of dishwashing liquid. Start at the top left corner and drag the squeegee to the right, drying the scraper after each pass. Remove any remaining water on the edges of the window with a damp, wrung-out chamois.

Be a photo editor. Most people have too many framed photos on display throughout their house. I suggest picking a couple of spots to display your favorites and have at most seven (odd numbers always look better than even) grouped together. Put them in consistent frames (all silver, all wood, etc.), and remember: A single photograph says more than a dozen. To update your collection, rather than adding more frames, swap out old photos or just slip a new photo into the frame in front of an old one. Also consider displaying a group of photos with a specific theme. For example, display all fall and Halloween images now, and winter and holiday images in December; that way, even your photos become part of your seasonal decor.

Play musical chairs (and sofas and tables). Twice lately I have visited friends who have complained to me that they never use their living rooms. In both cases my friends had furniture (a sofa in one house and two big upholstered club chairs in the other) that visually blocked the entrance into the room. I suggested a quick rearranging of the furniture (we swapped the bulky pieces with lighter, airier pieces from the other side of the room) and voila! Their rooms became instantly more inviting.

If you are not using one of your rooms, then chances are the furniture plan is off. To check whether the layout is working, ask yourself these questions: Does the room look good? Does it seem balanced, in that nothing overwhelms the room? Is there a surface within reach of most chairs? When you sit on the sofa, do you have a nice view? To test whether a room is inviting, have some friends over for a drink. It’s the best — and most fun — way to measure your success. Even if you end up moving the furniture back to where you started, it’s always a good test to see whether you can change a room’s flow for the better.

Revamp light sources. I have had a couple of clients complain about the lighting (or lack thereof) in their rooms. Getting the right mix of fixtures and the right output of light is one of the most important elements of decorating. A beautiful room can turn ugly in too harsh a light, and daily tasks can be hard to complete in rooms that are too dark. Factor in a lack of natural daylight that comes with shorter days, and indoor lighting is all the more essential. One easy way to solve lighting issues is to install dimmers everywhere. Easy and not expensive to install, dimmers allow you to moderate the brightness so that a dining room can be bright enough to complete a school project but dim enough to host a cozy dinner party.

Branch out. Flower season may be over (unless you like mums), so try cutting tree branches instead. Branches displayed in a vase give a natural note to your rooms — even without leaves on them — but also add height and drama. Best of all, they’re free. Look for branches that have a sculptural shape. If you feel crafty, spray-paint them black, white or a striking color.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

The Moonlight Swing Orchestra will play classic sounds of the Big Band Era on April 21 in Everett. (submitted photo)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Relive the Big Band Era at the Port Gardner Music Society’s final concert of the season in Everett.

2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD (Honda)
2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD

Honda cedes big boy pickup trucks to the likes of Ford, Dodge… Continue reading

Would you want to give something as elaborate as this a name as mundane as “bread box”? A French Provincial piece practically demands the French name panetiere.
A panetiere isn’t your modern bread box. It’s a treasure of French culture

This elaborately carved French antique may be old, but it’s still capable of keeping its leavened contents perfectly fresh.

(Judy Newton / Great Plant Picks)
Great Plant Pick: Mouse plant

What: Arisarum proboscideum, also known as mouse plant, is an herbaceous woodland… Continue reading

Bright green Japanese maple leaves are illuminated by spring sunlight. (Getty Images)
Confessions of a ‘plantophile’: I’m a bit of a junky for Japanese maples

In fact, my addiction to these glorious, all-season specimens seems to be contagious. Fortunately, there’s no known cure.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Hyundai)
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited is a sporty, all-electric, all-wheel drive sedan that will quickly win your heart.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T hybrid’s face has the twin red lines signifying the brand’s focus on performance. (Dodge)
2024 Hornet R/T is first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge

The all-new compact SUV travels 32 miles on pure electric power, and up to 360 miles in hybrid mode.

Don’t blow a bundle on glass supposedly made by the Henry William Stiegel

Why? Faked signatures, reused molds and imitated styles can make it unclear who actually made any given piece of glass.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.