Fall = family, guests, and get-togethers. Warm pies baking in the oven, cinnamon and pumpkin candles burning, and a fire crackling in the fireplace brings back warm memories of fall family traditions. Fall is the perfect time to get your home ready to welcome guests and prepare for the colder months ahead. Here are a few Fall home decorating and maintenance tips to help you welcome in the fall season.
Fall Home Decorating Tips
Welcome Guests
Get your front porch ready for fall festivities with a pair of planters surrounded by an abundance of mums and real or faux pumpkins and gourds. Mix in a few lanterns to add a welcoming glow to evening gatherings. Add a colorful, festive door mat for both a cheery pop of color and to prevent cold-weather muck from entering the house.
Set the Table With Seasonal Style
Turn every day into a holiday by decking out the dining room in fall’s favorite hues. For a can’t-miss combo, pair warm shades of orange, red, and yellow with muted greens and copper metallic accents.
(Safely) Fire Up the Fireplace
Honestly, who doesn’t love to curl up next to a roaring fire on a chilly day? As inviting as it is, put safety first. Before lighting the season’s first log, have the chimney and fire box inspected and cleaned by a professional chimney sweep. Get more fall maintenance tips, below.
Design your Kitchen Around a Fireplace, or Add One
Warm Things Up Indoors
Give an open, large space a snug, welcoming feel by swapping out pillows in lightweight summer fabrics, like linen and cotton, for luxe velvet ones in rich, fall shades. Add a few coordinating throws and get ready to cozy up by the fire.
Make it easy for overnight guests to rise and shine while you sleep in by having all the coffee and tea in one spot (with labels) so people can fend for themselves. This way, if you’re busy cooking pancakes, guests can feel comfortable brewing a second pot of coffee. A coffee bar is a great built-in to consider when renovating, but this useful station can also be set up in an existing kitchen using a piece of furniture like a hutch or even a console table.
Tidy Up the Bath
Fall Home Bathroom Remodel
There are several ways to make your bathroom toasty in chilly weather for your family and overnight guests. One of the most luxurious things you can do is invest in radiant-heat flooring. Not only is stepping onto a warm floor far nicer than stepping onto a freezing cold bathroom floor, radiant floors also provide a great source of ambient heat, which is particularly helpful in bathrooms located in cold parts of the house (basements, corners of the house, above garages, etc.) Heated towel bars are also a wonderful way to quickly warm up when you step out of a shower. Steam showers are gaining popularity as a master bath must-have. They’re easy to use and have a variety of health benefits. Most of all, they add value to the home while saving homeowners the cost and time investment needed to travel to and from a nearby spa.
Install Speakers and Dimmers
A bright and quiet kitchen may be ideal for the everyday, but parties are quite the opposite. Lights are dimmed, and music gets turned up. Dimmers are easy to install, and they give good ambience for a party. Add a nearby television and speakers, so guests and cooks can keep their eye on the game while hanging out in the kitchen, and you’ve got all the ingredients for a great get-together.
Add Some Layers
Fall’s crisp weather calls for layering up your wardrobe — put the same idea to work in your home and toss cozy wool, cotton, chenille, or even luxurious cashmere throws over furniture in rooms where your family or guests gather.
Prep for Cold-Weather Guests
For many of us, autumn means both the beginning of wintry weather and a rotating door of holiday guests. Protect your foyer’s floors from muddy or snowy boots with an easy-to-clean area rug. Position an umbrella stand near the door so guests know where to stash wet rain gear as soon as they come in.
Fall Home Kitchen Remodel
A kitchen makeover and/or expansion can significantly improve the ambiance of your home in preparation for the busy holiday season ahead. Lighting, cabinetry, color selection, countertops, and appliances, if all coordinated professionally, have a dramatic impact on the design of a kitchen. A kitchen remodel expert can create a new kitchen with thoughtful details and an efficient workflow to create a better space for home entertaining and welcoming family and guests.
Create Out-of-the-Way Seating for Guests
Lounge seating is great for keeping guests comfortable and out of the way when you’re cooking, so consider adding a window seat or sofa. While many kitchens have bar stools, lounge seats are more comfortable, and lower seats are easier for elderly guests to use. Adding a lounge seat to a window could be a way to enhance your kitchen for guests without investing in a full remodel. Or it could be a good project to consider as part of a larger kitchen remodel down the road.
Fall Home Maintenance Tips
Before the weather grows colder it’s important to prepare for the winter months to prevent costly damage. Below are some fall preventative home maintenance steps.
Gutters and Downspouts
- Clean gutters and downspouts frequently throughout fall to prevent build up of leaves and other debris. Neglected gutters can lead to wood rot problems and pest infestations, not to mention ruined gutters.
- Be sure water is not coming down behind gutters and that all support brackets are securely in place.
- Ensure that water drains properly and doesn’t pool. Pooling can cause damage to foundations, driveways, and walkways.
Heating Systems
- Replace the filter in your furnace.
- Consider having a heating professional check your heating system to ensure optimal performance and discover minor problems before they turn into costly major repairs.
- Clean your ducts to better your heating system’s efficiency as well as to reduce household dust and to provide relief to those with respiratory problems.
Plumbing
- To prevent pipes freezing and bursting, ensure that the pipes are well insulated.
- Know how to locate and turn off the water shut-off valve in case pipes do freeze.
- Disconnect hoses from outdoor faucets before the first freeze.
Interior and Exterior
- Check and change batteries in smoke detectors.
- Clean out dryer vent to prevent a house fire.
- Unhook hoses from outdoor faucets before freezing temperatures begin.
- Check windows and doors for drafts, lose frames, or cracked panes.
- Check for cracked or peeling paint.
- Change summer screens to cool weather storm windows and doors.
- Inspect and repair any loose or damaged window or door frames.
- Install weather stripping or caulking around windows and doors to prevent drafts and to lower heating bills.
- Be sure attic insulation doesn’t cover vents in the eaves to prevent winter ice dams on the roof.
- Be sure ridge vents and vents at eaves are free of plants and debris.
- Check bird and rodent screens for attic vents to prevent any unwanted guests.
Chimney and Fireplace
- Call a professional in to inspect and clean your chimney. Fireplaces that are regularly used during the season should have an annual cleaning to prevent dangerous chimney fires.
- Test your fireplace flue for a tight seal when closed.
Landscape and Yardwork
- Although grass appears to stop growing in the fall, the roots are actually growing deeper to prepare for winter. Now is the best time to fertilize and reseed your lawn.
- Prune your trees and shrubs after the leaves turn to encourage healthy growth.
- Trim any tree limbs that are dangerously close to power lines or the roof of your house. Heavy snow and ice can cause damage in the winter.
The Top Tier Difference
Hope you enjoyed our Fall Home Decorating and Maintenance Tips! We at Top Tier Kitchens & Baths set a high standard for outstanding customer service, high-quality kitchen and bath remodeling products, and impeccable installation.
For all your kitchen and bath remodel needs, you can trust us to complete the job with expertise and dedication to excellence. If you’re looking for ways to update your kitchen or bathroom, the professionals at Top Tier Kitchens and Baths can help! We’d love to help you update your home.
Submit a quote request on our website at toptierkitchens.com or give us a call at (417) 887-1100 to schedule a free, in-home consultation with one of our designers. We look forward to serving you!
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