21 Sep Refresh Your Geeky Space for Fall Decor
Between DragonCon and then exhaustion, and then cleaning up the mess that looked like a whole fabric and craft store threw up in our house, we are finally getting around to even thinking about fall decor.
And let’s not even talk about the heat. It’s so hard to get into the fall mood when the weather is still beating you over the head with summer. But I digress…
I’m sure it’s like this with most of you, but I love pulling out my fall decor and seeing what I want to use this year and figuring out if I want to change anything around. Because of space and, well, cost, I try not to go overboard with new decor every year. One trip to Michaels by myself and we could potentially have a whole new set of fall and Halloween items.
I wonder if that’s why every time I mention going by Michaels Hubs is like, ‘ooh, I’d like to go along, too’… hmmm…
Since we’ve pretty much figured out our decor style and geeky preferences for each room (ish), we also figured out how to match our seasonal decor to our everyday decor so it flows seamlessly from season to season, year to year.
More on that in the next post.
The before times of seasonal decorating.
Before we moved to this house, we had a collection of holiday decorations from a time when I wanted a different theme in each room. Like a mall. Remember malls? Remember the overstimulation and anxiety that resulted from too much stuff in too small a space with too many people? That was how I would describe our past seasonal and holiday decor collection.
I don’t want to talk about it without a licensed professional in the room.
Well, we didn’t want to bring that confusion (mostly my confusion from my single days of holiday cheer) to our new home, so we donated many of the ornaments and trinkets that just didn’t fit our new-couple space. When we finished scaling down and were ready to decorate for our first Christmas in this home, it was like a breath of fresh air to have only those items that meant a lot to us in our single lives and also in our married lives, and to have them all coordinate and go together.
Do I miss the shoe tree, the purple Mardi gras tree and the Tuscan wine-inspired tree? No. No I don’t. Those were phases. Our current decor style is our lifestyle.
So the most important step to decorating, in my opinion, is preparing the canvas for the art. The canvas being your space.
Is it too early for analogies?
Before we decorate for a new season.
What I mean is that every seasonal decor change should start with a clean slate. There is something refreshing about the changing of the seasons and the subsequent changing of the decor. And there shouldn’t be only one time a year dedicated to deep cleaning. So this post is all about Spring cleaning for Fall.
Or a full Fall refresh if you’re so inclined.
Full disclosure: there is nothing particularly ‘geeky’ about cleaning or organizing. It’s one of those things we just have to do, no matter what our tastes and preferences. But in order to make room for your geeky seasonal decor, you should clear up the old to make room for the new. Of course, if you want to geekify your time a bit, put on some of your favorite geeky music. I love getting into that fall/Halloween mood by listening to soundtracks of my favorite seasonal movies and shows: The Nightmare Before Christmas, Wednesday, Hocus Pocus, Coraline, the Corpse Bride, The Haunted Mansion, etc. on Spotify. You can find out what I’m currently listening to over on my sidebar →, or you can follow me on Spotify for access to all my favorite playlists and seasonal listens. Not sponsored, just a huge fan!
And, I mean, if you want to put on a costume to clean that’s totally up to you. I’m not saying that you should or even admitting that I do or have done that, but to each geek their own, you know?
Refresh Your Geeky Space for Fall Decor
I’m going to come clean with you all – I don’t really decorate our home for spring and summer. For me, clean and fresh is all the spring decor we need, and summer turns into Messy-Convention-Chic real quick. Our geeky decor style is perfect for every season and doesn’t go out of style, so we add to it when we want and just make sure the space remains uncluttered and semi-minimal. At least downstairs. We are absolute maximalists in the upstairs chambers of our home! #collectionseverywhere
We have a lot of houseplants (I like to call them all my best friend squad) and are taking our time while finding the perfect pieces to fit into our geeky aesthetic. But the plants everywhere already give the space that spring and summer vibe. Sometimes an idea requires a bit of DIY, which makes it even more unique. Otherwise, we keep the yard full of bright happy flowers, and the dining room table centerpiece changes with our geeky whims (see my Mario- and Ahsoka-inspired dining room table decor here).
So this first step definitely applies if you change up your space for the spring and summer months. But it also applies if you move anything out of the way for your fall and seasonal holiday decor.
Pick up your spring and summer decor.
Start with the obvious – whatever you need to put away until next summer, pick it all up. I like to collect everything at one time and place them all in one area – usually the dining room table or entry area. I think you’ll find this method to be more efficient and easier for the next two steps.
Dust and clean your surfaces.
Now that everything has been picked up, you can dust everything at one time, and wipe down all your surfaces.
My favorite things to use are my Swiffer duster with the handle that you can lengthen and shorten at will (unlimited power!); an old-fashioned feather duster (because they look cool as hell!); and any of the fall scents from Mrs Meyers. My favorite is fall leaves. If I can find them after, I don’t know, June. ::rolls eyes profusely::
Because we’ve been using the summer scents, the change in smell really helps put us both in the fall mood.
Dust first, and then your rag won’t be a gross mess when you go to wipe your surfaces. I wish that I could say I was one of those people who cleaned my whole house once a week; but as it stands the days get away from me and I swear today is yesterday and yesterday was last month.
It is very confusing living in my head!
But I am not a perfect housewife, so sometimes there is a little more dust on my bookshelves and fireplace mantle than I’d like to admit. Life, am I right?
Once everything’s so fresh and so clean-clean you will feel so much lighter. It’ll be like dancing on fall leaves and prancing atop acorns.
(I have no explanations for what I just typed. But I’m keeping it. You knew what you were getting into.)
Don’t forget to wipe down your spring and summer decor.
If you thought that was all, you were wrong. We’re almost done. You see, I’m not as filthy as I may have insinuated above. It is now time to go back to your summer decor and wipe each piece down as well. Yes, even the faux floral stems. Dust them, clean them, and if you change out your blankets and cushions every season, throw those in the washing machine. Give everything a good wiping down and washing.
And now put it all away in an organized manner.
Don’t be like the old Fern who was so tired after cleaning and getting distracted by other tasks (and maybe some YouTube videos) that by the end of the day she just tossed everything in one bin and shoved it into the closet for next year’s Fern to deal with. Be better than that Fern. Instead, pull out your spring and summer storage bins so you can organize your now-clean decor for easy access next year.
Don’t have bins? That’s okay – you can order some here or run over to Lowe’s, Target, or Ikea (or someplace similar) to find some…
Trust me, you’ll thank me later.
Time to pull out all your favorite fall decor pieces.
Or if you’re like most geeks, we jump straight from summer to Halloween. After all, this is where most of the fun and spooky fandoms live.
And if you’re like me, you skipped the first three steps and started by pulling all of your fall decor out. After which you had to walk around everything, everywhere, all at once and all over the floor and on random surfaces like fallen leaves as you picked up summer and cleaned. Because why have order when you can create your own in-home chaotic maze?
Again, maybe choose a better life and not the life of a chaos witch…
Now it’s time to decorate!
This is when I tell you exactly what to choose in order to make your fall decor more geeky. No… that’s a separate post. And as we go through our geeky fall blog series, keep in mind that I am not here to tell you what to buy or what to put in your home. I want to share some ways I’ve learned to [incorporate] our geeky preferences into our home decor in a more subtle way, and tell you how you can do the same in your home.
This is my favorite part, of course. Setting everything up just the way we like it and watching our already cool decor transform into a cozy seasonal space is the perfect way to begin the fall season.
Sometimes you just can’t find what you want in the store. And although some shops have gotten better about not only having those colors and items that are trending, not every fandom will have a place in every shop. That’s where DIY comes in. Not only can you create exactly what you want, it’s a great couple, BFF, or family activity. It’s also a fun thing for singles out there to do while indulging in some of those fun fall and Halloween shows and movies.
Do one last clean sweep.
Now that everything’s in place and things are looking more and more like fall, I like to pack everything back up and then sweep and mop. It’s the cherry on top and gives the whole space a fresh fall feel.
Enjoy that fall decor in your space!
Light some scented candles, make some tea, cider, or hot chocolate, and cozy up to enjoy your newly-decorated space. Might I suggest a Nightmare Before Christmas movie night, or Wednesday show marathon? Or some other fun and geeky fall activity to help you enjoy your space…
And hey, maybe you don’t decorate for fall. That’s okay, too. If you’re just here for the fall cleaning tips, I hope you got something out of this post as well.
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