Awesome ways to transform neutral home decor on a budget
As a busy mom, you barely have time to wash the dishes and pick up toys, much less ensure your house is curated for each season with the perfect touches. However, I love home decor and I always feel 100 times better when my house is clean and looking great. For me, this includes having the right vibe for the season although I have very neutral home decor in general. There are a few easy ways you can switch out key items, quickly and easily refreshing your home during each season of the year – without breaking the bank.
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Use Neutral Home Decor to Start with the Basics
As I mentioned, I have very neutral home decor, so swapping things in and out is much easier than if I was working against a strong color palette in many of my rooms. I’m sure this strategy works either way. You probably just need to be a bit more careful with your decor choices if the room is already bold.
We have a large living room and a dining table in the same space. This is literally where we do everything (meals, hang out, entertain friends, etc.) so I really focus on this one space. I dress my dining room for all occasions and call it a day. We rarely go in there but since it’s in an open space to the kitchen I still want it to look nice.
Use a clean base
In our living space, I have a pretty blank canvas to begin. We have a very neutral couch, light wood coffee table, and a neutral rug. We have another rug with a blue and white pattern that I’ve moved into the dining room. You can have a rug with a pop of color that can be complementary to other accents.
This probably sounds boring, but I never get sick of it, and it makes it super easy to change the entire look of the room with the additional decor. Since we spend so much time here, I’m happy with where we are. Which brings me to how we spice up and change things by season.
Throw pillows & blankets easily spice up neutral decor
One of the fastest ways to change the entire look of a room that has neutral furniture is with your throw pillows and blankets. My husband thinks I have a throw pillow problem (thank you Home Goods) and I literally only stopped buying them because we didn’t have any more storage. #townhouseproblems. You can bring in bold colors, holiday themes, or just freshen and brighten the space depending on your mood with the right throw pillow.
Cozy blankets bring an additional element for decor, adding even more color and texture. If you’re decorating for the holidays you can use red and green, or silver and blue colors. A chunky cable knit throw makes the couch warm and inviting during the winter, and provides a totally different vibe than a crushed velvet blanket.
It’s fun to mix and match colors and textures on a neutral base just to see what works in your home. Pick out a few fun things that you truly love and swap them in and out year after year.
Tabletop decor adds fun accents
I love decorative accents that really bring out the elements of the season. During Fall we have some metallic pumpkins and acorns that I use on different tables. During the winter it’s tall goblets and chunky braided candles. In the summer I like a few extra (fake) plants and greenery to brighten up the space.
What I love about accent decor is that it’s also easily changed throughout the seasons. You can start with a neutral base, and easily swap accents in and out that aren’t super expensive. I started with Fall and my pumpkins and have expanded from there. You also don’t have to spend a ton of money. I absolutely love Home Goods and Michaels depending on what I’m searching for. I also love Pottery Barn but don’t feel inclined to spend Pottery Barn dollars on every accent in my house.
Home Goods organizes some of their decor by color so it’s really easy to pick up plates or glass accents if you’re just looking to fill in with a specific item.
Outside
Your doorstep and front porch are the first things people see when they come to your house. You can tell a lot about a person from how they choose to present their house to the world. Even on a small front porch, you can add some fun elements that tie to the season.
In the spring and summer, we keep a few planters on the front porch and the walkway up from the driveway. Bright and pretty flowers are a great way to punch up your entry. A flowering vine that runs up your mailbox provides interest and color throughout the spring and summer or putting some flowers at the base of a tree provides a little extra color in an unexpected place.
This Fall we did a full porch with a hay bale, multiple pumpkins, and bright mums. I loved the multiple colors of pumpkins and gourds and the pop of color from the flowers tied the whole thing together. Unfortunately, the picture is missing the lovely pumpkin welcome sign we hung up shortly after, but you get the idea.
As you can see, we don’t have a huge house or amount of space to decorate, but even adding seasonal accents in our key living spaces really makes the house feel more cohesive. I don’t have time to spend three days decorating anything. It usually takes me about an hour a few times a year to swap out our candles, picture frames (occasionally) and tabletop items to be a bit more festive.
What’s your favorite way to dress your house throughout the year? Drop me a comment and let me know!
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