Transforming Your Home with Seasonal Decorations

Do you flip through home décor magazines and wonder how people can afford to completely change-up their décor from one season to another without breaking the bank? There are some tips and tricks that will help you do just that.

Ever since I was a little girl I can remember my grandmother redecorating both the inside and outside of her home for each of the four seasons. In the spring, beautiful artificial flowers would be carefully arranged on her sofa table, coffee table, and entertainment center. Her collections of small birds were so numerous that she would challenge us to see if we could count them all.

As spring turned to summer her sweet spring blooms would be changed out to red, white, and blue décor that she would proudly display from Memorial Day through Labor Day. The day after Labor Day she would be back to changing out her patriotic décor for the warm orange, yellow, and burgundy tones of fall. New Table runners would go down, wreaths would be hung, and artificial flowers would replace the summer ones from the previous season.

Christmas is the most magical time of all. Her collection of birds was replaced by an equally large display of angels. A large artificial Christmas tree was decorated with burgundy and gold ornaments, garland was wound around winter vases and statues on the top of the entertainment center, and an oversized bay window acted as a frame for oversized ornaments, candles, and poinsettia bushes.

Burgundy and Gold Artificial Christmas Tree Decorations

My grandmother does not have a lot of money but she does many things that help her stretch every penny to make her home shine, no matter what season it is. Here are some of her favorite tips for purchasing, maintaining, and collecting seasonal decorations.

Be Organized
Once every season is over she carefully packages her décor away in bubble wrap and plastic bins. Once they are properly packaged the bins are labeled and stacked neatly in her attic. She even throws pictures of that year’s decorations in the bins so she knows where everything goes the following year.

Shop Sales
When something is too worn out to be used again next year, she makes a note of what she needs and heads to the post-season sales to stock up on new décor items when they are at greatly reduced prices. The day after a big holiday it is quite common to see decorations marked down as much as 75%.

Slowly Build Your Collection
Her collection of décor was not purchased in a single year. She slowly built her décor collection over a number of years. Because her friends and family knew that she collected both angels and birds, many of those pieces were gifted to her.

Choose Season-Neutral Big Items
The key to her seasonal transformation was that the large, expensive, big-ticket items are completely neutral. She changes out artificial flowers while leaving the vases the same from one season to the next. Bowls, candlesticks, frames, artwork, furniture, baskets, and planters are also completely neutral.

Now that I am a mother and a homeowner myself, I aspire to have the kind of decorations that my grandmother had growing up. Each year I buy a few more items to make that possible. One thing is for sure; I have definitely inherited the art of appreciating a good sale from her and my mother.

What tips have you collected over the years for decorating your home? We would love to hear about them.