Nothing is better than fall in Colorado, with its brilliant yellow aspens, mountains capped with snow, and cool nights twinkling with stars. Though summer’s heat may still linger outdoors, indoors it’s all about warm tones, cozy atmospheres, and everything pumpkin. Your Shea home is the perfect canvas for decorations that keep the autumnal spirit high all season long — read on for design and decoration tips to celebrate autumn’s awakening.
Create a welcoming entryway by decorating your porch with seasonally colored flowers, autumn gourds, and warm textures like burlap, wood, and twine. A themed welcome mat can help guests dry off their boots from an autumn shower, while decorative hay bales — available at most craft stores — make festive stands for flowers or plants to accentuate your autumnal harvest theme. Thankfully, many of our Colorado Shea homes offer covered front porches to keep decorations (and arriving guests!) safe from the elements.
Indoors, greet guests with a tantalizing smell by using a scented candle — or create your own autumnal simmer pot. Also called stovetop potpourri, simmer pots are a blend of herbs and spices mixed with water and left to simmer on the stove, filling your house with their aroma. Orange, clove, and vanilla can be simmered for three to four hours, then kept overnight in the fridge and refreshed with additional water for several days. Experiment with your own favorite autumn ingredients like nutmeg, star anise, cloves, rosemary, and sage. Shea Homes® kitchens offer thoughtful designs like large stovetops and ranges so you’ll never be lacking for space.
It wouldn’t be fall without celebrating the trees’ changing colors — from the bright yellow of the aspen to the deep red maple and the steadfast evergreens. You can create an autumn leaf garland at home with only scissors, fabric or paper, twine or wire, a glue gun, and a simple leaf stencil or freehand-drawn shape. Simply trace and cut leaf shapes then fasten them to twine or paper using a glue gun. While this tutorial uses crepe paper for leaves, any fabric or paper in seasonal colors will work just fine.
While autumn is the perfect time to break out the pumpkin-scented candles, you might be searching for a way to creatively display them. You can bring the outdoors in by using a variety of natural mediums to support your candle, all while creating a festive piece for a dining or side table. Walnuts in their shells, nutmeg pods, dried corn kernels, small pinecones, or acorns can transform a plain candle into a cute and timely accent. All you’ll need is a clear glass vase, your seasonal item, and a freestanding candle.
We can’t think of anything more representative of fall than a cornucopia spilling over with autumn’s bounty. A cornucopia can be a stunning table centerpiece, and many of the contents can be found or made right at home. Indian corn, small pumpkins or gourds, dried leaves, and pinecones evoke the season’s change — try taking a walk through a park in your Shea Homes® community to gather grasses and twigs to find an array of “fillings” to accentuate the aesthetic.
Autumn is all about enjoying the bounty of the season with loved ones — and there’s no better space to share the warmth than the welcoming space of a Shea home. Schedule a tour today to make your cozy fall dreams a reality.