There's beauty in the changing of seasons. As we move from hot to cold, light to dark and back around again, each season brings about changes, not just in the weather, but in the way we live. Winter is a time to slow down and hibernate inside, while summer is characterised by activity, fun and life outdoors.
Of all the changing seasons, it is the transition from winter to spring and the promise of summer that is perhaps most celebrated. This time of renewal and reawakening is symbolised by bright colours, nature and light. The warmer weather brings a sense of anticipation and freshness.
Changing your home decor to reflect the season isn’t a practice reserved for the rich and famous. With a few small changes and creative additions, your home can transition from season to season with ease.
Koh Living’s collection of art inspired gifts and home decor are here to help you embrace the changing seasons. Using colour, flowers, light and art, we’ll show you four ways to brighten up your house this spring/summer.
How to Create a Seasonal Home
Creating a space that suits the season doesn’t have to involve a full blown makeover four times a year. Small changes can be a very effective way of welcoming warmer days and sunshine. Forget about changing big furniture items, by keeping these pieces neutral you can easily swap smaller items in the room (and not to mention, you’ll save your back a lot of extra effort!) to great effect.
Your ‘seasonal room decor’, that is, the objects you change with the seasons, may include cushions, decorative candles, artwork, blankets and coasters. With just a few small items you can completely change the look and feel of a room. When deciding on your seasonal room decor, think about how you live in each season, how it makes you feel and what you enjoy.
Colour
Colour is strongly associated with each season. Autumn tones like brown, red and maroon reflect the falling leaves while shades like grey, black and white are distinctly wintery. For spring and summer, colours are bright and bold, reflective of the blooming flowers, sun and water. Think bright pinks, yellow, orange, and the cool colours of the sea, flowing streams and brooks.
Colour is an obvious way to brighten up your house during spring/summer. The good thing about introducing bright springtime or summery colours is that you don’t need a lot, a small pop of colour is usually enough.
For strong, bright colours we love Anna Blatman’s artistic style. The Koh Living Anna Blatman collection makes it easy to incorporate her bold and colourful aesthetic into your home. Bring spring into the lounge room with one of our Anna Blatman lamps or tealight candle holders. These decorative items are beautiful by day, and stunning when illuminated at night. A vibrant collection of ceramic Anna Blatman coasters on the coffee table won’t go unnoticed either!
In the kitchen, you can celebrate the season with your tea towel. Simply hang a bright tea towel and it’s sunny days ahead! In our tea towel collection you’ll find Anna Blatman’s vivid work, along with Kathleen Buzzacott’s Dreamtime towels featuring cool colours of the sea and the bright yellow of the sun.
Flowers
Bringing real flowers into your home to mark the springtime weather is nice in theory, but they won’t last long and if you keep up a fresh supply, neither will your savings! Honour the fresh blooms of spring with floral art and designs that won’t drop petals or cost a small fortune.
At Koh Living we have an entire floral collection so it’s easy to start growing some flowers in your living room, just in time for spring! Our wildflower collection of coasters, mugs, candle holders and lamps are a perfect way to bring a little spring/summer into your home. Celebrating Australian natives like Flowering Gum, Banksia, Waratah, Kangaroo Paw and Bottle Brush, each detailed piece captures the beauty of the changing seasons downunder.
We know that Anna Blatman is renowned for her colourful style of painting, but it is through these bold colours she expresses her connection and love of flowers. The passion behind her incredible work will make it feel as though flowers are blooming before your eyes.
For a more subtle nod to spring flowers, try one of our Minikin wildflower lanterns. Wildflower designs are brought to life at night as the tealight candle within glows through fine white porcelain.
Light
It’s getting too hot for the fireplace, but it doesn’t mean you have to say goodbye to the flickering of flames. Enjoy balmy evenings with a multitude of candles.
Our tealight candles are made from glass and clay which means they look bright and summery during the day, and they go a long way in creating the right mood at night. Scatter them throughout a room or group them together on a stand. You can also set your table with a collection of colourful tealight candle holders, ready to celebrate the festivities of spring and summer.
Art
If, like us, you fall in love with more art than could ever occupy your walls, why not appreciate it all, just at different times of the year. Art can be very seasonal which makes it a great tool for seasonal living. The best part about hanging art seasonally - you already have hooks on the wall!
Take into consideration the style and colours of each piece when deciding which season to hang it. It will also be helpful (maybe even necessary) to swap out similar size artworks so you still adequately fill the space and you don’t need to fuss with wall mounts.
You may even like to feature artworks by the same artist in different seasonal shades. For example, Kathleen Buzzacott is an Australian Aboriginal artist who uses central desert dot painting to tell stories of the Dreamtime. While similar in style, her pieces range from burnt reds to cool blues and rich purples. Using pieces from the same artist will maintain the aesthetic of your home, but transitioning from one shade to another will usher in each new season.
So what are you waiting for? Spring into it!