With Halloween getting closer and cold weather approaching, decorating your home with a fall-inspired look is the perfect way to get everyone in an autumn mindset. Start off the season right with these easy design ideas for your home.

White Pumpkins

Pumpkins are a must-have in your home every fall, but are you tired of the same old bright orange pumpkins? Mix it up this year and go the non-traditional route with white pumpkins. White pumpkins can be used as a vase, centerpiece, or mantle accent. Whether you choose to use plastic or ceramic pumpkins, they will be the standout accessory of your home this season and many more to come.

Fresh Flowers

Bring the outside in. Fresh flowers and leaves will enhance any room with their bright colors and inviting smell. Acorns, pumpkins, and fruits alongside the flowers are the perfect complement to your fall arrangement. Want decorations which are not season specific? Deck out multiple vases with autumn branches for a design that will be fitting for several months.

Chalkboard Paint

Give a warm welcome to guests with a friendly message in chalk. Writing a season’s greeting or making a fall checklist on a chalkboard will liven up any room. Or, keep up with the current trend and try a no-carve pumpkin. The days of spending hours carving pumpkins are over. Decorate pumpkins with chalkboard paint and you can draw any face or greeting you want, erase, and then start again.

Festive Pillows

Be bold this fall season. Switch out your everyday pillows for a pop of color. Autumn colors such as red, orange, and yellow should be your go-to shades this fall season. Add a little texture in any room with knits or patterns. You can never have too many pillows—pile up on pillows of different colors and textures to warm up a room on a cold night.

Pinecones

Nothing says cold weather is coming more than pinecones around your home. Make a statement by hanging pinecones, making a frame, or using a variety for a centerpiece. Don’t want to change out the décor before winter? Pinecones can be used for decorating throughout the winter.

Potpourri

Potpourri will give your home the perfect scent of fall with minimal effort. Its decorative look and appealing smells will have your home feeling more like the season instantly. Make it a DIY project by putting dried fruit and nuts into a bowl, then top it off with essential oils featuring fall scents. Not sure which scents work best for fall? Cinnamon sticks, cranberries, and wood scents will give your home the aromas of autumn in no time.

Make your home a relaxed and decorative environment before the cold weather comes. These tips will help you start your décor transition from summer to fall today.

Our ancient ancestors lived in the wild, sleeping out in the elements, on the forest floor. Today, some part of our brain still apparently desires that life. We hike, we camp, we visit the arboretum and planetarium, we take vacations to wilderness areas, we grill our food outdoors on pretend campfires—there’s something in our limbic system which longs to be surrounded by nature.

Read more…

Thinking of rearranging your living space? Buying new furniture and want to be certain everything will fit? Or perhaps you just want to analyze the traffic flow a change in furniture placement will bring? Tasks like these used to require graph paper and a pencil with a large eraser.

Read more…

Dress up your furniture, creatively organize your desk, and accessorize your belongings with washi tape. Made from natural fibers, this versatile tape will transform items from bland to fabulous with the variety of pretty designs available in a durable material.

Read more…

“There’s no place like home.” – L. Frank Baum, The Wizard of Oz

Thankfully for most of us, finding home is a lot easier than it was for Dorothy Gale. There is no need for a trek along the yellow brick road, ruby slippers, or the clicking of heels. Even so, creating that feeling of home can be more elusive for some than for others.

Read more…

Homeowners that go on vacation for even a week have a lot to worry about. Single-family homes are prime targets for burglars because they’re isolated with multiple, often secluded, entry points which criminals love. With over one million residential burglaries, how can homeowners have a relaxing vacation?

Read more…

Some people find Arizona’s summer temperatures to be shocking, especially newcomers who have relocated from northern climes. Occasionally, when the humidity is very low, it may not seem as hot as it really is, but the heat can be a danger whether one is aware of it or not. Dehydration and heat stroke occur slowly and the warning signs can easily be ignored.

Read more…

This Independence Day, celebrate in red, white, and blue with summertime cookouts and spectacular fireworks displays! Check out this list of festivities in your area:

Read more…

Kick off your shoes and trade your sweater for a bathing suit. It’s summertime—and the livin’ can be easy!

We can all agree summer is a time of leisure and good times. Still, that doesn’t always mean going on vacations and to resorts. Sometimes, the most fun can be had in your own backyard. What would summer be without refreshing beverages and non-stop barbecues with friends and family?

Read more…

Summer is a wonderful time in Arizona. The snowbirds have all returned home, and much of America goes elsewhere because vacationing in Arizona is extremely hot for those not familiar with our climate. But for residents, here’s the bonus: many of the finest hotels in Phoenix and Tucson become suddenly affordable. Take advantage of all Arizona has to offer with a truly stress-free, close-to-home staycation.

Read more…