September always feels like a fresh start. The searing hot days of summer are slowly morphing into cooler, autumn mornings and golden afternoons bathed in soft light. In the hedgerows around our showrooms, blackberries are ripe for the picking, the orchards are laden with apples, pears and plums, and damsons and sloes are, in all their amethyst glory, begging to be turned into delicious jams and gins. Weekend walks are gloriously colourful, hearty Sunday roasts are on the cards again and early sunsets mean cosy evenings indoors.
While January is a natural time to restore order and calm after the chaos of Christmas, early autumn is perfect too. It's time to press reset – decluttering, reorganising and refreshing your interior, one room at a time. It's often difficult to know where to start, but Holloways Interior Designer Annie Blackledge loves the seasonal challenge and says now is the ideal time to kick-start the process. Think of it as a wellness boost for your home.
"The best way to begin is to take the plunge and pack away all of your summer accessories, from picnic hampers to your spring/summer wardrobe," she says. "You'll be focused, then, on the task ahead and ready to make decor decisions for the cooler months ahead. And while warm September afternoons mean it's not quite time to pull the covers over the garden furniture for good, it's always exciting to turn your thoughts to your interior to make it warm, cosy and inviting."
1. Sort your storage
"Storage really is key to everything," says Annie. "However big or small your home, it pays to be organised. From the kitchen to your home office, bathroom to bedroom, having a dedicated space for all your belongings creates order and calm and makes day-to-day life easier and less stressful."
Clever cabinetry like the Chawton, designed to grow with you and your family, is as beautiful as it is useful and can be configured with a combination of storage cupboards, bookcases, shelves and even wine racks. Consider a custom-painted media cabinet. Though it puts the TV centre stage, it somehow makes the big screen less intrusive in a room and can be dressed with softer, more personal accessories like treasured books and favourite pieces of artwork.
Freestanding pieces like the Frome collection of consoles, side tables and cabinets or Farlow display cabinet make an elegant feature out of storage, while Chichester bookcases come in a combination of sizes, with cupboards and shelving.
The Ardingly cabinet is beautifully versatile – at once a coffee station, drinks cabinet, pantry or bathroom cupboard – while the Ardingly desk makes light work of the nine-to-five. All can be custom-painted in one of 40 Neptune paint shades to bring harmony to your home.
2. Blitz your bedroom
It's the time of year when the bedroom takes centre stage, says Annie. And while the darker mornings might not be quite as appealing as cosy nights under the covers, your bedroom should be a soothing, inviting sanctuary you want to retreat to.
"Longer nights and darker mornings cry out for a cocoon-like feel in the bedroom," says Annie. "Treat autumn and winter-weight duvets to luxurious new linen with the highest thread count. Introduce richly weighted, sumptuously coloured fabrics for curtains and cushions – think velvets, wools and lined, heavyweight linens."
A good throw can bring a bedroom scheme together. We love Neptune's new Hetton throw in russet – it's as rich in colour as it is deeply textured. Discover throws in every shape, size, pattern and material in our Interiors Room. You'll find the perfect match.
If a new bed beckons, the Walton is elegant, refined and inviting. A contemporary four-poster in solid oak, the headboard can be upholstered in a range of wools and linens to be dressed up or down to suit the season. It pairs perfectly with the Frome side table in either natural oak, or go bold with a striking warm black finish. On a standard four-poster, curtains can be swapped seasonally to effortlessly introduce warmth and texture.
3. Swap out soft furnishings
Swapping your spring/summer curtains and blinds for window dressings in richer, more textured, heavier-weight, natural fabrics is an easy way to transform every room from the sitting room to the dining room, guest bedroom to the family bathroom.
Neutral sofas, love seats and armchairs are simple to reimagine with new cushions and cosy throws. And if you have loose-cover sofas like the Sally, below, or loose-cover armchairs with a spare set of covers, now's the time to switch them from their summer livery into their warmer, more autumnal upholstery.
"Our Interiors Room is full of a huge collection of cushions, throws, rugs and lighting which change as we move through the seasons," says Annie. "Our team are always here to help you put together a colour scheme you'll love, pairing patterns and textures that work together perfectly."
From handmade Fermoie lampshades and Designers Guild lighting to take home, stylish clocks and bespoke wool, fibre and recycled rugs, discover everything you need to complete your autumn schemes in our showrooms.
4. Reintroduce the rug
While bare wood or stone floors can make for a cool, calming, zen-like space for spring and summer schemes, now's the time to reintroduce rugs. Warm underfoot, rugs deaden noise, anchor your furniture and protect your floors from scratches from the sofa or your beloved pets.
Rugs define a space, separating a sitting room from a dining area, creating zones for relaxing, reading and lounging, make a focal point of coffee and side tables and will help layer your interior to make it feel more inviting, says Annie. Done right, the texture of a rug, paired with natural materials like wood and ceramics, will create a layered look that reflects the changing landscape outside and epitomises the beauty of autumn.
"A rug almost always completes a room," she adds. "They make a space feel finished – calmer, larger and more comfortable. Rugs ground your scheme and making it feel warmer. Whichever room you're looking at dressing, we have the perfect rug for it, from leather and linen-bound fibre rugs to gorgeous wool rugs inspired by the Scottish Highlands, and richly patterned, washable rugs ideal for high-traffic areas like kitchens and hallways."
Looking for rug inspiration? Our Journal shows you which rugs to choose for which room.
5. Love lighting
"It sounds obvious with longer nights and shorter days on the horizon," says Annie. "But now's the perfect time to re-evaluate your lighting. It might be as simple as replacing cool white bulbs with warm white – considering carefully the effect this will have on your wall colours, of course. Or it might be that you introduce a new pendant to focus much-needed light over a dining table or kitchen island. Or decide to place an elegant floor lamp in a neglected nook to create a new focal point in a room."
Annie suggests mapping out your lighting scheme, room by room, ensuring each has layers of light, from mood to task lighting. Could a favourite bookcase benefit from a subtle lighting uplift? Should a treasured piece of art be allowed to shine with a picture light? Might a dark corner be transformed with a table or floor lamp?
From bold, playful Designers Guild lamps to elegant wicker pendants, our Lighting Studio is rich with table lamps, floor lamps, desk lamps, wall lights, decorative lighting and pendant lights for every room in the home. Shop our online lighting collection here – and discover more in our showrooms.
