Simple fall decorating, slow living, and finding joy in the little projects that make a house feel like home.
There is something so beautiful about the changing seasons here in the Adirondack Mountains. As the summer days slowly give way to the crisp mornings and golden afternoons of autumn, I always find myself looking forward to the simple rhythms that accompany this time of year.
For mom and I, fall also brings the transition as we move from our fifth-generation Adirondack cabin to our third-generation family cottage, where we spend the fall, winter, and spring months. Both places hold so many memories, and both are incredibly special to our family. Over the years, I have come to appreciate that creating a restful home doesn't necessarily require dramatic changes, expensive renovations, or perfectly decorated spaces. Sometimes, the smallest changes make the biggest difference.
And that is exactly what inspired this little fall project.
The Beauty of Making Our Home 1% Better
One of the things I have been thinking about lately is the idea of making our everyday spaces just 1% better. Not completely different. Not perfect. Just a little more beautiful, a little more welcoming, and a little more restful than they were yesterday. I think it is easy to look around our homes and see all of the projects that still need to be completed. There are always things to organize, areas to refresh, and ideas that we hope to accomplish someday. But what if, instead of focusing on everything that needs to change, we simply chose one little thing that could make our home feel more peaceful today?
That is the heart behind this series.
Day One: A Little Cozy Fall Decorating
For the first day of making our third-generation cottage more restful, I decided to focus on a little simple and cozy fall decorating. Nothing extravagant or complicated. Just a small seasonal project to help welcome autumn into our home. I love the way that little seasonal touches can completely change the feeling of a space. Whether it is bringing out a favorite autumn decoration, adding a cozy texture, or simply rearranging something we already own, these little details have a way of making everyday life feel special.
And honestly, I think there is something incredibly restful about allowing our homes to change slowly with the seasons. We don't have to accomplish everything in a single weekend. We don't need to rush to finish every project before the season has even begun. Instead, we can enjoy the process of creating a home that reflects the season we are actually living in.
A Cottage Filled with Generations of Memories
One of the things that makes this project especially meaningful to me is the history of our family cottage. As a third-generation family space, it is so much more than simply a place to live during the colder months. It is part of our family's story.
As many of you know this is my grandmother's home that my dad, mom, and I moved into in the midst of my health journey (full time) back in the fall of 2015. This move - disrupted our family- my parents sacrificed a ton, and it was a very full house for several years. At the same time it was a beautifully tender season as those years lived together in a very small space brought the four of us very close together before extreme trauma and grief hit hard with the first stroke of my grandmother who then required full-time nursing care, the sudden and traumatic loss of my dad, and then the loss of my grandmother.
For a while honestly I said that I could never live in this home- it held the bittersweet balance of both extreme joy with so many memories over the years of visiting, holidays, and the tender season of being sick and the traumatic and grief-filled season of so much extreme and traumatic loss.
Over the years this slowly changed- mom and I both started seeing it as a place that we could get our feet back under us, heal, and slowly start the process of making this our home now. I think there is something particularly beautiful about caring for a place that has been loved by generations before us. Every small improvement becomes another chapter in that story, and every thoughtful change is an opportunity to honor the past while making the space welcoming for the present.
That doesn't mean everything needs to be new. In fact, some of my favorite spaces are the ones that feel collected over time, where familiar pieces, family memories, and simple seasonal details come together naturally. My hope is that these little projects will continue to make our cottage feel even more like the restful retreat that it has been for our family for so many years.
Creating a More Restful Home, One Small Project at a Time
I hope that this series is a gentle reminder that we don't need enormous budgets or endless amounts of time to make meaningful changes in our homes. Sometimes it is as simple as spending a few minutes making a corner more inviting, using something we already have in a new way, or adding one little touch that makes us smile. And sometimes, creating a more restful home has less to do with decorating and more to do with slowing down enough to appreciate the beauty that is already there.
As we settle into another beautiful Adirondack autumn, I am looking forward to sharing more of these small projects and the ways we are continuing to care for this special family cottage.
One little improvement. One cozy corner. One thoughtful change at a time.
Following Along with Our 1% Better Cottage Series
Thank you so much for following along with our family and for all of your sweet encouragement and comments on these projects. It truly makes sharing these little moments so much fun!
You can watch, like, and comment on the beginning of our fall cottage project over on Instagram:
I hope this encourages you to find one little way to make your own home feel more restful this season, too. Because creating a beautiful life doesn't always happen through big changes. Sometimes, it happens just 1% at a time.
With love from the Adirondacks,
Rebecca
Happy Saturday friends- I hope you have the most beautiful day and beginning of your weekend!
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