There’s a weekend in September when it clicks (I actually think it happened this week for me). You wake up and the flat just feels different. Morning light comes in softer, the air through the window has a proper bite to it, and you no longer want to sleep underneath a light sheet next to a fan.
In a London flat or house share, you notice the change pretty quickly. You want the heavier duvet out, the blankets back on the sofa and your favourite autumn candle burning, but there’s only so much room to work with. The fan, lighter bedding and summer things haven’t magically disappeared just because the weather has changed, and if you’re sharing cupboards and wardrobes with other people, finding somewhere to put them can be a challenge in itself.
So an autumn reset isn’t about completely transforming your flat or buying a lot of new items. It’s about making a few changes that make sense for the season, while getting the things you no longer need out of the way.
Swap out a few textiles, clear away the summer kit, sort your lighting and bring in an autumnal scent. It doesn’t need a full redecoration or a fat budget either. A few small changes can make the difference between a flat that still feels like it’s stuck in summer and one you actually want to get cosy in when it gets dark at half four.
Honestly, even a small candle or fairy lights can make a big difference (and you won’t have to pack away the candle for next year).
Swap Your Textiles Before You Do Anything Else
Quickest win you’ll get. Those lightweight cotton cushion covers and thin throws you’ve had out since June have done their job. Pack them away and bring out anything with a bit of weight to it.
We’re talking chunky knit throws and velvet or wool cushion covers. Even switching from a cotton bedspread to a brushed cotton or waffle-knit one will make the bedroom instantly more autumnal, and it’s one of those changes that costs nothing if you already own the stuff. I mainly stick with throws or cushion covers and change my cotton sheets to darker hues.
As I hinted at earlier, colour matters. Burnt orange, deep green, burgundy, warm taupe, mustard. Go for rich tones that add warmth without making the room feel smaller.
Starting from scratch on autumn textures doesn’t need to cost much. One oversized throw in the right colour can completely change how a room looks and how it makes you want to spend your evening. And you can keep it for next year of course, providing you have a place to store it.
Sort Out Your Lighting
London evenings start creeping in fast from mid-September. It happens every year and it still takes me by surprise. That overhead bulb you barely had on in July will suddenly make every room look like a dentist’s waiting area, and nobody wants that when they’re trying to relax after work.
Layered lighting fixes this. Add a couple of table lamps or a floor lamp to your living room if you haven’t already, and make sure you’re using warm-toned bulbs because they’ll give you that soft, golden glow that actually turns a room into somewhere you want to be.
Candles help too, obviously. They double as home fragrance so you’re doing two jobs at once. A few battery-operated fairy lights tucked into a bookshelf or draped around a mirror can also soften a room without eating up any precious surface area.
Clear Out the Summer Kit
This is the bit that can make the biggest difference in a small flat. By mid-September, you probably don’t need the standing fan or picnic gear, and if you have very limited space, you have to start thinking where you can store your summer clothes. Meanwhile, winter coats, boots and blankets are about to start taking their place.
The problem is, London flats aren’t exactly known for having loads of storage. And if you’re sharing with other people, you might be trying to fit everyone’s stuff into the same few cupboards, so there isn’t necessarily a spare corner where you can just put all the summer things until next year.
Start with what you can fit away at home. Summer-only things can go under the bed, at the back of a wardrobe or on top of a cupboard, and anything you didn’t actually use this summer can probably go altogether.
But if you’re really struggling for space, mobile storage in London can be another option for the bulkier things you only need for part of the year. Garden furniture, sports equipment, suitcases or boxes of summer gear are much easier to live with when they’re not taking up half your flat. You can always split the price between your flatmates as well to make it an affordable way of gaining more space.
The aim isn’t to put everything into storage. It’s simply to make a bit more room for the things you’re actually going to use over the next few months.
I think it’s particularly helpful for things you might need to store longer term, or treasured items you can’t bear to declutter but that currently don’t fit within your lifestyle.
Bring In the Autumn Scent
Once the textiles and lighting are sorted, scent finishes the job. Don’t go overboard. A single candle in the living room and a reed diffuser in the hallway can be enough to make your flat smell like autumn without turning it into a Yankee Candle shop.
Look for warm, earthy notes. Sandalwood, fig, cedar, amber. If you want something a bit more specific for those darker evenings, cardamom and tobacco scents are brilliant. For something lighter during the day, fig and black tea work really well and won’t overpower a small space.
If you’d like some inspiration on autumn home scents, you can read my post on the best earthy and spicy autumn home fragrances here.
Set Up Now, Settle In Later
Autumn in London is one of those seasons that pays you back for a little bit of effort at home. Especially if you know you’re going to be spending more time indoors. I know as the nights start to draw in I tend to spend more time at home than out and about.
The trick is to have an autumn reset in one go rather than dragging it out over week and weeks and basically into winter. Pick a Saturday afternoon, put the kettle and a podcast on (may I recommend The Rest is History), and work through your home. I find it the perfect time for a little tidy and declutter too.
By the time the clocks go back in October, you’ll already have made your home super cosy.
