Today we officially celebrate the end of summer and allow all the joys of fall to begin with the Autumnal Equinox. In case you need a refresher, the Autumnal Equinox is one of two times throughout the year (the other being the Vernal Equinox in the spring) when the sun is directly above the equator, making day and night close to equal length. Many ancient cultures placed significance on the fall equinox. For example, in ancient China and in the areas which now make up the United Kingdom, the fall equinox was a time to celebrate food and successful harvests. Other cultures, such as the ancient Greeks, used the autumnal equinox purely as a religious holiday. This Mental Floss article from 2014 offers up six unique cultural and historical ways to celebrate this time of year. For us, we see this time as a period of transition symbolizing balance, allowing us to get cozy while spending time with friends and family. The days begin to get shorter and the nights a little longer. The Danish concept of Hygge starts to take on more of a role in our household. Hygge emphasizes creating a warm, inviting, and cozy interior atmosphere to enjoy good things in life with good friends and family. Once the weather starts to become cooler we dust off the puzzle boxes, drink more tea, and surround ourselves with comfy blankets, candles, and soft materials like wool. This time of year also signals a shift in the interior design style of our home. Anticipating how much time we will soon be spending indoors makes us want to optimize our interior design, home goods, and decor to help us enjoy this time the best we can. To help you get ready for Fall, in this article I’ll discuss 3 ways we use interior design and decor to celebrate the autumnal equinox.
Focus on Balanced Composition and Conscious Living
In a previous article, I wrote about how our Sfären series of hand-printed block prints are designed and created to inspire mindfulness in your home through balanced composition. If you missed it, you can read the full article here. The minimalist black and white designs inspired by the relationship between the natural and spiritual are a wonderful reflection of how sunlight and darkness commingle equally today and how that affects our well-being. The Sfären prints also remind us that nature does mimic our lifecycle, and there is a time of sunlight and life, but also darkness and rest. Finding a balanced life that embraces the two periods will allow us to live more consciously and be mindful of our thoughts and actions.
Embrace More Wool
To us, nothing makes us feel cozier than surrounding ourselves with warm natural materials once the weather gets cooler. Most people think of thick blankets first, but that just scratches the surface of possibilities to have a cozy interior design in your home this time of year. As fall progresses and eventually turns to winter and the days become darker, the color of your interior spaces, as well as your home goods and decor, becomes even more important. Our “Spruce” felted wool catchall bowls and coasters not only combine that soft and fuzzy touch with functionality but also add a much-needed pop of color when the daylight gets scarce. Bright colors have been proven to boost mood and help ease seasonal affective disorder. Fall and Winter are also great times of the year to get organized. Spending more time indoors can mean spending more time surrounded by clutter in the home, which can lead to depression and anxiety. We've written about this before and you can find the full article here. Our bowls are available in three different sizes, so you can create multi-colored nesting sets. They're also collapsible and able to be used as a trivet to rest your tea kettle. Have some friends over for coffee and cookies and use our minimalist style felted wool coasters to keep your tabletops clean. Or serve them a stiff drink to warm their bellies. We'd recommend Polish rye vodka. It does the trick every time. We like to mix and match our coaster colors in creative ways to kick our entertaining up a notch.
Drink More Tea or Coffee
Tea is a huge part of our life. We drink several cups of tea each day, both caffeinated and herbal. Typically, however, our consumption drops a bit during the summer, and often shifts to iced versions of our favorite drinks, but returns once we feel the first crispness of fall in the air. Honestly, for me, nothing beats cozying up with a nice hot cup of tea when the weather is cold. It makes your entire being warm up and reminds me of the ebb and flow of life. Long days gradually fade to short and eventually back again. I enjoy the ceremony of making a cup of tea and treat it as a mindfulness activity to focus on the act of being present in the moment. Some of our favorite teas are jasmine green, smoky lobsang souchong, earthy pu'er, and lavender rooibos. We love tea so much that we started to produce our own handmade fused glass teaspoon rests a few years ago. Below is a photo of our mustard yellow teaspoon rest in action at our home.
What are some of your favorite ways to celebrate fall and the change in weather? Do you incorporate new objects or colors in your home, or change your interior design style? We’d love to hear all about it. You can use the comments section below or email any thoughts or questions you may have to hi@campcopeland.com. If you enjoyed this article please sign up for our newsletter, connect with us on Instagram and Pinterest or subscribe to our website. It'd be great to meet you! Happy Fall!
Thanks for reading,
Alyssa and Drew
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