Invite Autumn into Your 55 Plus Apartments in NJ with These Seasonal Ideas
Autumn is here at last, promising cooler days and a bountiful harvest. This is a favorite season of many, as it harkens in a more inward time, for reading books, sipping teas and enjoying lots of fabulous food. The senses are activated as crisp air and the smell of fall waft through, along with the changing color of leaves that speaks to something deep inside: the eternal rhythms of the world.
For residents at Barnegat 67, there are plenty of ways to celebrate the Fall season and bring it into your 55 plus apartments in NJ. Here are a few ideas for inviting autumn into your home.
Welcome the Fall with a Bounty of Food!
It is the harvest season, after all, and so much of autumn revolves around a cornucopia of food. Just think of autumn’s holidays: pumpkins (and candy) represent Halloween and a full-on feast that features root vegetables, turkey, cranberries, sweet potatoes and pie is the center of Thanksgiving. But the harvest season is more than just the holidays.
The Harvest season is a time of year in which primary food crops have reached full maturity and are gathered in for the winter. Traditionally, this was a time of year for celebration, as the farmers brought in the bounty and there was plenty of food to go around. Feasts were a natural way to honor the harvest. It was also a time for preserving foods for the rest of the year—until the next harvest. This included canning, smoking, drying, and today, freezing.
Bring the bounty into your own 55 plus apartments in NJ and enjoy the aesthetic touch they provide—not to mention the delicious flavors! Below is a brief list of some of the classic fall characters.
Apples: Nothing says autumn in your home like a bushel of apples and some apple cider. Caramel apples are a real treat and apple pies are so beloved that they’re even a mascot of American culture. Thanks Johnny Apple Seed!
Pomegranates: Pomegranates are a mysterious fruit full of ruby red, jewel-like seeds that look beautiful and taste delicious. In many cultures pomegranates symbolize the autumn season as they reach maturity during this time. In the most well-known Greek mythological story about autumn, the pomegranate is featured.
When Persephone is kidnapped by Hades, the god of the underworld, she eats six pomegranate seeds, and is thus required to stay in the underworld for eternity. A truce between Hades and Demeter (goddess of fertility) allows Persephone to come to the upper world for half the year (spring and summer). However she must return to the underworld for the other half of the year (fall and winter). The fall and winter seasons exist then presumably because Demeter is in mourning during these months.
Incorporate pomegranate into your home by using the seeds to adorn a salad or ice cream—or just enjoy them alone! As you eat them you can imagine stepping into the underworld and fall coming on.
Figs: Figs are a rich, decadent fruit that make an indulgent snack. Interesting fact: figs are actually considered false fruits, because in reality each one is a sac that contains hundreds of tiny fruits!
Cranberries: No Thanksgiving dinner is complete without cranberry sauce. These sour berries pop in your mouth in a delightful way.
Winter Squash: There’s a variety of winter squash that spend all summer ripening and are finally ready to be enjoyed come autumn. Squash lasts a long time, looks beautiful when thoughtfully arranged on a table or in a corner of the house and is a delicious change for the palette. A few popular varieties include Delicatas, Acorn, Butternut and Spaghetti squash. Bake them, soup them, steam them—there are a number of ways to enjoy your squash! Of course, sugar pumpkins for pies are another delight.
And don’t forget the classic jack-o-lantern pumpkins! While these are not the most delicious to eat, they make a great decoration, carved or not.
Spices: With autumn comes all the unique warming spices associated with this season. Cinnamon, clove, ginger, nutmeg and allspice are flavors that you can begin to incorporate into your cooking to enhance the seasonal effect.
Teas: With the cooler weather comes tea season. Any old tea is a delight, be in black tea or herbal, but how about a nice spicy chai? The spices mentioned above can all be worked into a tea and enjoyed with a good book.
Warm Up Your Space with Textures and Scents
Besides bringing the literal harvest into your home by way of fruits and vegetables, there are other ways to add a bit of the autumn warmth to your home. Spruce up your 55 plus apartments in NJ with a few of these fall inspired home touches.
Throws, Pillows & Rugs:
As the weather turns cooler, out come the layers and blankets. Nothing warms a space like throwing down a rug, adding a few pillows and piling up the throws. It’s not yet winter, so think middle weight blankets. Cashmere and wool are warm both visually and technically. Incorporate trending autumn colors such as mustard yellow, burnt orange, burgundy, mocha and cappuccino. Simply adding a couple deep red pillows and a rich orange blanket to your couch can completely change the feel of a summery room to one of cozy fall vibes.
Think Textures: In addition to the autumn colors mentioned above, textures are a great way to add warmth to a room. Just seeing textures activates the sense of touch and adds a sense of complexity and coziness. Think of plaids and thick weave fibers. Silk curtains add a sense of decadent autumn evenings spent with a glass of wine. Sheep furs can be great too for a visual texture that enhances the sense of cooler nights coming. Quilts can be draped on a plush chair to tempt a cozy lounge, or else hung on a wall to really add a classic touch and quickly transform a room. Likewise, an oriental rug with deep reds and blues can change a room instantly from summer to fall.
In the Bedroom: Think new linens and bedspread. Replace fresh whites and lighter pastels with deep fall colors and moody greys.
Lighting & Candles: Get rid of those bright blinding lights and replace them with dimmer, cozy lighting to transform your space and make it feel like autumn. Candles are also a special touch. Whether tapered candles in ornate candelabras or big, heavy candles, the flickering light is transportive.
Simmer Pot: There are other ways to warm up your space besides visual and touch elements. Smell can greatly enhance your sense of coziness. A great trick is to set up a simmer pot. Simply fill a pot with water and add your favorite fall spices. Apples, orange peel, clove and cinnamon, for example, are some popular scents. Then, just simmer the water and in no time your entire apartment will smell divine. (This trick also adds humidity, for those dry winters!)
A few other touches: A rocking chair and a pile of books are also a wonderful way to indicate the winter hibernation is approaching. Wood also adds a hint of the rustic. Even without a fireplace you add seasonal character with logs and natural accents—such as baskets, a log coffee table or a reclaimed wood book case.
Fall Inspired Décore
It’s always fun to add a few specific seasonal decorations to your space. There are several wonderful fall decorations that you can do yourself—or purchase from a local market!
Wheat wreathe: Wreaths aren’t just for the winter holiday. A wheat wreathe can be especially beautiful, especially since they represent the harvest. Other autumn wreathes can include dried leaves of many colors and pine cones.
Dried Flower Arrangement: Along with drying and preserving vegetables and fruits, flowers are also dried at this time of year, for the beauty they can provide when there are no flowers blooming outdoors.
Pressed leaves: A special treat of autumn is getting to find the most beautiful leaves of red, yellow and orange. Bring your favorite ones home and press them. Then, place them just so with a tidge of glue to make pieces of art for your wall.
Jack-O-Lanterns and Painted Gourds: Mentioned above, but worth repeating—a good carved pumpkin can really add a bit of spooky cheer to the house! Or, if you prefer, simply paint gourds or white pumpkins for a different kind of look. Even just incorporating gourds and squashes around the home brings that harvest vibe into your 55 plus apartments in NJ.
Happy Autumn!
However you want to celebrate the harvest season, may you have a happy autumn! Looking for 55 plus apartments in NJ to call your own? Barnegat 67 offers beautiful housing for senior in Ocean County, NJ.