I’m thinking about fall. Isn’t everyone? It’s coming. I’ve been seeing goldenrod blooming for a month already, about two weeks earlier than usual. In England, they call goldenrod farewell summer.
The cicadas are loud enough that I hear them over the constant hum of my ac & fan. They’ve completely drowned out the crickets for now, but after they’ve gone, the crickets will still be here.
I like this transitional season, in large part because it’s the transition from my least favorite season to my very favorite one. Besides, transitions can be nice in their own right – you get to be in two places (seasons, jobs, houses, hair styles…) at once. It’s a chance to wrap up loose ends, and complete preparations for what’s ahead.
These free printables seem just right for this season-between-seasons. If you don’t have access to a color printer at home or work, you can go to staples.com & order prints on cardstock for less than a dollar each, then pick them up in the store nearest you. (Not an affiliate link, I just want to give you options!)
I think they’d look great framed, or hung on clipboards on the wall for a super easy presto-chango, or even simpler, just clips:
“I go to Nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put together.” – John Burroughs
On the back of her tiny 1920s house in south Arkansas, my grandmother had a sleeping porch. It was screened in to keep bugs and other critters out, while letting cool breezes in, with heavy canvas blinds to roll down against rain. Piles of quilts on the big iron bed kept sleepers warm through the relatively temperate winter nights.
Except during the hottest summertime, the sleeping porch was the most coveted bedroom in the house.
Those are the two basic requirements for a sleeping porch: a porch/deck/balcony, set up with a semi-permanent (or at least seasonal) place for sleeping. Screens, blinds, and everything else are optional.
Bedding down on a sleeping porch is like camping, but not.
It is magical.
“With a comfortable bed and a sufficiency of blankets no place can equal the out-of-doors in affording refreshing sleep, in any season of the year.” – Woman’s Weekly Supplement, 1923
My dad and his brothers were born in that house. It was years before they got electricity, and decades before they got air conditioning. For them, the sleeping porch was a year-round bedroom, as was common at the time.
Above: Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, author of The Yearling, and Cross Creek, slept and worked on this porch in Florida from the late 1920s through the early 1940s.
“I do not understand how anyone can live without some small place of enchantment to turn to.” ― Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
I’ve happily lived with/slept on several sleeping porches since my childhood, and still do every chance I get. I sleep so well when I’m closer to the natural world. In terms of self-care, sleep and nature are favorite easy go-tos for me (and millions of other people). Combine the two for a double dose of self-care.
Sleeping porches may be less common than they once were, but they’re not unheard of. Look at these lovely spaces:
Take a look at my Pinterest board for even more magical sleeping porches!
Sleeping porch alternatives
No room for a bed? Try a hammock – they’re made for sleeping outdoors!
But what if you don’t even have a porch (or deck, or balcony) at all? You can easily design your current bedroom to capture the look and feel of a sleeping porch. You probably have most or all of what you’ll need; it’s likely to be more a case of taking things away than adding. If you don’t have what you need to create this look, check your local thrift stores (and my affiliate link down below!), and follow these simple guidelines:
Keep it (relatively) simple.
Use bamboo or matchstick blinds on the windows, layers of white + colorful bedding on the bed (white vintage bedspread + colorful woven throw, or colorful vintage quilt + neutral, textured throw, etc) , a rug that wouldn’t seem out of place on an actual porch.
Reinforce the mood with wind chimes, simple decor, plants.
Remember that a sleeping porch is a place for sleeping and relaxing only, not a dressing room, so stow your makeup/jewelry/vanity elsewhere. Hide the tv and computer.
Put up a pallet accent wall, or paint a wall to look like stucco, or the outside of your house.
When weather, air quality, and security permit, sleep with your windows open! Bonus: sleeping with a window or door open may lead to better sleep.
Watercolor inspired decor can be lovely in any room, but it’s perfect for a bedroom, especially in the heat of summer. I love the looks of these watercolor walls:
Here’s a tutorial from HGTV if you want to try it yourself (it looks pretty straightforward).
Even if you can’t (or don’t want to) paint an entire wall with watercolor, you can still create the mood with colors, textures, bedding, and art.
Maybe you’d like to try your hand at creating a watercolor painting; it’s easier than you think, and fun even when you “mess up”. Here’s a great place to get started: watercolor for beginners.
Click through the graphic below to see an ideas board full of inspiration!
Click though for more inspiration and ideas!
SO what do you think? Are you ready for a watercolor inspired bedroom? Would you watercolor paint a whole wall? Let me know in the comments, I’d really like to know!
