Why Fall Is the Perfect Time to Start Planning Your 2027 Home Projects

There’s something about fall in Minnesota that makes us look at our homes a little differently.

The windows start closing. The evenings get darker. We’re cooking at home more, gathering around the table, and settling into the rooms we may have barely thought about all summer.

And suddenly, you notice things.

The living room that has never quite felt finished. The dining room you want to actually use when people come over. The kitchen layout that frustrates you every morning. The furniture you bought years ago just to fill the space—and never really loved.

Fall has a way of bringing our attention back home.

And if you’re hoping to make changes in 2027, this is actually one of my favorite times to start thinking about them.

Not because you need to have everything figured out right now. You don’t.

But because the best homes aren’t rushed.

I’d Rather Start With How You Want to Live

When someone reaches out about a project, my first thought isn’t, What sofa should we put here?

I want to know what isn’t working.

Where does everyone naturally gather? What room do you avoid? Do you love having people over but never seem to have enough seating? Are there beautiful rooms in your home that nobody actually uses?

And then there’s the other side of it: how do you want your home to feel?

Warm? Calm? Collected? Sophisticated but still comfortable enough for real life?

Those answers give us so much more direction than simply choosing things that look beautiful.

That’s why I love when clients come to me early. We have time to understand the bigger picture before we start making individual decisions.

The Pieces Worth Waiting for Usually Take Time

I will always choose the right piece over the fastest piece.

That doesn’t mean everything in your home needs to be custom or have a months-long lead time. It means we’re not designing an entire room around what happens to be available for delivery next week.

Some of the furniture, lighting, rugs, fabrics, and other pieces we source are made to order. Others may be customized specifically for a client's space.

And sometimes, we simply need time to find the one.

That vintage piece with just the right amount of character. The fabric that pulls the entire room together. The dining table that fits the space beautifully and can handle years of family dinners.

Those details are often what take a home from “nice” to feeling truly special.

Starting early gives us the luxury of being selective.

A Beautiful Home Is Really Hundreds of Small Decisions

One of the things people don’t always see about interior design is just how many decisions happen behind the finished photograph.

Where should the sconces go?

How high should we hang the drapery?

Is the rug large enough?

What finish should the hardware be?

Where does the flooring transition?

What size should the dining table be so the room still feels comfortable when every chair is pulled out?

Individually, these decisions can seem small. Together, they completely change how a home looks and feels.

And when those decisions are made intentionally from the beginning, the end result feels effortless, even though there was a lot of thought behind it.

Your Designer Should Be Involved Before the Construction Dust

For renovation projects especially, I love being brought in early.

There are so many design decisions that affect construction, and so many construction decisions that affect the final design.

Cabinetry, lighting placement, electrical, flooring, millwork, plumbing fixtures, furniture layouts—they all need to speak to one another.

Waiting until construction is underway to start thinking about the interiors can mean fewer options, rushed selections, or realizing too late that something could have been done differently.

It’s also important to remember that the contractors and craftspeople you want working in your home often have full schedules.

Planning ahead gives us time to assemble the right team, finalize selections, and make sure everyone is working toward the same vision.

I Don’t Want Your Home to Look Like It Was Ordered in One Weekend

There’s a difference between a furnished house and a home that feels collected.

I’m always looking for that mix.

Something new next to something with a little history. A beautiful fabric against natural wood. A piece of art that feels unexpected. Different textures and finishes that make you want to look a little closer.

I don’t believe everything needs to match, and I definitely don’t think every room needs to follow the latest trend.

The homes I love most feel personal. They’re polished, but you can still live in them. They feel considered without feeling overly designed.

Creating that kind of home takes intention—and intention takes time.

You Don’t Need to Know Exactly What You Want Before You Reach Out

This might be the most important part.

Sometimes people wait to contact a designer because they think they need to have everything figured out first.

You don’t.

You can come to me knowing that your living room doesn’t work for your family. You can have a Pinterest board with 200 images that somehow all look completely different. You can know that you want your house to feel “warmer” without knowing what that means in terms of paint, furniture, lighting, or materials.

Figuring out the direction is part of the process.

My job is to take all of those thoughts—the things you love, the things that frustrate you, the way your family lives, the feeling you want when you walk through the door—and turn them into a home that feels cohesive and distinctly yours.

If 2027 Is Your Year to Finally Do It, Start Now

Maybe you’ve been talking about redoing the living room for three years.

Maybe you’re ready to stop buying temporary furniture for a house you plan to stay in.

Maybe there’s a renovation you keep saying you’ll get to “next year.”

Or maybe your home is beautiful on paper, but something about it has never quite felt like you.

You don’t need to start construction tomorrow.

You don’t need to order a sofa next week.

You just need to start the conversation.

Fall gives us the breathing room to dream, plan, source, make thoughtful decisions, and put the right pieces in place.

So when 2027 arrives, we’re not rushing to figure out what your home could be.

We already know where we’re going—and we can enjoy the process of getting there.