110608-daylightsavings.jpg When we fall back an hour, although we love the extra sleep, we seem to start feeling like a bear... or maybe a squirrel. We not only hibernate mentally (nothing sounds better than a warm cup of tea and a long book), but physically (collecting clutter and extra retail spending). Click through the jump to hear a few of our tips and tricks to beating the clock when it comes to daylight savings time.

It would be nice to live in a city that never sleeps, it would make the doldrums of falling back at daylight savings time a bit easier to bear. But being landlocked in the middle of the country, the sidewalks tend to roll up when it becomes dark outside.
We're not sure if it's the chill in the air or the leaves on the ground or maybe the fact that the sun doesn't seem to be out when we are, but we do know that it can affect how we go about our daily lives.

It's easy to bunker down with a giant pile of books while the daily clutter builds up around you (we're occasionally guilty of the same!). Nothing sounds better on a windy, chilly, Fall day than a long book and a warm cup of tea. But while we have our nose in our book (or in hour 12 of 24 of that new DVD box set perhaps?) it's easy to mentally slip up on our daily routine.
At the same time it's hard to feel inspired or motivated to care when it's dark before you are ever thinking about getting off work. We go home, put on comfy clothes and bunker down for the night ahead.

If any of these ideas sounds familiar, here's a few ways to avoid the hibernation feelings we get when it feels like we are seeing little to no sun in our day.

  • Add a few extra pops of color. With the Autumn leaves already leaving the trees, the world suddenly feels a little brown and grey. And although those are two colors we often love in design, they are bound to make anyone a little frumpy if they are inside your home and outside as well.

  • Lighting, Lighting, Lighting! In the long hours of the summer sun we soak in all the rays we can get. During the Fall and Winter months we never seem to get enough. So once you get home, it's nice to turn on a few extra lamps or lights. This isn't to say we should raise our electric bill and make our house visible from space, but a few extra uplights or lamps tucked into a corner can do wonders for your attitude.

  • Add Something Fresh When our gardens fade away until Spring it's not as easy to inject freshness into our life (outside of food). Make a special trip to pick up a few flowers each week to bring some actual life to your rooms. You don't need a full out 6ft arrangement, even a few stems in a vase here and there can bring out the best in a room and you.

    Don't be afraid to bring some life, light and color into your spaces to keep you in the best of spirits. It doesn't always require heading out to the store, you can also just pull things from other rooms and switch things up!

    (Photos provided by CB2 where all the featured items can be found.)