My seasonal decorations and decor are usually centered around a theme and it helps me create a focal point to stay within framework but decorate with flowing creativity. When you decorate for any season you could use material such as fabrics, color scheme, patterns as your theme. Alternatively you can draw up a theme from your imagination by taking inspirations from tales, travels and other decorations you may have come across whiling visiting museums, galleries or gardens. When you are decorating for fall the general assumption is to stick with warm tones as the natural hues of nature are warming up into the rouge plumage, warm yellows and oranges. While I am going to talk about warm tones in another post, here I am going to focus on how you can make fall decorations stand out with softer neutral tones as well. I am going to use a visual of throwing on a warm soft wool sweater and socks while sipping on a hot cinnamon spice coffee or creamy squash soup while reading a book next to your fireplace or that large window with an enveloping chair in a backdrop of fall foliage. So let’s go with yarn, harvest of the season and to gather all produce for the winter. I will add a few other natural elements like animals or twilight hues closer to sunset. Bearing in mind that the tones are muted or neutral let me curate a fall decorations list for every corner of your beautiful home. If you have read my spring decor post you are aware of how this one will roll out. Lets enter….
Main Door and Porch
Warm, spiced scented candles in votives in clusters under the port cochere or covered porch leading up to the main door invites your guests or visitors to a cozy home within. Replace the summer plants with a small Magnolia tree in a large earthen or ceramic planter. You could also complement it with medium to small size planters with chrysanthemums, Mexican sage, goldenrod flowers. Since we are looking at yarns as the focal point of our theme you can have yarn ball wreath with knitting needles and felt magnolia leaves, pumpkins and squashes. With neutral soft tones you can add a luxurious touch to the wreath with muted metallic or mercury foliage tucked in the arrangement of yarn or pumpkins.
Entryway
The first sensorial experience when you enter a home be it yours or someone’s else is their home scent. It is important to have the right scent for the season flowing through the house. Like the candles just outside the main door, there is a need to have a scent through your entryway into the living area. The console table is ready for your layering with all the fall paraphernalia, layer it with warm lamp shades, sconces, a frame that reads fall relate quotes or images from your last fall gatherings and travel. Decorative accents that have a fall themed could be felt or woollen knit pumpkin, burlap leaves, white or mercury animals like squirrel, hare, stallion, some books, candle votive, a travel trinket or souvenir from metal or wood. You can have wool or suede or velvet pouffes under the console adding a very luxurious yet warm look to the entrance. If you have a shelf under the console add couple of chairs on the sides of the table or a velvet or suede bench or seat opposite if you already haven’t done your entry decor. If you want to up the ante on the luxury aspect of the entrance using printed silk fabric and tufted seating helps without being excess or OTT. Add textures like wool, burlap, faux fur in a neutral toned basket like ivory/ gray/ buff/ beige/soft purple. You could have the basket in these materials or a wire basket to offer the texture. This brings me to a very rudimentary question that has troubled me for long why do you have a basket at the entryway anyway? And on top of that why do they have throw pillows and blankets? Do we get need them while entering or exiting the house? Well its all symbolic isn’t it of the season and we if your theme is warm and cozy the basket will pillows and blanket works well. The basic rule to decorating the entryway console table is anchoring to your focal point, lighting the table, creating balance or symmetry, adding layers and textures with decorative accents. I might do an entire article on this later but for now this should help you decorate with neutral tones during fall.
You can shop these inspirations and ideas from Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma Home, Rejuvenation, Restoration Hardware, Ethan Allen, Ballard Designs, Crate and Barrel, Birch Lane
Living Room
This is the space where your visitors and guests should feel invited, anchor themselves by the warmth and comfort of your decor. My living room is long and open and ends in a large bay window. With a wood burning brick fireplace and cathedral ceiling it does make the space open and expansive even though it may not be that big a space. These elements come together beautifully during fall when the foliage outside in our yard is turning color or have fallen and strewn organically painting the ground. Neutral decor in the living room may seem a bit muted and dull but when teamed well it works wonders with good mood lighting and delightfully warms up the space. Let’s go through each corner of the living room and decorate with soft neutral accents.
Fireplace and Mantle
My favorite place as soon as the calendars turn to October. Last fall my husband and I painted our fireplace from a red brick to ivory hue and it was the best call I took to do a makeover of the otherwise dull space that it was. Nobody even noticed there was a fireplace and it stands in the centre of the living room. Immediately the ivory tone brightened up the spot and i could decorate the space with more colors, tones, textures and they all popped against the light background. If you have a fireplace of stone, white marble, or any neutral material it would only accentuate your soft toned decor for fall. The softer the tone the more you can use texture and pattern to enhance its dimension and effect. Don’t be hesitant to scale things up even if you have a tighter space to work with. Decorate the mantle with a mirror or window frame with a mirror to add dimension to the fireplace. Add a magnolia or chrysanthemum wreath on the window frame or mirror to add focal point to the space. Balance the mantle with the base of the fireplace with Vases and candle holders. Milk glass vases and candle holders are perfect for neutral tone but you could add warmth by complimenting them with yarn stand and knitting needles. Add broken branches to the vases with some soft hued mums, gerbera, magnolia stem and pines for a fall bouquet. Some suede and wool harvest products like pumpkins, squashes apples, adheres to the theme and adds more decor accents. Wood accents on a light colored fireplace work to elevate the otherwise flat tone. A glass bowl filled with pine cones and string lights brings warmth to the place. Top as many candles at the base of the fireplace. If you aren’t burning wood in the fireplace you could light up the candles instead. Rustic wooden candle holders work best with the tones. I always stay close to the theme so if you have a basket fill it up with a woven blanket and yarns rolls. Foliage is quite important when it comes to fall decor and some burlap or beige mesh maple leaves garland accented with owls, scarecrows, and pine cones brings texture and depth to the leafy string.
Coffee Table
Centrepiece your main coffee table in the living room with a tray lined up with some hard bound books, a small clay vase with fall florals, a decorative accent of wood or metal or ceramic and some pine cones surrounding a candle.
End Tables
Add humor to your sofa end tables with a funny owl perched on it or perhaps a squirrel foraging a pine cone. You could alternatively just place a neutral ceramic soup mug with an ivory pumpkin symbolising some warm pumpkin cream soup. If your end tables are wide enough don’t forget to add a lamp for mood lighting. Adding throws and blankets to chairs only adds up to the decor theme. Nothing like curling up on the armchair with a blanket and a book taking in the views through the window and drinking some warm squash soup.
You can shop these inspirations and ideas from Ethan Allen, Ballard Designs, Crate and Barrel, Birch Lane
Dining Table
While entertaining is going to be another post all together for your daily decor you could have place mats with burlap material or a felt and weave texture to the place mats. Add a vase to the dining table with all the fall elements like florals, harvest to signify the bounty we are so thankful to receive each day through our meals. You could also place a huge bowl bottomed with pine cones and filled with other fall harvest accents to give a similar effect.
Kitchen
Fall truly comes alive in the kitchen no matter how much decor goes into the living spaces. If not for the baking and cooking of the most delicious recipes what would fall really be apart from turning of leaves? It’s the apple pies, pumpkin pies, cinnamon spiced coffee and soups that make fall so cosy. Some of the best spots to add seasonal decor are the open shelves, glass cabinets and even the hood but of course if you have a luxurious island in the midst of the kitchen it doesn’t get any better. The bowls, jars, jugs can all be a decorative item this fall. Don’t go all-out harvest in the kitchen but rather give it a contrasting element in keeping with your neutrals. It could be a stem of faux florals, scented pine cones, owls but mostly yarns. Its always add a surprise element to a space and dare to mix it up a bit. Be bold with where you place these elements and add that oomph factor to your decor. Make your baking equipment a part of the decor and have fun with it.
You can shop these inspirations and ideas from Ethan Allen, Ballard Designs, Crate and Barrel, Birch Lane
Bathrooms
Scented candles in votive, floral vases and collectibles placed near the vanity or bath tub will certainly add to your bathroom’s otherwise routine look and feel. Place fall bath salts and pot-pourri by the bathtub and shower to bring out the seasonal scents and run a soothing bath. Decor isn’t always blatant to your eyes and in your face in fact the most understated the decor elements the better the room echoes their effect.
Bedrooms
Your bed end tables could carry a fall accent like a small squash or pumpkin or even a maple leaf dish for keeping small items. The dresser could have a maple leaf, pine and scented oil as centrepiece adding warmth and cosy scent to the bedrooms You could go all the way and add a wreath over the headboard or your bed which would add some decor to the room or you could just hang a frame with a quote for fall. Some even have a metal or wooden sign saying thanks over their bed. Picture frames go well with decor too. On the bench or chair by the bed some warm woven blanket and pillows will only make the room even more cosier adhering to the theme. Home scent is a vital element in the seasonal decor of your bedrooms a warm and soothing fall scent of cedar-wood, eucalyptus, fir wood brings some cosy comfort to the place of respite.
You can shop these inspirations and ideas from Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma Home, Rejuvenation, Restoration Hardware, Ethan Allen, Ballard Designs, Crate and Barrel, Birch Lane
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