As the autumn air becomes crisp, the scenery outside reveals nature’s hues of greens, oranges, browns and gold, and keeping stride with the changing seasons makes a home warm and inviting. Autumn brings to mind bare tree branches, fallen leaves, golden hues, and natural textures, so investing in a few pieces of seasonal decor that reflect those images will bring autumn inside. It’s not necessary to completely redecorate, but adding a bit of autumn-inspired decor will create seasonal ambiance. Here are decorating ideas that will keep a home in-sync with the season.
Add Autumn to the Table: Tablecloths, Table Runners, Napkins and Centerpiece
Changing out table linens is an easy way to reflect the changing season. Cooler Fall weather means bowls of steamy soup, baked breads and goodies, and harvest skies. Tablecloths, runners and napkins can evoke those feelings, by using fall colored prints or solids, or nubby, natural textures. The look can be a mix of autumn colors for a casual look, or coordinated hues for a more formal one, and the change can be subtle or bold.
Baskets, glass vases or harvest designed bowls can be used to create a natural centerpiece. The centerpiece could be:
- An amber, crock-shaped bowl filled with pinecones or oranges.
- Multiple glass vases of different heights and shapes, filled with acorns, pumpkins pods or pumpkin seeds.
- Glass vessels filled with pillar candles surrounded by cranberries or coffee beans.
- Eucalyptus or dried flowers arranged in a round, rustic basket.
- A square basket filled with an autumn-colorful liner, filled with different shapes of bread loaves.(The loaves can be dried and coated with varnish or a sealer so they’ll last through the season.)
Smell the Fall Air: Candles in Lanterns, Potpourri and Fragrance Warmers
When decorating, a homeowner should attack all the senses! They can switch out those ocean and linen scented candles for ones that smell like cookies baking, pumpkin bread, cinnamon, or apple pie. For visual effect, they can use candles wrapped in birch bark or cinnamon sticks. Decorative lanterns on tables and shelving can double as candleholders.
If burning candles are a safety concern, flameless fragrance burners are available that heat scented wax without the worry, such as the warmers offered by Scentsy. This company offers scented bars that fit any season or mood.
Vases and bowls around the home can be filled with potpourri consisting of dried cranberries, orange peels, pinecones, bark curls, pomegranate or cinnamon sticks.
Create Cozy Autumn Ambiance: Add Pillows, Throws and Bedding
Fall conjures up cozy images. Tossing a few inviting pillows in fall hues or designs on couches and beds will cry out “curl up!” Pillow covers work great for this transformation as they can be removed and replaced for the next season’s look! Catalogs such as Pottery Barn or Crate and Barrel offer pillow covers in solid fall colors or designed with autumn leaves, pinecones, fir trees or pumpkins. Adding a few soft throws in the fall theme, and family and friends will be curling up on the couch wrapped in seasonal ambiance!
In the guest room, touches of fall can easily be added. Covering the bed with a cozy goose-down comforter, and a load of fluffy pillows to crash in, will make for a memorable guest experience. An easy decorative touch for the bed is a few standard-sized pillows covered with king sized pillow cases in fall colors, with the long, open end tied off with decorative raffia.
Scatter Fall Touches Around the Home: Dried Flowers, Twigs, Gourds
Tasteful scattered touches of fall in the main living areas will create the ambiance of fall. A homeowner can:
- Switch out silk or real plants with baskets of eucalyptus, dried flowers or twigs.
- Fill a basket by the fireplace with wood
- Fill a basket by the armchair or coffee table with reading books or crossword puzzles.
- Arrange gourds or silk autumn leaves in baskets, bowls or glass vases.
- Hang an autumn wreath on the front door.
Cinnamon sticks in a glass canister, a set of large espresso mugs, and favored coffee or hot chocolate in the pantry will provide ready-to-serve warmth on a cool autumn evening. A wooden bowl with assorted nuts and a nutcracker sitting on the coffee table will invite guests to sit down and stay a while.
Each of these touches will add the ambiance of the fall season to a home, but it isn’t necessary to do all of them. Simply taking a step back in time to the memories of what autumn meant growing up will guide a homeowner to the changes they want to make. Even a few small touches of autumn will bring that additional feeling of homespun warmth to an already inviting home.
Jan Peterson - I'm a retired banker, published songwriter, cyber journalist, and member of the advisory board for the Arizona Music & Entertainment Hall ...
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