How to Decorate for Fall

Decorating for the changing seasons is a sickness that I blame on my mom, grandma, and probably all my female ancestors for it seems to be in my blood. At the same time, I am incredibly grateful to have inherited this passion. It brings me a lot of joy to mark the passage of time by creating spaces for our family that give a nod to the seasons and holidays that go with them.

I spent the past weekend inserting fall styling throughout our home and thought I’d share my ideas for autumn decorating with all of you right here on the blog.

My seasonal styling session this time around was accompanied by something a little bit drastic called “black isn’t doing it for me/time to paint the fireplace white/Cowboy is hunting/Chalk Paint Palooza”. I’m an over achiever when it comes to decorating, guilty. It was a bit much to take on in an already jam packed weekend but I got ‘er done and here’s the end result. Ta da!

To catch anyone up who is new to the blog, here is how the fireplace started when we moved in in April in all its oaky glory:

And here was my first pass at changing it. I wanted white, Cowboy wanted black (welcome to our world!) – so I gave it a shot:

Didn’t love it. (See my blog post “Chalk Painting an Oak Fireplace Facade” from August.) Cowboy didn’t really love it either.

We’re having all of our trim painted white in our house in a few weeks (oh yes, I’ll document it here when that happens, you can count on it!) — and I just thought the black was too dark. Here are some more after pics of her now that she’s white along with some fall decor for the mantel that I picked up at my favorite place on earth, Home Goods:

And yes, that Mecca of Mirrors is going away shortly as well. Stay tuned.

Back to my fall styling story.

Once the fireplace was painted it was time to insert some cozy reminders throughout that fall was on its crispy and chilly way.

I’m a pretty neutral girl when it comes to my preferences for color pallets so all of my accents stick to that theme. The acorn wreath (another wonderful Home Goods find!) called my name (I swear I heard it whisper seductively “buy me…..”) and the ripe wheat accent on our living room leather ottoman (sitting now on the sweetest rustic wooden tray from the Magnolia line) adds just a little bit of texture and interest to the room while reminding us of the harvest season we are in.

Dried flowers are a great fall accent and don’t forget to pick up ornamental gourds or pumpkins. Candlesticks are a great display option for them (as illustrated in my formal dining room tablescape).

Design Tip

Incorporating seasonal decor can be a simple subtle nod. You needn’t do anything drastic to cozy up your home for the passing seasons. And the fun thing about it is those of us who love to change up our home styling often now have a quarterly excuse to do so!

Design Tip

If you see something you like but don’t know where you’d put it just buy it (budgetary parameters considered, of course). Oftentimes where I think I’ll put something is not usually where it ends up! So if something really calls to you and you think it is “you” – go for it. Worry later about where to put it. If you love it you’ll find the perfect spot.

Thank you for stopping by my design and decorating blog! Always fun to share my creative adventures. I hope mine inspire you to embark on a few of your own!

 

Peace, Joy and Blessings, 

~Audra

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” — Ecclesiastes 2