The fall season provides us with a natural landscape of color. Bright red, orange, yellow and brown have become signature colors of this special season. Get into the spirit by bringing the colors of fall into your home.
Most people don't want to spend a lot of money decorating for a season that only lasts a few months. Thankfully, decorating does not have to cost a lot of money. The key to cost-efficient decorating is using items you already have on hand to spice up your existing dcor. Using old items in new ways can be a fun and inexpensive way to get you started. So before you go shopping for fall decorations, dig through drawers and cabinets, and wipe the cobwebs off colorful items you may have lying around. Chances are you can use these items to help dress up your home for the season.
Decorating is a matter of taste. Some people go all out and turn their home into a virtual seasonal landscape when they decorate. Others have a more subtle approach and prefer decorating through the use of accent pieces. Regardless of how you decorate, the following tips can get your creative juices flowing all season long.
Placemats and Napkins
Fabric adds natural warmth to the interior of a home. You can easily spruce up the appearance of tables, countertops, entertainment cabinets and shelving units by placing cloth placemats or napkins on the surface. It's amazing how rich fall colors added to the surface of an empty tabletop can bring bare furniture to life. If you want to create a layered look, use the placemat or napkin as a foundation for knickknacks and other festive items.
Candles and Vases
One of the great things about candles is the variety of colors and scents that are available. The faint scent of a warm candle can fill a room with festive fragrance, while the color of the candle can be an easy way to add subtle accents to tabletops and bare surfaces. Vases accent a room the same way. Fresh flowers are a great way to bring life into a room. Not only can you purchase flowers appropriate to the season, but also the variety of vase styles and colors available can bring the entire arrangement to life. So instead of using a traditional clear vase, try red, green, blue or different colors that accent your fall dcor. Adding a floral arrangement to a tabletop lined with a cloth placemat or napkin, like mentioned in the section above, can help create a layered look and bring your entire fall color theme to life.
Natural Accents
If you're feeling adventurous, take a walk in the woods and collect items from the outside to use as decorations for your home. Pinecones, pine needles and bright-colored leaves can add an authentic and rustic look to any fall theme. Placed in a basket, they make a creative centerpiece for your dining room table.
Throw Rugs
If you think no one's looking at your floor, think again. Your floor pulls together an entire room. While curtains draw the eye up toward the ceiling, a rug will draw the eye down toward the floor. When a visitor approaches your room, they will probably be drawn to the color accents you have established. By adding color to your floor, in addition to countertops and walls, you are drawing their eye from the center of the room down, giving your room a balanced look. So whether the color of your floor matches your color theme, or acts as a backdrop for decorations, you can use it to your advantage by adding throw rugs that match your existing dcor.
Curtains
If you're the type that likes to transform a room into a seasonal wonderland, curtains may be a worthwhile investment. Though they can be expensive, they can also add a richness that unmistakably defines the rest of the room. If you have neutral colored walls and furniture, you have a lot of flexibility when it comes to curtain choices. Try burnt orange curtains with gold accents, or forest green curtains with mustard yellow accents. Whatever color theme you choose, you can bring an entire room together with the right curtains. Just remember that the color you choose will probably be the foundation for the rest of the accents in that room, so make sure you choose a color that suits your personality.
The most important thing to remember when decorating for fall is to be creative and have fun. You can bring an entire room to life with just a hint of color. So whether you want to decorate with accent pieces only, or transform an entire room, use color as your guide and your basis of inspiration this holiday season.
