Styling for Autumn
A change of season is the perfect excuse to switch up your interior decorating — especially when there’s a change from warm to cold or vice versa.
When the leaves turn yellow and the temperature drops, find ways to bring those autumn vibes into the home.
Take your home from Summer to Autumn with these easy steps
1. Introduce a new colour palette
Colour sets a mood in our home. Each colour evokes an emotion, such as blue which is known for its calming effect or pink for its femininity.
The tone and shade of colour you use also plays a big part i.e. pastel shades versus deep, saturated hues. Darker, fuller colours offer a more intense dose of colour, whereas pastel
tones are a softer way of bringing in colour.
Without a doubt, introducing a new colour palette is one of the easiest and most effective ways of saying ‘Autumn is here!’.
Colours we often associate with autumn are vino shade reds, burnt oranges and mustard yellow as these are represented in nature. There’s no denying tobacco tones are more popular than ever, rust has also returned strongly, and new this season are more olive and forest green shades.
You could select one of these colours to be an accent colour in your home by adding 3-5 pops of it across a room. For example, caramel tones are big this season and simply using a feature cushion on your sofa, a small vase on your coffee table and a pot or artwork with this colour is enough. Alternatively, you may like to develop a more complex colour palette that uses several colours, such as mainly caramel tones with a few accents of deep green.
2. Add some layers
It’s time to bust out your chunky knit throws, sheepskins or hides, and quilted blankets. Anything with a heavier material weight is ideal for this time of year and bonus points if it has an added texture.
Whether it’s on your sofa, bed or even draped over a dining room chair, create a cosier feel by layering throws around your home.
The sight of these will warm up your interiors and when the temperature really drops, you’ll be glad you’ve got a cosy throw within arm’s reach.
3. Swap summery, fruity scents for spicier, earthy notes
We often neglect our sense of smell in a home but it plays a big part! It’s also a budget-friendly way of updating your home for the change of season.
Pack away summery scents, such as ‘coconut and lime’, and look for fragrances that make you think of autumn, particularly anything with a sandalwood or earthy notes. Comforting scents such as caramel, cinnamon or vanilla are also popular.
4. Embrace heavier fabrics — especially texture!
Another way of creating a cosier feel is with the type of fabrics you use elsewhere in your home.
Rather than standard cotton bedsheets, why not embrace something a little heavier such as a quilted pattern? You could also swap the cotton or linen cushions around your home for velvet, faux fur or a chunky knit. Rotating cushions when there’s a change of season — and often treating myself to a new cushion or two — is another affordable way of styling your home for autumn.
5. Look for moodier lighting
As the days get shorter and there’s less natural light coming into your home, it’s time to introduce some cosy, artificial lighting. Floor lamps and table lamps are seriously under-used and it isn’t until you introduce them into your home that you realise how much more inviting this type of light is than downlights from the ceiling.
Use ‘warm’ globes rather than ‘cool’ to avoid that clinical-like feeling.
These changes may be small but they can alter the entire feel of your home from bright & summery to warm & moody.
