Falling for Fall!

From kicking up leaves to creating cozy spaces, be inspired to make fall your next favourite season!

It’s hard letting go of summer, but fall never fails to charm me with its crisp morning air, spiced aromas and cozy decorating ideas to change things up inside. As well, 2020 has been all about creating a home that echoes lifestyle, that goes beyond just decorating. Fall is an ideal way to blend all the different facets of life into a home with multiple functions. Charming and authentic interiors allow free rein with furniture and accessories which permit us to express our various life experiences and tastes. Here are some simple ways to take advantage of fall as we evolve our spaces:

Throw pillows and blankets are an ideal way to lend impact to any room, while at the same time lending both form and function to everyday life. Patterns like tartan and plaid in wool and cashmere lend that extra cozy feel in a sophisticated manner. These can also double as table cloths to add creativity and full seasonal atmosphere to meal time for guests.

Adding textured baskets to your front door for sweaters and scarves can be a great way to add interest as well as being an ideal storage solution as we start dressing more in layers.

Pick up florals like mums in fall colours for key zones like the bathroom, kitchen and side tables. Twigs, pine cones and colourful autumn branches bring the outside in for a natural and neutral feel. Large voluminous displays can be used on mantles and as centrepieces. Scour roadsides for cattails, colourful weeds and grasses as filler for both large and smaller containers. Foraged clippings that elevate the common weed are not only free, but native to your own backyard. Once styled in vessels like milk glass vases or a vintage champagne bucket, you can appreciate the stunning display of fall colour and texture.

Decorating with fall foods is a perfectly practical way to display your roadside or farmers market finds. Display bounty like apples, pumpkins, gourds and squash in antique baskets or in small piles alongside your florals for colourful centrepieces and eye-catching arrangements.

Leaf garlands are a basic, no sew way to create a uniform and colourful accessory for your mantle, porch, headboard or mirror. You can find many templates online to download and you can put your own spin on materials you use to personalize your garland using paper, fabric swatches, felt or even use real pressed fall foliage. You can use twine, floss, string or ribbon to thread your leaves.

Candles bring warmth and scent into our homes as we move from summer temperatures to cooler fall air. My first favourite fall candle idea is making tealight candle holders out of wood. The possibilities are endless for size or type of wood and the end result is simple and elegant. A hole drill bit comes in a tea light size and you can craft these in different heights.

The second is using mason jars filled with seeds, pine cones, acorns or other seasonal finds to create interest and whimsy. These can be lined along a shelf, down the middle of a table or across a mantle. Both of these ideas make ideal hostess gifts and the mason jars can be repurposed across seasons for summer drinks or a similar Christmas themed approach.

Creating a cozy autumn retreat is an opportunity to change up our décor, try a new daily routine and to find new ways to enjoy the season. As we move inside, fall nesting is about creating safe and warm spaces which allow us to multi-task in these interesting times. I think the focus is more on using what we already have in creative and resourceful ways and less about consuming the new. Crafting and finding artistic expression with the materials around us is connecting us more to our basic natural environments. As we take in fall smells like woodburning fireplaces, tackle pie baking and new soup recipes we can embrace the new season in all its colourful glory.

Contrasting colours ….
homemade centrepieces…
and cozy feels…
fall is every season  in one!

By Joanne Clark