This post contains affiliate links & photos. See our full disclosure here.
Are you craving a little bit of fall coziness in your home? Maybe some soft, fluffy layers, warmer colors, and a little moody goodness? You know, the quintessential autumn feeling brought inside! But all you see when you go looking for fall decor are bright orange pumpkins everywhere. Pumpkin-printed tea towels and pillow covers, pumpkin-shaped candle holders and jack-o-lanterns, orange pumpkins – pumpkins, pumpkins, and more pumpkins.
In this post, I share my favorite fall decorating ideas to cozy up your home without having it look like the bright orange plastic fall decor aisle threw up in your home!
Would You Rather Watch?
Want to Listen On the Go?
How to Decorate for Fall
Bringing fall indoors doesn’t have to include the theme-type decor that’s sold at your local retail store. You can add all kinds of cozy fall goodness with barely a pumpkin in sight. You can even skip over the orange entirely if it’s not a color you love. Here’s how to tastefully cozy up your home for fall…
1. Gather Inspiration Pictures
Create a mood board on Pinterest so you know what colors, textures, materials, and feelings you want for your fall decor. Don’t love bright orange, but burgundy and rust are your favorite? Collect images with those colors! Want to incorporate pumpkins but prefer velvet or felt pumpkins over the real thing or the plastic lookalikes? Gather those types of images!
By creating these curated inspiration photos, you can see what will work in your space and have something to refer to when you shop your house or go out shopping for your fall decor.
2. Start With Your Existing Decor
Always start with your existing decor! Decide what will stay and what will get put away while you’ve got seasonal decor out.
I live in the northern hemisphere, where the days are getting steadily shorter, and the evening comes sooner and sooner, so I need to bring out all the cozy. But just because I want layers and moodier colors doesn’t mean I want clutter. So, each season, I must decide which everyday decor stays and what I need to put away when I bring out the seasonal decor items.
3. Use Elements From Nature
Bring natural elements inside wherever possible! Add stems or branches of the trees in your yard or clip the end-of-season hydrangeas. You can also use faux versions of stems, flowers, pumpkins, gourds, plants, etc. when needed.
4. Change Throw Pillow Covers
Change the throw pillow covers to ones with warmer tones like brown, burgundy, rust, or even black! Incorporate cozier textures like corduroy, velvet, and faux fur – consider what you’d like to snuggle up with on those long autumn evenings.
Also, I always recommend feather inserts for your pillows. They’re squishier and comfier and hold their shape so much better!
5. Pile On the Blankets
Bring out the blankets: soft ones, faux fur ones, and chunky knit ones. Place them everywhere – hang them on hooks, drape them over chairs, fold them in baskets, etc. They’re great for visual comfort and also for cuddling up with!
6. Layer lighting
Layer your lighting. Longer evenings are just begging for flickering warm lights, so light a candle, use the dimmers on overhead lights, or add a lamp or two.
Free Decorating Starter Kit
Want to go a little deeper into decorating your home? I’ve got a free decorating starter kit to help you breathe new life into your space!
- Learn what one question to ask that will make all the difference in your design choices.
- Get my best hack for choosing colors for your space.
- Easily identify your unique style DNA with my simple four-step process.
- Take inventory of the decor you already have so you don’t waste money on things you don’t need.
- Learn to gather inspiration with a totally free online tool.
- Discover my secret non-decorating trick to make your rooms look 100% more gorgeous!
7. Add Fall Scents
When decorating for fall, don’t forget about other senses, like smell. Make your home smell like fall with hints of vanilla, pumpkin, cinnamon, apple, and spice!
Put together a simmer pot, light a candle, or turn on a wax warmer. Or you can bake something: pie, muffins, loaves, etc. All these add heavenly smells to your home and taste good, too!
8. Avoid “Theme-y” Fall Decor
Don’t buy “fall” decor. Each fall, all the retail stores – the big box stores especially – are filled with ugly, mass-produced plastic pumpkins, bright orange throw pillows, and pumpkin-spice-flavored everything. If you buy your fall decor from these aisles, you’ll likely be left wondering why your home doesn’t feel like the cozy autumn retreat you were hoping for.
Shop for Fall Decor
Cozy Throw Pillow Covers
Canadian Links
Burgundy Floral Pillows | Brown Soft Corduroy Pillows | Cream Faux Fur Pillows
Burlap Linen Throw Pillow Covers | Rust Linen-Look Throw Cover
Brown Throw Pillow Cover | Pinstripe Throw Pillow Cover | Floral Throw Pillow Cover
Gold Windowpane Pillow Cover | Olive Green Pillow Cover
U.S. Links
Burgundy Floral Pillows | Brown Soft Corduroy Pillows | Cream Faux Fur Pillows
Burlap Linen Throw Pillow Covers | Rust Linen-Look Throw Cover
Brown Throw Pillow Cover | Pinstripe Throw Pillow Cover (similar) | Floral Throw Pillow Cover (similar) | Gold Windowpane Pillow Cover (similar) | Olive Green Pillow Cover
Cozy Throw Blankets
Canadian Links
Brown Fringed Blanket | Beige Fringed Throw Blanket | Farmhouse Plaid Throw | Cable Knit Cream Blanket | Khaki Checked Throw | Black Plaid Throw | Woven Loop Throw | Beige Faux Fur Blanket | Stone Farmhouse Plaid Throw | Checkered Fleece Throw | Chunky Knit Throw Blanket | Floral Kantha Quilt | Cozy Cable Knit Blanket
U.S. Links
Brown Fringed Blanket | Beige Fringed Throw Blanket | Farmhouse Plaid Throw (similar) | Cable Knit Cream Blanket | Khaki Checked Throw | Black Plaid Throw | Woven Loop Throw | Beige Faux Fur Blanket | Stone Farmhouse Plaid Throw (similar) | Checkered Fleece Throw | Chunky Knit Throw Blanket | Floral Kantha Quilt | Cozy Cable Knit Blanket
Fall Decor
Shop the Canadian Fall Decor here.
Shop the U.S. Fall Decor here.
Summary
Here’s how to get the cozy fall home you’re craving:
- Create a mood board on Pinterest so you know what colors, textures, materials, and feelings you want for your fall decor.
- Start with your existing decor. Decide what works for the fall season and what you can put away.
- Bring in natural elements wherever possible. Use faux versions of stems, flowers, plants, etc., when needed.
- Change some throw pillow covers to warmer tones like brown, burgundy, rust, or even black, in cozier textures like corduroy, velvet, and faux fur.
- Layer your lighting. Light a candle, use the dimmers, or add a lamp or two.
- Bring out the blankets: soft ones, faux fur ones, chunky knit ones, etc. Place them everywhere.
- Make your home smell like fall. Put together a simmer pot, light a candle, or turn on a wax warmer.
- Don’t shop the fall decor aisles for the commercialized retail version of fall decor.
