Fall Decorating by Color - Matt and Shari

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Fall Decorating by Color

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If there is one season which gets it’s identity from color, it’s autumn. I could survey dozens of people from anywhere in the country and the colors of fall would be as well known as the backs of their hands. Gold, Orange, Red and Brown are the first and foremost that come to mind. Of course these are the colors that Mother Nature has chosen to change our beautiful deciduous trees into. And they are beautiful aren’t they? But those colors are present in all sorts of fall icons, not just leaves.

So, what am I getting at? Well, this fall, if you’d like, try decorating with just one color in mind. Why? Well, when you add seasonal decorations in a single color family you probably are adding a lot of the same thing around your home. This is a unifying factor that will make your home come together and make a stronger fall statement.

Let’s get started. Consider the four main fall colors. (Of course if eggplant or rust is more to your liking, go right ahead!) Which one of them would look best in every room in your home? Would gold really bring out the blues in your furnishings? Or would reds pop in your beige toned surroundings?

Once you have a color selected, it’s time to consider what fall elements can be found in the color you’ve chosen. We’ll take them one by one and prove that single color decorating can be interesting, bold and perhaps even economical!

Gorgeous Gold

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Leaves are almost always my first choice in nearly every color family. You can find fall colored leaves on long stems in just about any craft and flower shop. Take several stems and place them in a vase or urn and set them in the center of your coffee table for a bold statement, on your dining table and let those branches reach into the chandelier, or even just in a corner. If stem of golden leaves can be place where the autumn sunlight can hit them during the day, even better because they will just glow!

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Sunflowers are a welcome golden addition in the autumn as well. They can be miniature sized store bought silk sunflowers in a vase that could easily stand alone or be mixed with a stem or two of golden fall leaves.

Tip:
Once you select the three to five elements in your color family, mix and match them around the house to really pull the entire scheme together.

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Candles come in every color of the rainbow. Select some pretty gold toned ones for your décor as well. Show them off in glass hurricanes, glass vases, wooden candle stands, etc. and then take the time to light them to bring that lovely candle glow to your rooms in the evening.

Wheat sheaves are often found at this time of the year and they certainly fall into the gold category. What can be made into beautiful wreaths, pillars and sprays and can be place both indoors and outdoors to get your golden message going.

Dried corn on the ear as well as off the ear can be used nicely in golden autumn decorating. If you have some dried ears in gold, go ahead and join a few together and hang them on a door or string small ears into a garland for over the fireplace. Bags of single golden kernels can be great put in a vase around a candle or to add weight to your vases of sunflowers.

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We all know that other fall accessories can be found in that pretty golden tone as well. Try woven baskets, throws, pillows, placemats and napkins! The gold tones are so inviting, warm and sunny, and the icons we mentioned can take you from September through Thanksgiving!

Spicy Oranges

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Pumpkins are probably the most recognized and first mentioned orange of the season. I think we could safely put gourds into this category as well. And, I don’t think you have to be stuck with purely orange pumpkins, now so many of them are tinged with cream and green and browns that make them oh so much more textural and interesting. Pumpkins are lovely if they are small in groups in bowls or baskets, lined up along your fireplace mantel or even a windowsill! Large ones group well on your front stairs, up the stairs in your home, on the hearth, even on large pieces of furniture.

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Bittersweet is probably my favorite “orange” of the season. Wrap them around a lamppost or columns on your front porch. Wind them through railings, or twist them into wreaths. I’ve placed bittersweet in my china cabinet to dress up my dishes and draped it over artwork, across the mantle and around arches in my home to add warmth and texture.

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Candy Corn is a child’s first “orange” and I still know why. One handful isn’t enough…although in about a half hour, a handful is more than enough and I’m still trying to get that into my head. Instead of my brain telling me to stop, it’s my stomach that has to tell me and in a much more angry way! If you aren’t into sweets, candy corn can be a lovely and colorful accessory in glass jars, or use them in the bottom of vases with flowers. (Then you aren’t tempted to eat them!)

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Mums are gorgeous in orange and they can be planted in the yard to get your orange colored décor started and then bring some in the house to make groupings with pumpkins and spicy scented candles!

Like all other color families, you can find nice floral arrangements that highlight the oranges, look for potpourri make of oranges and persimmons mixed with dried leaves and bittersweet. Orange tableware is inviting and quite complimentary to all foods. You may even try changing out your seat covers or adding chair back covers in your color of choice for fall! To really bring the color to life, sit by an orange flickering campfire and sip warmed mulled cider!

Berry Red

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Apples are early in the season but their red varieties and varied flavors keep us focused on the season ahead. Candied apples start us out along with bobbing for apples and making homemade applesauce. However, apples can be ornamental as well, from real apples in bowls and tall vases to well crafted plastic or wooden ones, apple red is ripe for the season.

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Cranberries in relish and as juice are wonderful this time of year. They float in shallow glass bowl with tiny lit candles and they fill up tall vases with a rich red hue.

Pepper berries (if you aren’t allergic) can make beautiful wreaths and napkin rings and fabulous unstructured bouquets. Keep the green foliage as it sets the berries off nicely.

Red Barns and Bridges can become photographic art for your walls. Take a lovely autumn drive and target some of the rural areas where these special red buildings are plentiful.

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Maple Leaves are probably some of the prettiest reds of the season. Gather up a handful to place a centerpiece on. Add them to wreaths full of berries or write on them and create table place cards for a special autumn feast.

Find these pretty reds in tartan plaids as throws or tablecloths, red covered casseroles that can brighten any autumn table setting, even garlands of red wooden beads will add a sense of festiveness to mantles, railings and arches around your home.

Earthy Browns

Caramel Apples. Sorry, probably shouldn’t start with food, but they do look enticing on your kitchen countertop!

Pinecones are a fun fall accessory and that is because they can be part of a treasure hunt! Take your family on a long walk through the woods this fall and bring along a sack to fill with pinecones! Use them as fire starters, in bowls, create a pinecone garland or even make pinecone topiaries!

Cattails make lovely arrangements since they are tall and sturdy. Place them in narrow cylinder vases in mass for an extra special display!

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Nuts, acorns and many seed pods are in a beautiful rich autumn brown. Use then in bowls, as anchors in vases, (for those cattails) or string them in garlands!

Brown and camel colored blankets and throws add real warmth and visual warmth to any room this season. Don’t forget that many of your furnishings will tie into this brown color theme in the wood tones used in the room.

So, that’s the idea of decorating with one single color family this fall. Remember, it ties your accessorizing together, it blends well with your home’s décor and if you buy in quantities, you may save a few bucks as well!

Shari

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written by sheilak, September 30, 2009

These are great ideas!! I have a beautiful lage vase that I bought for potpourri and shells that I have displayed on the counter between my kitchen and living room, now you have given me the inspiration to change it out with the season!! What fun!!

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written by DSoN, October 01, 2009

I like this! It would make my beginner decorating much easier. I have a lovely bunch of orange-red silk flowers that have been hanging around collecting dust... Maybe I'll be able to do something with them now.