Fall is a great time of year for freshening up your home’s décor and welcoming the season’s holidays. Here are some ideas from area home decorators that will make your home say, “Let’s celebrate together in style.”
Go for velvet. “This fall is all about velvet,” says Shoshana Gosselin, principal designer at Love Your Room in Emmaus. “We saw it down the runway, on the red carpet, and now it’s here in home décor.” A great way to bring velvet into your updated-for-fall décor is to reupholster a sofa or chair. Or the dining room seat pads. The “in” colors are jewel tones — golden yellows, deep blues and emerald green. But if reupholstering is too big a project, consider adding velvet pillows to your bedroom or living room or family room furniture.
Think pink. Blush pink is a color popping up in every room in the house, Gosselin says. A quick fall refresh: Paint a wall of one of your rooms blush pink. Even pumpkins come in blush pink this season, Gosselin says. Take a trip around the home décor department of any store and you’ll find lots of props in pink that you can place on your bookshelves or in open cabinets.
Go for the gold. Matte gold finishes are still very popular and pair well with this fall’s jewel tones, Gosselin says. Maria Bouloux of Bouloux Interiors in Coopersburg suggests
large elegant gold candle sticks and large gold candles for your fireplace mantle. “Surround them with festive candle rings at either end and a rich swag in between,” she says.
Extend the outdoor season. Blurring the lines between indoor and outdoor decorating is a trend that Lia Papasimakis Fraccaro of House Splendid in Emmaus believes is big for fall, even in the Lehigh Valley where November days and nights can be quiet crisp. “While we are creating ways to bring the wonderful outdoors in, we can be creative with bringing the indoors out,” she says. You can do it with area rugs, throws, table lamps and even artwork, she says. Space heaters and fire pits also can provide warmth and help extend the life of your home’s outdoor patios and covered porches.
Add texture and layers. This is a key trend this fall, Fraccaro says. “I am always a big fan of using pillows, throws and rugs to evoke a mood or experiment with a new aesthetic,” she says. It’s a simple and low-cost way of making great new additions to your home for the season. Fraccaro says the emphasis for fall 2017 should be on comfy fabrics — not only velvet but also plaids and wools. Again, it’s pillows, throws and area rugs throughout the house.
Color is back. Homeowners are moving away from the “greiges and monochromatics” and toward high contrast and color, Fraccaro says. “We are starting to see it more and more because people are finally getting comfortable with it,” she says. Dark green is another color that designers predict will be big starting this fall. If you’re afraid to go for big splashes of color all at once, experiment with high contrast in neutral tones — try some areas of black and white or charcoal and espresso with antique white — and your home will be in fashion, Fraccaro says.
Show your swag. Bouloux recommends draping a swag across your porch railing to give it a festive look. A matching wreath bursting with maple leaves on the entry door will complete the seasonal look, she says. For the wreath and swag, Bouloux recommends autumn colors dotted with artificial pears, berries, acorns and pinecones. A plaid taffeta ribbon with wire edges can tie it all together and complete the festive look, she says.
Pick pumpkins. Some more seasonal decorating ideas: Cut off stems of various size pumpkins and use them as unexpected risers for serving trays, Fraccaro says. Slice thick-branch stems or thin tree trunks and use them as earth bases to elevate pillar candles. Cut the tops of smaller pumpkins and use them to hold votive candles or small bunches of mums. Use big dried magnolia or maple leaves as place-cards on your dining table. “This time of year surrounds us with friends and family of all ages, so the key is always to have fun with little unexpected surprises,” Fraccaro says.
