Fall décor from a personal perspective
‘Your house becomes your story’
As fall nesting season returns, home décor collections reflect the idea that home is where our hearts and heads are.
As fall nesting season returns, home décor retailers are presenting collections that reflect the idea that home is where our hearts and heads are.
Our long housebound stretch may have made us restless for the outside world, but it has helped us appreciate our homes more. Even if you didn’t redo a basement playroom, rehab a bathroom or create a workspace in an apartment closet, you probably rediscovered what you like about your home.
“Our living spaces moved from sanctuary to command central,” says Elaine Griffin, a designer in Sea Island, Georgia, “and our relationship with them forever changed.”
“Our love affair with our homes is at its zenith,” she says.
Months of working from home has many people transforming their abodes into multitasking marvels of purpose, practicality and personality.
“Of the three, the latter reigns,” says Griffin.
So how do you give your rooms that personal stamp as we snuggle in for fall and winter?
Maine-based designer Erin Flett has a mantra: “Collect things you love, that are authentic to you, and your house becomes your story.”
Rather than a basic chair, generic carpeting or ordinary wallcovering, designers are favoring items that have a little “soul,” from the cozy nap of a plush textile to the tool marks of an artisan-made bowl, all the way to the over-the-top gorgeousness of a sleek lacquered cabinet.
There’s something for everyone. Pieces that give off a homespun, handmade vibe. Polished pieces that get the heart beating, with exciting prints or bold shapes. Freeform, elegant mirrors. Patterns that span centuries of artistry. Colors that reflect our need for nature’s restorative qualities. And at the other end of the spectrum, colors that rev up our imaginations.
The most interesting new home décor has the look and feel not of a factory assembly line but of a studio. An atelier. A small production house.
A few examples of what’s in store for fall:
Color
Look for saturated hues — cobalt, cinnamon, charcoal, ruby, green and mustard among them. It’s the depth of these colors that’s new, and also how they’re used. They’re enveloping entire rooms, from walls to moldings to fireplace mantels and even the ceiling. The kitchen too.
“In North America, red is our warm-color best-seller,” says Valentina Bertazzoni, head of style and design at high-end Italian kitchen appliance maker Bertazzoni.
“By incorporating colors like red, the kitchen space can feel livelier and more inviting. And more homeowners are catching on to the idea that a colorful range can serve as an anchor or protagonist for a design concept.”
You’ll see red in small pieces, like Barber Osgerby’s playful Bellhop lamp, but also in larger furniture like Arteriors’ Turner sofa. For the backyard, Brown Jordan’s outdoor kitchen cabinetry comes in a hot chili hue, as well as fresh mint, Tardis blue and cotton candy pink.