FALL FORECAST: WARM & BRIGHT

A designer reveals unexpected ways to cozy up your home this season.

A designer reveals unexpected ways to heat up your home this season.

As the summer transitions into fall, so do our thoughts about how to add decorative warmth to our homes. If you love the clean, serene look of cottage style, you may wonder how to reflect the changing seasons without losing the cottage ambience. Jenny, the interior designer and owner of Finishing Touch Décor by Jenny, gives us a tour of her fall-decorated home and shows us how she reflected the feel of the season without sacrificing the serenity of her favorite style.

FALL TRANSITION

Jenny, her husband, Dave, son Zack and pet pug Buzz live in the Midwest, in a two-bedroom, two-bath cottage built in the early 1950s. She enjoys seasonal decorating and has found easy and economical ways to express her fondness for fall. “I dress our home seasonally, but it’s done with simple swaps,” she says.

The word that comes to Jenny’s mind for making the transition to her home’s fall décor is cozy. “Fall is the time to bring on the cozy with layers of pillows, blankets, candles and pumpkins,” she says. “Cooler blues and whites for summer are replaced with warmer colors in pieces like pillows and throws. In the summer, I remove excess pillows and throws, but fall is about bringing them back. I also love bringing in touches of copper to showcase flowers or corral dishtowels. Swapping out summer nautical art for more rustic pieces is another easy way to give a nod to fall. And, of course, both real and artificial pumpkins are brought in.”

“Swapping out summer nautical art for more rustic pieces is an easy way to give a nod to fall.”

A TIME FOR WARM COLORS

The cottage look embraces white and light colors, but Jenny thinks fall is the perfect time to introduce more vibrant hues. “My home has a neutral color palette, with wall colors in light blues, grays and whites,” she says. “For fall, I love bringing in warmer colors of burnt oranges, yellows and even pops of red. I also love adding copper accessories.”

The cottage’s living room walls are painted in a soft, neutral blue-gray color. “One of the best colors that goes with blue is orange,” Jenny says. “So I’m not shy about adding it in small doses for the fall season.” She placed cozy, colorful pillows on the sofa and tree branches on the fireplace mantel. Mums are perhaps the best floral representation of fall, and Jenny displays them in her living room as an ode to nature’s cornucopia of colors. “Mums are a flower that comes in a variety of oranges and yellows that I love to add this time of year,” she says. “Most people have them outside as I do, but I love to add some inside as well.”

WARMTH OF COPPER. The kitchen is where Jenny’s copper pieces add warm shine. Dish towels are an easy and inexpensive way to add pops of fall color to your kitchen. Jenny has a creative eye for repurposing accessories. “I have four or five sets of nice dish towels I get from Crate & Barrel that I use for window treatments in the kitchen,” she says.

In an unexpected way to add warmth to a room, Jenny displays copper accessories in the kitchen. “The kitchen is where you’ll see more of my copper pieces,” she says. “Also, dish towels are an easy and inexpensive way to add pops of fall color to your space. Back in the day, I had a red wall in my kitchen. I’ve since learned it’s easier to add pops of bold color with accessories and way easier to remove them if I grow tired of them.” Hanging charming signs with fall themes and colors is an inexpensive way to add seasonal touches.

The bedroom provides the perfect opportunity to add cozy fall accessories. “A big, chunky throw, real pumpkins and faux branches add just the right amount of fall to the bedroom,” Jenny says. “The buffalo-check curtain panels are in one of my favorite patterns for fall and winter.”

Jenny’s best advice for seasonal decorating is to buy décor that makes you feel good; the rest will follow. “I always go with what I love, period. When you do that, certain themes start emerging and you can see your style,” she says. “Neutral interiors have been trending for a long time. I like to keep overall color palettes calm, with soft neutral colors for walls and upholstery, but I go all out with colors in accessories. It’s the best of both worlds.”

“Cooler blues and whites for summer are replaced with warmer colors in pieces like pillows and throws.”

MUM’S THE WORD. The yellow and orange colors of chrysanthemums are the perfect floral touch for fall. Display them generously indoors and out.

|ABOVE| INVITING PORCH. “Because we don’t have a formal entry, our front porch really sets the stage of what’s to come inside,” Jenny says. Greeting guests are cozy, relaxing fall colors and vintage pieces.

|ABOVE| THE ART OF FALL DÉCOR. Above the living room sofa is a favorite painting that Jenny only displays in the fall. “The red barn and fall colors remind me of places we drive to see the leaves changing colors,” she says. The sofa is plumped with cozy fall pillows. On the coffee table, hydrangeas spill out of a large copper bucket.

COZY NOOK. A small built-in banquette is surrounded by cutting boards on one wall and a fall sign on the other wall.

october | november 2020

|ABOVE| MAKEOVER MAGIC. “Our kitchen got a mini makeover that we’re so happy with,” Jenny says. “Adding shiplap and removing a huge microwave and replacing it with a wooden range hood is my favorite project to date. Adding fall touches with branches is my go-to look.” |OPPOSITE| SIMPLY STATED. Fall branches and a pumpkin are all that’s needed to embrace fall. Natural colors and textures in the area rug and chandelier shade complement the décor. Jenny found the dining table on Facebook Marketplace for only $15.

|TOP| FALL DREAMSCAPE. A big chunky throw, real pumpkins and faux branches add just the right amount of fall to the bedroom. “The vintage shutters behind the nightstands are green on one side and white on the other,” Jenny says. “The green goes from fall through Christmas. In the spring and summer, I flip it to the white side.” Buffalo-check curtains are the perfect warm pattern for fall and winter.

|LEFT| AUTUMN ACCESSORIES. Throw pillows and a galvanized container with leaves combine for a cozy fall look. |BOTTOM| FALLING SOFTLY. Jenny brought in the warmer colors of fall with pillows and large, cozy throws. The wall basket is filled to the brim with fall flowers and flanked by wall sconces. A woven trunk from IKEA completes the look.