Fall decor updates to cozy up your rooms

Of all the rooms in the house, the living room is my favorite.

This room was pretty sad before we renovated the house, but I could see past the disrepair and neglect. I knew it could become a beautiful and cozy space.

The coved ceilings. The decorative niches in the wall. The curves of the openings between rooms. The rustic, but worn original tile on the fireplace. We’ve still got some big projects to tackle here, like making the fireplace serviceable again and adding the quarter round back to the base trim, but it’s the small, easy-to-add details that make this room feel so inviting.

In fact, layering pretty and purposeful decor is my favorite way to honor the changing of the seasons.

Here are a few ways to cozy up your space for the fall, with lessons you can easily carry over into winter.

1. Swap in fall colors

Trade out the bright hues of summer for the earthy tones of fall. I bought some new rust-colored linen pillows from CB2 and found the coziest plush throw at Home Goods in the same color. It’s a great complement to the navy blue accents I already had in the rug and other pillows. Consider pops of ochre yellow and deep evergreen to update your room’s palette for fall.

2. Add warm metallic accents

Touches of brass throughout your space will reflect the warm glow of autumn afternoon light. I added a new drinks table from West Elm next to my cozy leather chair near the fireplace, which pairs nicely with the brass floor lamp. I swapped out the outdated cabinet pulls on my vintage buffet for a pair of charming fox knobs from Anthropologie in an aged brass finish.

3. Bring on the candles

Layers of candlelight always signal fall to me. New taper candles from World Market in different colors and textures update the vintage brass candlesticks in the wall niches. Mercury glass votive holders of varying shapes are sprinkled throughout the room. Even adding in one spicy scented fall

candle lends a cozy autumnal vibe.

4. Take advantage of fall’s natural bounty

Nothing says fall like pumpkins! Bring in decorative gourds, sugar pumpkins and heirloom varieties to add natural fall color. I clipped the last of summer’s dahlia blooms, which happened to be just the right shade of a yellowed peach, for small arrangements throughout the house.

You can forage for fall branches, turning leaves and seed pods and display them on a brass tray as an homage to the season.

BETSY KORNELIS/SPECIAL TO KITSAP SUN Late-summer dahlias lend a fall feel to the space, and a new brass drinks table next to the leather chair give warm vibe.