Neutral Fall Décor

So here's the thing: I'm one of those weird people who isn't a huge fan of summer. The best thing about summer as a kid was playing ALL day and not having school, and that doesn't apply to me anymore, so summer has pretty much lost its draw to me. The end of summer and start of fall is, to me, a symbol of how close we are getting to winter and Christmas (my all-time favorites. Call me crazy and see if I care!). So while fall isn't necessarily my favorite season, it might just be my favorite season to decorate for because it can be so pretty, and so easy when it's done right!

The "stereotypical" fall colors are not my style: bright orange, red, and yellow are probably among the least common colors in my house. I find bright colors to be harsh and unappealing. The great thing about fall is that even though the leaves are turning bright colors (and that is GORGEOUS in nature; just not in my house!), you don't have to decorate your home with those same colors to bring the warm, cozy feeling of fall into your home.

I don't think I have mentioned yet that I am a HUGE fan of neutrals. Anything neutral is probably my best friend. That being said, anything fall-related that is neutral is my go-to for fall decor. For instance, white pumpkins, muted orange spaghetti squash, dried grasses, and clay pots do the trick mighty well. Of course there is never any harm in adding a splatter of candles around the room; and I would even argue that candles are especially fall-themed because of the warm glow the wicks create when lit!

Anyways, enough about me and my preferences: Here is how I have started my neutral fall decor.

Austin and I made a quick stop at the farmer's market this morning and picked up a few pumpkins, and I'm loving them! I'll definitely be getting some more to incorporate around the house for the season once they are really in season. One of the best things about pumpkins, squash, and guards for decoration is that at the end of the season when it's time for decor to switch around, they're still good for you to eat them!

Another tip for styling is for things to be balanced, but not symmetrical. Both sides have the same colors and textures, but their height, size, and spacing is different. Having that aspect of "sisters not twins" in decor keeps it feeling relaxed and not too incredibly staged... most of the time. ;)

Every season I like to bring in something from outside that embodies the season in some way or another. This fall, we have these long reeds growing around the complex, and they are just gorgeous to me! They are a great example of how our summer greens are fading into fall burgundies and bleached browns. These are super easy to style in large sizes or small. Their texture is great, too, because it's so different from other textures you're likely to have around the house.

A couple tips for styling grasses:

1) cut them in varying sizes. It's better to cut them too long from wherever you get them, but once you bring them in and start styling, make sure you have varying heights, and cut the stems as you feel works best. This just brings better dimension to the decor and allows the stylist to draws the eyes naturally to whatever focal point the stylist wants viewers to find.

2) when placing in a wide-mouthed vase or jar, place a smaller jar inside to keep the bottoms of the reeds closer together so they don't fall around all over the place. This allows the reeds to be held up tall, again giving it that range of dimension, but still lean to the sides in a relaxed kind of way.

3) over-fill the bottoms of clear jars when they are holding statement pieces. It can look unbalanced if there is a gorgeous bush of reeds coming out the top of a repurposed jar, but the bottom is entirely empty! With faux reeds, just put some water into the bottom of the jar to make it one, look more real; and two, balance out the attention from the top to the bottom as well. For real plants like these reeds, the options are endless! You don't really want to put water in the bottom, because it will react with the stems and actually cause them to go bad faster (and can leave you with a mess that's hard to clean out). So for the real plants, ditch the water, and throw in something dry like rocks with a contrasting color, something with a different texture to contrast with the plant, or just over-stuff the bottom of the jar with those extra cuttings you made when styling the different sizes. (Go check out the second photo again. Notice the "empty" stems in the bottom of the jar?)

While fall is infamous for its variety of colors, I always like to pick just a color or two to "feature" each season, and splatter them around balanced out with each other. Each color needs to be incorporated in other areas to make sure it all feels cohesive. For instance, the white centerpiece bowl goes with all our dishes in the kitchen, making a transition from kitchen to living room less abrupt.

Then, the off-white of the candles on the coffee table tie into the candles on the blanket ladder as well as the white pumpkins and lampshades. Similarly, the burgundy/red shade of some of the reeds ties in well with the terra cotta pots and the floral pillow.

The spaghetti squash is the same color as the blanket ladder, kitchen bench, and the vintage suitcases beside the couch and pulls in another very fall orange without being too bright and harsh like the "fall orange" you might normally think of for fall decor.

Each of the colors are featured on each side of the room, so that one side is not too heavy in one color and not the other.

One of the most fun things of seasonal decor is looking around the house to find what you already have that has the seasonal feel you're going for. For me, that included these lamps (that I originally thought were super summer), this blanket I originally envisioned as wintery because of its sweatery texture, the pillow I thought was super spring, and the little fig tree that I had been hiding (thinking it was too little). Finding out how to use things you already have for a new season re-kindles your love for those items, and almost makes them feel new all over again! Go look around your house; move things around; you'll find something that works in a way you never thought of before!

And there you have it! I'll be the first to admit, this is going to change (and yes, I know we really need to put something on that huge empty wall. It's hard when it's so big! We're working on it, ok?) and there are definitely going to be more pumpkins. I'm especially going to be looking for some green pumpkins to incorporate, and may even switch out which ones go around the couch and which ones are other places around the house. Who's to say seasonal decor can't be house-wide?!

I mean, even the bathroom can have a little seasonal refresh, right?! Or am I just obsessed with these reeds?

Here's to the beginning of fall, all things soupy and warm, cornbread, rain, and just getting closer to Christmas! And because I'm sure you're wondering: yes, I am one of those people that listens to Christmas music year-round. I just love Christmas, ok?!