Just as wardrobes change with the season, so should a home’s style.
Spring and summer are for “whimsical” décor, says Wesley Thompson, an Annapolis, Md., interior designer, whereas there’s something about the fall and winter months that’s “more sophisticated and rich-feeling, as a reflection of the hibernating, nesting instinct.”
So squirrel away the linen and jute. Pull out the wool, velvet, faux fur and cashmere. These luxurious materials — in drapes, rugs, throws and more — will make a home look warm and elegant.
Pairing fall foliage with luxe decorative objects in warm-colored metals is one way to achieve this sophistication. Ambient candlelight is another. Vanessa Holden, West Elm’screative director, especially likes tone-on-tone vignettes that layer contrast, texture and materials rather than shout for attention with bright colors. “The aim is for a more polished and elevated look,” she says. “It’s a reaction to the casualness of summer.”
Here are season suggestions for warming up your home’s décor.
FUR
Stools with Mongolian wool or faux-fur tops offer perfect respites for cold feet. At a fraction of the price of higher-end stools, the Nate Berkus Faux Fur Stool, below center, can add the fluffy feel of luxury to a living room, sitting room or bedroom ($55, ).
FIRE
Candles are fall standbys for good reason: They cast a glow that warms one inside and out. Their scent is important, too, Thompson says. “Scents such as French oak can often bring about feelings of cozying up to a fire,” she says. Try the Ringo Candleholder and Vase in a centerpiece or on a mantel, with a pillar candle ($96, bliss ).
Washington designer Patrick J. Baglino Jr. suggests adding physical warmth to your home, too, with burning fires in the hearth. Keep the Paxton Copper Bucket from Pottery Barn full of chopped wood and you’ll always be fire-ready ($229, ).
FLUFF
Thompson likes the tassels on a dark orange leaf-colored Temple Bells Throw (on the cover, $128, ). Fold throws on the back of a sofa, pile them in baskets, or spread them out on a bed. “I love to drip a throw down the side of a sofa,” says Baglino.
You can also put away spring and summer’s brights and neons. Fall and winter call for “texture and shape rather than color and contrast,” Holden says. The cream-on-white Tassel Trace Pillow from Anthropologie, below left, is all about neutral, touchable texture ($58, ).
“In the fall, people want to live with items that hypnotize,” Holden says, including “luxurious textiles like distressed velvet or dip-dyed velvet.” Thompson notes that most of the velvet fabrics today, such as the cotton velvet in H&M’s Velvet Cushion Cover, below right, are more durable and less expensive than traditional silk velvet ($18, ).
GLEAM
Metallics convey a rich sense of luxury during the fall and winter months, whether rich burnished gold, patinaed mirror or copper. And a trio of gold Prism Vases is just the type of “pretty, warm thing” that Thompson likes to put on a table around the holidays ($16-$28, ).
GO
Don’t neglect the outdoors. When guests come over, grab some blankets and get a blaze going in a backyard fire pit. The Weather-Resistant Large Outdoor Fire Bowl from Plow and Hearthhas a large steel base to hold a generous amount of firewood ($300, ).
DINE
A wooden serving bowl is a great go-to for big summer salads. But you don’t have to put it away when the weather cools. Just replace the summery food with a festive, low, centerpiece arrangement. Put it all in Crate & Barrel’s acacia-wood Tondo Bowl to dress up weeknight dinners ($35 for 101/2-inch bowl, ).
