Today, on Colorado & Co.’s Channel 9 I shared 20 ways to spice up your home with fall decor — in a six-minute segment. Whew!  The show’s host, Denise Plante, and I have a recurring speed date about once a month, when I come on the show and zoom through my design tips du jour. Anyway, I want to share the ideas here with you, and also why I think layering in some fall decor in your home is an important tradition.

People who don’t change up their décor with the seasons miss out. In places where the climate doesn’t change with the season it’s important to add seasonal décor as a psychological reminder, otherwise you don’t know if it’s November or February. In places where the weather does cooperate, seasonal décor reminds families that it’s the time of year to turn back into the home and nest. Come fall, just as you pull on layers of clothing, it’s also nice to add seasonal layers (not clutter) in your home. So here are 20 almost free ways to express fall. Try a few on at your place. 

1. Stacks of firewood, outside or in, say we’re ready to put the fire on.
2. Earth tones.  Accessorize with browns, rusts, golds, plums, and olives,  in pillows, vases, picture frames, guest towels and bed linens.
3. Vases filled with bare branches. Crooked willow straight up and naked branches say leaves are gone and bare is beautiful.
4. Indian corn placed on a rustic tray alongside colorful gourds.
5. Heavier fabrics, like corduroy,wool knit and flannel, invite warmth. Mix patterns; put paisley with plaid.
6. Chrysanthemums and asters in big planters on the porch, parked by the kitchen door or dried in pots.
7. Dried wreaths hung as a welcome sign on the front door.
8. Candles, lots of them, in earthy colors, smelling like cinnamon, cloves or nutmeg. Put rows of them in the fireplace.
9. Cozy slipcovers in flannel or chenille.
10. Stacks of pillows by the hearth, lining benches, and anywhere they can take up some chill.
11. Gourds and pumpkins piled on the front stairs. Not two, but twelve.
12. Nuts in their shells in a bowl in the kitchen with a nutcracker.
13. Throw blankets and quilts layered over chair backs, sofas, ottomans, and the foot of beds.
14. Hay bales, one or three parked on the front porch, say harvest time.
15. Pomegranates heaped in a wooden bowl.
16. Aged wood anything, because it respectfully reflects the autumn of life.
17. Twigs wrapped in twine set on a hearth or mantle, where they say nest.
18. Area rugs at the door to anticipate the mud, and invite people in anyway. Put one rug on top of another.
19. Burlap in earthy colors, scrunched under a centerpiece, or laid straight down a table as runner. Burlap is the fabric of grain sacks, which symbolize harvest. I just bought a yard of cocoa brown burlap for $4, and a spool (30 feet) of thick brown ribbon. With my trusty glue gun, I cut out and bordered a set of four placemats and a table runner for under $8.
20. Hot cider, a fire in the fireplace, a flannel shirt, and someone you love.