October changes our homes before we decide to adorn or decorate anything. The bright summer light is replaced by the low, warm light of autumn. Windows are open again, allowing the crisp fall air to move through the house. The early darkness of the coming season forces us to turn on a lamp or light a candle and gathering around the table for dinner happens after dark once more.
Outside the green trees seem to transition to hues of ochre, scarlet, and orange almost overnight. The blossoming gardens of summer begin to fade, leaves begin to crunch beneath our feet, and the landscape takes on a richness reserved for this time of year.
Autumn is a beautiful season, and we want to respond, embrace, and celebrate its arrival by bringing a little of what is happening outside through our door. But welcoming October and autumn doesn’t require additional embellishment by us. The season has done most of the work already.
Bring the outside in
The big stores are full of fall décor at this time of year, each with their own imitation of the season. Rather than buying boxes of décor, I’ve come to embrace the natural elements found in the garden and fields near my home.
Branches and twigs make the perfect base for decorating for fall. Use them alone in a vase arranged with gourds sitting nearby or use them to create a frame for other foraged decorations like dried flowers, leaves, or pinecones
One of my favorite fall decorations is dried hydrangeas. Panicle varieties, like Limelight, produce large flower heads that shift from bright white in summer to shades of green and dusty rose as the seasons shift. It’s at this point that I like to cut them, remove the green leaves, and place them in a vase without water.
Over the next several days to a week the hydrangeas will dry over. You’re left with a papery flower that retains most of their color. I use them in arrangements, wreaths, and garlands throughout the season. Best of all, dried hydrangeas can last for months often carrying you through to the next harvest.
I tried something new this year: dried cone flowers seed heads, and I’m loving them. Several species of cone flowers are native to Virginia. Their summer blooms eventually give way to dark brown, architectural seed heads. Left in the garden, the seeds provide food for the birds and produce even more flowers. A few, selectively clipped stems, make a simple seasonal accent inside.
I trimmed a handful after the flowers faded and brought them inside, leaving plenty to behind for the birds to enjoy. Other seed heads can be treated in the same way. What might look spent in the summer garden takes on an entirely different character indoors.
Apples, pears, pumpkins, and gourds in their many varieties and colors are another easy way to bring the season inside. I love to pick a mix of different pumpkins and gourds when I’m shopping- creamy white, dusty orange, dark green, covered in bumps, or with a twisted stem. Arranged in a bowl or gathered on a table, the variation in color, shape, and texture creates a display that imitation rarely manages to capture.
One note of caution: be thoughtful about what you forage and bring indoors. Some plants and berries can be toxic to children and pets. Other plants may be invasive or protected from collecting in certain areas. Know what you’re gathering, where it came from, and whether it belongs inside your home. Sometimes a beautiful thing is better admired where you found it.
Change in textures and layers
October and the arrival of autumn encourages us to cozy up our spaces. It’s a natural time to refresh throw pillows, swapping summer hues for dark tones and warmer materials. Wool throw blankets find their way back on the ottoman or the chair arm. Wood trays, brass candlesticks, matchboxes, and books take a natural place in the season.
But this doesn’t necessarily mean buying something new. Sometimes decorating for the season is simply a matter of looking again at what you already have collected.
This year, I decided to display my Johnson Brothers Native American turkey dinner plates and other brown transferware in my china cabinet. A pair of pheasants I found at the thrift store moved to a prominent place on the side table. I pulled out an ox blood colored vase to feature with an arrangement of autumn’s bounty.
The return of candlelight
While we surround ourselves with our favorite objects and bits of the seasonal harvest, perhaps the best part of autumn is the return of evenings bathed in the low light of table lamps and candles. While lamps are part of our rooms year-round, they really shine (no pun intended) as daylight fades earlier each evening.
The flicker of candlelight, whether a scented container candle, a pair of long tapers, or pillars protected inside glass hurricanes, brings warmth and movement to a room. The subtle shifts in the flame cast shadows across tables and walls. In October, that interplay of light and shadow manages to capture both the coziness of autumn and just a hint of mystery and spookiness that belongs to the season.
Try resisting the urge to illuminate an entire room from above. Instead, opt for a floor lamp in the corner, a cluster of candlesticks on the mantle or coffee table, and maybe a small accent lamp on a sideboard or desk. The smaller pools of light make a room feel warmer and more inviting and intimate, allowing us to embrace the earlier darkness.
Let the Season and the House Unfold
Autumn arrives slowly almost like a symphony performed in three movements: the soft overture of September, the crescendo of color in October, and the gentle resolution of November as the last leaves fall and winter settles in.
Our homes can follow a similar rhythm.
There is no need to “finish” decorating for autumn the first weekend in September. Let the house shift as the season does. The hydrangeas are cut early as their color begins to shift, the first pumpkins arrive later as the harvest takes place. A branch of brilliant leaves comes inside after an October walk. Wool blankets return to their places when the first truly cold evening arrives.
Somethings will disappear along the way, too. Flowers like sunflowers or mums fade. Pumpkins eventually find their way to the compost pile or devoured by wildlife. The brilliant leaves outside the window turn brown and fall. What felt right at the arrival of autumn gives way to something softer as November approaches. Perhaps that is the pleasure of decorating with the season, the house reflects what is happening outside the walls.
October has already done most of the decorating for us. We only need to open our doors and let a little of it in.