Hi everybody, and welcome to my home, and the Harvest Home Fall Tour 2016 sponsored by Summer at She Leaves a Little Sparkle. If you’re joining me from Jennifer at The Willow Farmhouse, hello! Wasn’t Jennifer’s home amazing? I just love seeing how other people decorate for the changing seasons. Come on inside for some ideas and tips for incorporating fall touches into your home decor.

I have to give you warning here – if you’re expecting lots of pumpkins and orange leaves, you may be a teeny, tiny bit disappointed! There is not a white pumpkin to be found in my neck of the woods yet. Not a single one. Believe me – I have searched! And the orange ones just don’t match anything in my house, you know?! And the leaves haven’t turned on the color yet, so yeah. I’m planning on adding lots of pretty white pumpkins once they are at the farm stands, but for now, I thought I’d show you how it’s possible to bring in an warm, autumn feel even when those iconic autumn pretties aren’t available yet. Come on inside and I’ll show you my fall ways sans pumpkins…

Fall to me means (besides pumpkins) lots of deep, rich colors in earthy tones, and piles of warm, fuzzy textures. These beautiful little plums were the inspiration for my fall color palette this year. I turned this batch into some delicious homemade plum jam, and I kept some others just to be able to enjoy their deep plum-y color. And then I used that pretty plum color as the jumping off point for my fall decorating.

(This post contains affiliate links. These are items that I’ve used in my own home, or items that will give you a similar look to the items I show here. I earn a small commission if you choose to purchase any of these items, but you pay absolutely no more for the items than you would if you looked them up yourself. I hope these links are helpful to you in your home decor search!)

How cute is my little knife with the “You are the butter to my bread” stamping? It adds a special touch to something as simple as homemade whole wheat bread.

The first place in my home that got a dose of rich fall color and fuzzy textures was my kitchen. I added this gorgeous runner to my kitchen a few weeks ago, and let me tell you – it has added such a spark of color and a feeling of warmth to my white kitchen! It’s almost crazy to think that something as simple as a runner can do so much for a room, but it’s true! And I love this way of warming up my home for the cooler months ahead.

Tip #1: Use a runner to add a splash of color to your kitchen or hallway. They’re always less expensive than a full-sized rug, but they pack a big style punch. And they’re easy to switch out seasonally if you want season-specific colors.

I also added some pretty green leaves cut from my shrubs outside to my kitchen island bring in another little burst of color. Fall is all about the outdoors and color – so bring lots of it inside to help you get into the spirit of the season.

Tip #2: The best greens are the free ones! Check your yard (or with permission, your neighbor’s yard) for ways you can bring in some of that seasonal beauty.

Here’s my kitchen runner from Rugs Usa because I know I’ll get asked 😉

SHOP MY KITCHEN

I don’t have a formal dining room – just a dining area open to the kitchen. It’s a very casual little spot, which suits us fine since we don’t do any fancy entertaining – mostly dinner with the kids or  friends. And it’s kind of a mish-mash of furniture, which helps give it its casual vibe.

In the dining room, I just added a cozy throw to the arm chair, and a big basket of mums. (Those are my token “pumpkins” – fake!)

Tip #3: Centerpieces don’t have to be fancy, and they don’t have to be expensive. Look for outdoor plants, such as these mums, that you can bring inside temporarily for simple, but beautiful centerpieces.

As you can see, my dog Ghost really gets into this picture taking stuff. It’s his favorite thing to do 😉

I think these purple mums are my favorite – such a happy, pretty color, and it contrasts so nicely with other greens and even the yellows in fall leaves.

SHOP MY DINING ROOM

I carried the rich, earthy colors and fuzzy textures into the living room with pillows, throws, and a sheepskin rug.

More of my pretty plums grace the copper bowl on my end table. Warm coppers and golds also help to warm up a color palette, so add lots of those as you get closer to the cool months of fall and winter. You can also see more of the warm metallic color on my coffee table.

I am so excited every year to bring out this sheepskin rug. It is absolutely the softest thing on the planet, and I love how it warms a room up instantly. Ghost loves it too. I’m surprised he isn’t sprawled on it in all of these pictures!

Here’s the birds-eye view of the living room.

My window seat also becomes a cozy spot for reading in the fall. Fuzzy blankets (made out of old sweaters – a favorite money-saving trick of mine) and throws make this spot the perfect place to snuggle up with a good book or magazine.

Tip #4: Layer on the warm, snuggly, fuzzy textures for a cozy seasonal vibe. Pillows, throws, rugs – they all add together to make your home feel lived in and comfy.

SHOP MY LIVING ROOM

And last but not least (and slightly backwards in the order of things), is my fall entryway.

(And there he is again. Zonked.)

I warmed up this space with another, smaller sheepskin throw, a warm green wool blanket, and some fun sunflowers for fall color. The rich colors of the floral pillow are a fall addition, too.

I’m still loving my darling little end table. I talked in this post about how I took off some old paint to expose the pretty wood beneath.

I just love my bluestone topped console table. It’s always the perfect target for some seasonal decor. This time around, it is graced with a pretty little frameless oil landscape that I found at the thrift store, some acorns, and some wheat-like grass. And take a look at those wooden “pumpkins” on the floor. They’re actually old chippy feet from a sofa that I found at an antique store. They look so much like pumpkins to me that I always bring them out this time of year – the screws even look like stems! They make me happy 🙂

Tip #5: Using groupings of seasonal items to make more of an impact. Here I’ve grouped grasses, acorns, and paintings with fall colors together to give a subtle nod to fall.

SHOP MY ENTRYWAY

(I often get asked about sources for my furniture, light fixtures, etc., so I’ve added some sources below to help you recreate the look if you’d like.)

That ends my Harvest Haven tour, folks! Thank you so much for stopping by – I’d love to hear your comments and ideas about how you warm your home up for fall! And just you watch – next week I’ll find white pumpkins in every grocery store – and you can be sure that when I do, they’ll fit right into my fall decor.

Next stop on the tour is a visit to Cami from Tidbits. And here is the whole tour lineup. Believe me, you won’t want to miss a single stop along the way – these are some seriously talented friends I have! Have a great day, and Happy Fall!