HOME DECOR Take cue from nature to change the look of home interior for fall

Simple changes in colors, textures and accent pieces will reflect the season.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Chances are you won't be pulling up all the rugs and replacing the family room slipcovers to mark the change in seasons.
But that doesn't mean you can't make your home a little homier this fall.
Simple changes -- such as draping a chenille throw over a chair or swapping out your hydrangea centerpiece for twigs, leaves and gourds -- can add a coziness fitting the season.
"When I think autumn, I think cozy in every possible way," said Bonnie Trust Dahan, author of "Living With The Seasons: Creating a Natural Home," (Chronicle Books, $27.50).
Seasonal rituals
While our ancestors changed their homes each season by necessity, Dahan believes many people are so busy they've lost touch with those rituals.
"We've moved away from our connections to the natural world," she said. "Reconnecting in a small way is the antidote to all that technology and stress."
We've come to associate chores with the changing of the seasons -- from putting away the poolside furniture to spring cleaning to installing storm windows.
While spring is often seen as the time for fresh starts, autumn -- filled with back-to-school, sweater weather and thinking about the holidays -- is a time of beginnings, too.
Columbia interior designer Linda Evans of A Fresh Approach agrees, saying people like to change their homes with the seasons because their moods and activities change.
"We tend to, during the fall, want to move from outside to inside, to feel a little more nesting in our warmer home," Evans said.
Find places in your homes for "throws and candles and nesty kinds of things like ottomans," suggested Michael Mitchell, a designer with Whit-Ash in Columbia. "You want that cushy, come-sit-by-the-fire kind of feel."
Dahan suggests walking through your home and thinking about ways autumn can speak to each room.
"I'm not advocating buying all new furniture," she said. "It's the accessories you look to."
Use accessories in earth tones
Designer Rosemary Moody of Rosemary Moody Design Services in Columbia suggests thinking about textures as well earthy colors like golds, rusty reds, browns and tans.
Decorating ideas can be found everywhere, from a stroll through the farmer's market to a peek inside your spice cabinet.
Think of the spices that move to the front of the shelf in the fall and winter -- cinnamon, nutmeg, paprika. Their colors can be a key to decorating touches.
"Look at what's happening in the produce world, where nature is already providing its bounty," Dahan said. "Use those as cues."
"I want to encourage people to break what they think are the rules," she said. "They can create personal ways they can bring new color and life to a home when autumn approaches."