Chic Fall Decor Accents and Family Room Ideas

In this post: Looking for fresh seasonal updates for your home? These chic fall decor accents and family room ideas will help you decorate in style.⇒

My husband thinks I redecorate the house every week.

It may look that way with the steady stream of boxes being delivered all the time, but the reality is closer to a few times a year, coinciding with the seasons, and even then, it’s just smaller decorative items.

It’s rare for me to buy new furniture pieces, but pillows covers and vases? Yep, I’m guilty of changing those rather frequently.

It’s the best way I know of to infuse a note of freshness into our rooms on the regular.

Chic Fall Decor Ideas

The beauty of seasonal decorating is that it brings with it the opportunity to add trending items to your home, for a reasonable cost.

I’m not going to toss out my sofa just because a new style is dominating the social media scene. But a new throw on that sofa in an of-the-moment color, pattern or texture is something I can get on board with.

Adding chic décor accents is the easiest way to update a room and keep it from getting stale. It makes a space feel alive and forward moving. Including seasonal flavor with those accessories makes it feel one step more current.

And what better season to do this than fall?

The room I’m featuring today is our family room. The layout of this relaxed living space is an open floor plan and we use it daily, so it has a casual vibe. Yet the furnishings are elegant enough to have a living room feel, and the inspiration would work for one’s living room decor, as well.

Coffee Table Vignette

My concept was to enhance this neutral space with very subtle, beautiful fall color and take advantage of the natural elements that were already there. Against an existing backdrop of cream sofa, animal print rug, and bleached wood coffee table, I layered in a few gentle fall accents, including organic stone and wood pieces, a lovely Native American bowl, and scented candles, among other things. (See below for details.)

Sofa Throw pIllows

I love to heighten the comfort of the upholstery with attractive cushions to welcome our guests. In place of traditional fall throw pillows, I instead opted for more sophisticated textiles in textured linens and a Moroccan print. Both sofas and armchairs can benefit from throw pillows in varying textures as the season dictates.

Organic Elements

Perhaps the most updated addition to the ever-present fall neutrals is the appearance of organic elements, like vintage bleached and raw wood pieces. These items represent the opportunity I referred to above, of infusing your decor with a burst of modern vintage. They are not intrinsically ‘fall decor’, but they adapt perfectly to work with the look.

The same could be said for woven baskets filled with blankets, a leather ottoman with a rich patina, or global artwork with a timeworn spirit.

Fresh Flowers in Amber Glass

I felt very strongly about my subtle palette, avoiding vibrant orange and gold at all costs. Yet, there is faded color and it exudes warmth, as evidenced in this easy fall centerpiece. The simple fall blooms and a cluster of greenery are tucked into a vessel with an interesting pop of color. Amber glass seems to be this year’s answer to last year’s copper. (This is not to say I’m done with copper, but just intrigued by the new amber. It seems to be everywhere.)

Mantel Styling

The focal point of our family room is the fireplace, a stately carved piece that’s proportioned to suit our high ceiling. It’s a wonderful place to showcase an autumnal vignette. However, this year you’ll find no gourds or garland and in their place you’ll find more on trend pieces.

I’ve preferred an understated mantel for a while now, generally a singular piece in the center, flanked by symmetrical end pieces. In this case, I’ve added just a bit more, but resisted going any further. So you’ll find a wonderful antique urn at the midpoint, surrounded by a pair of amphora vases and the aforementioned raw wood vessels. The vases serve up jaunty bundles of dried millet and wild grasses, a charming flourish.

Branches on a Side Table

One of the best fall accessories to add to your decor is autumn branches. They come in a range of colors and a variety of shapes and sizes, and can single-handedly define the palette in your spaces.

In this charming corner I keep a petite table that’s usually home to one of our lamps. But it’s rarely used (ok, it’s actually never used – I don’t even keep it plugged in… ;-)), so it became the ideal perch for a spray of berry foliage. The faded burgundy color is another example of my subtle approach to a fall palette.

The tiny table earns it keep, offering an extra bit of storage in the way of two small shelves.

Throw Blanket Color

Another favorite fall decor idea is one of the easiest ways to add a note of color, while being cozy and useful for the changing season. A throw blanket on the couch is incredibly inviting, and where in the past I’ve used tonal nubby fabrics or a neutral plaid, this year I went for a solid in faded cinnamon. Just a bit more color than completely neutral, but decidedly toned down.

You can take the same approach with your area rugs and other textiles. Go for chalky or faded hues for an updated look.

Floor Vase with Leaves

The side of the room I hardly ever show is the one that houses the electronics and TV. But since this is our main living area and our entertainment room, I try my best to dress it up, too. The console table holds our board games and movies (yes, we still have some discs) and there’s not much room above it for pretty decor. So I keep a few shallow bowls here which I recently changed to these vintage marble pieces in my organic theme.

For the harvest season I have a couple of pears in one bowl and an antique cowbell in the other. As the season progresses I’ll replace the pears with white pumpkins for an autumnal note of grace.

A distressed ceramic urn acts as an anchor for the console table and I change out the filler for each season. In summer it held olive branches but now they’ve been upstaged by fall leaves. Again, the colors are soft, but they are present.

Fall is a wonderful time to freshen up your living spaces and it doesn’t have to look like a pumpkin truck crashed into your living room. Take into account what’s trending, then decide which of those items fits in with your taste. Devise an accent palette, add a few new items and pull the rest from around your own home.

You’ll know you were successful when you catch a glimpse of your room as you walk by and feel a sense of excitement at the new look, yet still feel totally at home.

And you don’t have to redecorate every week.