Every year, someone asks me: how am I decorating for fall? This year, my answer is green and brown fall decor. Autumn looks like green in the South, and that idea became the whole reason behind this season's look.
Not orange.
Not pumpkin-spice everything.
Just green, brown, warm tan, and a little toned-down autumn colors, the way our North Florida landscape actually looks in October.
Come on in the front door with me. I'll walk you through how one simple color rule turned into a heritage-inspired look for the whole house.
How I Landed on a Green and Brown Fall Decor Palette
My Rule for Decorating Like Autumn in the South
Fall in Florida doesn't look like fall in New England, and I decided to stop pretending this year.
Our leaves stay green well into November. What changes is everything underneath. Think mossy greens, weathered browns, dried tans, with just a touch of rust here and there.
So this year, before I pulled a single box down from the attic, I made myself a rule. Green and brown fall decor, full stop, and I let that rule guide every choice that came after it.
A Heritage-Inspired Entryway Refresh
If I'm being honest, the entryway is really where this tour should start. It's the first thing anyone sees when they walk in my front door, so let's begin there.
Hanging Vintage Plates on Candle Sconces
I have had this idea in the back of my mind for years: hang my antique brown and white transferware plates on my candle sconces. I just never knew exactly how, or which plates to use.
Then Marty gave me new plates for the hutch in our kitchen sitting room for my birthday (more on that room in a future post). That freed up my old antique brown and white plates for a new job.
I went with Command strips, the kind rated to hold real weight. Even though these old plates are thin and light, I didn't want to take any chances.
I cleaned the back of each plate with alcohol and let it dry completely. Then I cleaned the metal bar on the sconces the same way, so the strips would stick as well as possible. I pressed each plate in place and held it firm for a full minute.
It has been over a week now, and not one plate has budged.
PRO TIP: If you want that same layered, collected look, these are the command strips I used to hang mine.
Small Seasonal Swaps That Make a Big Difference
I didn't overhaul this space. Instead, I leaned into the green in my color scheme with a small rosemary plant on the dresser. Then I swapped the books stacked under the lamp for a few in neutral tones, and tied an autumn-colored ribbon around the lamp's base for a little warmth.
Next to it, I kept my old wooden dough bowl sitting on a chair, because I love old, well-worn things. A little repetition of texture never hurts a room, and mixing old and new elevates a design.
A Designer Trick: Repeating Patterns on the Bench
The bench needed pillows to pull the whole entryway together. So I leaned into that same Joanna Gaines-inspired green and tan plaid one more time. It's a pillow that echoes a blanket you'll see waiting on the couch in a minute. Find both the pillow and the blanket here.
Next to the plaid pillow is a linen pillow and a rust-red gingham pillow. I found it on clearance at Kirkland's but replaced the cheap pillow inside with a higher-end down pillow. These details elevate our design.
A Heritage-Inspired Fall Mantel
Now for the mantel, where this whole look began.
Turning a Vintage Naturalist Print Into Fall Art
I love hunting down old naturalist art, the kind with hand-drawn birds, plants, or animals, and reworking it to fit my own home. The print on my mantel started as a French naturalist sketch that originally featured a bunny rabbit.
A bunny didn't feel right for autumn, so I took him out and added a fox instead. Foxes live all around us here, and they're honestly gorgeous animals. That finished piece became a print in my Etsy shop, in case you love vintage naturalist wall art as much as I do.
Layering Art in Front of a Mirror for a High-End Look
I framed the fox print in one of my thrifted vintage frames. Then I leaned it against the mirror already on the mantel.
PRO TIP: Layering art in front of a mirror is one of the easiest ways to get a designer look.
Shopping Your Own House, the Crock, Brass Candlesticks, and Library Books
For the rest of the mantel, I mostly shopped my own house. I kept the crock that was already sitting there, along with a pair of brass candlesticks I already owned.
Then I did something I love doing every season. I walked into Marty's library and started pulling old books that fit the nature theme and the color palette and added them to the mantel.
PRO TIP: Shop your own house before you buy a single new thing. A stack of real, well-loved books does something a new prop just can't fake. And it costs nothing but a few minutes of digging through shelves you already have.
Magnolia Garland, Real and Faux, for an Effortless Finish
Lucky for me, I had leftover magnolia garland tucked away in the attic from my daughter Hannah's wedding. I pulled it down, draped one length across the mantel, and let the other trail down the side toward a hanging woven basket.
I didn't have quite enough garland to fill the basket the way I wanted, so I tucked in real magnolia leaves instead. They hold up beautifully with no water needed, so that little trick works all season long with zero maintenance. You can find a similar garland and basket in my LTK link.
Once everything was in place, I wove fairy lights through the magnolia garland. Between the candles and the fairy lights, that little bit of glow is really the magic behind any fall vignette. If you want more ideas for building your own, I've got a whole post on DIY fall garland ideas.
Styling the Hearth and Pumpkin Collection
Realistic Pumpkins That Get Better Every Year
Down on the hearth, I kept the big basket I use to hold our fire logs. It just needed something next to it that said fall a little louder. That's where my Pottery Barn realistic pumpkins come in.
I add one more to the collection every year, since they aren't cheap, but I caught a genuinely good sale this year and added two at once. It's starting to feel like my own little pumpkin patch, right there on the hearth. Shop the same pumpkins here.
Where to Find the Best Faux Pumpkins
If realistic faux pumpkins are on your list this year, I rounded up all my favorite sources in this post on faux pumpkin fall decorating ideas.
Cozy Couch Styling with Layered Pillows and Plaid
Layering Pillows Like a Pro
I didn't change much around the rest of the living room, just the couch. Digging through my pillow stash in the closet, I pulled a needlepoint pumpkin pillow that felt like exactly the right piece.
I paired it with a brown pillow covered in acorns and oak leaves, another classic Southern autumn motif since we have no shortage of oak trees here. From there, I layered a large windowpane-pattern pillow in back.
The Plaid Blanket That Ties Back to the Entryway
On the back of the couch, I draped a Joanna Gaines plaid blanket that matches the pillow on the entry bench. That's the repeating-pattern trick paying off again, tying two separate rooms together. Find the blanket here.
If you love the look of a well-styled throw, I put together a full post on how to style throw blankets. It's full of ideas for a warm, cozy feel in any room.
And if you're curious about the sofa underneath it all, my slipcovered sofa has held up beautifully, more on that in my post on slipcovered sofa ideas.
The Informal Dining Room, Small Touches, Big Impact
Dough Bowl and Crock, Filled with White and Terracotta Pumpkins
My bookcases in the informal dining area serve double duty, holding books and rotating seasonal decor. I dug into my box of fall decor and pulled out terracotta pumpkins I had painted a while back, along with a few plain white ones.
I filled my old wooden dough bowl with a mix of white and terracotta pumpkins. Then I did the same in a crock mixing bowl on the opposite side. Neither shade is too loud or too plain, which is exactly the balance I was after.
If you love decorating with dough bowls as much as I do, I've got more than 25 ideas for using them well beyond fall.
DIY Terracotta Pumpkins, a Pottery Barn Dupe
Those painted terracotta pumpkins actually came from a full tutorial I shared a while back. If you want that same warm, muted look for a fraction of the cost of the real thing, here's how I made my DIY terracotta pumpkins.
Pinecone Candles for a Warm Autumn Glow
On the other bookcase, I added battery-powered pinecone candles in burnt orange and off-white. Pinecones are about as classic a Southern fall symbol as it gets, considering how many pine trees we have here. And the warm glow finishes off that side of the room beautifully.
One More Layered Pillow on the Bench
There's a small bench near the bookcases with one more pillow: a toile pumpkin pillow I found at HomeGoods with the sweetest little print. Just like the bench pillow in the entryway, the cheap insert came out, and a nice down pillow form went in.
A Restrained Table Centerpiece
I usually put something more elaborate on the dining table, but this year I wanted it to stay open and useful for guests. I left my wood board runner bare except for a pair of white pinecone salt and pepper shakers.
PRO TIP: Sometimes less really is more, especially on a table that's meant to be used. Leaving a surface open for guests is its own kind of styling choice.
Bring the Look Home
That's the whole tour, from the front door to the bookcases, all built around one simple idea: let fall look like it actually looks where you live.
If you want to start with the piece that started it all, you can find my vintage fox print in my Etsy shop.
If antiques and thrifted decor are your love language too, you'll want a copy of my book, Vintage Nest. It's the kind of book that belongs on a coffee table and serves as a resource year-round.
Next up, I'll be sharing this same heritage-inspired look in my kitchen sitting room. It's done up in brown, white, and neutrals, with just one blue ribbon to match the chairs. Stay tuned for that one.
Happy Decorating!
