Using a Color Palette to Organize Seasonal Decor

 

DON’T GO OUT AND BUY ALL NEW FALL DECORATIONS!

 

I know you want to.  Me too.

 

But, likelier than not, you have a lot of workable fall décor in your home right now, be it packed away or already sitting on your mantel.  Before you spend money on décor or craft supplies, read through this primer to get an idea of what you have and what you want.

 

 

This photo has been floating around Pinterest for ages, and for great reason.  The colors are gorgeous.  As soon as I saw this picture I knew that I wanted my Fall color palette to be based around this dark teal and copper.

 

 

My decision felt validated when Pantone released their Fall color predictions which included deep teal as one of their colors of the season.  Please do not be thrown off by the dead-behind-the-eyes illustration.

 

Using these two colors as a starting point, I fleshed out a color palette for my fall home décor.  You can do this same thing using a few easy internet sites.

 

 

 

I added a few more colors to the teal and copper to end up with this scheme:

Dark Teal

Light Teal

Pumpkin Orange

Mum Purple

Metallic Copper

 

While you obviously don’t have to use this same color scheme, having a set palette to work off of helps to edit down my decorations and make a whole house look tied together.

 

Once I had the color decisions made, I went through my craft room and my stash of decorations and then shopped my house for anything that fit the color palette.

 

 

I ended up with this big pile of schtuff.  It is important when you are pulling things from your stash, not to make judgments about what you are or aren’t going to actually display.

 

 

Just pull EVERYTHING in those colors: ribbons, paint, jewelry, baskets, scrap fabric, etc.  The editing will come later.

 

 

By pulling everything in your colors, you might find a few things you can use as decorations that you might not have seen otherwise.  Like those sequins.  I might have just passed over those delicious sequins if I was focused on pulling ONLY Fall-type things.

 

 

After you have pulled things that fit your color palette, you can find your pieces that fit the season, but not the color palette.

 

 

This picture is of décorations that aren’t in my chosen palette, but do fit the season.

 

Eventually you will need to decide which pieces you will use even though they don’t technically fit your color scheme.  But, before you start saying no, you need to find out which of these questions you can answer with a yes.

 

In your color coordinated pile of decorating possibilities:

-Do you have variation in texture? (wood, metallic, fabric, glass)

-Do you have variation in lighting? (natural and artificial)

-Do you have florals? (real or fake)

-Do you have natural elements?

-Do you have vintage/rustic pieces?

-Do you have modern pieces?

-Do you have necessary linens? (throws, pillows, tablecloths, etc)

-Do you have some pieces with a sense of humor?

-Do you have pieces with personal meaning?

 

In my opinion, your house needs all these things to be “properly” decorated.  If you answered “no” to any of the  questions, see if you can change the answer to “yes” by adding items from your pile of seasonal decorations that don’t fit your color scheme. 

 

If you can, will the items work in their current color or can you change them with paint or fabric?  Don’t know where to look for appropriate paints or fabric to fit your color scheme?  Check your color scheme pile.  If you have any, it should be there!

 

If you still have some “no”s on your list, write them down and add them to your list of craft projects!  For instance, in neither of my piles do I have any natural sources of light (aka no candles).  So, now, making some candles to match my fall palette is on my to-do list.

 

If you go through this little exercise, you should have a much better idea of what you already have in terms of seasonal décor and what you might like to make or buy.

 

I will be sharing my projects I have been putting together to fill the gaps in my seasonal décor, then I will show you the whole look put together.  It is my goal to spend as little as possible on new fall decorations, but to have an entirely different look than last year!