by Jane Grimshaw

Created on: September 12, 2008   Last Updated: March 31, 2012

When the sun's rays have finally cooled down and various shades of green in the garden have been exchanged for richer and earthier colours - such as red, golden brown, yellow and orange - you know it is time to turn your thoughts to autumn. This can also be a good time of year to plan some decorating and/or to change the decor of some of the rooms in your home, by using richer aromas and textures.

Start by looking at the walls of your living room; perhaps you could change one or two pictures for autumn scenes, or change a few light shades to a russet, gold, yellow or orange colour - you could even use softer coloured light bulbs in them, like apricot or amber. You could compliment your carpet or tiles with a nice autumn coloured rug; add candles, and an assortment of potpourri and dried flower arrangements to various areas of the room.

Take a good look at your sofa and chairs; could you place an eye-catching "throw" over them, and position some co-ordinating cushions across the backs to create a warm and cosy feeling. You could decorate your dining room table too, by choosing a red tablecloth, for example, with matching or contrasting serviettes, table mats and coasters. You could replace your centrepiece with a basket of fruit or a display of dried flowers.

You can then apply the same ideas to other rooms of the house. You could place an autumn wreath on the front door, or in the porch way; Place a new bedspread on your bed, and use more candles, soft lighting, potpourri and dried flowers. Give the bedroom draws and wardrobes an autumn freshen-up too, by using potpourri, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, cloves or ginger.

You don't just have to apply autumn ideas to your decor; you can also apply the feeling of autumn to your cooking. Think about the wide variety of seasonal dishes available and perhaps plan an autumn dinner party prior to Thanksgiving and Christmas. There are so many meal ideas to choose from to get you into the spirit of autumn that use vegetables and fruit of the season. You can also prepare meat dishes that are seasoned or marinated in spices - and don't forget about mulled wine either, with its aroma of oranges, lemons, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.

Even adding a small amount of warm fragrance, rich colour, and different textures to your home will give it an autumn feeling, and this will help to put you in a seasonal mood where you relax and unwind at the end of a busy day in the comfort of your sofa or favourite chair. If you fancy a soak in the bath, you could also take the autumn mood into there too, and place candles around the bath that ooze the scents of the season. By the time you have finished bringing autumn indoors, it could even prove to be more authentic than autumn outdoors!

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