Autumn decoration becomes personal: “ Your house becomes your story ” | House and garden

“Our living spaces have moved from the sanctuary to the command center,” says Elaine Griffin, a designer in Sea Island, Georgia, “and our relationship with them has forever changed.”

“Our love affair with our homes is at its peak,” she says.

Working from home for months has led many people to transform their homes into multitasking wonders of practicality, practicality, and personality.

“Of the three, the latter rules,” says Griffin.

So how do you give your rooms that personal stamp when we cuddle up for autumn and winter?

Maine-based designer Erin Flett has a mantra: “Collect things you love that are authentic to you and your house becomes your story.”

Instead of a simple chair, an ordinary carpet or an ordinary wallpaper, designers prefer items with a little “soul”, from the cozy nap of a plush fabric to the tool marks of a handmade bowl to the over-the-top splendor of a smooth lacquered cabinet.

There is something for everybody. Pieces that exude a homemade, handmade vibe. Polished parts that make the heart beat faster, with exciting prints or eye-catching shapes. Free-form, elegant mirrors. Patterns spanning centuries of craftsmanship. Colors that reflect our need for the invigorating properties of nature. And at the other end of the spectrum, colors that stimulate our imaginations.

The most interesting new home decor does not have the look and feel of a factory line, but of a studio. A studio. A small production house.

A few examples for autumn:

Look for saturated hues – including cobalt, cinnamon, charcoal, ruby, green, and mustard. It is the depth of these colors that is new and also how they are used. They envelop entire rooms, from walls and moldings to mantels and even the ceiling. The kitchen too.

“In North America, red is our bestseller in warm colors,” says Valentina Bertazzoni, Head of Style and Design at the Italian high-end kitchen appliance manufacturer Bertazzoni.

“By including colors like red, the kitchen space can feel livelier and more inviting.

You will see red in small pieces, like the playful Bellhop lamp by Barber Osgerby, but also in larger furniture like the Turner sofa by Arteriors. For the garden there is the outdoor kitchen furniture from Brown Jordan in a hot chili color as well as in fresh mint, tardis blue and cotton candy pink.

Charcoal and black have gone from teenage gothic hues to standard colors for chic, dramatic spaces. Even kindergartens get these inky hues that help make furniture, artwork, and other colors shine. In children’s rooms, they speak for the gender neutrality that many modern families strive for.

Another style, “Japandi”, combines the organic, restrained modernism of both Scandinavian and Japanese aesthetics. The colors are mossy, foggy, smoky – and calming. Amy Donato of PPG Paints says, “We’re seeing a lot of interest in Japandi-inspired colors. In fact, our bestsellers are the ones that align with the calm, neutral essence of the trend.”

“I think it’s great that maximalism gains the upper hand when minimalism runs out,” says New York designer Courtney Sempliner. “The pattern game that I see with upholstery, the superimposition of patterns in different scales and the bold use of color is exciting and much more interesting.”

It also lets more of a homeowner’s personality through.

Regional and global tribal patterns continue to attract attention; Textiles for living rooms and bedrooms are characterized by these eye-catching and often story-driven designs.

“The Navajo are some of the best carpet makers in the world, offering loom and design on par with the best Persian carpets,” says Atlanta-based design writer Leanne Potts, who works for HGTV, Gardenista, and other outlets. “These southwestern masterpieces have designs and colors that match many interior styles.”

Joanna Mahserdjian, founder of Upstate Rug Supply in Hudson, New York, agrees.

“Put one on the wall as art, put one on the floor in a modern mid-century house, or layer it with Persian rugs like Ralph Lauren does,” she suggests. “They work just as well anchoring a pair of Danish modern chairs as they are placed under a plush camel leather Chesterfield sofa in a study.”

You can also find Native American and African tribal motifs on upholstered furniture: the Ulla chair by Anthropologie has a print inspired by mud cloth. The kilim-covered mango wood sofa by Sundance unites the hand-woven with the tailor-made, and here, too, there are lively woven baskets made by a Ghanaian women’s collective.

Albany Park founder Darryl Sharpton drew on his Nigerian heritage to create his Ekaabo seating collection. The name means “welcome home,” and the blue, orange, and burgundy graphics on the velvet upholstery reflect West African design.

Flowers remain rooted in the category of favorite patterns. But instead of neat, well-mannered traditional flowers, these flowers are rebellious. Graham & Brown’s Azure paper, for example, sets a tangle of blown blossoms on a matt black background.

In collaboration with the graphic designer Marcello Vielho, the autumn furniture collection from Anthropologie includes the Bloom petite side chair with graphic botany in strong lemon, grape, cherry and basil tones.

There are some fun retro wallpapers too, like Hovia’s abstract Memphis era and Graham & Brown’s large format midmod, 70s, and 80s abstracts. Look for trompe l’oeil designs such as origami, crocodile, faux bois, and crystal or mineral patterns. With one of these artful, impactful papers on your wall, you don’t need fancy furniture to make a statement.

You’ve probably noticed it in the aisles of big box and neighborhood decor stores: rattan and jute have moved from the porch and storage cupboard into almost every room in the house.

Chests of drawers, side tables, headboards, lighting, seating and even kitchen / bathroom cabinet fronts are characterized by the tight weave of these materials.

Anthropologie has a tubular and brass chandelier, or check out Pottery Barn’s Sausalito bedroom collection for driftwood-inspired finishes and a bird’s eye view. Crate & Barrel steers the 1930s with the curved Anaise bedroom set, the Griere pipe and wooden bench and the round West bar cabinet, the latter in collaboration with designer Leanne Ford.

Geometric textures and shapes also attract designers who want to create a modernist vibe, but with a geological look that will appeal to nature lovers too. The new bar trolley from RH, designed by Robert Forwood, is clad with faceted chunks of grained oak. West Elm offers throw pillows with brutalist prints and octahedron art objects made of marble and wood.

The Instagram feeds from design and shelter magazines are becoming increasingly popular for posts with floating vanities; Kitchen cabinets in mixed colors; shapely, soft seat; Brutalist works of art; and matt black window frames, cabinet knobs and faucets.

When it comes to furniture, there are chunky, framed pieces of wood, such as the Westbrook Parson-style side table by Pottery Barn with a cement top or the Jack table with a marble top perched on an architecturally bleached wooden base. But there are equally interesting pieces with sensual, rounded corners, like the Runwell chest of drawers and the side table in Shinola’s fall collaboration with Crate & Barrel; buttery soft, aniline leather-covered drawers nestle in a soft cocoon made of walnut-veneered mahogany.

Wood and wood-look floors give eclectic rooms a further homely dimension and soften the austerity of minimalist rooms. In addition to real wood, there are also good-looking laminates and sturdy, beautiful porcelain stoneware tiles, the realistic look of which shows how far digital printing technology has advanced.

The Il Cerreto tile collection by the Italian manufacturer La Fabbrica reflects the rich grain and colors of the wooden wine barrels. The Cerdomus Opera Collection was inspired by the woods of historic Italian theaters. And the Timeless tile by Rondine is similar to textured parquet.

In addition to floors, these surface materials can also be attached to walls.

The elegance of Art Deco is now another decoration favorite. Take a look at Article’s Sven loveseat made of emerald green velvet with tufted seats and rolled armrests. The Madeline Slipper Chair from Interior Define would be a chic little accent in platinum, blush or lavender.

The porcelain stoneware tiles Joyce by Ceramica Colli di Sassuolo in Art Deco-inspired semicircles and angular shapes combine modernity with this era of elegance. The Tile Shop’s Corbusier mosaic shows the aesthetics of this architect in gold, black and white, while his modern deco tile adorns a chain-linked marble mosaic with elegant gold.

With so many options in so many styles, how does a home decorator choose and combine them?

“I like every single style, so I understand it,” says designer and HGTV host Emily Henderson. “At a certain point, you orient yourself towards what works for the architecture of your house, for your family, for your living. If you have a personal relationship with a style, this is helpful.

“I also think that you can really mix any style, as long as you have a consistent color palette.”

Griffin says this fall, “when design as we know it leaves the rule house. Even if it doesn’t look quite right to others if you like it, it’s perfect for you and has a place in your home style means now. The era of truly individualized interiors is just around the corner. “