Pillows for Fall

Have you ever noticed how each season has a different mood and color palette? I always think of pastel colors in the spring time, bold and bright colors in the summer, earthy tones in the fall, and whites and cool tones in the winter. Is it just me? If you are like me, you also get tired of the same decor after a few months and the changing seasons provide a logical and valid excuse to switch your home around. Trends in decor come and go, but I believe if you have a few staple pillows, you can easily make little adjustments for a big impact without breaking the bank. Pillows are a super easy and cost effective way to get ready for each season. Like buying school supplies in the fall; it just feels right.

Moving out of Summer and into Fall.

When summer hits, I want bold greens, bright blues, and maybe even a pink? But when I’m ready for fall, and wishing for just a hint of a cool breeze…give me all the typical autumn colors. The rusty reds, mustard yellows, burnt oranges, dark or apple greens, and even camels and chocolate browns. That can be an overwhelming list to choose from. Keep it simple. Go with the less is more theory. Pick ONE color to really highlight. Last year, I wanted orange to pop for fall. I used it in some fall leaf greenery. I didn’t want someone to walk into my home and say, “Whoa. That’s a lot of orange.” I wanted it to give the allusion to fall. Choose your color and let that take center stage. Let the other patterns and textures play backup vocals.

Pillows

It’s really easy to have 10 different pillows for each season. All of a sudden you’ve got a whole closet stuffed with them and your spouse/partner starts giving ultimatums about you bringing in ONE. MORE. PILLOW. I’ll do a blog about basic pillows that can serve year-round, but you will need a couple to move around each season. Not 10, but 2-3 is a little better for both your home life and your wallet. For the examples, I used a neutral couch, a gray couch, and a brown leather couch. These are the three sofa colors I get asked about the MOST. While I LOOOOVE my bluish gray velvet couches, it does make using it in examples a little troublesome.

Mustard Yellow.

Honestly, I can’t explain how much I love a mustard yellow pillow. It pulls those yummy colors out of a floral print, it’s bold, BUT it can run double duty. You could use it in the spring AND in the fall. I paired it with our Herb Garden Floral, our Dark Antelope Print, and a basic Black and White Skinny Stripe. The mustard is your POP, the floral is your busy print with multiple colors (this pillow could also serve almost year-round), the dark antelope is another nod to autumnal colors, but also texture, and the skinny stripe is your binder. It serves as a neutral backdrop.

Small Gingham.

I can’t pinpoint exactly why I love this Gingham pillow. It reminds me of fall. Period. Some wrinkle in my brain has determined that this is the print for fall. Like the Herb Garden Floral pillow, I also consider the Gingham print a busy pillow. I like using a solid velvet to pair with it. I used a sage/olive green, but chartreuse or mustard would be lovely as well. Top it off again with the Dark Antelope and you’ve got a pillow palette that says fall without scaring anyone.

BIG Buffalo Check.

If you want some basic pillows that you don’t have to change much throughout the year, easy on the colors, and pretty neutral. This combination is perfect. I used the big buffalo check, which make a statement on their own. PS - I use these every year in the fall. I paired it with the solid velvet again, because you need something without a print. This time I added the Gray Antelope to keep the whole collection low-key. I also believe you could use a few of these throughout the year.

But this doesn’t have any “Fall” Colors in it?

Stay with me. Our Greige Floral Pillows have a lot of greens and blues in them. Greens for fall, but if you darken up your blue color, I think it can be fall just as easy as rust or mustard. These floral pillows are THE year-round pillow. And when I put that indigo mud cloth with it, I just about died. Tie in a neutral Buffalo Check, and call in the family because I’m dead. Again, three of the four could be used in other seasons. Pull out the Check and replace with our Rustic Aqua check - bam! Hello, Spring.

Plaids.

Simple is good. Two of our Autumn Plaid pillows and a mustard mud cloth. Done. Summon the falling leaves, the smell of burning wood, and some apple cider. These plaid pillows will also transition through January and February. You may want to change it for the Christmas holiday, but these would be perfect to put back out at the beginning of the new year with lots of creamy neutrals.

Putting it All Together

When you are ready to choose pillows for fall, go with your gut. If you don’t love it almost immediately, then chances are you will find fault with it once it gets home. So start with a print you love, add in some prints that could serve for more than one season, if you need a pop of color let that be your “fall” pillow, and voila! I’m a firm believer in choosing what YOU love, not what someone else will like. You get to live in your home and make it yours, so trust your instinct and you can’t go wrong. Unless it’s neon. Neon is never a good choice.