Fall is here, giving you a great opportunity to change your living room's look.
On The Early Show Wednesday, master designer Colin Cowie shared some simple ideas for a fabulous autumnal makeover.
Cowie says accessories make a world of difference whether you have a neutral palette or love color. A warm area rug, a soft throw blanket, and some comfortable pillows, along with a fresh music mix and delicious scented candles, will get you ready for the season.
He says it's really easy to get a dramatic fall effect by changing just a few things in your home.
To begin with, it's always best to use a neutral palette in a living room -- that enables you to easily transform the look of the room from season-to-season, just by changing the accessories. Keep in mind, you don't have to do ALL of the following elements to makeover a room. You should pick two or three that work best for you.
And always consider appealing to the five senses when decorating a room:
Sight: Change colors (for summer-to-fall, go from brights to warmer tones such as beige, taupe, browns, golds) Smell: Change scents (of candles, or add potpourri)Taste: Change food/beverage elements (for bar areas, change summer cocktail items to warmer ones, such as bourbon, scotch, red wine) Touch: Change textures (for pillows and throws, from linens and cottons to chenille or cashmere)Hearing: Update music play-list
SUMMER TO FALL MAKEOVER SUGGESTIONS
Sofa: Switch bright colored pillows and throw to warmer tonesWindows: Dress up simple blinds by adding drapery to help warm up the room Lighting: Swap out white lampshades for warmer colored lampshadesArtwork: Switch brighter colored art work to black and white artBar area: Swap out summer cocktail inspired elements (Martinis) to cold weather ones such as bourbon and scotch Floor: Add an area rug to warm up a hardwood floorCoffee table: Switch summer inspired books to fall/winter ones, and fresh cut flowers to a decorative bowl filled with autumnal elements such as wooden orbs. Fireplace: Remove ferns or any other kind of summery elements from fireplace and replace with a fireplace set and logs for burningMantle: Switch bowl of fresh fruits to candles