Cozy Fall Decorating Ideas: Inspired by Nature

“It’s the first day of autumn! A time of hot chocolatey mornings, and toasty marshmallow evenings, and, best of all, leaping into leaves!”

~ Winnie the Pooh, Pooh’s Grand Adventure

I think Winnie the Pooh, summed up autumn perfectly. Don’t you?

Autumn is such a beautiful season. The air is crisp. There are plenty of soft, warm days left in the year. The smell of fall leaves and the crunching of the leaves under our feet, is something we look forward to every year.

It’s a time for our souls to find comfort, a time for slowing down, spending time with loved ones, and getting grounded.

It’s a time to start preparing our homes for the winter months to come. Just like in nature, it’s time for us to get ready for the colder months ahead and prepare for our hibernation (our time spent indoors). So it’s a good time to declutter, get organized, and do some fall decorating so we can enjoy our indoor spaces and create fun memories with close friends and family.

It’s that time of year we’re looking at changing things up a little, and adding some cozy fall decorating ideas throughout our homes.

We can get our inspiration and fall decorating ideas from nature.

Ready to be inspired by nature?

Here are some creative ways you can incorporate cozy fall decorating ideas into your home, all inspired by nature.

Use nature's autumn colors as inspiration for your fall decorating ideas

Use these beautiful, warm autumn colors throughout your home to create a cozy fall feeling in every room. In these color palette examples, I started with photos I liked, then pulled colors from them to create unique fall color palettes. You can use these color palettes for an accent wall, throw pillows, area rugs, floral arrangements, decorations, or artwork throughout your home.

Fall colors: Gorgeous fall leaves

A beautiful mix of rusty burgundy, vibrant red, and autumn yellow.

Fall colors: Babbling brook forest

A beautiful mix of moss green, muted red, and a shady yellow.

Fall colors: Golden quaking aspen

A beautiful mix of aged rust, pumpkin orange, and soft beige.

Fall colors: Rustic mountain cabin

A beautiful mix of weathered barnwood brown, golden yellow, and sage green.

Fall colors: Plump fall berries

A beautiful mix of dark blue-grey berry, dusty red, and soft peach.

Fall colors: Fall harvest apples

A beautiful mix of deep, burgundy, apple green, and sunlit yellow.

Fall colors: Elegant winery twist

A beautiful mix of muted blue grape, rich wine barrel brown, and a warm cinnamon.

Fall colors: Ideas & resources

These color palettes you just viewed are a small sampling of what’s possible. Create or find more fall color combinations designed for your unique style by using some of these tools and resources:

Use nature's textures as inspiration for your fall decorating ideas

Incoporate the beautiful textures and materials you find in nature to bring the outdoors in, during this cozy season. You can use these natural textures and materials in floral arrangements, vignettes, and decorations, or artwork throughout your home.

Fall textures: Bundled branches

Collect a bundle of branches, pussy willows, or dried grasses in your fall decorations.

Fall textures: Autumn leaves and seeds

Display beautiful autumn leaves, mixed with pumpkin seeds and fresh flowers, and wood accents in your fall table decorations.

Fall textures: Golden grasses and seed pods

A beautiful mix of dried flowers, grasses and seed pods placed in these unique pottery pieces makes a great autumn display.

Fall textures: Fresh flowers in autumn colors

A beautiful mix of fresh flowers from a florist in autumn colors, mixed with twigs or grasses can be a great center piece.

Fall textures: Dried lavender

A beautiful display of dried lavender in a clay pot adds a rustic touch, and adds a fresh scent of lavender in your room.

Fall textures: Pine cones and burlap

A beautiful arrangement of pine cones and burlap can be a nice touch to your fall decorating ideas. Plus you can add a few drops of essential oils like cinnamon, cloves, or pumpkin to add a warming aroma in your room.

Fall textures: Abandoned bird nest

The addition of an abandoned bird nest to your fall decorations, can add charm and an unexpected detail.

Fall textures: Pumpkins, berries, and leaves

A beautiful mix of pumpkins, apples, berries and leaves can add pops of autumn color throughout your home.

Fall textures: Cotton seed and candles

A beautiful mix of cotton seed and stems mixed with candles can add warmth to a space.

Fall textures: White pumpkins, evergreen, and nuts

A beautiful mix of white pumpkins, evergreen sprigs, and acorns can be a unique fall display.

Fall textures: Terrariums with rocks

Create a small terrarium with air plants, moss, and rocks as a reminder of summer’s past.

Fall textures: Rustic mix of apples, leaves and wood

A rustic mix of apples, leaves, and wood create a natural autumn decoration.

Fall textures: Wicker or twig baskets

Rustic twig or wicker baskets are a great way to display pumpkins and gourds.

Fall textures: Fairy garden lights and driftwood

Wrapping driftwood or branches with fairy garden lights is a great way to light up your fall decor.

Fall textures: Ideas & resources

These natural textures and materials you just viewed hopefully gave you more ideas for what’s possible with your fall decorating. Create or find more fall texture and material combinations designed for your unique style by visiting some of these resources:

(Note: if you don’t have access to these natural textures and materials, you can find artificial fall decor at many local and online craft stores.)

Use nature's sounds as inspiration to enhance your fall decorating ideas

Bring the beautiful sounds of nature indoors, during this cozy season. You can use these natural sounds throughout your home to add a calming and nourishing feeling.

Fall sounds: Starry nights and crickets chirping

Buy a sound machine or find nature sounds on your mobile phone app that you can play in your home. One of my favorites are sounds of starry nights and crickets chirping, that remind me of fun summer camping experiences.

Fall sounds: Thunderstorms or rain

Buy a sound machine or find nature sounds on your mobile phone app that you can play in your home. Sounds of thunderstorms or rain, can remind you of new beginnings, like rain refreshes the outdoors.

Fall sounds: Ocean waves

Buy a sound machine or find nature sounds on your mobile phone app that you can play in your home. Sounds of ocean waves, can remind you of how powerful and beautiful our natural world is.

Fall sounds: Enjoy your cat purring

Make time to be quiet and listen to your cat fur-baby purring. Take some deep breaths and relax. Savor the moment. (I know this isn’t quite a natural wild animal, we have domesticated them, but they are a reminder of the peaceful moments in nature, and the natural rhythms in nature.)

Fall sounds: Enjoy your pup snoring

Make time to be quiet and listen to your pup fur-baby snoring away. Take some deep breaths and relax. Savor the moment. (I know just like the cat in the previous slide, this isn’t quite a natural wild animal, we have domesticated them, but they are a reminder of the peaceful moments in nature.)

Fall sounds: Open your windows on a warm autumn day

Open your windows to listen to the sweet sounds of nature on a warm autumn day. Be present and enjoy the sounds of leaves rustling, a slight breeze blowing by, a light rain, or the sounds of birds or wildlife outside your home. This will also bring in fresh fall air into your home that will refresh your space.

Fall sounds: Ideas & resources

These fall sounds you just read about hopefully gave you more ideas for what’s possible with adding a new dimension to your fall decorating, to add sounds of nature that go beyond your visual senses. Here are a few sound machines available on Amazon:

HoMedics sound machine with 6 relaxing and soothing nature sounds
(This is my favorite. I run it day and night to block out the city and neighbor sounds.)
Housbay White Noise Machine with 31 Soothing Sounds (A fancier looking option)
Echo Dot (smart speaker with Alexa, can request nature sounds)

(Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases listed here, but this does not affect your price.)

Use nature's scents as inspiration to enhance your fall decorating ideas

Bring the beautiful scents of nature indoors, during this cozy season. You can use these natural scents throughout your home to add a soothing and comforting feeling.

Fall scents: Wonderful fall spices

Remember to use some of the fall spices that come from our natural world in your fall home, like cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, ginger, mulling spice, and nutmeg.

Fall scents: Essential oils

Use essential oils to add amazing natural scents to your fall decorations or by using a difuser in your rooms. Scents like lavender, thieves, pumpkin spice, orange, cinnamon, clove, ginger, vanilla, coffee, nutmeg, eucalyptus, spiced cider, and apple. (Essential oils are derived from nature, I would recommend these over any aerosol or wall plugin that is full of chemicals.)

Fall scents: Spice up your drinks

Add some wonderful, natural aromas to your home by adding fall spices to your coffee or tea.

Fall scents: Toasty marshmallow hot cocoa

Share some tasty and aromatic marshmallow hot cocoa with friends and family.

Fall scents: Baking pumpkin pies

Bake some of the traditional fall desserts like pumpkin pie, zucchini bread, apple pie, and homemade bread to fill your home with amazing aromas from natural ingredients harvested from our earth.

Fall scents: Spicy autumn candles

Add scented candles to your fall decorating ideas, to add fall aromas to your home. Scents like pumpkin spice, orange, cinnamon, clove, ginger, vanilla, coffee, nutmeg, eucalyptus, spiced cider, and apple are great for this cozy time of year.

Fall scents: Ideas & resources

These fall scents you just read about hopefully gave you more ideas for what’s possible with adding a new dimension to your fall decorating, to add scents of nature that go beyond your visual senses. Here are a few things you may want to check out on Amazon, be sure to shop around for scents and styles you prefer: