When we think of fall color schemes the first thing that comes to mind is orange. Perhaps a deep yellow, a touch of brown, but mostly orange. After all, what is fall without those classic colors from nature?
And while we do love a pumpkin-inspired color scheme in and amongst our other favorite fall decorating ideas, there are plenty of other hues to welcome into your home this season. Think grey, greige, even light blues – they can all make an appearance.
Indeed, fall color palettes aren't just reserved for your wardrobe and it's the perfect time for a mini fall decor makeover whether you're upgrading your living room, kitchen or bedroom with a fall bedding set.
1. Meadow tones
Choosing a musty meadow tone is perfect for a fall color scheme at home. It's cozy, sophisticated and will work – whether it's gourd season or not.
This shade is called Calming Meadow and you can see why. Marianne Shillingford, Creative Director of Dulux says:
'We need even more ‘life’ in our spaces when the leaves outside are falling so the Greenhouse palette, one of the four Dulux Colour of the Year 2022 collections of nature inspired shades is the perfect solution. They have been designed to all work together in any combination and make the perfect backdrop for furniture and flooring in natural materials.'
2. Bright Skies
Bright summer skies needn't be reserved for July, choose to go light and encourage that sunshine into your space, even in fall and winter.
Shillingford adds, 'This beautiful warming blue is an all year all-rounder and particularly because we have universally craved living life beyond our windows and doors rather than being stuck behind them for the past 18-months. The outdoors and a sweep of limitless sky has become our new luxury. Freedom is out there where the birds fly and yes, I think we all deserve to have a comforting color to bring some joy to our walls this fall.'
'Bright Skies contains no hint of grey. It has a warm visual breeziness rather than a fresh blast to its appearance and so it’s perfect to use in small spaces that you want to appear bigger (and is a total game changer on the ceiling in any room).'
3. Gorgeous grays
The perfect shade of grey however can create a stunning backdrop and is one of the most impactful yet simple dining room ideas to roll out at this time of year. Keep your hues light and pair with lots of natural accents for a rustic fall decor finish.
4. Brick reds
Especially around a fireplace, brick red is a winning autumnal color that will kindly remind us of maple leaves and never go out of fashion.
5. Mustard
Mustard is a beautifully energizing fall color. Perfect in a bedroom especially with natural linen bedding or even wall paneling to finish off the space in a subtle yet striking way.
6. Keep things warm with a mix of neutrals
Beige and cream room ideas had fallen out of favor in the interiors world, and we will confess, we have previously mocked greige and what we liked to think of as its blandness, but alas, we have grown to love this neither grey nor brown nor beige color and think we owe it an apology. Especially since it looks like both cream and beige are back for good. They are perfect autumnal colors too as they are warm-toned, but light, perfect for creating a cozy space.
7. Combine dark green with warm woods
We have been a fan of deep, forest greens for a while now, but they come into their own in the fall. A green palette is warm and yet fresh too and you can change it up with the seasons – for fall we like to see it paired with warm woody tones and even touches of mustard. If you love green enough, why not try painting your kitchen cabinets in this stylish hue? Just check out our guide to painting kitchen cupboards to find out how.
8. Sage green
Bright and charming, sage green paint is still having its moment. We can't scroll through Instagram for more than a few seconds without seeing some gorgeous living room with a green accent wall, a kitchen painted in the perfect, muted hue or even a bathroom like this one. It will obviously work all year round, but in the fall mix in some warm tones like gold and (yes we are going to say it already) oranges for a cozy update.
9. Paint a room with a dusky pink
Blush pinks are our favorite at the moment, they bring a warmth to cooler tones and look amazing with greys or even black looks lovely combined with this pink. Bring this gorgeous color into your home this fall by painting a feature wall – and then adding accents of the color around the room with soft furnishings.
P.S our fave pink paint at the moment? It's Farrow & Ball's Sulking Room Pink.
10. Cool blues
A light, grey-toned blue is perfect for those rooms that get very little light in the fall and winter. Cooler light colors can 'expand' the space too so you are working with a small room these hues could be a good option. They also work as a blank canvas, so you can make them work with any color scheme you might already have going on. We would recommend pairing with deep browns and olivey greens in the fall and then switching to limey yellows in the spring and summer.
11. Or keep it classic with a deep blue
A deep inky blue is one of our favorite kitchen paint ideas and it's become quite the classic look. Pair it with crisp whites and pops of yellow for contrast and to keep it looking fresh. We also think this would a lovely color in a bedroom as a feature wall behind a bed that's covered in clean white sheets and again either yellow or orange pillows.
12. Create a luxurious feel with dark reds
Deep, burgundy reds are perfect for fall and going into winter and there are so many ways you can bring it into your home without going overboard. Just check out this bedroom – the headboard, the cushions, even the trim of the throw and the lampshades all bring this bold color into the space. But because the rest of the room is kept light and bright it's not overwhelming. It also works so well combined with the deep blue too – this is definitely one of the bedroom decorating ideas we're going to try out soon.
13. Add a touch of drama with a half charcoal wall
An easy way to bring in some of those darker, more dramatic fall and winter colors is to color block. You don't need to paint a whole wall dark grey to have an impact, why not try you painting halfway and keeping the other half of the wall neutral. This is so easy to do yourself too just using some masking tape!
14. Pick a sunny yellow to brighten up a room
Bright yellow rooms are not something you see all that often in interiors, but it is definitely one way to nod to a fall color scheme in the home. You could simply add some yellow accessories, or you could go all out and paint a wall in a sunny yellow – we think it actually works really well in this room thanks to the high ceilings and it being relatively sparsely furnished.
15. Pumpkin orange
And when we are talking fall color schemes we couldn't really leave out orange could we? You can give a cold, dark, north-facing room a warm glow with orange paint. Not normally a four-wall color we know, but look how it works here to make this light-starved cottage kitchen feel warm and welcoming.
We actually have a whole gallery dedicated to orange rooms to be sure to check that out too.
What colors look good with fall colors?
'Toasty warm hues are perfect for the colder seasons and because we all love to soak up the beauty of nature in the fall and bring the outside in, colours like Blood Orange™ and Rich Earth are perfect for this time of year.'
'Combine those autumn leaf shades of red, auburn and gold with subtle shades of moss, olive and lichen green or a stormy seas dark teal.' Says Shillingford.
What fall colors work well with grey?
Light blues like 'Bright Skies' will work beautifully with favorite colour for fall, grey. 'It does, especially with the cooler greys like Chic Shadow and Surrendered Skies from the Salon palette which is a collection of subtle off whites and gorgeous mineral neutrals from our new 2022 trend colours.' Says Shillingford.
Note that 'Grey is still a popular color but blues and greens (which complement it perfectly) are definitely nipping at its heels this fall.' So why not consider extending your grey color palette a little this season?