I always love how just a small change can transform the whole look and feel of a room!
We made 3 mood boards (in a similar style of our dining room) below. In each mood board, we swapped out only the dining tables and rugs! Which look is your favorite?
LOOK ONE:

Sources:
Round Rattan Mirror
White Oval Extending Dining Table
Wicker Dining Chair
Blue and White Patterned Rug
Ship Art
Banquette Dining Bench
Whitewashed Wood Bead Chandelier
Rattan Bookshelf
Black Star Candle Holder Sconce
Aqua Taper Candle
Blue and White Chinoiserie Vase
Blue and White Striped Tassel Pillows
LOOK TWO:

Sources:
Round Rattan Mirror
Wood Oval Dining Table
Wicker Dining Chair
Pink Patterned Rug
Ship Art
Banquette Dining Bench
Whitewashed Wood Bead Chandelier
Rattan Bookshelf
Black Star Candle Holder Sconce
Aqua Taper Candle
Blue and White Chinoiserie Vase
Blue and White Striped Tassel Pillows
LOOK THREE:

Sources:
Round Rattan Mirror
Black Dining Table
Wicker Dining Chair
Blue / Multicolored Patterned Rug
Ship Art
Banquette Dining Bench
Whitewashed Wood Bead Chandelier
Rattan Bookshelf
Black Star Candle Holder Sconce
Aqua Taper Candle
Blue and White Chinoiserie Vase
Blue and White Striped Tassel Pillows

Fun, huh? Which look is your favorite? I hope this inspires you today to think about simple swaps you could make in your home! You can ‘shop your home’ for something you already have, or mix in a new piece you love to create your own unique style and space! More

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White Slipcover Chair Details // Blanket on Couch Details
Whenever I look online or in magazines for how to decorate a mantel for fall, I run across lots of ideas that feature tons of seasonal specific decor! Mantels can be so beautiful with bundles of wheat and piles of pumpkins lining the surface and seasonal garlands and wreaths hanging! But you’ve probably noticed (if you’re a long time follower here!) that I tend to mostly decorate with just a touch of any season and then use a mix of non-seasonal specific items I already have.
That’s just how I’ve always done it (check out this fall mantel blog post from 2010). The decorating advice I share here has stood the test of time and been used effectively through many homes, so I’m sticking with it :). I hope you find it helpful.
I love to set a mood with pieces I already have, while incorporating mostly gentle nods to the season. Now and then I might go a little more crazy with decor if I’m feeling inspired, but a bit more restrained is my preferred vibe. I get easily overwhelmed by too much.

For this mantel, I brought over artwork that had a palette that felt “fallish” to me. It is of a coastal town we happen to love nearby, so it feels appropriate to the season, to our home and tells a bit of our story. The frame played nicely with the rustic framed mirror, so I loved the two together. By leaning it in front of the mirror, it created a pleasing “stair step” layered arrangement that keeps it feeling connected and more interesting.
I had some “not necessarily fall” branches in a deep green that helped set the right mood for how I want my home to feel in this changing season. By putting them in a blue glass vase, it still retained a bit of summer as it felt lighter and airer. The height of the branches filled up some of the space, too, so it balanced the mirror out and didn’t feel dwarfed by the size or shape of mirror. Then I just tucked in a hydrangea from our yard as a gentle nod to the season.
Here are a few thoughts on how to decorate a fall mantel using what you have (and some touches of the season!):
1. Gather items you already have. To decorate an early fall mantel, I don’t necessarily start with a traditional theme (like fall pumpkins, for example!). I just start pulling together items I already have around the house. I think of this process as fall nesting! It’s about honoring the current season in your home while preparing yourself and your home for the next season.
Even if the weather where you are isn’t the same as ours, the seasons will be changing in one way or another. What inspires you right now? What combination of elements or a color palette would feel inviting for this season in your home? You don’t even have to use “fall colors.” Maybe you will keep your existing palette but just incorporate an item or two in a deeper hue than you did in June. What textures feel cozier and more inviting, but not too heavy for this transitional season?

2. Consider the mood you want at home in this season. As you are preparing for fall, I encourage you to read my book A Lovely Life. It will help you feel inspired and motivated by a purposeful and meaningful perspective on each of the seasons. The items you use to decorate your home or mantel right now will help you set intentions as well as create the atmosphere of your home. Have fun with decorating and by all means don’t take it all too seriously! But it is true that how you decorate your home can nurture your family in unique ways in each season. It’s not a waste of your time to decorate for the seasons. In fact, change can be therapeutic and so beneficial.

3. Pace yourself to savor the present season.
I have always felt my best when my home flows with a gentle rhythm for the seasons. That’s why I embrace subtle changes in how I decorate. I want my home to reflect the current season and always be inspiring to me, so I will likely update my mantel as the season evolves, too. For example, I might switch out the branches to ones with a golden hue. Or add pumpkins in October!
With that said, I don’t mind decorating for fall or Christmas a little earlier in the season than some might, because it can inspire me to feel prepared! When my home is ready, I am able to give my full attention to other more important things (like hosting gatherings or spending time with family!).
But if I were to decorate with Christmas trees on October 1st just to get it done, rather that feeling extra prepared I’d for sure feel burned out on it all too soon. I’d want to take it all down by the time the season actually arrived. I like to decorate for Christmas to create a festive mood for our family. So I will decorate for Christmas early enough that we can relax and focus on the meaning of the season, but not so early that we are bored of the decor when Christmas arrives.
That’s why I like to pace myself with in any season, such as the addition of pumpkins, or any other really specific seasonal decor. I want to fully enjoy and be present in the season we’re in rather than tire myself (or our family) of a future one before it even happens. That’s just how I approach seasonal decor! You do you — let your home be a reflection of you and your family!

See more of our Fall Nesting 2022 Series:
Start here > > A Slower Rhythm Through the Seasons
Fall Decorating: 7 Simple Tips to Slowly Transition Your Home
Reversible Blankets for Sofas, Chairs, Beds and More! (our mud cloth layering blankets)
Affordable White Washable Slipcovers: Ikea Ektorp Chairs
How to Be Intentional in Planning for Fall and Holidays
Savoring the Last Sunsets of Summer from Our Porch!
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Cozy Fall Shop
Shop My House & Latest Decor Finds
Our Amazon storefront More

This Post May Contain Affiliate Links. Please Read Our Disclosure Policy here

Pleated Lampshade // Similar Lamp // Tulips // Find a ‘get the look’ mood board with more sources at the end of this post!
We’ve been working on our bedroom in simple ways since last year (just after we moved in!). We’ll be changing out the carpet for wood floors soon, so that will be a more significant project. But mostly I find it fun to make little changes that start to make a room our own.
So far we’ve added plug-in wall sconces, buffalo check curtains, and art along with our furniture. I’m always evolving spaces and finding new pairings of old and new, but that is how I keep it feeling fresh and personal.
A couple of weeks ago I shared that I had been switching out a few lampshades in my house for patterned shades. I love the cottage look! Recently I updated another lamp with a patterned shade in my bedroom. You might remember that I bought the lamp originally at Walmart. It’s currently unavailable but if you are looking for a similar lamp, I found this floral lamp on Amazon that reminds me of it!
Pleated lampshade // Similar Lamp
The lampshade that came on the lamp was a fun teal color but it was feeling a bit bold for the mood I was after. I love the subtle leaf pattern on this soft blue patterned shade, it makes such a pretty pairing with the botanical bird lamp!
Putting a new lampshade on my original lamp helped it to blend in more with its surroundings, yet it still makes a really fun statement! Style is often just personal preference, if you wanted the lampshade to POP rather than blend in, you certainly could do that!
Most of what is in this room were things we already had, and the wall color was already there as well (Bunny Gray by Benjamin Moore). The accessories we’ve added help to tie the whole look together and make it feel more “finished” even though we’re always updating it in some small way.
Don’t be afraid to use what you have and then add new pieces to freshen things up! If you like an eclectic cottage look as much as I do, nothing really has to match perfectly. The goal isn’t to make everything match, but you can make some things go together even in a less obvious but intentional way.
Buffalo check curtains (chambray color) // Similar Lamp // Pleated Lampshade // Rattan planter basket
Once you know the mood you’re after, you really can tie a room together with just a few elements. Decorating this way will definitely save you money over time (because you aren’t always buying new furniture) and you can update a room for a new look or season with just a few new pairings, changes or additions.
For example in our room the bit of brass on the curtain rods ties in to the brass on the bottom of the lamp and the wall frames as well as the mirror. We have a few brass accessories on the shelves. Does every accessory need to have brass on it? No! But as you repeat some elements or colors around the room, your eye ties them together and the rest of the room feels pulled together and intentional.
It might seem hard to pull random pieces together, but it will become more intuitive as you do it! Decorating is one of the many homey topics that we’d love to talk about in our new HomeBody Gathering Place! We’ll be opening the doors soon for a limited time, I hope you’ll join us (click HERE for information on this new community!).
Hope today’s mood board inspires you to try some new pairings in your home!

Sources:
Gold metal bamboo style wall mirror
Sisal patterned rug
Faux Fern
Pink tulips // Coral tulips
Rattan planter basket
Bird art – I have mine in these gold Amazon frames
Buffalo check curtains (mine are the chambray color)
Floral chinoiserie lamp
Block print pleated lampshade
Gold framed seascape painting
Navy 6 drawer dresser (similar to mine)

Looking for more decorating ideas and advice? Check out these “Style Tip” posts! More

Do you ever feel overwhelmed with where to start when designing a room? If you want to give a room a refresh, here are the first four steps I usually take to get started, to organize my thoughts, needs and style preferences so I can move forward with a plan!
1. Assess the Space
First I look at the space I have. What do I like about it? What do I not like? Do I like the colors, the arrangement, the furniture? Most importantly, how does it feel to be in here? Consider the current mood and what you’d like to change about it. Are there any cluttered spots that need to be addressed? Are there certain corners or particular angles that don’t inspire you? Do any initial ideas come to mind? I don’t have to solve it all…I just use this time to observe what’s working and what isn’t. You can write down your observations in a notebook if you’d like!
2. Gather Inspiration
Next I begin to gather inspiration! I start by looking for anything and everything that inspires me. I don’t worry too much yet about the practicality of the idea or the why behind my inspiration…I’ll get to that next! If an image, idea or art or piece of furniture speaks to me in any way, I save it. If I use books I flag them with little sticky notes (I shared my favorite home design books HERE). If it’s online inspiration, I will pin them to a Pinterest board, or if it’s on Instagram I use the little flag button on the bottom right to save them to a specific folder.
3. Observe and Find Takeaway Tips
Now that I have some inspiration saved, I try to analyze my photos and take note of what elements I like (I’ve done several posts about this called Takeaway Tips, see all here!). Sometimes I find I will save an inspiration photo but don’t know why it was that I gravitated toward it. Look closely and observe what specifically you like. Maybe you saved a photo of a kitchen that looks nothing like the style of your home. Upon observation, you note that it is a bright white kitchen with colorful cookbooks on built-in shelves. The takeaway from that might be that you feel inspired by bright white spaces with pops of color on open shelves.
4. Look for the Patterns
Next I look for patterns in the inspiration photos I chose. It could be literal patterns (like stripes or plaid!) but I’m mostly looking for color schemes, furniture elements or room styles that I seemed to choose repetitively. Did I save lots of photos with moody dark walls? Do I seem to love the look of a room full of antiques? Do I like the streamlined look of built-ins? I also refer back to the takeaway tips, because that can help refine the specific elements I want to incorporate. I might have saved several photos of white rooms, but once I look for patterns I realize what I really was inspired by was the architecture of white paneling, or maybe I really like the way vintage wood furniture looks against the white walls, for example.
Also I find it helpful to ask myself honestly if any of the patterns are mostly driven by current trends, rather than what I actually like for my own home. I might save a lot of moody earthy toned rooms, but it’s helpful to remind myself that while I might love them in photos that doesn’t mean they will be the right choice for my home. It’s OK to discover that you love a certain look in photos and yet not choose it for your home.
After completing those four steps….I start to feel much more equipped to begin making the specific plans and design decisions for my own space!
In my next post I’ll share some of the inspiration photos I’ve started to gather as I brainstorm ideas for my new kitchen remodel!
I’ll also give you an update on my bedroom and plans for that for “A Lovely January”. If you missed the details about that challenge, you can catch up and join us here.
More inspiration on The Inspired Room:
How to Find Your Style (+ My Favorite Home Design Books) – VIDEO
How to Get Inspired and Find Your Decor Style
How to Decorate with Inspiration Room (Takeaway Tips)
More Takeaway Tips Posts

Find decor advice in my books The Inspired Room, Simple Decorating, and But Where Do I Put the Couch + Answers to 100 Other Home Decorating Questions.
Check out my “How to Decorate” page to find decor inspiration room by room.
You can also follow my new Instagram @theinspiredroomstyle for style advice and our thoughtfully curated selection of timeless furniture and charming accessories! More

There are plenty of opportunities to make mistakes in life. And yes, many that *could* be made while decorating your home.Maybe you’ve made a few blunders yourself! I know I have.So what is the most regrettable decorating mistake you’ve ever made?Painting a room the wrong color?Ordering a sofa that is too big or too small for your intended room?Buying a free standing cabinet that won’t fit up the stairs?So many possibilities.
I happen to think one of the most regrettable mistakes we can make in our own home is simply not following our heart.
Maybe we aren’t inspired in our home because we:
worry too much about what others will think of our choices.
followed the style or advice of someone else and chose things that didn’t really speak to us.
make choices for our room based on what we think is the safest option
fear making a mistake
don’t know how to pull together what speaks to us.
stay paralyzed or stuck in a rut and don’t make changes at all.

When we make decisions based on peer-pressure, fear or worry, our home probably doesn’t speak to our heart.
Sure, even when we follow our heart it’s possible to make mistakes. And maybe lots of them! Hahah! BUT THAT IS OK! Most design mistakes aren’t fatal. PRAISE HANDS! Having fun with our home and trying things is how we can discover what works for us, what we love and what speaks to us. Mistakes could cost money, so definitely on major purchases, it’s wise to give it some good thought before you place an order. But most mistakes are not impossible to correct, so don’t fear!
Oftentimes misstep turns into a happy accident. Mistakes can give us the opportunity to get creative or try something unexpected that we end up loving even more than our original idea.
Taking a risk or trying something different can lead us to have a home that speaks deeply to us.
When we put our heart and soul into being creative and not worrying so much, it brings us more JOY.
A home you love takes time, but let it be an enjoyable process.
A home that sparks more joy and connection is worth taking a risk on, don’t you think?
A couple of things for you today:Speaking of sparking joy, the beautiful wood and glass diffuser you’ve seen in my home (the ARIA) IS BACK in STOCK for new members. It’s only while supplies last (and won’t return for at least a month due to Covid limitations) so you’ll want to grab it quick if/while it’s still available! I’ve got fall oil samples to send to new members, too!! Get the Aria Diffuser premium starter kit here.

If you’re already my YL member and you didn’t get my fall recipe cards recently, let me know in the comments and I’ll send you some happy mail!
What are some decorating mistakes you’ve made? Did any of them turn into a happy accident? I want to know!
PS. I’ll share a happy decorating story with you in a week or so, it was an unexpected situation but but I LOVE IT!
Photos: House & Home
Related blog posts:
Make Your Home Your Own
How to Decorate: The Slow Process to a Style You’ll Love
Catch up on my 2020 Fall Nesting Series:
Tips to Decorate Your Fall Living Room
Cozy Fall Throw Blankets
My Favorite Fall Decor in My Cozy Fall Shop
14 Ideas for a Cozy Fall Kitchen
Make Your Home the Coziest It Can Be (3 Take Away Tips)
Fall Puttering Playlist
Cozy Self-Care Corner Must-Haves
Four Essential Home Making Practices for Every Season
Fall Nesting and Doormats
How to Dwell Well This Fall
How to Decorate with Faux Fall FoliageTimeless Pieces for Your HomeHospitality and Joy are Not Cancelled (Decorate your Porch)How to Make Your Home Smell Cozy and Inviting
How to Create a Memorable Fall Home + Cozy Diffuser Blends More