Fall is a season of change and brings with it a rich, wonderful palette of colors.

Leaves start turning bright crimsons and oranges and the air is crisp and earthy.

So as we leave our summer colors behind in the garden, it is nice to bring the fall colors into your house. An easy way to do this is with flowers. Select hydrangeas that have taken on a deep rust color or mums in their rich shades of purples and terra cottas. Try mixing the flowers with curly stems for added texture. Another option is bittersweet stems with their deep-yellow skinned berries. They should be showing up at local farmers’ markets soon. Long stems can be laid across your mantel while shorter stems can be placed in vases to dry out. These will carry you into winter and can be spray-painted white with touches of silver for the winter holidays.

Don’t stop at just the flowers. Place the vase on a great placemat or table runner with fall colors. Create a more sophisticated arrangement by adding some small gourds and pumpkins, tea lights or votives, and don’t forget the greenery. Feel free to use bittersweet stems instead of the greenery or in addition to it. Now you have a fall setting on your table that is bright during the day and romantic at night. You may want to use small vases of flowers rather than one large vase which will give a certain rhythm to the table.

Pillows are another great way to bring fall into your home. Reds, oranges or browns—the traditional colors of fall—will blend or complement almost any color scheme. Retail home decorator stores currently offer a nice selection of pillows in these colors so you’ll have lots of options. However, if you can’t find just the perfect pillows that work for you, have some custom made. You can choose from virtually thousands of fabrics with varying weight and texture. Consider having a pillow or two made into a ball shape to add some excitement to the room. Add a throw with the pillows and you have an entirely new look on a very reasonable budget. Be sure to consider removing some of your current pillows to achieve your desired effect.. Put these items in storage for a few months and then bring them back out. It will be like having two new rooms in the course of one year.

Fall colors are organic and can be used throughout the year in decorating your home. The colors are comforting and warm in tone, such as caramel brown with an earthy green or a bright orange with a tawny rust. These are rooms you can live in and relax in year round. You just might bring some fall colors into your home and never replace them, regardless of the season.

Fern Allison is president of Lakeside Interiors, 1129 McDaniel, Evanston. Call 847-512-5045, e-mail fern@lakesideinteriors.com or visit www.lakesideinteriors.com.