Add Autumn to Your Kitchen

The fall season brings several occasions for family and friends to gather around food: football games, TV season-premiere parties, Halloween festivities and, of course, Thanksgiving celebrations. That presents many opportunities for guests to get near your kitchen. Make them feel the spirit of autumn with your kitchen décor. Consider these ideas:

Display the harvest. The bounty of the season is a rich display of color: pumpkins, corn, apples, squash, peppers ... and fall flowers. Spruce up your kitchen with the natural beauty of the fruits and vegetables of the season or with fresh or life-like bouquets. And use scented candles to bring in autumn aromas — from cinnamon to pumpkin spice.

Add extra layers. When the leaves start falling from the trees, we add layers to our clothes. Create that sense of warm comfort in your kitchen by adding texture that brings autumn to mind: a colorful rug to keep feet warm in front of the sink or refrigerator; cozy chair pads or cushions at the kitchen table; table runners in fall motifs.

Sprinkle in color. Nothing says fall like the colors of the season. Add fall colors and themes with inexpensive items like potholders, towels, placemats and napkins. Seasonally colored glasses, plates, bowls and serving dishes also are a simple and inexpensive way to introduce a feeling of fall into your kitchen and dining room. Use matching sets or mix colors to create a coordinated medley of tribute to the season. Consider TRIVSAM dinnerware, which features gold and deep green tones, and LJUVLIG glass dishes, bowls and mugs, which come in dark green, lilac, turquoise and yellow.