Tasteful Fall Decor in the Family Room

Published on September 23, 2019

This is the room I have the biggest plans for and the one I thought I could never love in it’s current state. It has so many flaws both structurally and aesthetically, and I thought I would sort of just ignore it until we had saved up enough money to tear down the wall, demo the fireplace, create a wall of built-ins, and lay down hardwood floors. That’s how I saw it playing out in my head. (You can see the first iteration of this room here). 

However, when I set out to add some tasteful fall decor to the family room, I ended up falling in love.

I poured my time, talent, and love into this unlovable room, and it is now one of my favorite spaces in our home…shag carpet, wonky layout and all. It’s cozy, warm, moody, and dripping with our family’s personality.

It’s where movie night happens, dogs take naps, and most recently, our extended family gathered to celebrate our girls’ birthday…you can still see some crumbs and wrinkles from all the action this couch got! What can I say? We live here!

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All my favorite art is linked HERE.

I switched up the ottoman decor for this season and used an antique wooden bowl I picked up in East Texas years ago. I also draped the ottoman with my favorite plaid blanket because…feet.

In the wooden bowl, I kept things simple…remember, tasteful fall decor. It’s filled with a few antique books (one happens to be my grandmother’s New Testament Bible…my treasure), a glass keepsake box with a memento inside, a white pottery jug, and some Red Fountain Grass clippings I “borrowed” from a nearby parking lot.

This fireplace has gone from something I’ve stared at and imagined completely gone to something I actually enjoy looking at…a thing of beauty.

It’s charmingly imperfect, and gave me just the right amount of challenge to push me toward pure creativity once again. I wanted to love it, not just for looking pretty, but for being something unique to our family (a common theme in my house).

I love collecting old pottery, and these two pieces are out year round, but I added some dried local flora and layered them in front of my favorite round mirror to give it a fall feel.

On the other side of the mantel, I added a few of my favorite things. My dad sketched this old man years ago (before I was born I think), and I connect with it in such a soul-deep way. It’s one of my most treasured pieces of art, and I’m constantly moving it around the house because I love it everywhere.

The brass candlesticks are something I picked up in Dallas, TX several years ago when I was on a business trip with my husband. He took time out of his conference schedule to go antiquing with me, and it was our first out-of-state trip without our girls, so these are special to me…and they’re just beautiful!

The tumbleweed was an idea I came up with while trying to think of what to do with this non-working fireplace. It was either this or a screen. I’m so glad I saw my vision through! It’s unique and fits the bill of tasteful fall decor.

The final piece to this family room has been the TV wall. Eventually, this whole wall will be built-ins, but until that’s a reality, I had to come up with a way to fill this very large wall. It’s pretty season-neutral, but I love the way it turned out.

Since there is so much art and interest between the gallery wall over the sofa and the black fireplace, I kept the art surrounding the TV very minimal…they’re just watercolor dots inside weighted mats. I layered lamps in front for extra coziness on this side of the room, and of course a pop of green with the tree.

This view from the kitchen gives you some perspective. I didn’t want the art surrounding the TV to compete with the fireplace.

We are beyond thrilled with how this room has turned out, especially given that we plan to fully gut it in the future. I’m usually somebody who can see the potential in ANY room, and I share Chris and Julia Marcum’s philosophy of “Don’t Wait”, but with this space, I think I was blinded by the changes I wanted to make. It took awhile to come around to the idea of bringing out the best in this room, but I’m so glad I finally did decide to love on this space.

If you need me, I’ll be on the sofa enjoying the flickering candlelight and cozy lamps this season because fall in the family room has arrived!

Happy Fall,