Cozy-ing Up the Place for Fall

I'm not huge on seasonal decorating, not because I don't love the idea of changing my decor to celebrate all four seasons (and every holiday in between), but mainly because I neither the room to store all of that stuff, nor the extra cash to buy four seasons worth of decor in the first place!  But I am trying to find ways to incorporate fall into our decor, and am hopeful that if I limit the purchasing of new items and 'shop my house', I can find thrifty and non-bulky ways to cozy up the place for fall.

So this weekend, I made some quick changes intended to bring warmth and more of a cozy feel to the family room.  First up, was a re-styling of the built-in bookcases on either side of the TV.  Styling shelves is something I struggle with.  I want to create layered, collected-looking shelves but I also abhor clutter, so trying to walk the line between the two usually results in shelves with which I'm never completely happy.

In case you haven't checked out our family room, here is a look at how they were styled before.  Not bad, but perhaps a little sparse.  Definitely not warm and cozy.

So I dug out some of my hardback books (I don't have many, I prefer paperback....and lately, Kindle), and brought some of the other decor from around the room and began to re-style the shelves.  Some of the books had covers that were a little bright for my purposes, so I covered those with brown paper bags, to tone down the color-factor. I emptied the shelves first and started again from scratch.  My focus was on creating layers of objects, in order to create more warmth, variety and texture.  I stacked books both horizontally and vertically, often using them as a platform to elevate shorter object.  I tried to put my frames in the back of the shelves, and layer shorter, more sculptural items in front. 

For once, I'm pleased with the result!  The shelves feel much more interesting and create a more 'collected' look.  The only drawback is that I pretty much had to empty all of my end tables of decor in order to  accessorize the shelves.  So now the end tables are bare, except for table lamps!  

Next up, I turned my attention to furniture.  I was super-excited to find a TON of brand-new Target decor at Goodwill last week, and picked up an amazing rust-colored, knit-sweater throw by Threshold.  I knew I wanted to use it in the family room, and after playing around with various placements for a while, settled on using it to add texture, color, and warmth to our love seat.  

Between the stone, the throw, and that rug, this area is not lacking for texture.....but I feel like there's always room for more!

And finally, I swapped out the paper shade on one of our table lamps for a Nate Berkus burlap shade that I also bought at Goodwill.  The selection of Target goods was AMAZING, I tell you! I've heard that this can happen at Goodwill, but I've never experienced it myself...until now. I picked this guy up for a cool $8.  Again, I think it's a nice, warmer texture, which feels more fall-like to me.  

Do you decorate for the seasons?  How do you change up your decor for the colder months?

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