Autumnal hues for the home

Forget summer, winter, or spring, autumn is definitely the most colourful season of them all. When the leaves start to take on those glorious red, yellow, orange and brown hues, the whole landscape changes around us.

And what better way to celebrate a new season than to bring a bit of that autumn colour into your home.

In fashion, there's a saying that whatever the new trend is, it's the 'new black'. This season, in interior fashion, some will argue that the new black is not a colour at all, but texture. Texture is the new colour in the interiors world.

So, when it comes to adding something new to your home in terms of window dressing, make sure you think about texture, as well as colour. Another key interior design buzzword this autumn is 'layering' – of fabric textures and colour palettes. So, combine cotton with wools, fawn shades with butterscotches, and chocolate shag-piles with silks. In autumn, to keep the heat in, look at re-dressing your window, using these tips in particular, with curtains and blinds.

The Fabric Box has loads of variety in textures in Roller, Roman, Roof and Vertical Blinds. For inspiration visit www.thefabricbox.co.uk

Of course colour trends do exist, and according to Sara Pomfret, founder of luxury bedroom company, Raines & Willow, green is a perfect autumn colour, and in particular for the bedroom.

"Green represents nature and life, promoting positive energy," Sara says. "Interior Designers often use it because of its calming effect. It's the colour of balance, and recommended by Feng Shui experts as a soothing colour that will bring restorative sleep.

"It's also the colour of fertility, so what else would you use in the bedroom?! It's a lovely colour for autumn, bringing nature into the home."

This year, Raines & Willow have introduced a gorgeous Ella Silk buttoned range in Sage green – bringing that bit of the outdoors in in their beautiful Buttoned Bed (£1400), Buttoned Ottoman (£800) and Buttoned Accent Chair (£950). Visit www.rainesandwillow.co.uk. For stockists call 01628 486710

To complement the green, try berry and plum shades which are always popular at autumn, and bring a warm feeling to your home, and in particular your bedroom. I always like to change my bedding when the nights draw in, to deeper, darker colours, for a cosier feel. The Bedeck Rosetta range has beautiful hand drawn vintage rose florals on a deep mulberry base, and makes you want to just jump on in and stay warm! The range includes Double duvet cover (£65), lined curtains (from £90), as well as pillowcases, throws, sheets and cushions. Visit www.bedeckhome.com for stockist info.

Deep purple shades are perfect for autumn, don't limit them to just the bedroom or living areas. Kitchens tend to be better when they are decorated in lighter shades, making them seem cleaner and more airy, but there's no reason at all why you shouldn't add a splash of colour with appliances and accessories.

Smeg do a full range of colours in their fridges and dishwashers, but I love the bold purple MAX microwave oven (£96) from Whirlpool. Colour blocking is a huge fashion trend set to continue this autumn in fashion, so why not add a bit of it to the home? Start with this excellent microwave, which, as well as being a great colour, has a uniquely curved back, meaning it can sit in corners, freeing up 25% extra workspace. Clever and cute! It has all manner of amazing functions as well – it steams, it has a jet defrost, and the patented Whirlpool 3D-System guarantees perfect microwaves distribution inside the oven.

Whirlpool Marketing Manager, Dean McKelvie says: "Colour blocking is massive on the catwalk, and is now moving into interior design. The new purple MAX is a great example of this. Its deep colour makes it perfect for updating any kitchen this autumn."

If you like colour blocking, then you are going to love the Leigh cabinet range by & Then Design, available at brightonpod.com – this oak furniture, inspired by 18th Century shaker style, and finished with matt colour Formica laminate can be made in any colour of Formica you wish. For a coffee table, side table and medium dresser set, its £4600, but it's an investment piece for many autumns to come!

Something much more purse-friendly, and a lot less of an investment piece is the brilliant Autumn Days Tree Wall Sticker by Te Binary Box, again available at brightonpod.com. This brilliant 105x90cm tree sticker, which comes with bird stickers to put in it, is the perfect way to bring a bit of autumn indoors, and is sure to be a real talking point wherever you put it.

If you fancy something a little more conventional, then visit www.art.co.uk and browse over a million images, under themes, colours, artists and more. You are bound to find something that says autumn to you. This brilliant site also lets you upload your own favourite image to see what it has similar in its massive archive.

If you are looking to completely change your home's colour palette this autumn, then I would suggest starting with a neutral colour that is huge this season in interiors – grey. Then the concepts of texture and layering we discussed earlier come in to their own, as you can build your colour palette around the grey base. Check out Habitat's Rupert charcoal sofa (£1600). Add texture with their Braid rug (£450) and add a selection of Armure cushions (£10 each) in bold shades like tomato red, bright pink, teal blue and beetroot to add to your cosy autumnal colour scheme.

Then all you have to do is close the curtains, light the fire or turn up the heating, and cosy on down for autumn!