Autumn decoration: warm tones with gold and dark wood
With autumn the light changes: the days grow shorter and rooms are used more often under artificial light. Interiors with gilded frames and dark wood then look different than in summer. Many businesses would like to pick up on the season without changing the furniture or overloading the room. This can be achieved with a considered selection of colours, materials and a few decorative objects, in a hotel just as much as in a retailer's shop window. The following notes help with planning.
Colours that pick up gold and wood
Gold and dark wood are already warm colours. Autumn decoration should complement them, not compete with them. Muted tones such as rust red, ochre, cognac, burgundy and a dark green work well. Strong orange quickly looks restless next to gold leaf and should only be used in small amounts. Limit yourself to two or three colours that recur in the room, for instance in cushions, candles and vases. Cream and off-white provide calm in between and prevent the room from becoming too dark overall. A look at the existing upholstery fabrics and curtains helps with the choice.
Materials and surfaces
Alongside colour, the material determines the effect. Velvet, wool and coarsely woven fabrics absorb light and form a counterpoint to shiny gilding. Brass, bronze and dark glass go well with mahogany and walnut tones. For Decoration made of natural materials such as branches, dried flowers or cones, you should rely on a few larger arrangements; many small pieces quickly look restless on ornate furniture. Take care to protect polished and veneered surfaces with mats so that vases and bowls leave no rings or scratches. Felt or leather mats are unobtrusive for this purpose and easy to replace.
Light as part of the decoration
In autumn, lighting determines how colours are perceived. Warm white light makes gold shimmer softly, while cool white light makes it look hard and yellowish. Table lamps and wall lights at eye level are more favourable than a single bright ceiling light. Candles belong to the season, but in commercial premises they call for caution: keep them away from fabrics, dried flowers and lacquered surfaces, and observe your establishment's fire safety rules. LED candles are a sensible alternative wherever an open flame cannot be supervised, for example in corridors or shop windows. Dimmable lights make it easier to adjust to the time of day.
Putting it into practice
Seasonal decoration should be quick to set up and take down. Fixed points have proved their worth: the console table in the entrance area, the mantelpiece, the reception desk and individual tables. Decoration goes there, and all other surfaces remain clear. Those who present Baroque furniture in a shop can use an autumn-themed ensemble to show how the pieces look in a furnished room. After the season, store the objects protected from dust and labelled; next year a coordinated basic set will then be ready and only needs to be supplemented. This keeps the effort for staff manageable.
Related categories: Mirrors, Console tables, Display cabinets. The full range: Baroque furniture.
Read more: Coffee table set in two sizes: move it flexibly instead of fixing it in place, Chairs on carpet or hard flooring: choosing the right glides, Display Cabinet Without Lighting: Using Daylight Strategically, Console in the hotel hallway: initial orientation for the guest, Display Cabinet in Passageways: Depth for Presentation, Shallow for Traffic