Autumn at Home: Let the House Deepen, Not Dress Up

As the season turns, a group of designers has named seven ways fall decorating can go wrong. One of them puts the answer in a single idea: the season should bring out more of a house's own character, not hide it under something borrowed for a few weeks. It's a notion that suits the American house, whose best rooms already say what they are. By that measure, the right autumn gesture adds warmth to what's already there instead of covering it up.

With reporting from Veranda.