23 Sep Three Ways to Add Geeky Fall Decor into Your Space

Since you’re here on this blog, I bet you have a bit of geekiness going on in your interior. And I am posting this just in time for the first day of Fall (2023), so a lot of us are refreshing our spaces to decorate or getting ready to go full on fall decor. As a geek, do you face the yearly challenge of trying to make your seasonal decor and your existing geeky decor get along? Your seasonal decor should fit seamlessly into your interior, including color and style; but not every style goes well with orange, shades of sienna, or falling leaves. I want to help you incorporate autumn feels into your existing aesthetic without having to rearrange everything in your space. Or completely change your style. There are a few things to keep in mind when transitioning into geeky fall decor.

But first, let’s take a moment to discuss seasonal trends…

Trends and Target for geeky fall decor 

I went to Target today. That’s the end of the sentence.

Although I was able to scavenge some leftover Mrs. Meyers fall scented cleansers…

OMG, it’s rough out here on these Mrs. Meyers’ streets – the seasonal scents start disappearing in July. WT(actual)H?

…I didn’t see any fall decor that screamed at me. In fact, everything kind of melded together into one huge mass of ‘the same’. Yep. That’s what I’m calling it. I couldn’t find any inspiration for geeky fall decor anywhere.

Not to bash Target – I love a good Target run. But you can always tell what the trends are whenever you walk into your local Target because the colors and styles attack you from all angles. You’d be lucky to find one small abandoned item in any other style or color trembling in fright in the corner somewhere. They’ve been banned. To Walmart. If sunflowers are trending, Target will make sure you get sunflowers on your clothing, shoes, home decor, makeup, and even your gaming consoles.

Just wow.

I don’t want to make you think this is a post on all the reasons not to go to Target. I find great things in Target when we venture out that way. And I saw a few things today that I could potentially bring home and fix up to match our home; but for the price point, I don’t want to have to DIY everything I purchase. Just some of the things. More on DIY fall decor later.

Michaels and trends for every geeky taste

This is why I go to Michaels. OMG I LOVE Michaels Stores this time of year because there are so many varieties of all things fall and Halloween. Whatever your poison, you can find it here. Even poison potion bottles, ironically enough. I’m pretty sure they know us by name in our local Michaels because we always have some home decor or cosplay DIY project going on lol.

And nope. I am not affiliated or sponsored. My blog is too small and they declined my application – but that won’t stop me from sharing because I’m shopping there anyway, and bringing you along with me!

Whether you frequent Target, Michaels, or any other place that sells seasonal decor, there are a few things to keep in mind when filling your basket with fall decor.

Because, believe me, it is so easy to do. Hubs gets nervous whenever I mention I’m going to Michaels during the fall or holiday season. Lately he’s been all, ‘oh, I want to go with you and check out what they have.’ I mean, maybe he does… or maybe he wants to make sure I don’t bring home seven more white pumpkins. Who’s to say? Still going out with him is fun so I guess it’s fine LOL.

Three Ways to Add Geeky Fall Decor into Your Space

1. Utilize your personal (design) style when decorating with geeky fall decor.
2. Think about the color of your geeky fall decor.
3. Think about the color of your geeky fall decor.

If you’re like us, your seasonal decor isn’t necessarily what’s trending that year. This is mainly because we like what we like and that’s what trends in our home. Plus, we aren’t swimming in money like that to completely change out our entire home every season. Does anyone do that? Seems wasteful. It’s why I emphasize taking the time to figure out what you like and whether you can look at it for the long-term, and decorating with the things that make you feel happy and safe in your space. Not those things that are trending. That way your decor will pass the test of time.

Unless, of course, trends make you feel happy and safe.

There are a few things you should remember when decorating for the seasons, and even when you’re purchasing items for your space. Always keep your personal design style in mind. Think about your color choices. And work with concepts and ideas rather than themes.

Utilize your personal (design) style when decorating with geeky fall decor.

Try your best to remember your decor style and make sure your seasonal decor matches. The best way to define your decorating style is your signature look – all the things you use to express your design style including furniture, lighting, decor, and accessories. This is how your space looks most of the time, and (in my opinion) should be your main inspiration behind your seasonal and holiday decor as well. Does your space have a modern style? Scandinavian? Then look for seasonal pieces that have that same aesthetic so your space can be both geeky and classy from season to season.

This requires a bit of creativity and thinking outside the box, but it’s a lot of fun to find or DIY certain pieces that match your style preferences, and then add them into your space.

For example, we love and chose an industrial (geek) chic decorating style for our space that combines a big cozy couch with brick, metal, and wood. Our wall hangings and rugs reflect that decor style as well. I’m so excited to share our decorating journey with you because we have found and DIY’ed some key geeky pieces to add to our chosen style.

Think about the color of your geeky fall decor.

Keep your own color palette in mind when decorating for the fall season. You don’t have to have a professional designer-level mood board with a palette hanging on your wall (unless your decor style is designer-chic), but knowing the colors you’ve chosen for your space is important, even for seasonal decor. Geeky fall decor doesn’t require the default super warm brown, cream, and burnt orange palette typical for the fall. Use whatever colors match the colors in your home to show an autumn aesthetic.

We have gray as our main color, and then lean towards cooler tones. This means that the default shades for pumpkins and leaves don’t really match our home, so we don’t decorate with oranges, siennas, browns, or creams. When we look for seasonal decor, we prefer a minimal color palette – mostly whites and grays with pops of green.

Emphasize concepts and ideas over themes.

Themes are fun, aren’t they? But when it comes to decorating, thinking in themes is a slippery slope. Into tchotchke-ism.

Ha! I knew I could work in that word somewhere…

Ahem. Sorry. Fall decor – focus!

When thinking in themes, our minds want to lean all the way in. We want to find and buy all the things that match that theme and arrange them in our space. So they may match the theme, but they may not necessarily match your space. Or your decor. So then you end up with a museum exhibit featuring the Adamms Family for Halloween rather than pieces that represent the concept around the Adamms family. There’s a difference, and it balances on a fine line the hovers somewhere above classy and tacky.

Unless of course you love the idea of an Adamms Family Shrine in your living room. Then go for it! I cosign and will even worship at the altar of Wednesday with you.

She’s the best, isn’t she?

Outside of fall or seasonal decor, my favorite thing about subtle geek-chic decor is,… well,… the subtlety. Right? It’s the ‘if you know, you know’ factor, and the ‘oooh! I get it!’ when your guests see what you’re doing with your space. And this is how I approach our geeky fall and holiday decor. Most times. If I see anything witchy in the stores, I tend to reach for it before thinking. I’m not perfect – sometimes even I fall prey to collector-disorder.

I totally made that up.

A bit about trends.

Trends are the mirror image of themes. They can be good for inspiration, when used for inspiration. But they can also be a trap and a bit of a prison. When a trend comes around and it brings along a creative spark that helps you to decide on a design style and concept – that is absolutely a great thing. But when it boxes you in to rigid rules about what to use to decorate your space… I don’t know. Something about that doesn’t sit well with me. It’s your space – you decide what to do with it.

When trends come chugging along like trains, everyone hops on board like a herd of sheep without thinking about whether the thing on trend for the moment is something that matches your personality and preferences.

The New Barbie Phenomenon 

Case in point: Barbie was great, wasn’t it? I freaking love Margot Robbie! We went to DragonCon in Atlanta, and I have never seen so many Barbie cosplayers in one place. And I have never seen so much pink in all the stores. Not even growing up in the 80s. The. Eighties.

Shit. Did I just age myself? Ah well…

There was a rush to buy all the pink clothes and home decor. Accessories, pillows, pants, shoes – all of it. And that is great if you already loved pink and excitable fun. But what are half the people who rushed to purchase pink outfits and pillows so they could be part of the trend going to do with all that pink? I guess Goodwill will see a lot of pink in 2024, that’s for sure.

However, if you already had pink in your decor, this was the perfect opportunity to find items not before offered in a color you already had in your palette and add them to your space.

#heybarbie!

My advice is to tread lightly around trends for fall and seasonal decor. 

They are gone just as quickly as they’re in demand. Then fashion and style ‘experts’ have already moved onto something else.

So when it comes to geeky fall decor, remember that the point of all this is to live your geek in a way that represents every part of you. Even in the seasons. Not many people love every part of every fandom. That’s okay. Choose your favorite concepts and ideas and find pieces that represent those concepts in the colors and styles that match your space. And then sprinkle those throughout your already existing decor.

Stay tuned – I’ll be sharing some DIY projects that helped bring together our Nightmare Before Christmas fall and holiday decor concept. It’s been a fun project that continues year after year as we find and choose a few pieces to add to our growing collection.

Until then, go decorate some fall, you geeks!