slides: 10 Ways To Get Your Home Ready For Fall

Fall hall basket

Putting all your hats, scarves and mittens into a basket by the front door makes coming and going easier and tidier. Photo: Empire Delicious

Stock the hearth

Having a fire (in the fireplace) makes a room as cozy as can be. If you’ve got a fireplace, it’s time to get it ready to blaze. Fill a basket by the hearth with logs and order fatwood for starting fires. I love this fatwood from L.L. Bean, shown here. Photo: L.L. Bean

Go with a throw

Throw a throw over the back of your sofas and chairs. Whether it’s mohair, wood, or cotton it will add color and coziness to a room and is perfect for curling up and watching a movie. Here is a gorgeous pop of color from casasugar.com. Photo: casasugar.com

Start making soup

Make a big pot of hot soup and invite a few friends over for lunch one Saturday or Sunday. All you need is a loaf of fresh bread to complete the meal and some cookies for dessert. You can make extra soup to freeze for later. Jump right to these inspiring recipes: The World's Best Pumpkin Soup at the wonderful blog, Laurel of Leaves, or try the Pioneer Woman's delicious Pumpkin Soup, here. I also love this French Lentil Soup on Epicurious.com. Photo: Egan Snow/flickr

Hot toddy season!

It’s time for the first hot toddy of the season, a celebration unto itself. Whether or not you have a cold to cure, a hot toddy is a perfectly delicious fall drink. Here's a wonderful recipe right here, from English food writer Nigel Slater. Photo: amberdegrace/flickr

Celebrate root vegetables

Fantastic root veggies are fresh and wonderful through most of the fall. Roasted beets, potatoes, parsnips and carrots make a yummy and easy to prepare dish for an autumn dinner party. Not only are roasted roots delicious, the colors can’t be beat. Get roasting with these two great recipes, one from Seattle Foodshed and the other from yummly.com. Photo: *clarity*/flickr

Dry hydrangeas

Bring some of your favorite flowers inside to be dried for the winter. Hydrangeas dried can be beautiful through the fall. Photo: Villabarnes

Stock Wellies by the door

With the weather changing, it’s time to put your Wellies by the front door. Even if you live in a city it’s fun to have your go-to rain and mud boots right there in case you need them (I also like the look of them).

Move the garden indoors

Keep your spirits up with some flowering potted house plants. A touch of green will be a welcome addition to any space as the days grow shorter. Photo: chad_k/flickr

Get into board games

Get your backgammon board out and set up a game table for winter evenings. A good game will beat just another night of television every time. I love this convertible backgammon table, featured here.

Leslie Banker is an interior designer and the founder of Empire Delicious. Read more of her posts about home, garden, and the good life, here.