There’s something about the Danish approach to Autumn that we’ve always loved.
It isn’t about filling every corner with pumpkins or completely changing your home for the season. It’s quieter than that. Candles are lit a little earlier, blankets reappear on the sofa, breakfast becomes slower and the house starts to feel like somewhere you really want to be.
Essentially, it’s about embracing the excuse to stay in.
And we are very much on board.
1. Start with the lighting
If there’s one thing the Danes understand, it’s lighting.
As the days get shorter, switch off the big overhead lights and create little pools of warm light instead. A lamp on a console, another beside your favourite chair and plenty of candles dotted around the room.
We love lighting our pyramid candles as dusk starts to fall. Nothing dramatic, just that lovely flicker that instantly makes a room feel cosier.
2. Bring back the layers
Autumn is when the house starts to soften again.
A sheepskin over the back of a chair, a throw within grabbing distance of the sofa, a few deeper, earthier tones mixed in with all those year-round neutrals.
You don’t need to redecorate for autumn. A couple of small changes can completely alter how a room feels.
3. Make breakfast an occasion
Not a big occasion. We’re not suggesting anyone starts laying the table at 7am on a Tuesday.
But autumn weekends are made for slower breakfasts, and one of our favourites is Danish pancakes.
They’re wonderfully simple and particularly good served warm, piled up in the middle of the table for everyone to help themselves.
Our Danish pancake pan makes the whole ritual even lovelier and is exactly the sort of thing we like at Salcombe Trading: simple, useful and something you’ll bring out year after year.
4. Let the season into the house
This doesn’t have to mean autumn leaves everywhere. In fact, we’d rather it didn’t.
A bowl of apples on the kitchen table, blackberries in a jug, white heather, a few seasonal branches from the garden or simply the warmer colours of autumn food can be enough.
Keep it natural and slightly undone.
Shop the Autumn Blackberry Sprig
5. And finally, light a candle
This might be our favourite part.
There’s something incredibly comforting about coming through the door when it’s chilly outside and the house smells lovely.
Light one of our Lake District candles before guests arrive, put the lamps on and forget about making everything perfect.
That, really, is the Danish way of doing autumn.
Good food. Warm lighting. Natural textures. A cosy house full of people you love.
We can definitely manage that.