One of my favorite rites of fall is to watch the leaves on the trees around my home turn amber, persimmon and ruby. Another is to see bedding ensembles transformed from summer into wintery works of art. If your bedding is getting a bit frayed, or if you're ready for a new look, why not remake your bed this winter? Here are a few of my favorite looks for the season.

A new spin on plaid

You don't have to be Scottish to feel a kinship with a drop-dead-gorgeous tartan plaid duvet and pillows. While the look is timeless and traditional, add a toile pattern and two different plaids so the bedding is anything but stuck in the past.

One of our go-to designs when dressing a bed is to include four rows of pillows, starting with a pair of matching Euro pillows in the back, then descending in size until we finish off with a smaller rectangle accent pillow. Each set of pillows adds a distinctive element, yet complements the overall design.

When we build our bedding ensembles, we don't just decorate the head of the bed: We make the foot sensational as well. For example, add a royal blue quilt at the bottom of the bed to pull out the blue from the pillows. Finish with a cable knit throw on top, just waiting for a Sunday afternoon nap.

A diverse mix of tartan plaid, paisley, toile and floral fabric looks divine together. Though each fabric has a lot of personality, they work well together if they toggle around the same color palette. Another trick to pairing bold patterns is to repeat the patterns throughout.

Splurge on sheets

When dressing your bed, get the most luxurious sheets your budget will allow. My favorites are white cotton sheets with an impossibly high thread count, trimmed in lace. Delicate sheets look great against a colorful winter bedding ensemble.

Orange is still hot, hot, hot in the decorating world. Combine pops of bright pumpkin with fabrics that feature deeper, richer tones of brown, tan, rust and red to create a bedding ensemble that's a bit more sophisticated. One of our favorite approaches is to wed contemporary fabrics with time-tested traditional fabrics.

Consider putting an ottoman at the foot of the bed. It is the perfect place to sit while you dress or to place bed linens and spare pillows.