There's something about Fall, when the world slows down and gets re-energized. The days are shorter, which means we're drawn into our homes a little longer each day. I think that's one of the reasons Fall is my favorite season to decorate! (Well, that may be a lie... I don't think it tops the joy I feel when I decorate for Christmas. But maybe part of the fulfillment in bringing out the pumpkins is knowing that very soon, the Christmas tree will follow!)
But until this space is filled with fir trees and twinkling lights, I'm good with pumpkins and sunflowers!
We'll start at our front door. Welcome to our home :)
The pictures you see are what our front porch looks like right now... (sidewalk chalk, included). I was hoping that by the time I went to post this blog, the mums would decide to bloom, at least a little. I ended up getting one yellow and one burnt orange colored pot of mums. Soon enough, these will add the bright colors our porch needs! For now, the only Fall color is from the faux daisies bushel in the watering can.
We will also soon add some pumpkins, once we take a trip to the pumpkin patch :)
Now, let's go inside...
Until this year, I really didn't have much in the way of Fall decor. And what I did have was a "hodge"podge (enter the Leo Dicaprio smug laugh meme here) of things that I either picked up at a yard sale, or things that my Mom was ready to get rid of that I gladly intercepted. It isn't that I dislike any of the things I already had (actually, the Fall garland I set out on our mantle is still one of my favorite pieces!). But I decided it was time to invest in some good pieces that I knew I would enjoy setting out every year.
One of the first things you see when you walk in our front door is our fireplace - my favorite part of the house to decorate every season!
One of those places where that red-orange color pops is the couch. Last year, I purchased this pumpkin pillow from Homegoods. And one of the things on my wish list this year was a nice throw that would compliment the colors of the pumpkins and draw out some of the bright colors in the garland. I felt like this "bubble throw" from Kirkland's did both! And (bonus) it is so soft!!
This tray is new this year - it was my Mom's, and was a dark brown wood stain with some red script on it (I think it was some sort of vintage stamp). But I wanted to brighten it up, since the coffee table is already a dark wood stain. So I unscrewed the wood oval from the black tray, and painted it white. I am actually thinking of going back over the white paint at some point with a dark gel that my Mom has used on some of her furniture to add some depth. But for now, I like how it looks. The dark Fall colors add a good contrast to the bright white. To brighten the table up a bit more this year, I also added this striped table runner which was another Target dollar spot find!
Behind the couch sits my grandparents' old piano. I added a few touches to the top - one of my favorite things being this "Fall Sweet Fall" sign from Hobby Lobby. I love the script and the farmhouse look. I got the black and white striped fabric pumpkin from Hobby Lobby, as well. The eucalyptus sprig is from the Target Bullseye Playground, along with the cream colored pumpkin sitting beside our Willow Tree figures. In the lantern, I just added a couple of pieces leftover from the mantel decor (a small orange pumpkin and a faux succulent). I wanted to keep this area subtle so it wouldn't compete too much with the mantel and fireplace. I'm pleased with how it turned out :)
Between our living room and kitchen is this wall that lines our staircase. I wanted to keep things a little simple on this entryway table -- if you can call it that. Really, we don't have an entryway, but this table is the closest thing to our front door, so that's what I call it.
I've used this picture of Joey at the pumpkin patch from when he was 7 months old every year since I took it. I need an updated Fall picture of him, but honestly, even if I had one I think I would still use this one :)
The landscape of the picture lends itself to the decor I get to put around it -- the truck, the "Farm Fresh pumpkins" sign I got from Hobby Lobby, and of course, lots of pumpkins! The faux sunflowers I have had for years (I believe they were my Mom's). I just arranged them in this ceramic pitcher I picked up this year from Target's Bullseye Playground, along with the gray ceramic truck. The small pumpkin in the truck bed is one that fell off of a garland - it fits perfectly!
Now, let's head into the kitchen...
On our table, I put out this pumpkin table runner that my Mom bought for me from Homegoods years ago. I love the light watercolor pattern - it's subtle enough that it blends in with the other colors that stay in our kitchen year round.
From Wal Mart, I found this cute fox with the bandana. Something about him reminds me of Joey :) He was under $4 and one of my favorite things I bought this season. (My Mom loved him so much, she got one too). The small white ceramic pumpkin was another Target dollar spot find - for $1 I'm wishing I had bought more!
The white pitcher with the terra cotta finish on the bottom also came from Target's dollar spot. I added some eucalyptus that I found at Wal Mart for $2! I learned from a girl on YouTube that Wal Mart is a great place to buy greenery, and she was right! This has the look and feel of the higher priced greenery you'd find at JoAnn's and Hobby Lobby. And on the other side of the pitcher is an orange yarn pumpkin I purchased a couple years ago from the Target dollar spot.
Besides the fireplace, one of my favorite areas to decorate every season is our coffee bar :) It only takes a few small touches to change the look of it, and I feel like this small little area on our counter adds a lot to the overall theme of the kitchen.
This year, I was able to find a Fall sign to hang as a back drop - this Pumpkin Patch sign came from (you guessed it) the Target dollar spot for $5. It was easy to add in decor pieces with that went along with the sign.
I bought another one of the ceramic trucks from Target, like the one on our entryway table to go here. The small pumpkin is another one that fell off of a garland. And the "gather" mug is one that was a gift from my Mom from Target's Hearth and Hand line last year.
I used some of the decor I had left over after decorating the living room to add some subtle touches by our sink. The faux red-orange mums came from the Target dollar spot, and I didn't know when I bought them how well they would match the light orange pumpkins my Mom and I got from Hobby Lobby. The white cake stand and the small white pitcher are both also from the Target dollar spot, from this past Spring. I love being able to leave out some of the same pieces year round and just change out small details to give it a new look each season.
I looked and looked for this small leaf garland at different Targets, and figured I wouldn't find it after the Fall line had been released a little over two months. Then on a day I went in to grab dog food, there it was. I thought I would use it on our coffee table, with a candle in the middle. But I liked the way the tray turned out, and didn't want to switch anything out. I tried it in a few different places before I went to put some dirty dishes in the sink and saw the empty command hook above the sink on our kitchen window. I know it's meant to be a garland, but I think the wreath look is just what the kitchen needed to make it feel more like Fall, without trying too hard! My absolute favorite part about it being in our window is the way bright yellows and oranges light up when the morning sun comes through our kitchen. Just like it was meant to be!
On the other side of the sink, I kept the Fall decor to a minimum. I changed out the hand soap, which aside from the scent of "Farmhouse Pumpkin" doesn't look very Fall. But I added this felt pumpkin from the Bullseye Playground to compliment it. I also had this boxwood sprig from last year's Fall line at Target's BP to the glass vase I keep there year round. Every season, I change out the florals that go in it, and it makes it easy to change up the look when I need to (and doesn't cost much at all!)
If you know me at all, you know how much I love Disney! I recently moved this chalkboard "Be Our Guest" plate to this corner, and I know there's nothing Fall about "Beauty and the Beast" but seeing this in the corner while I have to do the dishes makes me happy. So for now, this will probably stay here :)
That's it for the House Tour this Fall! I hope you enjoyed seeing how I used some of the new pieces I bought this year. Thank you for following along, and Happy Fall!!
"The trees say they're tired, they've born too much fruit; Charmed all the wayside, there's no dispute; Now shedding leaves, they don't give a hoot - La-di-da, di-da-di-dum, 'tis Autumn!" ~Nat King Cole
