Thursday, September 25, 2014

Fall Colors in the Home

Hello!  Today I have a home decorating post to share with you.  I scrolled through my blog and realized that I haven't shared a Fall Decorating post in two years.  My main reason is that I don't buy new decorations every year and I pretty much decorate the same way with very little variance, so, why post the same thing every year?  However, I do change my decorations slightly, and, I have a lot of new followers through Bloglovin who have probably never seen a post from two years ago, so, I'm back with another Fall Decor post!  If you'd like to see the post I did two years ago and see if you can notice any changes, you can read it HERE.

As most of you already know, Fall is my second least favorite season.   Only Winter trumps Fall for my displeasure.  I always see it as such a sad time of the year, when everything is starting to decay and die, and then there is that awful chill in the air that I just can't stand.  But, with every cloud, there is always a silver lining, and that is the fall color.   I just wish the color part of Fall wasn't so brief only to be followed by months of endless grey and drab.  

My house is the perfect home to decorate for fall or Christmas, as the earthy, Tuscan colors harmonize with it beautifully.  Decorating for Spring on the other hand, with all it's pastel and pretty colors, can be a true challenge.

I love to bring these outside colors into my home by using artificial fall garlands, flowers, and berries.  I    cover all the major tables and surfaces in each room with these arrangements.   The picture below shows the top of a hutch in my dining room.  I added a antique fall plate as my main focal point, a tan candle for some warmth, a little bit of a harvest gold napkin peeks out to add some softness, and a wheat arrangement in the back provides a little more height to an otherwise flat decor.
 For the most part, I try to decorate around the existing items in the room, like the picture of Jesus below.  I'm not Catholic, but my father was.  This picture hung in his living room for most of my children's lives.  Every time they went over to Grandpa's house, they camped out in the living room and he would turn the night light on in the picture before they went sleep (it's hidden under the top gold part of the frame).  They've always connected this picture to the warmth, security, and love of their grandpa and his house, so when he passed, this was the one item I asked if we could have.  And it has sat on top of this hutch ever since.  Because this picture has so much meaning to us, I decorated around it with fall flowers.  They are actually just two floral bushes.  I simply tucked the stems behind the picture.
 I have a plate rail that goes all the way around the dining room.  I have collected hundreds of antique and holiday plates over the years, and I change them out with the seasons.  Would you believe I picked up the entire collection of these harvest gold wheat plates for only $10.00!  It was one of my life time buyer's achievements!

I know it's an odd place for a piano, but we have our piano in the dining room.  As soon as one of my children buys a house, it will be going to them as neither I nor my husband play.  It actually was the perfect place to have a piano when the children were small as they were always in sight when I was in the kitchen or living room;   however, it did prove difficult to watch t.v., if someone was playing the piano at the same time.
 I have an old lamp, and several old pictures of our home in the late 1900's sitting on top of the piano.  I just strung some garland around the lamp and pictures, and put a pumpkin floral arrangement at the end.  The lamp and the various heights of the picture frames keep the display from looking to flat.
 The 'Blessings' plate on the right I found at Walmart a couple of years ago.  It is an example of how I love to mix inexpensive, modern items with antique ones.

Below you can see a far away shot of the hutch in the dining room.  The same collection of harvest gold antique plates echoes the one on top of the hutch, tying everything together.

Because I don't like to clear the dining room table just to eat or work, I try to keep as little on it as possible.  Most of the year a clear vase of sand and shells from our Pensacola Beach vacation sits in the middle of this table, but this time of the year it is this candle arrangement.



 Do you remember THIS POST where I talked about preserving memories and how I loved to clutter my home with my pictures of my family?   Well here is one example:  I have a variety of my favorite pictures of my 'us' staggered all over the top of my t.v. stand.  I put books underneath the pictures to raise some up, and then I wove leafy branches and white sunflowers around the frames.
 This is my favorite picture of my son.  It was taken at Pensacola Beach last Christmas.  I just think he looks so handsome in this picture, and I love the smile on his face.  The picture behind him is of all three of my kids and it is my favorite group shot of them.  I always tell the kids that it is a picture that looks like it belongs on a record album.  They setting is very 'cool' (do they even say that anymore?), and all three of them look really hip.
 This is my son's high school graduation picture.  I wanted a picture that truly showed who my son was so we had his picture taken with his drum set because music has been such a huge part of his life.

 Here's a better view of the group shot of my kids that I talked about above:
 There is a small round table at the base of my staircase that I have a picture of my daughter on, a candle, and a vase with filled seasonal flowers.  I chose very muted tan, vanilla, green tones for the foliage in this room because of the blue/green/tan colors in the room.
 In front of the clock on a side table, I place another candle with a fall candle ring.

 My husband built this plate rail wall hanging for me when he renovated our kitchen.  It is one of my favorite pieces in our home.

 There is a very small guest bathroom off the kitchen.  I always put my fancy towels in here, because I know they will never get ruined by being used.  LOL!  I like to change these towels out with the seasons.
 For the office, the shelves have become more cluttered with books than they were two years ago (as they should), so I only added a fall swag to the bottom of a photo collage that my daughter Ashley made for me.   Check out my Preserving Memories post (the link is mentioned above) if you want to read more about it.

 In my entry way is an old phonograph player.  I have this unique lamp sitting on it, and I added a ceramic jack-o-lantern and some fall garland around it's base.
 This Italian vase is the first thing you would see if you stepped inside my entry.  It sits here all year, and it is usually empty, but this year I filled it with some pretty fall flowers.
 And I scattered more fall garland across the entry table, along with another ceramic pumpkin and a tiny rock that says 'Welcome'.
 A sunflower door swag hangs on my entry way door.
 In the family room you will find family photos scattered on every end table and in my entertainment center.  I added this cute little fall arrangement to each table.
 On the top of my entertainment center I placed a hinged window that spells out FALL and strung garland and sunflowers around it.
 This is the centerpiece of the coffee table in the family room.

 I bought this grass years ago at a craft fair.  I can't believe how long it has last.  This grass grows like a weed in my area, and you can find it growing along the roads.  I probably could have cut down some for free in a field, but it was a lot less work to just buy it!  I leave this up all year, except at Christmas time I have to move it as our tree goes in that corner.
 This is a close up of the other side of the entertainment center garland.  This end is anchored with a trio of burgundy candles.
 Many of these candles are part of the decor of my home all year long.  I just add a little flower arrangement to their side.

I hope you have enjoyed looking at the beautiful colors of fall in my home.  Check out my post from two years ago if you would like to see more far away shots of these rooms.

So what about you?  Do you decorate for Fall or any of the seasons?  I'd love to hear from you!

Have a great day!  Amy


7 comments:

  1. I've been doing the same thing today, Amy! Of course, I have one small plastic tub of fall items, but it's still fun to take down the spring and summer, for the lovely colors of fall! I actually received the Blessings plate that was in your 3rd photo as a gift last year from a friend! It's on my hutch :) Thanks for sharing - you've given me lots of ideas. Now I really want to run out and buy more decor! Hugs...

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  2. Wow Amy ! your house is beautifully decorated, I admire! Very very nice !
    xxx

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  3. Beautiful decorating Amy! Love all those Fall colors! I usually just decorate a little bit in the living room, but haven't started yet this year....

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  4. Loved all the fall touches - so pretty! Your tablescapes are just gorgeous! Thanks for sharing and inspiring, Amy!

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  5. Hi Amy! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog and sharing your thoughts on the ridiculous age-ism about being "too old" to shop anywhere you want!

    I'm so excited to see someone else say that fall is NOT their favorite season! Winter is also my VERY LEAST favorite. But for someone who doesn't like fall you have a lot of gorgeous decor. I actually don't decorate for ANY seasons! I just don't have a knack for it!
    Gina - On the Daily Express

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  6. Wow Amy!! Everything looks really amazing in your home!! Sure wish I could buy some new...haven't for years! And with us moving into a larger home...I really NEED stuff!! LOL!!

    My fave is the gorgeous floral and colorful leaves!! Just beautiful!! Thanks for sharing!! Hugs & Smiles - *Vicki*
    My Blog: Stamp Smiles

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  7. Beautiful decorating Amy, you certainly have an eye for it, very artistic in whatever you do!
    hugs
    Glenda

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