holiday decor

Dear Brenda invited me to be one of her guests on the Fall Home Tour that she curated.

I'm afraid I don't have a lot to see as far as fall goes- I think I might have let her down. It is just a bit early for autumn decor for me, I tend to hang onto summer till the last blast of heat has faded, then go straight into Halloween junk strewn about my house.

 

But it was good to have a reason to do a seasonal transition.  I was happy with the results, minimal as they are.  Usually, I buy a few white and gray pumpkins in October at the Pumpkin Patch, and since the little grand fairies love going there so much, and the events are free, I like to save up all my punkin buying for that venue. It isn't open yet,  I don't want to purchase the gourds from the grocery store, and our home grown ones aren't ready to pick, but luckily, I had a few artificial ones to pull out and get the mood set for fall.  

Brenda is doing this tour in order of the homes, so previous to my house is  House Honeys, So Much Better with Age,  then Chasing Quaintness and the next home ready for a tour is Northern Nesting.  After that is White Tulip Designs and My Thrift Store Addiction.

There is also a hand made pumpkin from my friend, Tami.  (on the left)  

While I love bringing natural elements into my home, and am looking forward to picking pumpkins straight from the patch, the artificial gourds can be a lot more versatile, I doubt if I could balance a real life, heavy pumpkin on a stack of teacups. And if you put a fresh one under glass, that can cause it to get moldy faster.  

Even though Halloween is still a bit away, I had to pull out my white witch picture.  I found it at a garage sale for a quarter, and it is one of my all time favorite pictures. She isn't necessarily a witch, but I think she makes a good one. She is a traditional part of my fall decor.

Sometimes the things I spend a quarter on can turn out to be quite nice. Not just the white witch picture, but this floral/pumpkin ring that the larger pumpkin rests on. I got it at a garage sale, and spray painted it white, then dusted it with glitter.  I purposely did a haphazard spray job on it, so that the colors underneath still show in a muted way.

The new clock is from Michaels.  I rarely buy things that aren't old or second hand, but this clock spoke to me when I passed it in the aisle and I knew I had just the right spot for it. (plus, while it might not BE second hand, it does HAVE a second hand….. oh, I crack myself up sometimes)

Few things say fall to me more than mums do. I can't resist buying a few more plants every year to set out in the beds once they have finished blooming.

Under the pots of mums, I've used my favorite scarf from a Victoria Trading Co. giveaway as a runner.  I'm not big on traditional fall tones, but the soft faded colors in this scarf are an exception to my ban on orange.

 
This time of September, the summer flowers are starting to perk back up again after the heat of August fades, and the herbs are bolting with blooms. I love picking fresh herbs to bring in to fill the kitchen with their scent.

Speaking of scents, it is time to switch from lighter candle fragrances to cidery/appley/cinnamony yumminess.   One of the very first things I do every morning is light a candle that sits on my wood stove.  Unless it is winter and we are burning wood, of course, that is a whole other olfactory sensation of its own.

 I keep a tablecloth on on the stove when it is not in use, and once again, these are not my typical colors, but I do indulge a little bit in fall tones, if there is a good deal of white still involved.

After saying a couple of times that I don't do orange or the traditional shades of fall, here yet again, I make myself out to be a liar.   In the grand fairies' play area, they get a bright colored vintage table cloth with turning leaves on it.

I probably shouldn't do orange because this really doesn't fit in with that corner of the room. But, if I think about it, neither does the stack of coloring books or the box of art supplies.  When there are kids around, you just kind of have to live with the things they love and use, don't you? And a bright colored table cloth to mark the turning of the leaves makes the little ones happy.  

Recently, when I painted and stained the cabinets, and used Venetian plaster on the walls, I hung this drawing by my great grandma, Nelly, in the kitchen. 

And it crashed to the floor in a pile of glass and crunched framing, due to a careless job of hanging it.  

The drawing wasn't harmed one bit!  I'd never really cared for the way it had been framed, and while it was a pinch in the ole wallet, I was glad to have an excuse to reframe it in a way that I preferred.   I chose a more antiquey looking frame, and one much smaller than the previous one.

I'm very happy with the results. And I think Great Grandma Nelly would be too.  She did a total of 6 pictures in her time at Southern Indiana art school at the turn of the century (not this one, the one BEFORE). Then, she retired to farm life to raise kids. I feel so blessed to own one of her works.  And soooo glad it wasn't torn up in the crash landing.

For summer, I'd covered my chairs in white ruffled slipcovers.  To warm up the room for fall (not to mention that they needed a good bleaching due to messy fingered fairies), I slipped them off.  

I'll probably leave them off til Christmas. And maybe tie them on with golden bows? By the way, They washed up perfectly.  

Last week, I also replaced the two chandeliers.  One that had hung here had a wiring issue, and one in the studio got hit with a heavy picnic basket that spun around so hard the fuse blew. But that is a whole different story, isn't it?

Anyway, a light in the kitchen and one in my studio both needed replaced. I decided to buy two matching ones for the kitchen and move the one that still worked into the studio.

After painting the kitchen white, I almost thought that white chandeliers were too much, that I needed some contrast.  So, I bought a pair of dark, rust colored lights.  

They seemed too dark.

Seems like I had a slight case of Goldilocks syndrome going on, and needed to find the solution to make them Just Right.

I'd gone to all of that effort to have an all white room, and that was just too much darkness to add.  So, I did some painting and brightened up the new, dark chandies, while still leaving some contrast.

This might show what I mean better.  

I also added 3, large peachy-amber crystals (for fall) and a few vintage ones here and there to customize it a bit.

On the tube thingies that fit over the socket areas, I glued some vintage flocked and glittered wallpaper from France.  Oooh La La !!

In the spring, I think I'll pull it off and change it to something rosy.

Another thing I'd been wanting to do since repainting the cabinets, was to change the skirt under the sink. I'm not much of a sewer, but I can do a hem to fit over a curtain rod without too much cussing.

I used the vintage fabric I had left over from another project, but it was there wasn't quite enough, so I added some vintage eyelet trim to lengthen it.

Sorry I didn't wipe down the front of the dishwasher or put away my watermelon before taking pictures.

If you are wondering why all of my fall decorating pictures have been of my kitchen only, it is because that is mostly where we live.

This room is where we gather, and spend the majority of our time.

The living room did get a little bit of a nod to fall.  I sat out a crazy quilt that my mom made, in case anyone needed a snuggle when the temps drop enough to open the windows and we get a cool breeze at night.  Mostly, Dorothy Rosebud thinks it is for her to cuddle up on.

Normally, this time of year, I take down my spring floral curtains and replace them with the white velvet ones. Not this year.

I might have discovered a wonderful trick- I didn't have time to switch them out last spring, and no one even cared or noticed but me.  And look how much time it saves me this season!! Although, living in an old house with a wood stove, I do feel like curtains could use a good washing every six months.

I'm past due for changing the slipcovers on the sofa.  Some how I've ended up with a few pillows that don't match. 

But hey, look- I set out a festive, fall mum on the table.  That is the sum of my decor for the season for this room.  

 Autumn is also when I have an excuse to pull out the carnival glass plates and serve something baked fresh with apples.  The scent of cinnamon and apples for me is right up there with the smell of pumpkin and nutmeg to bring the feel of fall into my home. 

Brenda, thanks for inviting me to be a part of your tour. I don't know that I had enough fall decor to qualify for it after all, but if you want to see a major transformation, try me at Christmas! That is when I go all out. 

To everyone else, have fun looking at the other homes. I know I'm looking forward to seeing the creativity Brenda has rounded up for us to enjoy.  If you are new to my blog, nice to meet you.  And thank you all for coming by.

Here are the addresses of all the blogs on the tour:

 

ps- The kits for "Book of Mysteries" are now available!!   The little witchy girls will be coming soon.

(here is the book with a different witch on the cover, and without the Hocus Pocus eye.)

And another ps- Since my house is all cleaned up and I've already linked to a gathering, I thought I'd link to Feathered Nest Friday too. I rarely am prepared for linky parties, might as well take advantage while I am, huh?