Fall Touches at My House

It goes without saying that I enjoy decorating – making my home personal and comfortable for my family and friends.  But over the years I have moved away from “holiday” decorating and more toward “seasonal decorating”.  I’ve gotten rid of most of my accumulation of things that are specific to any one  holiday — other than the Christmas tree ornaments of course!

My pared-down, simplified approach to seasonal decorating is to reflect a little of the colors from the outside, on the inside of my home.   Fall with all its beautiful hues of yellows, oranges, browns and reds, guided me to bring out accessories  that I have in those colors.

Here’s how I introduced some simple fall touches in my dining area.

Starting with the mantle, I did a mix of things from nature – feathers, pinecones, indian corn and a few faux pumpkins and gourds.

I added a few shiny pieces as well – a silver pedestal for the pumpkin, brass candle holders and the gold-framed picture – just so the composition didn’t get too dull and flat.

The bittersweet is weaved in throughout to sort of tie things all together.  Incidentally, if you live in Mount Bethel, you can find bittersweet growing along the river between Mount Bethel and Portland.  Also, you’ll find it over by the Bangor Schools on School Road and Centerville Road.  Bittersweet is so beautiful. I love it for fall.

For the table, I pulled out a rag rug  that I had.  I like using rugs on my farm table because they are wider and more textural than traditional table runners.  I wash them in my bathtub before using them.  A word of caution here –  old rag rugs are usually not color-fast.  I ruined a red one by washing it and it turned the fringe pink!

If you like this idea, but can’t find a rug long enough, you can lay two rugs end to end and get the same effect.

The old dough bowl stays on the table year round.  It’s just sheet moss from the craft store laid over a bunch of packing peanuts.  I will add some pinecones to it in the winter and a few seashells in the summer.  Otherwise, it just stays as it is until I get tired of it!

I warmed up the two end chairs with some spiced color pillows, as well as a gold and yellow knitted pillow over by the fireplace.

The knitted pillow was my first and last (I think) knitting project.  It was way too hard for a first ever knitting project but I was determined to finish it.  The pattern was from Country Home magazine about 10 years ago and it was designed to resemble the colors of old yellowware bowls.   My pillow is full of imperfections but from a distance it looks okay.

 I brought out some amber color drinking glasses, my mismatched butterscotch bakelite flatware and some old blue plates that my parents collected over the years at yard sales.

When my dad passed away , my mother divided up the collection and gave each of her three children a service for 16!  I like blue in combination with the traditional fall colors.  It’s a bit unexpected I think.  We are hosting Thanksgiving this year so all of these things will be used then.

What a gorgeous Fall season we are having.  Enjoy! Debra