embracing the f word {fall}

Ok, so I know it’s not a swear word, but every September fall comes along and takes the wind out of my sails. It’s not that I don’t like this season. I love it. The colors, comfy sweaters, football games, hearty dinners, apple pie and everything pumpkin. But my problem with fall is that winter comes next. I’m a summer girl and lately the cold has been really bugging me. But I’m going to try and appreciate the fall for the amazing things the season brings us and not think about what’s to come. So there.

Decorating for fall is always fun. I tried to go with a lot of natural elements and not use as many store bought decorations, but Homegoods was calling me the other day and that’s a hard call to ignore. Here are a few of the fall touches in our home. Some of the decor includes fun DIY projects – click on the links to take you to the how-to for each.

Welcome to our home….

 I discovered these chalk markers at Michael’s and it helps my trying-to-be-inspirational messages look pretty! I added a few cuttings I got on one of my dog walks and that’s about it!

Our never-used dining room is fun to decorate. Actually I do use it – almost daily. It’s my storage area for all things I want to get out of my kitchen. But the table looks so much nicer when you can see it. I like the randomness of this centerpiece versus one larger piece. Most of the items are things I had around the house: vases, books, candlesticks, candy jars. I added some sticks for height, painted and monogrammed a pumpkin from Michaels and decoupaged another one. If you’re doing a centerpiece like this, I suggest keeping the pieces in a similar color palette and varying the textures {wood, metallic, canvas, burlap, etc.}. Also vary the size and height of the items so your eye moves through the centerpiece. Use lots of natural elements {acorns, sticks, pinecones, shells} to ground the arrangement and arrange the items to be very close to each other – they become more of a unit if they’re almost touching and interacting. I used a handmade rosette {DIY tutorial here} to add interest to my hutch.

The candy corn will be gone by this weekend.

And there’s my disco ball. If you missed it earlier this week, click here to check out my post on why everyone needs a disco ball. The light show it puts on gave me the idea to add the metallic circle stickers to the wall.

My daily view out the kitchen window. I painted a watercolor for September, added a pumpkin and leaves to my enclosed terrarium. And a gold-yellow vase ties it all together.

Feathers. are. so. fun. I found these at Michaels {where else?}. I just love mini white pumpkins. One tip: try pumpkins on candlesticks, cake stands, or on top of vases or mini urns.

I painted the Happy Halloween sign – no frame needed – and used a piece of the orange trim leftover from a DIY project. Love that trim.

More gourds…. check out my DIY post from last year on how to make this burlap table runner. Limited sewing skills needed. yeah!

Even accessories need to keep warm. I cut the sleeve off an old sweater, wrapped it around a candle and tied with twine. A can of gold spray paint can make anything look better too.

Our family room. I get so happy when I can add orange to a room. And feathers.

I made some rolled magazine flowers for the stag. Check out the DIY post from Jones Design Company – she’s so clever. Fall print by yours truly.

Arrows! Check out my post about this hot trend.

My daughter and I made a fall leaf garland {super easy}. Check out the original DIY post here from The Handmade Home. Some girls have all the clever ideas, while others {me} are in awe.

yummy pillows. I like the mix of textures and fall-ish colors. You don’t have to do the obvious color palette of orange, gold and reds. Sometimes just thinking of the opposite of Spring is a good way to figure out what works. Don’t always put away all your pillows or accessories when the seasons change. For example, the polka dot pillow will work for all seasons. Just adding one seasonal accessory might be all you need.

Even Oscar thinks the pillows are yummy. Oh, too cute.

I’m embracing fall. And even though I hear winter knocking on the door, I’m not letting him in yet and I’m going to enjoy the brisk {not freezing} air, the light {not winter} coats and the falling leaves {not snow}. I hope you enjoyed the small peek into our home and enjoy this lovely season!