Looking for Fall: Home Decorating Inspiration for Fall

Remember on the Fall Inspiration post I mentioned the blue plates with a copper charger?  I looked around in my Inspiration notebook and found I'd kept the photo.  I was absolutely wowed by both of these photos, one an ad for Dillards and the other from Country Door catalog.







That said, I am not in the market for spending nearly $100 on glass pumpkins at present, much as I admit I have considered it.  Really, I have, sigh.

So we're back to the usual fare here, making what I have work as well as  what I want.  I'm going to keep my eye on the clearance sales after Thanksgiving and see if any pop up there.  Maybe.
In the meantime, I'm glad I bought new fall florals last year.  And I did at least have a theme in mind.
This is what I have in the living room.  I'm keeping it fairly simple.  Here's the mantle:


I forgot about having those little amber votive lanterns.  Aren't they cute?  I used my great grandmother's butter molds.   I bought the blue pitcher at an estate sale and it turned out to be the house of a brother of my great grandmother...Neat huh?  Mama has the same pitcher in her house, one she got from my great grandmother,  so I'm guessing they were sold in the local general store.

I will have to remove what is on this table if the little boys come over but it's pretty in the meantime.



 I don't know about you but wherever I sit, I look at the spaces before me and then plan how to decorate them so that I find the view pleasing.  You'd be surprised how often I switch seats in a room, lol.   I'd like to get new pillow covers but haven't seen anything I like at present and of course, when I think of fall I want something to snuggle under if it's cool outdoors and I'm being stubborn about turning on the heat.  We haven't gotten anywhere near that point yet, but it's time for the first visit from the propane gas truck, so naturally my mind jumps ahead.

I kept the dining room table simple.


I paid far too much for that little wood server.  I think I would like to buy a live edge wood  charger, something that is quite a bit bigger than what I have at present.  I put the mums outdoors so they could get full sun, which they like,  but they were pretty while they were on the table.  I'll probably fix up some sort of centerpiece before I'm done.   I went out to the shed the day after I took this photo and found my cast iron squirrel nutcracker.  I replaced the little blue creamer with the squirrel. 

I decided the kitchen needed a little touch of autumn, too.


Since I wanted to root coleus and ivy anyway, I just set the small jars in this blue planter on the shelf at the window.   I'm sorry the photo is so bad.  The sunlight in that window, even in late afternoon, is bright.

I hung my Sunbeam Bread sign on the wall of the baking center.   See that blue clock?  That's the chalk painted clock that I did last month.  I'd been looking at a clock almost the exact color at the dollar store and then came home and remembered I had the chalk paint and painted my black clock.  I put a small galvanized container here to house the utensils.   This area is not really decorated for autumn, but it's pretty and practical.  The Sunbeam sign is metal and I can use a magnet to stick loose recipes to the sign while I'm mixing them up.



Remember when I said I sit places and look at the views before me?  One of the spots I sit is here in the kitchen sitting area.  Yes, I do sit in both chairs and look about me while I'm there.  It's how I determined I have to do something with my entry...Work ahead!


And I look at the wall that divides the kitchen and dining room.  I've been adjusting things on that counter top.   I did a lot of decluttering on that counter last month but even with less stuff it looked wrong somehow.  I finally realized what I needed was a different art piece hanging on the wall and some color I could see from the chairs.  The old cookie jar filled the bill with the artwork on the wall.  While the red on the soda crate is visible here it's not when you're looking straight on at it.  Sometimes all that is missing is color.



I made a copy of the back page ad of a late 1930's Woman's Day magazine on cardstock.  I put it in a frame I already had.  I think the space looks much nicer now.

I wanted something on my desk.  I took a close up of this little arrangement:



The desk is messy at present and I really need to neaten up the bulletin board and put up some fresh things to inspire me.  I no longer 'see' the things I have on it at present.  But that is another job for another day.

So there's my inspiration and where it led me.  That blue and softer gold just feels most autumn-like to me.

11 comments:

susie @ persimmon moon cottage said...

I love your Fall decorating ideas. I just started getting Country Door Catalog in the mail. That catalog always has so many things in it that I would like to buy, but don't normally. I do have my eye on a couple of items in it that I just may go ahead and get. It is an excellent source of decorating ideas, too.

I'm looking forward to some rain and cooler temps in the low 80's and high 70's that are forecast to start in a few more days. Just a few more of these over 90 degree hot, humid days to get through and then we will get a nice little break from the heat here near St. Louis.

Anonymous said...

Your mantle is gorgeous! I put out my fall kitchen stuff this weekend. It is still so hot here, it is hard to get in the spirit of fall. Thanks for the inspiration. Kip

jnkbake said...

While reading this, it gave me the motivation that I needed to decorate my house for fall as well! So now, each room has a little "something". So much nicer!

Debby in Kansas, USA said...

I like a little blue in fall decorating. It's great opposite the warm colors. My blue color this year is teal. I had a couple of extra white lanterns in the storage room so I took them out to the garage and they're going to be teal!

I think your décor looks lovely. I especially love the little leaf plate on the books with the little jar and lamp. That's what I mean about those colors setting each other off. And old books will make anything look more interesting! I love using them.

Nice work! It inspires me to hunt up some books to use. I didn't use any......wondering if I have any with teal spines.....

Jo said...

I thought of you as I was standing in line at the Dollar Tree today. I saw some chargers that looked a lot like the ones in your catalog. Not sure of the exact color, but definitely similar. Most likely they are plastic.
Your mantel looks nice - the central floral arrangement is so pretty!
Is your cookie jar a McCoy? I have one that is a cat. My mom and her sister each had one. The other one is a ball of yarn with three little kittens on top for the lid. I gave that one to my daughter.
Thanks for all the inspiration : )

Karen in WI said...

Oh Terri I am drawn to the beautiful glass pumpkins too! I have seen a few on QVC and admired them. Maybe next year!

I love, love the butter molds and how precious that they are from your grandmother. The oil lanterns are nice and practical too. I have wanted an Aladdin one in case out power goes out. And your kitchen decor with the bread signs....just my style! I love everything old fashioned and vintage for the kitchen.

You have done a lovely job with your seasonal touches. I’m happy for you that you have time to contemplate the views of your home again. It is so fun to be among women in this world who love homemaking and value it highly. I wonder what it was like back in the 40’s and 50’s. Hugs and blessings!

terricheney said...

Susie, I've been getting it for a few years now. Loads of inspiration. I've ordered a spread and a couple of canvas pictures and something else from them that were must haves and I was very pleased with the quality overall. But mostly I look at the catalogs for ideas. Bess painted her front door at her last house the color of one in the catalog. I showed it to her and she took it to the paint store to get it matched, lol.

Kip, it's still warm here too, as you know since we're not too far apart.

Joanne, it's fun to do a little something fresh for each season.


Debby I laugh at decorators who buy books specifically to decorate with in a certain color but I will pull my old friends from the shelf if their color works with a theme, lol.


Jo the blue jug is not a McCoy. It is stoneware, quite heavy and lovely.

Karen, I can say truly that my kitchen just plain makes me happy for all that I'd love new cabinetry. And it is nice to be able to once again put out little sweet vignettes to play with. I did have to put away the leaf plate and ginger jar and a couple of other small pieces yesterday but I simply had not time or heart for inspiration when I was in the throes of living with littles in the house.

Jo said...

Oh, sorry, I meant is your cookie jar a McCoy?

terricheney said...

Jo, the jar also has no markings but from a Country Home magazine antiques column I believe it to be an American Biscuit Company (I think that is right), cookie jar. They made many designs. This one was on Mama's counter from earliest childhood memories (around 2!) and she gifted it to me about 21 years ago after we moved here. I keep cookie cutters in it, as cookies kept inside only tempt others to continually mess about with it and I don't want it broken, lol.

Tammy said...

Terri - I didn't do much seasonal decorating when my littles lived here, either. Even now, I find I can't do much since they're here part of almost every day. That's okay - it's a season, I know.

I think hanging the metal sign near your baking area and using magnets to hold recipes is inspirational! LOL. Seriously, I'm going to see how I can do that.
One day I'd love to see a 360° video of how your kitchen is arranged. Is it a small galley kitchen like mine, or more spread out?

terricheney said...

Tammy, it's a large kitchen. The baking center and fridge and broom closet share that one wall. And the stove/sink/dishwasher is on the counter across from it with a counter to the right of the stove as well. I thought the kitchen was absolutely HUGE when we moved in because I'd always had so little counter/cabinet space before. Now it still feels large and roomy but not quite enough storage.

Hmmm...a video sounds like a future blog post. I'll have to figure out how to do it, edit it and post it. Please don't get impatient this would be a very big learning curve thing for me, lol.