There’s a Full Moon Rising . . .

And so October begins . . . the changing of the seasons, the slow then quick color wash of spectacular golds and reds and oranges. 

 

And at its end, the transformation of colors that become first bleak, then foreboding, signaling that Halloween has come!

 

If that gives you a slight shiver — welcome to the Halloween Tablescape Blog Hop where you'll be introduced to a selection of spooky, whimsical, or scary themes limited only by our imagination!  

 

I began with a table-topper in heart-throbbing orange covered in all the expected spooky motifs in black. In the middle I set an elegant glass vase filled with black roses and deep purple raven feathers.

 

There will be a full moon rising in the days before Halloween, which inspired the theme for my tablescape. But how to carry it out? Without a second thought I chose the set of salad plates which also features iconic images set against full moons in shades of gray, black and ghostly ivory. A somber owl is being harassed by territorial bats.

 

Frolicking ghosts have joined the fun.

 

While at another place setting the bats fill the skies! The salad plates nestle into vintage dinner plates with ornate scrolling and equally ornate candlesticks hold pillar candles. To match their formality, I've used lovely crystal wine and champagne goblets with modern lines and gleaming black stems.

 

Dessert will be served in mini cauldrons after the pesky spiders are removed.

 

A witch appears among the bats. Notice how the plates moodily portray the moon's dark volcanic plains called maria, rugged light-colored highlands, and countless impact craters formed by asteroids and meteoroids. 

 

An inquisitive witch has left her dusty library and flies high above the table. 

 

The fourth salad plate again features bats, while a wide-eyed cat catches a mouse. Beyond the place setting is a second set of salt and pepper shakers in bone-chillingly white.

 

Hand-crafted steel cats hold patterned napkins.

 

Silvered charge plates will catch both the candlelight and moonlight shining through the doors.

 

The witch hasn't graced my tablescapes in quite awhile. It's high time she made an appearance!

 

Bats have entered her library!

 

An elegant yet fiendishly macabre tablescape!

 

Now that there's a full moon rising, I'd like to introduce you to the Halloween Tablescape Blog Hop organized by the incomparable Rita of Panoply! She's gathered twelve stylists to provide whimsical, spooky, fun, or eerie inspiration for your Hallows' Eve tables. You'll want to delve into all these tablescapes!

 

                    Panoply - Skeleton Duet Halloween Tablescape

                    Life and Linda - Phantom of the Opera Tablescape

                    Hyacinths for the Soul - Too Cute to Spook

                    Me and My Captain - Happy Ghosts Visit the Moon of the High Mountain Desert of New Mexico

                    Red Cottage Chronicles - A Charming Halloween Tea Party

                    The Cat's Whiskerz - A Witchy Halloween Tablescape

                    Corner of Plaid and Paisley - A Bit of Scare in that Scarecrow

                    Olla-Podrida - Haunted House Tablescape for Halloween

                    My Thrift Store Addiction - Charlotte the Spider and a Whimsical Garden Party

                    Dinner at Eight - There's a Full Moon Rising . . .

                    Thrifting Wonderland - All Hallows Eve Thrifted Tablescape

                    The Bookish Dilettante - Tablescape for Spooky Season: El Día de los Muertos

Happy Halloween!

Our previous Halloween tablescape hops can be explored in A Shadow on the Floor — The Raven, A Hauntingly Delightful Halloween or Welcome to Ghostly Hollow.          

Shared with these mysterious parties:

Wonderful Wednesday   

Vintage Charm   

Grandmas House Wednesday    

Share Your Style-    

Tablescape Thursday    

Thursday Favorite Things    

Funtastic Friday    

Farmhouse Friday

Home Matters  

Crazy Little Lovebirds   

Create Bake Grow Gather   

Saturday Sparks   

    

    

    

   

   

   

   

   

 

    

    

    

   

    

A Mediterranean Table for Early Fall

There's a hint of fall in the air! Though summer weather and summer flowers will be with us for another month or more, autumn is definitely in sight. And so I've set a casual table for these no-longer-summer but not-yet-really-fall days that introduces some of the colorways we anticipate seeing in the next few weeks. There will be greens of course, but moodier than those of spring or summer. 

  

Colorful Orchard Tablesetting Celebrates Fall's Arrival

We turned the page and suddenly it's September! Collectively we're relieved that this year's long, hot summer will soon be in the rearview mirror, but fall's entrance is still in the (near) future. Here in North Georgia we will be experiencing warm summer temps throughout the month, but I've got my eyes set on the changeover to autumn and set a table to celebrate its arrival! 

 

    

Fall Decor Ideas: September's Charming Touches

The beginning of September signals that it is time for our homes to embrace the charming touches that fall brings! If you don't know where to start, one of the easiest ways is to group your favorite fall items together, which also increases their impact without overwhelming your house. You can place them on chests, on a striking tray, within a display cabinet or, perhaps the best of all, on a mantel. Come see how I styled those spaces in my own home! 

 

    

Welcome

A Landscape Renovation Part 2: Progress Made

It's been two years since I brought you along for A Landscape Renovation, From the Beginning, an explanation of the changes we made to my MIL's yard. After she purchased the house she had been renting, she wanted to address her yard which could honestly be described as boring (or at best as ho-hum) with nothing but strips of overgrown builder-grade evergreen shrubs and a rundown entrance bed. So we began a multi-phase project, with the first three phases described in the post referenced above. We have since completed phase IV, which comprised additional perennials, and phase V which primarily involved replacing perennials that had not thrived/survived and installing a tree and several shrubs.

 

Let's see the progress made thus far —for a garden is never truly finished!