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 to the autumn edition of the Four Seasons Interior Design blog hop! I’m joining a group of talented designers, headed by MaryJo of Master”pieces” of my Life and Susan of From the Bay to the Beach, who are bringing you all types of fall design inspiration. The previews and links for each designer's seasonal ideas are listed near the end of this post.

    

   

The Foyer Chest

 

I like to start my fall decorating with a lovely vignette on the chest in our foyer. I think it creates the perfect seasonal welcome for friends, family and other visitors. In fact I change out the displays on this chest throughout the year. Since this version will be up through Thanksgiving, I began with life-like silk flowers and leaves that have the vivid colors fall will bring outside my door.

 

   

Squirrels gathering acorns for the winter are an iconic image. I've chosen a bronze colored figurine holding a bowl that I've filled with faux acorns and leaves. The sun caught it in a shaft of light so it appears in the photos brighter than its normal color.

 

To separate the similar shades of the decor items and the wood of the chest, I laid an antique Irish linen dresser scarf c. 1900 that has both cutwork and hand embroidery.

  

I added colorful faux berries and glass leaves that sparkle in the sun. Even though pumpkin season is not yet here, I couldn't resist including pumpkins made of different materials.

 

     

From the stairs you can see that the vignette takes up most of the top of the chest. And that its colors mirror those found in the tapestry hanging above.

 

    

The Tray

 

To the left of the foyer is our living room. While its decor doesn't get changed out as often as that of the foyer, I usually style the coffee table every autumn. This year I decided to once again use a tray as the base for the design, choosing one with a beautiful mother-of-pearl mosaic pattern in concentric circles. I love the contrast between its pale iridescent surface and the colors of the table and assembled items.

 

Mid-century ceramic squirrels search for acorns among rattan balls and leaves. I love the amount of detail present in the squirrels.

 

    

Unlike the foyer chest, there are no pumpkins here, just varied textures, a russet candle and a graceful glass vase in lovely tortoiseshell. And of course the cute squirrels!

 

The vase is filled with cheerful wildflowers in vibrant fall colors. I love the unexpected pop of hot pink!

 

   

The Display Cabinet

 

I brought autumnal hues and themes to the glassware hutch, which I particularly enjoy styling since we spend so much time in the kitchen. The ceramic vase that I first showed you in Vintage Treasures from the Annual Glass Show brackets one side of the hutch display, backed by a serving tray covered in wheat and olives.  

 

   

The opposite side is patrolled by a raffia pheasant who is intently studying a pretty glass pumpkin with a curled stem. The pumpkin sits on a wood and bone box that I've recently added to my collection of boxes, two of which were seen in Setting a Spring Table for Lunch.  

 

I couldn't resist these adorable raffia critters — one is a squirrel with a fluffy tail, and the other is . . . well I'm not sure, but its face is sure cute!

 

     

I love the swirling pattern of the pumpkin!

 

    

The Mantel

 

Pumpkins reign on the mantel, pumpkins in warm fall colors that echo those in the silk flowers.

 

I found the pair of vintage ceramic cachepots at least a dozen years ago. They're usually on the mantel but have occasionally made it onto the dining room table. They hold a large number of flowers, berries and assorted greenery — so they are the perfect additions to the mantel, which is above my eye-level when standing. It can be quite a challenge to style!

 

   

I love the variety of textures in the pumpkins, but if I had to pick a favorite pumpkin it would probably be this embroidered one.

 

And now I want to introduce you to the creative talents behind the Four Seasons Interior Design group, fall collection! I'm sure you'll find ideas to craft your autumn designs.

Master”pieces” of my Life

From the Bay to the Beach

County Road 407

Thistle Key Lane

A Life Unfolding

Thrifting Wonderland

Dinner at Eight

From Farmhouse to Florida

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia 

Everyday Edits

Thank you for joining us today! I hope we've inspired you to bring some charming seasonal design to your home.

 

   

 

Shared with these enjoyable parties:

Metamorphosis Monday   

   

    

     

   

   

   

   

   

   

      

   

    

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! 

 

   

Summertime Tea al Fresco

Hello! I wanted to share with you a special tea on an overcast — almost ready to rain — day. There is something inherently relaxing about brewing a favorite tea, adding something sweet or savory, and spending quiet time in a lovely setting. 

 

For today's tea, I've chosen loose tea and tinned biscuits that my husband brought me from London, and set a tea table on the deck overlooking the backyard. I set the table for only one, but I won't be alone for tea — 

 

     

For I'm joined for tea

Vintage Treasures from the Annual Glass Show

Hello, friends! I thought I'd share with you some wonderful treasures I picked up from the 48th Collectible Glass Show, held annually in Marietta, GA. I try not to go to it with any particular type of object in mind, since the show spans glassware produced from 1900 through the 1980s, and ranges from pure artistry through dining and utilitarian pieces. For variety, some booths offer porcelain, pottery and table linens from the period as well.

 

In no particular order: 

 

These are awesome examples of 'swung glass' art pieces. Swung glass is a style of mid-century art glass made by pressing hot glass into a mold, reheating it, and literally swinging it like a pendulum to stretch and elongate the neck. This centrifugal force creates a fluid, organic, and one-of-a-kind shape most famously crafted into tall vases.

 

     

A Gardener's Table on a Quiet Weekend

Welcome, friends, on a sunny, quiet weekend! I had hoped to set the table on the patio, but a spate of daily thunderstorms has driven me inside. Since the temps have also soared, it was a good decision all around! My garden has struggled this year, first with drought conditions, then a deluge of pollen, and now more rain than the poor plants know what to do with. Actually, they've hunkered down and concentrated on building more roots rather than exploding in blooms. 

 

So this gardener gathered a smattering of blooms and set a relaxing table inside.  

 

    

July is not the most colorful month in my garden. The spring bulbs, perennials and flowering shrubs are busy preparing