TWEAKS+inspiration : Falling for Fall
Are you falling for fall? Come Monday, it's officially autumn. Cozy sweaters, comforting soups and roaring fireplaces might have to wait as it's sunny and 82 degrees here in Oakland, California. What can happen is tweaking our rooms to reflect that change of seasons we're feeling. Above, our mantel this fall. Just got this little wheat sheaf at HomeGoods ($12). The white bowl is from the 99 Cents Store and the feathers come courtesy of our flock of turkey buzzards as they soar over our decks and occasionally drop glossy feathers. Hope these images of our rooms get you in the mood to do a little fall decorating.
Here's our living room for fall. After a few days, P mentioned maybe we need more color. I've got a lots of color in the entryway and thought maybe that was enough.
Amazon's velvet pillow covers arrived the next day. P was right - more color is better this time of year. Copper pillow cover (24" x 24") was $13 and the "tapestry" (16" x 24") was $10. I put IKEA plants ($5 each) in Mom's old Montgomery Ward tin. She used to store her delicious ultra-thin sugar cookies in this tin so my mouth waters every time I look at it.
A few years ago, I took this is photo, P printed it on canvas and I stuck in a Salvation Army $10 frame. It hangs in our kitchen each fall.
In our sunroom (originally our dining room), our new upholstered chairs with "zebra" striped pillows I sewed.
There, these faux succulents in old ginger jars stand in a tray on a table. The "succulents" were bought at IKEA (back pots - $5), the others from $1 to $5 at Michael's and 99 Cent Store.
The entryway has an old garden pot filled with Michael's leaves collected over the years. This fall, a few faux pheasant feathers from the Dollar Store spice things up. Garlands hang from the mirrors. In the reflection, you can see the kitchen on the right, the living room on the left.
In the entryway niche (I didn't know I had a niche), this sweet bust (TJMaxx years ago) gets dolled up each season. This year, necklaces and charms plus a little wreath of fall foliage. That's it for autumn decorating around here. In October, I'll toss some pumpkins and other gourds into the mix and hopefully, they'll last until Thanksgiving. Hope you're now inspired to do a little fall decorating and enjoy the season.
PS. See the little clock on the mantel in the top photo? Here's the true story of how we bought it. P and I were at a Pottery Barn (maybe the first and last time that's happened). P was talking to the store manager about this clock I had picked out. We had noticed two men in suits watching us laugh with the store manager. Just then, they came over and P asked if they were with Pottery Barn. Yes, they were. Regional managers from Seattle! P says, "Wow, so what kind of a deal can you make for us?" The clerk had already offered us the "friends&family" 20% off. Enjoying the fun, one of the men said, "What do you think is a fair price?" Without batting an eye, P said, $25." Without batting an eye, the manager said, "Sold." We all shook hands and had a good laugh. Since the clock retailed for about $50, it was a great deal. Moral of the story - you never know what can happen if you don't ask.
