Fall Home Tour
Autumn. Fall. No matter what you call it, I've never met one I didn't love. By the time September comes, I am more than ready to add just a few autumn decorative touches to our home. Please come in! I decorated a little later than usual because summer seems to want to hang on here. I'm sorry that it's still so hot, but don't let that stop you from enjoying a hot cup of your favorite Pumpkin flavored coffee or tea.
I think our newly planted "Provence" front garden is doing so nicely. We have such a drought here, that we removed our front lawn last year, and planted all drought resistant plants around a gravel center. I chose Little Ollie's, several types of Lavender, Rosemaries, and Silver Sheen trees. The Salvia Leucantha is providing a great amount of color in our mostly green garden. This is where we sit in the early morning, cup of coffee in hand, to read a devotion, read emails, and get ready for the day.
I love decorating, although I don't do as much as I used to when our children were younger. These days, I mostly add natural elements such as pumpkins, and potted mums to welcome the season. I "dress up" our antique collection in autumn colors. Please come in…I'd love to show you around.
This is our small demilune table in the entrance. It holds a faux potted Linden tree that is close to my heart, since our first granddaughter is named Linden. Vintage Scrabble letters spell out "bonjour", the hand holds an antique sterling hat brush engraved with "Fifth Street Store." The bowl with antlers is one of my favorite antique brown transfer ware pieces I bought in England.
From the entry, you step down into the living room. It has the most amazing light, it's why I fell in love with this house, the back wall is floor to ceiling windows that bathe this room in light during the day. This is where we might sit and have a drink, coffee or tea. If it's cold enough, there will be a fire in the fireplace.
Our fall mantel. I keep things fairly simple on the mantel, a few velvet pumpkins in an antique marble bowl from Italy, perched on a huge antique French book, a silver trophy holds pheasant feathers. I still need to add small votives, I love the glow of candlelight in the fall. {Everything and everyone looks better with candlelight!}
The santos usually wears an ex voto, for fall he wears a little garland of bittersweet.
I'm searching for the perfect sofa that is linen, but child and dog proof { I know! I know!!} for the living room. We've always had white or off white sofas, even when our children were really small. This one is almost at it's end..the slipcovers have been bleached to an inch of their life. That little green square behind my pumpkin in the provence planter on the table? It's an antique children's chair. At our house, children have tea parties on the coffee table at regular intervals. {The antique French basket under the bench holds toys.} Just because our home is filled with antiques doesn't mean that our family can't live and play here.
Here are two little autumn details in the living room. A little potted pumpkin keeps our antique etchings company on the wall to the left of the fireplace.
and this 19th century transferware ink pot is perfect to hold my dried hydrangeas, don't you think?
Although I love the living room, I have to be honest and tell you that most of the time, if you come here, I will take you into our large kitchen. Our big table is right in the center, and this is where I will most likely sit with you to talk, and feed you scones from the oven or a macaron and great big bowls or cups of cafe au lait. I have had many business "meetings" here too, sales reps, antique dealers, magazine editors, all of them usually end up sitting here with me at the table. I am not an exceptionally great cook, but I do think sharing a meal, or at least a hot drink and "something to go with it" is the perfect way to get to know someone.
For this table setting, I layered my Wedgwood Cream Edme Plates with French green majolica plates. I collected the Wedgwood Edme service over years and years - as a young wife and mother, I asked for a few plates, tea cups or cream soups for every birthday or Christmas. The linen napkins are my new favorites, they are embroidered with a beautiful monogram in taupe.
The centerpiece is an antique French wood garden trug I filled with hydrangeas and pumpkins. A few faux antlers I've had for years, candles that smell like autumn pears, and I'm ready for a fun dinner with friends.
I am kind of secretly in love with this pig. My family is not convinced that he is a keeper, but other than switching him out (maybe!) for the holidays for a deer head with gilded antlers, he is here to stay, because there is something charming about him that I love.
The pig will soon be available in my shop, I love him that much, and I'm pretty sure you will too! {edited on 9/29/2015: He's going fast!! Estate Stone Pig }
Every season I freshen up the kitchen with a few new towels, this year I was so excited to find these Bon Appetit towels. They are all linen, with black embroidery. {if I don't keep all of them for moi, these will be available in the shop too!} The highchair was bought for our first daughter, I painted it black for our grandchildren to use. I might take the "table" part off later to keep it as a handy stool.
The other side of the kitchen looks like this. It is supposed to be the dining area. But we have a seating area, an antique French armoire and the television there instead. That way I am still part of the action while cooking, since this is where our family loves to be!
A little autumn decorating makes this antique tea set fit right in with the season!
and the chalkboard in the kitchen wearing its banner for autumn.
I hope you have enjoyed this little tour of our home! Wait, just a few more things to show you before you leave.
A tall armoire filled with antique French majolica on display. The colors are beautiful, all the greens, browns, golden yellows and purples make this collection perfect for autumn.
The guest bathroom gets just a little autumn color, a nest filled with eggs and fall soaps, and an antique squirrel. {along with pigs, I have a thing for squirrels..although we have two very pesky squirrels in our back garden this year that I'm not always a fan of ~ they screech at Bentley, our labrador!}
I'm so happy you were here to visit! I hope you come back, I've loved having you. You can take a peek in the back garden before you go….
I hope this fall tour has inspired you, and maybe given you some easy ideas you can do at home! Are you decorating for autumn, or are you already done?
Please leave me a comment to let me know. Soon, I will have an exciting give away to share with all of you! I hope you will sign up to get my blog posts via email in the little box above right so you won't miss it.
Happy Weekend!
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Lidy
February 03, 2023
Thank you so much Kathi!