A Boating Analogy

(This was my article for The Leaf Chronicle a few weeks ago.)

Have you ever felt like you’ve got each of your feet in two different boats and they’re floating away from each other?

That’s the only way I can describe the feeling I get this time of year ever since opening my shop. At the shop, I’ve already decorated for Christmas, but at the house we’re still transitioning from Halloween to Thanksgiving. I fight the push of Christmas—leaving most of my fall décor intact and work in the Christmas trees and snowmen.

My home décor actually benefited from the transition this year, because the really amazing bunch of cornstalks I had outfitted with a burlap wrap, tulle and a rusty ring of skeleton keys is now standing in my entrance hall! What an impact as you walk in the door. It may have to be mine—permanently.

( . . . and there it is!  I brought it home and will leave it there as long as I can get away with it!)

So, as promised, we’re moving into the house with our fall decor. Many houses have a nice foyer where you can add another welcoming touch to carry-out your theme, such as a fall floral arrangement on a table. But what if you don’t have a formal foyer? There are many strategies you can use to draw the eye into the home—choose your focal point and that is where you’ll put your decorative emphasis.

For instance, if you walk through your front door and the first thing you see is your staircase, add a fall garland. Nothing expensive, just grab some of that wisteria or jasmine that is going dormant, wrap it in a loose configuration, around the railing. Make a swag of Indian corn tied with raffia and you’re done. If you want a little more color run several yards of (again—loosely configured) wide ribbon through the railing and vines. Depending on your color selections and with a few changes, this arrangement can easily become you Christmas décor, too.

A fall mantel looks great with some basic changes to your usual décor. I usually switch-out the brightly colored tea cups and saucers I have displayed on a stand for my brown transferware. I add other details, such as amber bottles and I change my vintage book “risers” to reflect the colors of the season. I switch my glass candle sticks for my brass ones and the color of the candles generally changes, as well.

A quick arrangement for the dining room table is always something folks are asking about when planning to entertain. The simplest arrangements can be made with large pumpkin (I prefer the Princess or Cinderella variety) set atop a cake stand. Under the pumpkin you can place a layer of leaves fanning out around the edge or I would choose a crocheted doily, slightly larger than the cake stand so it can drape over the edge. Sprinkle nuts—still in their shell—around the base of the stand and intersperse glass votives around the table, too. You can also mix in gourds, pomegranates and pinecones of acorns for a “full” look. Remember to use unscented candles on your table, but feel free to light-up the scents of fall throughout the rest of the house.

(this is pre-plush pumpkins)

(many of the same elements—post-plush pumpkins!)

As I said, I’m not ready to rush the season, I still have a lot left to do!

(I have so many intended blog posts—I hope I can get to at least half of them!)

As always, I thank you for your indulgence!