The Fall Living Room 2011

With the weather cooling down nicely, I always get that nesting feeling, you know it's kinda like that loving feeling except it's with your house.....anyway I've started the fall festooning and while there are a couple of more projects that I have in mind, I thought I'd show you some changes I've made.....

No matter the time of year, I change specific things to reflect the season and the gallery wall is one of them. I change a couple pictures around, add in the fall trees, and a leaf picture (taken by my good friend Judy). The printer's block art that I made stays and my favorite owl plate looks especially good for fall!

The coffee table gets it's fair share of display too. An apothecary jar full of hydrangea blooms, white ceramic bowl with pine cones, and berries....I robbed the little brass owl out of my bedroom and put him on a decorative rosewood box and plopped a cloche over him. Under that is a salvaged pitch fork and old book. To finish off the look, two taper candle holders.

The mantle is another area that gets gussied up for the season. I stayed symmetrical again like last year, but overall, it's a simplified look. I found a big heavy plaster container that was narrow enough to fit on the mantle and it really dictated what I did.
After deciding to do an arrangement, it needed to stay pretty simple after that....I used candle holders of various sizes with cream and white candles, some black and white pottery and added a dried gourd.

I changed the curtains to a nice plaid, I've had these panels for several years.


I wanted a collected/cornucopia/bounty look for the mantle, using fall leaves, berries, gourds, pine cones, pomegranates, and bittersweet. The branches are real that I saved from spring pruning, which left my husband shaking his head and walking away.
It ended up being pretty big. It looks a little more dense than it is, but the mirror is reflecting all of the branches (which I didn't anticipate, duh), it's really quite airy. It ended up looking fairly formal, which is OK, I'm down with that. I'm so old school. There is a reason why I got a C in creative writing.

I decided to use the black and white pottery that I found at Hobby Lobby (earlier this year, remember?) to tie back into the black in the mirror.
And have you noticed the increasing amount of brass that you're seeing around here? I don't know why or how, but I'm beginning to sorta kinda like it a teeny tiny bit. Not that fake shiny crappy brassy stuff, but the old real tarnished stuff. And I like it mixed with silver/nickel, I'm feeling fearless on the mixing of metals front.

I've gotten my small collection of camp blankets out, although it's not quite that cold yet. I laid them across the arm of the tufted chair (that is still on the reupholster list)...Daisy (the beagle) didn't mind the extra layers at all. The little folding chair is what Logan likes to sit in.


Pillows change as well (yes, I'm a pillow hound), mostly to brown and a rusty red, the ikat pillow works just fine for fall and I love a bit of blue for fall.

The sofa never looks like this, I just want to bask in the neatness of it for now, right up until any male member of the family arrives. The poofy pillow angels are singing right now, I can hear them (one of them is off key).

I'm standing in the kitchen taking this next picture, I'm working on adding some touches in the kitchen too, but I'll show you that later. *Please note Daisy's bed that she's not in :)

In this shot, I'm standing in the entry, you can see how the front door opens right into the living room. I tried to create a small entry with a sofa table, but it's still not 100% what I want. For now, I laid some chevron fabric over the table and it has helped....I love the rusty color, you can find chevron in nearly every color now.
I'm thinking I might want to make something out of it...maybe. I do like the idea of plaid and chevron though.....

More singing.

I don't mind the driftwood lamp for fall, and added an art glass bowl with tiger lilies in it. I was shopping for hardware for my chain link dresser (which I didn't find) and ended up coming home with these beautiful blue glass knobs for my dresser in the living room...I wasn't even shopping for this dresser, but I love the added detail! Of course know one notices these things but me. :)


SO that is what I've done so far, I hope you can draw some inspiration and get your creative juices flowing!
A couple of things that I want to bring in:
Logs in the firebox instead of candles (I've always loved that stacked log look)
Antlers, if I can sweet talk my FIL out of some ;) I want to hang a mounted set above the round mirror and put some in a bowl some where....
I might go shopping for some different colored taper candles for the mantle, I'm not sure yet.

If you would like to see a ton more pictures (because I don't know when to stop...) please check out my photo stream HERE. This is just an inkling of them....:)



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