Feeling Fallish
I had a little fun tossing together a quick fall-esque tablescape so I thought I’d share. Happily I used things that I already had around the house so it was a nice little free tabletop makeover.
All it took was an old runner from Target, a white vase also picked up at Target a while back, a manzanita branch that we’ve had for years, a woven basket from Ikea with a plant in it, woven cups snagged at Sur La Table on clearance, an old Target bowl full of corks, and an old hurricane from Ikea filled with more corks (learn how we whipped that up here).
We’re loving how the texture of the woven glasses and the basket planter mixes with the corks and the manzanita branch for a nice serene fall feeling.
And although we’re enjoying pops of color nearly everywhere else, there’s something casual and effortless about this serene neutral grouping for that oh-I-just-threw-this-together feeling. But it could be amped up with a colorful runner or a vase and a bowl in a brighter hue (like orange, red, or chocolate brown for some fall flair).
I’m constantly making little changes like this around the house, just to keep things interesting. And most of the time I forget to photograph things before I’m busy changing them again. But this time I remembered. So if you guys like small tabletop switcheroos (and other simple decor-related posts like these) I’ll do my best to take more pics and share them more often.
But enough about me- what are you doing to inject some fall flavor into your house? Do you have subtle fall-ish decor that you bring out every year without fail? Or do you prefer to change things up from year to year (using orange fall leaves one year and white pumpkins the next)? We definitely still plan to have some Halloween and Thanksgiving related decor fun, so I guess this is sort of a warm up. Is anyone else out there warming up with fall-ish decor since it’s cooling down outside? Do tell.
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love it! now I need to go find some fall-ish things to make my own tablescape!
I love changing decor for the season! Not only because I like to celebrate the season, but like you, I don’t like looking at the same thing for too long!
This is my “early fall” table:
http://iklektik-creativity.blogspot.com/2010/09/first-hints-of-fall.html
I’ll switch it up for halloween, and late fall/thanksgiving
I’ve always loved those white shelves hanging in your DR, and now that we have some inherited china to display, Something like that would be great but…aren’t you nervous plates will fall?! I would be in BIG trouble with my Mother-in-law if a clumsy pup or buddy knocked over grannys tea set!
otherwise, love the tablescape! Cork is so lovely and cheap! I think a pop of falling leaf red would look great too!
Hey Bria,
We actually use that Earthquake Fix stuff (here we call it Sticky-Tack, but it just keeps things in place and kind of looks like a white ball of wax- sorry that sounds so gross). Anyway, we put a few wads of that at the bottom of the plates that we have standing up and they stick like glue. No worries about anything falling down, even if someone brushes up against them or something. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I can’t wait to break out the fall decor! I finally have a weekend to myself this weekend (somewhat anyway) and am chompin’ at the bit to break out the fall….but I am so excited for Halloween I just might break that out first!! Spooky!
I’ll be doing some little switches this weekend since I’m in the mood for fall!
Too funny, I just did a brief post about the beginnings of my fall tablescapes! http://hernandohouse.wordpress.com/2010/09/17/fall-foliage/
Love these posts! Please keep them coming!
Ok, this post makes me feel like it’s time to pull out my fall colored accessories. I like using fall colored candles, vase fillers, pillows, table runner, and table top display instead of turkeys and pumpkins. Spring and summer are great, but fall and winter are my favorite to decorate!
We just added some fall decoration on Wednesday! With cork too, are we psychically linked? We went with orange and brown. We had lots of brown decor around so we just had to get a few orange pieces. Fun, fun.
I love Fall and am loving your decor!
I love the posts that showcase something you have done in your home, no matter how big or small, so please keep them coming. They much better than the generic posts I’ve been seeing more often on here and is the reason I became hooked on your blog in the first place.
I’m also happy to see that you went back to your neutral roots for this tablescape.
I love decorating for fall! Its one of my favorite seasons! Your white vase reminds me so much of a pumpkin or a gourd of some sort its perfect for fall decor!
This is VERY charming! Even looking at it makes me feel warmth and coziness!
It is still so crazy hot in OKC that I can’t yet focus on fall. But as soon as we fill that first nip in the air, I’ll be using this post as inspiration for our own tablescape. Thanks for sharing!
I’ve been following your blog for a little while now (ever since i stumbled across it about a month ago) and I love everything you do!
My husband and I just bought our first house (this past weekend!) and I’m dying to start decorating! He had a rule while we were living in apartments that i couldn’t have more decorations than would fit in a single storage bin. But now that i have free reign – I’m at a loss of where to start – any tips? With our new house the possibilities are endless really, so I’m stuck.. any advice you could offer would be great! Thanks!!
Hey Jamie,
We prefer to collect things that we love over time (instead of walking into a store and dropping $100 on accessories at a time) so we would just encourage you to only buy things that you love and can’t live without. Just let your taste guide you and only buy the best of the best instead of a lot of filler things that you think you need. Time and time again you’ll reach for the decor that you adore instead of the stuff that you’re soft on. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I love to bring out my Spode Woodland China. My favorite colors are fall colors, and my walls are a caramel-ish color, so my house looks a little fall-ish all year, but bringing out that china and putting it on display adds a little something special!
We are closing on our house the week before Thanksgiving and I am already thinking of fun and creative ways to begin decorating for the holidays. Thanks for the inspirational post!!
Yes, I love posts like these and would enjoy seeing more! I like the small switches you often do, because even though when I see your pictures and explanation it looks easy and like something I can tackle, I often am stuck on my own.
For a recent dinner party I picked up leaves from my backyard, placed them in a clear hurricane vase with a chunky fall-colored candle in the middle. I also wrote everyone’s names on a real leaf and used that for the place card.
My husband and I LOVE Fall! We’re dying to bust out the decor and go at it! Maybe this weekend… :)
I love these posts. I try to change things every season, but I find its the hardest part of the room. So its great to see ideas on what you’ve used or how you pair things.
I LOVE the tablescape. Its not the totally literal interpretation of Fall. It works off the textures and the nature aspect of it. I might be slightly obsessed! And this is timely if nothing else! Last night, I busted out the fall decor! Its still in the works but will be posted on http://www.temporarynest.com very soon!
As always, love the inspiration you provide. For now, we’re working on keeping the house orderly until our wedding has passed. After October 9th, I’ll be ALL about putting some fall fun into the decor! I prefer using autumn colors and textures rather than doing Halloween, then Thanksgiving. (That’ll change when kids come along!)
We’re doing our fall decorating this weekend – thanks for the inspiration!!!
Hooray fall! We just painted our living/dining room area in Sherwin Williams-matched Martha Stewart Heavy Goose (a really subtle dove-gray in our light-filled house), and I can’t WAIT to see what it looks like with the fall decor. We bought a canvas from good ‘ol Ikea that has all the fall colors (and three of the colors in the rest of the space!) represented, and it looks fantastic with the gray. I can’t wait to see birch branches and bright orange and red leaves spicing up the joint. Yay fall!
We created this fall centerpiece… I am totally in love with it.. and I can use the pieces and switch it out for a Christmas centerpiece as well!
I love fall!! Great table scape. Simple. Earthy. Nice. I’ve been wanting to get our my fall decor and put my spring stuff away. Will hopefully do that soon. I usually can’t put much on our table b/c our cats tend to tear across it whenever they feel like it. I have to be careful of what things I put on tables! Oh, and thanks for teh tip on how you display your plates. Great idea. I’d love to do that someday. :)
Perhaps I’m too much of a fall fanatic, since I just painted our home’s entryway, hallway, and master bedroom fall colors. As for actual decorating, I’ve already placed mums at the front door and gourds on the mantle. I’m just so ready for cooler weather and hot apple cider!
We only decorate for Christmas, for some reason. I love your subtle fall decor, though…you may have inspired me to go a little beyond just the pumpkin candle I get every year. :)
Have a great weekend!
I love decorating for each season. So with that said I am itching to change things up around the house with my fall decor. I usually put out the same decor out each year with a few new things to make it a little different from the year before. When my house is fall ready it will all be documented on http://www.justinandsally.blogspot.com check it out!
I love the light fixture over your table! Is that a DIY project or something your bought? We have a hideous builder-grade chandelier over our table and I’m ready to rip it off and just leave a hole in the ceiling!
Hey Sara,
It’s actually an under $50 pendant light from CB2. It was a plug in fixture that we converted to a hardwired one by snipping the cord and exposing the two internal wires and using a cheap metal canopy from Home Depot to hide the ceiling fixture box and all the wiring. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I love tabletop switcheroos “tablescapes” and yours are no exception. They’ve always given me inspiration. I am in the midist of coming up with a variation/improvement over last years.
We have Thanksgiving on October 11th in Canada so I’m doing Thanksgiving first and then change to Fall for November.
Keep the inspiration coming. I’m addicted.
Hi Sherry!
I always seem to do your thing. Moving things around (the same ones, I’m afraid) so as to keep them interesting. To me. Because my husband NEVER seems to be aware of the changes!
You really inspire me to use unexpected things like corks and stones and ordinary glass bottles on silver trays (that was a good one!). The trick is grouping. And a little fantasy will go a looong way!
Thanx!
Hello,
Love the new table top make over. I had a small question? where can I find manzanita branches. I have many vases at home but I really cant find those organic looking branches anywhere. Any idea which stores carry them?
V
Hey Vidu,
We got that one as a gift from a friend who had it and didn’t know what to do with it (she got it from a beach shop on the coast) but maybe you can find them online? Like eBay or even a specialty branch and shell shop or something? Perhaps googling “manzanita branch shop” will turn something up? Happy hunting…
xo,
s
I do enjoy seeing your decor as you change it up. Your designs inspire me to roam around my house and change things up a bit.
Love the brown contrast against all that white. I’ve been totally jumping on the early fall decorating bandwagon lately too. I just been adding some easy(and cheap!) accessories like a leafy wreath on the front door and some warm-toned candles to the dining room table. You can check out the quick updates on my blog here: http://makinglucyshouse.blogspot.com/2010/09/faaaaallllll.html
Keep all the little updates coming! :)
NO!!! I can’t let go of summer yet, lucky me I don’t have to because it’s still in the 90′s here. (but I love your tablescape, will remember it in November.)
Keep up the tablescapes – it’s one of my favorites on your blog. These little switcheroos with items you already own are always so inspiring to go home and change things around. I love the natural vibe with lots of texture – nice work! And happy Fall!
I LOVE these posts. It’s really these little touches that make a house a home (and not a museum). Please keep ‘em coming!
I really enjoy seeing your picture posts like this…I think I might try to make one on my table this weekend…I don’t have anything on it as we speak and it could use some “amping up” :) Thanks for all of your great ideas.
Lorie
Sherry:
These posts are definitely some of my favorite ones. I think it’s because there’s zero tools involved ^_^ I like taking small red leaves from outside & putting them on my table neutral runner. It may sound a little ugly but they look really sweet.
Very subtle. It makes me think of fall at the beach, which I love!
I switch the covers on my big sofa pillows for different seasons. I just switched over to my gold velvet covers for the fall. Ikea has inexpensive cushion covers that make it easy for me to have a few pair on-hand w/ out breaking the bank. Other than that, I keep it pretty simple and just add some Halloween items when that rolls around.
Speaking of Ikea, I love the Lack shelves in your dining room and would like to use them in a few rooms in our house. Assuming that you have plaster walls (since your house is older), were the shelves difficult to install and make secure/level? My hubby is reluctant to hang anything more than a picture frame on our walls as he’s convinced it’ll destroy the plaster.
Hey Stacey,
Yup, we have plaster walls but they weren’t bad! We just used a level and some metal heavy duty anchors from Home Depot (the plastic kind weren’t strong enough for the job) so that’s our recommendation. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I’m so glad that other people have started their fall accessorizing. I started putting stuff out last week and I kinda felt like I was cheating on summer. (freakish, I know!) Love the tablescape – you’ve inspired me to display all of our corks!
Before bringing out Halloween (can’t wait!) I am putting fall decor out and telling my toddler we’re ushering in autumn with a party. I saw a great link here http://www.gwennypenny.com/2010/09/printable-welcome-autumn-mini-banner.html for some party decorations… We harvested carrots from her garden (with much fanfare) to bake into muffins, etc… She learns about the seasons, I get to engage her while I bring out a few fall things for our home.
Hey love the new tablescape! I would love to see more post like this, especially the console table (I can never get mine right).
This is off topic from todays post but I was wondering if you could give me some advice. We made a hugh mistake when we bought our current sofa. It is way to big and the material is horrible and has started to fall apart the queality is very poor(we havent even had it a year!!).
Our new sofa will sit across from two arm chair so they are facing eachother. My question is, is there a rule of thumb about the size of your sofa in proportion to the chairs? Or could you just give me your opinion?
Thanks!!!
Hey Margie,
There’s definitely not a rule of thumb so it’s all about doing what works to your eye. Would you consider facing two chairs on the other side of your sofa for balance since it sounds like your couch is on the big side? It’s all about trying to keep the room looking proportionate and balanced instead of overly heavy on one side. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I love these posts and that you guys are always re-using a repurposing stuff! It shifts the focus from just going out and buying another thing to being creative with that you have.
I’m ready for fall, too, and have been nesting a lot. I guess I am getting ready for all the time we will be spending inside once winter hits.
Your table is pretty. What do you do with all that stuff when you are eating? We usually make a main dish and at least one side for dinner, and with that lovely centerpiece, we’d have no place to put them, or the salt and pepper, the cheese or olives or rooster sauce, or the three separate dishes our preschooler seems to require for each meal.
Hey Cate,
Good question! We load up our plates buffet style in the kitchen (so big serving dishes don’t really get set out on the table, and things get salted or peppered beforehand too). Which means our centerpieces can pretty much remain as they are… until I swing through and change things again! Of course when Clara gets bigger we know that’ll be a game changer. But we’ll keep everyone posted as our house changes with baby girl’s growth!
xo,
s
What I love about Fall is that you can use nature to decorate and it costs nothing! I love using pine cones in vases or bowls, acorns, leaves, indian corn, etc!
Love what you have done with the branches! Very classic.
The woven glasses are really cool, and I love the vase with the manzanita branch. I like the corks in the hurricane, I think I can recreate that myself (we save all the corks from wine we drink), but the bowl of corks makes me think you’d want me to snack on them! :)
I love your “switcheroo” posts–they’re really inspiring and creative. And I can’t wait to see what you are going to do for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas!! Picked a costume for your cute baby girl yet?
Oh yes, let’s just say it’s inspired by her big brother. Can’t wait to share those pics!
xo,
s
No doubt she’ll be absoutely adorable!