With the arrival of every season, I am inspired to change the décor in and around my house. I rummage through the two boxes I have marked seasonal décor, scour my cupboards for pretty dishes, change pillows, collect items from the outdoors, and throw my house into a general state of confusion for an afternoon or two.
Decorating is second nature for me. If I wasn't an artist I think I'd like to decorate for weddings; or be in charge of the décor for restaurants. I love to mix materials, make things, and pair items together in several different ways to create many effects with numerous moods. I think if I didn't change my décor for the season, it would be more of a drag and a bother than if I did.
However, I do understand that for some of us, decorating our homes can be an odious and even stressful task that looks rather daunting. After all, you have an entire house as a blank canvas, and décor items can be very pricey. Where does a person start? We want a cozy and inviting space but at the same time, how can we recreate the scene in the Better Homes And Gardens magazine when all the items together rack up to somewhere well into the hundreds? We want tastefully decorated homes but where do we start if our character leans more towards practical rather than artistic?
I am happy to present to you the first issue of my annual Decorating Inside And Out guide! Here I will provide you with a few ideas that you can either copy completely; or use as a springboard for your ideas. I hope I can provide you with inspiration and show you just how fulfilling and enjoyable decorating and a tastefully decorated home can be.
Rules To Follow
Use What You Have
Get creative with the items you own. See the potential in everything! A dish can be put on display, salt and pepper shakers can be set up on a high shelf so that you can't see the holes in the top but can still enjoy the cuteness factor, old books can be made into book stacks, plants add a touch of green and life to your space, beautiful cards can be framed as well as artwork of your own (and yes, your art is good enough to put on display), pretty hairpins and perfume bottles can be placed on a beautiful plate for display, that old copper colander with the rust inside that you were going to throw out? Fill it with balls of yarn, a dried flower display, cloth napkins, or facecloths. The possibilities of what you own are endless. Just look around your house!
Go Out And Find It
Nature provides us with millions of beautiful items. Shells, grasses, pinecones, flowers, rocks, leaves, logs, mushrooms, abandoned bird nests, birch saplings, feathers, acorns, chestnut burs, seed pods, evergreen branches, the list could go on forever.
Gift It
Someone is always asking what to buy you for your birthday, so put the DIY supplies and décor items you want on your wish list.
Be Thrifty
Browse the thrift store, check out garage sales, take old items people are giving away, look at flea markets, always check the clearance bins and the stuff that's going out of season (pssst! January is one of the best times to shop because no one wants to spend money after the holidays, so stores practically give their items away in the hopes someone will buy) and yes, keep an eye out on garbage day. Some of the best treasures are the ones people throw out.
Why Buy When You Can Make?
Sometimes there are items you find in the store that you just can't replicate, those are the ones you should spend your hard-earned cash on. But lots of times, items you see in store can be recreated in your home at a price that is exponentially cheaper. You know those great poofs that became all the rage a few years ago? I sewed I giant box out of fabric with a zipper on one side. Then I filled it with clean but old and no longer useable materials like sheet sets that had seen their last, old work shirts full of holes, sweaters with thousands of pills, stained napkins etc. I now have a beautiful, on-trend poof that cost me all of $40.00. New ones range anywhere from $80.00 to $300.00. Not so bad eh?
Occasionally, Splurge
You know that cow skin rug you've had your eye on for five years? It's time to buy it.
Here are a few fall décor ideas for your home this year. Remember, these sketches are just to jump-start your own imagination and help you come up with ways to use the items you have at your disposal. Don't feel pressured to completely copy my photos or ideas. Half the fun of decorating is making your space your own and using your imagination.
Find
Pine, spruce, or fur cones can add a decided fall look to your interior. These are easy to find whether you live in a city or in the country. Adding glue to the tips of a larger type of cone, like pine cones, and then glittering them in copper, brown, red, orange, or gold can make a dramatic display of fall colours. If you aren't the artistic type; or simply don't have the time to make your own glittered pine cones, you can find them for sale in my shop.
Grasses are another great natural material you can go out and find. Chinese silver grass is a special favourite of mine. In early fall it comes up in profusion in a deep, sparkly, amethyst colour. As it matures it becomes more white and fluffy until it turns a snowy colour. The sad thing about it is, even if you pick it at its purple stage, it will still turn white. The great thing about it is, it won't shed! So you can pick it, plonk it in a vase, and keep it in the house.
I also feel it is a very versatile décor item because it suits any season. If you're the type that doesn't like to be bothered with changing a lot of décor every season, this is a good item for you.
Cattails and pampas grass are also very fallish and can add height to a fall setup. I think both of these would be better outside or porch décor as I am unsure if they shed or drop seeds.
Acorns are easily found almost anywhere. Oaks go through staff years where they produce an abundant amount of nuts some years, and next to nothing during others. So don't give up in despair this year if you go looking for them and can't find any. Chances are your oaks will be loaded next year.
Look for the acorns that have lost their caps and don't have holes. These are the ones that are less likely to house a worm inside. Collect both nuts and caps and just hot glue the caps to the nuts later. If you're concerned about the worms, you can bake the nuts in your oven at very low heat for an hour or so. This should kill anything that may be hiding inside.
Acorns look great in their natural brown shells or painted. Before gluing on their caps, paint the acorns gold or copper. Or glue on the caps and paint the whole acorn. A bowl of these on a table as a centerpiece or a jar full of them up on a shelf makes a stunning and expensive-looking décor item.
Make
You know those cute little fabric pumpkins you see in stores all the time now? Aren't they the sweetest little things? Have you happened to glance at the price of them? Hmmmmm... not so cute.
Fabric pumpkins are a beautiful way to add a touch of homey elegance to any room. Line them up across a mantlepiece, jumble them up together in a basket, place them on a bookshelf, or on a table. There are so many ways to use these fun fall accents.
Great news! These are the easiest things to make. And you can design them exactly how you want. Velvet adds a dash of sophistication, while checkers give a pop of homey farmhouse cheer. And there's no need to go out and splurge on a bunch of fabric either. These can be made from old sweaters or clothes you have lying around, branches and sticks in your yard can be used for stems, and a needle and thread are cheap to purchase.
Buy
Pumpkins of course! A big orange pumpkin on your doorstep is one of the most inviting things in the world. And when you're done using it for display, you can cook it and make it into pie, soup, or bake and stuff it with meat and veggies.
Battery-powered fairy lights or plug-in lights completely change the atmosphere of any space. And these can be purchased almost anywhere at great prices. Wrap them around displays, tack them up inside shelves, or weave them through a headboard. I know you have lots of imagination.
Fall Journal: My Personal Décor For This Season
Here are some ideas from my home to yours:
Both the glass pumpkin and geometric plant holder come from the dollar store. The plant holder was purchased this year while the pumpkin comes from a few years ago. The book was a gift and the shelf was built with lumber that was given to me. The plants were also a gift. Approximate cost: $8.00
This abandoned nest was found out in the woods, free for the taking:) The cast irons were a gift as was the lumber used for the shelf. Approximate cost: $0.00
The gorgeous velvet fabric is something I purchased a few years ago as well as the silver lights (which came from the dollar store) and the cupcake plate in the center. The old window frame, the white pumpkins, and the remaining two cupcake stands were all gifts. Approximate cost: $9.00
The old wooden box was purchased from an antique store in the U.S. While the pumpkin, artwork, and copper strainer were gifts. The flowers were found. The shelf comes from the garbage. Approximate cost: $7.00
The wooden mushrooms were purchased at a Ross in the U.S. The mini easel, artwork, fairy lights, wheat, and macramé shelf were gifts. Approximate cost: $16.00
A couple of the books came from the dollar store, the rest came from the bookstore. The fairy lights and the card were gifts. Approximate cost: $60.00
The lantern is an old one that one of my friends was giving away/throwing out. The nest was one I found, while the egg is one from a dozen quail eggs I had for cooking. I blew out the egg and kept the shell. The fairy lights were a gift.
Approximate cost: $0.00
As you can see, using what you have is one of the keys to minimizing the cost of décor. This coupled with shopping in a smart way can easily furnish you with beautiful pieces for less. Though I have included how much it cost me to create each scene, all of these items were items I had had for a while. They were not bought specifically for the season and will be used in different ways for seasons to come. The only item used in my décor that was purchased this year was the geometric plant holder, so if you consider my total cost for décor this season, it comes out to about $7.00 or so. Not bad right?
The bottom line is that, even if people don't notice exactly what your décor looks like, they notice how it makes them feel. Gary is definitely not the type to notice what I put around the house, but he has told me before that even though he doesn't always notice all the small changes I make in my house concerning my decorating, he notices how it makes him feel when he walks in the door. And all the little things I have done around my house to make it cozy make him feel like it's not just a house, but a home. That was worth a lot more to me than if he had noticed every detail of my decorations. It made me feel like I was doing something right.
I hope this article inspired you and got your creative juices flowing. Décor doesn't have to mean clutter, spending a lot of money, or being frivolous. A little goes a long way, and turning a house into a home doesn't have to be a tedious job.
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