Falling into Autumn

Although I seem to be jumping the gun here in South Carolina, I've been inspired by Melissa over at the Inspired Room. She is hosting a Fall Nesting celebration where we can post pictures of our autumn decorating. This has been such fun, and, now that I actually have furniture back in my house, I've had such fun cozying it up.


I began falling into autumn decorating when Kimba posted this on her blog A Soft Place to Land. You'll see in the pictures below that it was my main inspiration for fall decor. Here is the centerpiece I made for the dining-room table. I pulled out my Southern Living at Home plate and found some fall ribbon on an old basket and threaded it through the spaces. I turned over a wine glass and two of my grandmother's cordial glasses, putting them over silk autumn leaves and faux berries. I added a pumpkin but felt like it needed a little more and pulled out some doo-dads from a bowl of potpourri I had in the living room. I placed the centerpiece on a fall kitchen towel and folded it square (No, I didn't bother to iron it! In the Nester's words, it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful!). Here's the arrangement I made on the sideboard in the dining room, using the same idea but mixing in a crystal bowl and some crystal candlesticks.
I arranged the sideboard late last night (when the kids were asleep), and when I came downstairs this morning, it struck me as a little cluttered. We'll see if I leave it like this or not (Who am I kidding? When will I find the time to do this again?). Although I know that it is a deocorating no-no, I much prefer decorating with symmetry, so this arrangment is different for me. The other day at Wal-Mart I saw two really pretty hurricanes on top of bronze bases; I would have loved to have filled them up with small pumpkins, gourds, and berries. I figured, though, I should just work with what I have this year; maybe I can find them on clearance at the end of the season!

Moving from the dining room on into the kitchen, here is my centerpiece for the breakfast-room table. We got this pewter bowl and tray as wedding gifts. I thought the fruit motif played into the harvest theme. I plunked a wine glass over a silk leaf, placed three small pumpkins around the glass and added a sprig of faux berries in between each pumpkin.

Here's how I decorated the china cabinet housing my Liberty Blue china (sorry for the picture quality. How do I avoid glare from windows?). Please ignore that horrible wallpaper; I am really hoping to paint soon!

I just stuck little pumpkins, gourds, and leaves in the nooks and crannies and added small votive candles in makeshift candleholders (the one on the left is actually for tapers, and the one on the right is really a vase).

And finally, here is the mantelpiece in the den. I replaced a Christmas cactus and mother-in-law's tongue with these flowerpots filled with pumpkins.

I haven't done much outside yet; I think my neighbors would be a little perplexed if I started with autumn wreaths when it's still 90 degrees outside! I am already overhauling a wreath for the back door, though. I'll be back with more autumn decor later in the season. By the way, I am looking for two wrought iron stands that would hold ferns (or pumpkins) for my front porch. Does anyone know where I could find them (for a reasonable price)?