Fall, Feathers and New Found Treasures

As you might imagine, there were a lot of things that surprised me on our four months away on sabbatical.  The first one, was that I didn’t miss home almost at all.  One thing I did miss however, were opportunities to be creative.  I didn’t pine away about it, but when we got home in August, all I wanted to do was sew and write and paint and decorate.  So while the rest was tremendous, the creative part of me was a bit starved.  So I decorated for fall like I usually do on September 1st.  (My computer died about a month ago, leaving me stranded without an ability to blog, so yes, this post is a bit delayed).

This year our fall décor is simply stated;  it looks less like a pumpkin patch and more I invited in warm colors and completely revamped the built ins.  This year my inspiration came by two French chairs I picked up whilst in Maine.  They kind of added that hint of blush that I’ve been embracing as of late.  At first I thought I’d reupholster them, but I love them in my living room as is.  So rather than neutral fall, like I have done so many years in a row, I wanted florals, with warm burgundy and dusty rose.  Rather than autumn, I thought faded summer (florals are compliments of Michaels) — all mixed in with pheasant feathers and a vibrant bouquet of metals.  Sometimes a little splash of something new is all you need, and then rearrange what you already have.

I put one of the French twins in front of the organ.  We frequently have larger groups over, and it’s great to have another chair available.  The plump pheasant I found at a thrift store last year, and I put in a few blush berries to whisper fall.  The actual pheasant feathers are a bit whimsy, but I like them.  So far I only have two pumpkins out, they’re real ones from last year.  More will come out this month, I’m sure.

The second French twin I have sitting kitty-corner to the big overstuffed chair.  It offers a place for people to sit and be engaged with activity in the dining/kitchen and kids areas, or it can easily turn into the living room for additional seating.  Behind it you can see a sneak peak of some of the warm burgundy florals I added this fall.  It feels a bit more like faded summer that way, and a little less pressing for winter. The brass pheasant I found at a thrift store last year as well.  He made his debut at my hubby’s birthday party (you can see that here), and I added some MMS Antiquing Wax to tone down the brassiness and some red that was in the crevasses.

And the picture hanging above the old treadle was a treasure I received in Wisconsin.  My grandma painted it, and I’m so blessed to have a bit of her handiwork hanging on our wall.

The main thing I did to change things up this fall was to completely re arrange the built ins. I shared a bit on Instagram stories (follow me here) of the process. I have enjoyed how the décor over the seasons and years has changed. Often I tweak things here or there, but this time, I completely emptied the three middle shelves and started with a clean palette. For this fall, I wanted to warm it up with a bit of an English library look. I left the top shelf with the vintage train set, and the bottom shelf with littles toys and touchables, but took everything out of the middle three, and just started playing around.

I have a few other treasures on display from our recent trip.  Mostly, photos of my hubby’s family, and some more old books.  I brought in the warm-toned flowers, copper, tarnished silver, and pewter to whisper all things autumn, and threw in a couple of pheasant feathers for good measure.

Caspian is often added décor right in front of the built ins.  He totally coordinates with the warm fall tones, doesn’t he? (And for those of you wondering, he is doing well, you can read his story here.  He is hands down the best dog, and the sweetest).

The jelly cupboard I kept simply stated.  A bit of copper and silver on top with the addition of ironstone inside.  Ever since I made over this jelly cupboard, I have envisioned it filled with ironstone.  But I have only ever seen one piece in Alaska.  So while in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, I finally bought some to bring home.  I love the two pitchers.  The square one I bought in Gettysburg, along with a square bowl (which is hidden behind the tureen).  The small tureen I found in Lancaster.  I loved the corn on it because it’s so reminiscent of the architecture in DC.  The smaller pitcher I found in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  It was so much fun seeing so many antiques, something so rare in Alaska.

If you read my previous post, about transitions and the secretary desk, you will notice a change once again, the desk is back in it’s original position, in the corner of the dining room (I am looking for a new one for our master bedroom).  The brass tray and candlesticks are all thrifted treasures, and I just added the faded summer bouquet along with more of those pheasant feathers.

I hope you appreciate the simply stated fall decor, even though there is an exceeding lack of pumpkins.  I’ll be sharing more about things gained from our journeys soon!

Thanks for stopping by,

Cheryl

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