It’s fall home tour time! Yay! And I can’t wait to share easy fall decorating ideas with you! If you are just not quite ready to display all those pumpkins I have lots of inspiration for fall decor without using one pumpkin. There is not a pumpkin in my early fall home! Just a few green and white gourds. I’m so happy you are here, come on in!
As I am getting ready for this year’s home tour in a couple weeks I thought you might like to see last year’s early fall tour. There is such beauty in early fall and lots of stunning organics to decorate your home with. I hope you enjoy the tour!
The front door is open wide hoping you would visit!
Today I’m part of a fall home tour hosted by Marty at A Stroll Thru Life. She is a treasure and I think Marty has been blogging about as long as I have maybe even longer!
Make sure to check out all 30 fall homes at the end of the post!
If you are coming from GOLDEN BOYS AND ME, welcome! Courtney’s style is warm and lovely just like her! Her colorful kitchen is so charming!!!!!
And WELCOME to all of you! My fall tour is huge and is filled with lots of pictures and ideas. So grab something to drink and settle in!
Today’s post is about easy fall decorating ideas!
THE FOYER
I tend to gravitate towards neutrals and softer colors even in the fall! This year is no different. The hydrangeas in the foyer give you a hint about the color I worked into my neutral color palette this year.
GREEN!
I’ve added beautiful, soft green!
It’s early fall and there is still very little saturated color outside so thought it would be a fun idea to carry the green I see outside inside too!
I am the biggest white pumpkin fan! So decorating without a pumpkin was different for me. In October I plan another tour of our home filled with pumpkins!
Our foyer reflects the changes I’ve been making to our home over the last 18 months. I’ve moved from Farmhouse Style (because we no longer live in a farmhouse-inspired home) and am now embracing the beauty of Transitional Style.
Pretty is back, my friend! The trend for beautiful furnishing and style is very strong and I think it is here for a long time! I couldn’t be happier!
I’ve noticed this trend for about a year or so now and I’m embracing it! I LOVE pretty! Don’t you?
I just ordered a new runner for the foyer, but it isn’t here yet! I can’t wait for you to see it! So as soon as it is on the floor I’ll do a post about this unexpected runner and new look!
I lit the candle in the foyer and noticed how warm it looked so I decided to turn on the lamp as well!
I’ve learned that light from lamps is a big no-no when photographing a home. And natural lighting is KING! It still is but love the warmth the lamp and candle bring to this photo!
What do you think?
The vertical coat racks hold my favorite grab-and-go bags and a bit of fall fluff!
I am such a proud Lancasterian! I love this bag with Lancaster’s coordinates on it.
Did you know that Lancaster Pa is the oldest inland city in the United States? Steeped in history with the most beautiful farmland! It’s worth coming to see!
If you like my bag you can get one with your own town proudly displayed on it HERE.
THE LIVING ROOM
Let’s head down the hall to the living room.
I added just a little green to the decor in here too! A couple of citron green velvet lumbar pillows and I repeated the fluffy greens and gourds from the foyer.
The mantel is very symmetrical this fall! Symmetry is instantly attractive to our eyes! They love it. No wonder so many people love to see a symmetrical mantel.
There is more than meets the eye (pun from above) to styling a beautiful mantel or any flat surface. The post highlighted below has tons of designer info and ideas for mantel decorating and decorating flat surfaces in your home.
See THE ULTIMATE GUIDE FOR DECORATING A BEAUTIFUL MANTEL.
One of my favorite ways to create cohesiveness in my home is to repeat decor elements in different ways! It’s such an easy design trick!
You might like to read HOW TO CREATE A COHESIVE HOME here.
I had a reader ask me about the “pear” on my hearth. It’s really a dried gourd. I used to grow them in my garden and I’m so fond of displaying them during the fall season! It really does look like a huge pair, doesn’t it!
This year the lanterns I added to the mantel are goldtone. Actually, I’m been mixing a lot of different metals in my decor lately!
Although the lanterns on the mantel are gold the candlesticks are ORB (oil rubbed bronze) they work together. I think mixing up things like metal and decor makes our homes look much more interesting!
There are lots of easy designer tips for creating that perfect mix!
You might like to read about them here… HOW TO MIX METALS IN YOUR HOME.
And here is a must read post about HOW TO MIX DECORATING STYLES.
We don’t have a lot of walls in this house. Our home is open concept. It’s lovely for giving our home an open and airy look but a bear for furniture placement and finding places to hang art and mirrors.
So I covet the big, long wall the white buffet sits on! You can’t see from this image but the wall is two stories high!
Sorry, I don’t have any long shots of our rooms on this tour. My camera fell off a table and my best lens broke. So I took all these images with a 35mm lens! UGH!
Back to the white buffet and the big wall.
The white buffet holds a wooden vase of hydrangeas. Adding hydrangeas to your decor is one of the easiest fall decorating ideas!
Hydrangeas make a big statement and mine were free from our front yard! A beautiful gift from nature!
I decorate for fall with mostly organic things. Bringing the outside inside is one of my most often used tricks!
Here are some posts that are filled with tips you can use for easy fall decorating in your home…
DECORATING FOR FALL WTH NATURALS AND ORGANIC ELEMENTS
100 INSPIRING FALL DECORATING IDEAS
HOW TO STYLE A FALL ORGANIC DOUGH BOWL
These poor hydrangeas were out in a huge thunderstorm and are a little worse for wear but they still work their magic and show off their lovely green color.
It’s time to dry hydrangeas in my area and maybe yours too! Hydrangeas are the gift that keeps on giving! They look so stately with their big moppy heads when they are blooming outside and are real attention grabbers when they are brought inside and styled en masse!
Here is a very informative post with lots of tips about HOW TO DRY HYDRANGEAS THE EASY WAY
Balancing the hydrangeas on the other side of the buffet are beautiful gold floral candle holders. They give off the most lovely glow at night!
Many of the items I use for fall can be used almost any time of the year. But put together with a few gourds and drying hydrangeas they create an early fall feel!
Let’s talk about balance for just a minute. Not until I understood this amazing interior design concept did I stop struggling with the decor I put on my flat surfaces!
Here are a few great interior design tips that will help you so so much with balance in your home… BALANCE AND HOW TO USE IT. Balance creates beauty!
Our Transitional home is lightly decorated with just a hint of fall this year!
Transitional style is characterized by a neutral palette, slimmed down traditional furnishings, the addition of a little smattering of other styles, and light layering.
Although I love to layer decor I’ve learned to use a restrained hand! And that was hard for me to learn! So I choose what to put on flat surfaces in my home with great care! If left to my own bent I would probably overdo it!
Decorating is part art, part science and part knowing when enough is enough!
I’ve been going back and forth about this coffee table in our Tanglewood living room since we moved in. I love it… some days! And others not so much.
For me, it’s important to keep the decor on it low and simple because the fireplace and mantel are not too far away! I don’t like to look through the decor on the coffee table to see the fireplace!
I added preserved golden boxwood and sage green candles to a long low white basket tray on the coffee table.
Did you notice the little green and white gourds scattered here and there around our home? They are called spinners. Our local Amish farmer plants them every year. If you give them a twist between your thumb and forefinger they spin like a top!
Aren’t they adorable? I think they are so cute and at 5 cents each, I got a bag full!
Across the living room from the white buffet is the Curlacue chest. I’ve had this piece for almost a decade. It was a big splurge for me but I am so happy I bought it!
When I first saw it, it literally stopped me in my tracks!
I call this a once-in-a-blue-moon decor purchase. There are just some furnishings you LOVE so much and know these things will work forever in your home. I say if you can swing it without causing too much pain GO FOR IT!
These purchases are not once a year or even every other year. They are rare! And that is exactly what the Curlacue chest was! A rare find!
It’s dressed up for fall with a couple of fall arrangements.
My arrangements are usually made up of bits and bob and cut apart garland and repurposed stems I have collected over the years. I keep all these different bits of fluff in clear shoebox type boxes and use them over and over year after year creating new looks out of old stuff!
The blond leaves were cut from a wreath I used last year and the brown spiky balls were from a big spray of them I also used in last year’s fall home tour.
The bits of green were from a faux plant I pulled apart to make several little fall arrangements. You can see one on the white buffet above.
In the bottom of the ribbed vase is one of my favorite decor fillers… pinecones!
They make a fabulous base to poke bits of bobs into! Another very easy fall decorating idea!
Next to the arrangement is a container of bunny tails! Isn’t that the sweetest name?
When I create an arrangement I sometimes like to sit a smaller arrangement, with something different in it, next to the bigger one. It’s like an arrangement buddy system. They just look happier together!
THE DINING AREA
Now, let’s head to the dining area. This is the most open room (if you can actually call it that) in our home.
This little area lives large! We entertain a lot and enjoy sharing a meal with family and friends here.
I just recently replaced the rectangle concrete topped dining table with a round one I had in the basement. My basement is a wonderland of furniture and decor!
This table has a couple leaves and opens up to become a really ample sized dining table!
I keep the dining area quite simple. It can be seen from most of the main floor.
Instead of adding green pillows on the chairs, I chose pretty gold ones with a stiff sisal trim to work with the gold in the rug.
Tucked in the corner of the dining area is a bar cart! I’ve had this for years. I also put the bench that I had in the foyer under the window in the dining area. It makes a great extra seat if we need it!
I have the same bench with black legs. So I’m thinking I might switch the white one out for the black.
It’s important to change up your decor to keep it fresh. I change out little things like adding spinners and hydrangeas to our home or changing out a chair or bench. And I also change out bigger things like adding a new table or lighting fixture! Nothing is static in our home!
My brother-in-law calls this the “Shaffer shuffle”. My sister and I are always moving the furnishings in our home around… and our maiden name is Shaffer!
One of the best ways to keep your home interesting and fresh is to shop your home. I am a savant at this if I do say so myself! LOL!
Here are 6 BRILLIANT WAYS TO SHOP YOUR HOUSE.
On the dining table, a simple wooden planter holds a big white mum!
I think of plants like mums as long-lasting cut flowers. With a little care, mums can last a long time! I love to bring these big happy plants indoors during the fall season! And what an easy fall decorating idea!
You might like to read CARING FOR FALL MUMS INDOORS.
Ready to head to the kitchen which is just a few steps away from the dining area!
My kitchen went through a big renovation just one year ago! It is my favorite room! It dresses up so nicely for different seasons! Today it is ready for early fall!
You can see my EARLY FALL KITCHEN TOUR with lots of easy ideas for fall decorating and no pumpkins!
There are lots of fall kitchen pictures and lots of inspiration waiting for you!
I hope you have enjoyed a look at my early fall home. And I also hope you are going away with lots of easy fall decorating ideas! Stop back for a pumpkin filled home tour in October!
Here are some home decor items from our home you might like…
It’s time to send you on your way, my friend! I’m so thrilled you stopped by!
Please head over to Quarters One by Shand! She has a deep line of family service to our nation! Thank you Shand! I love your home on an island off the coast of the Carolinas!
Happy Fall and Happy Decorating!
A Stroll Thru Life – Inspiration for Moms – Worthing Court
Pink Peppermint Design – Clean and Scentsible – LeCultivateur
Southern State of Mind – This is Our Bliss – Cuckoo4Design
11 Magnolia Lane – Decor to Adore – Noting Grace
Grace In My Space – Remodelando la Casa – Whispering Pines Homestead
Up To Date Interiors – The Stonybrook House – Thrifty and Chic
