Seasonal Decor | For the love of October

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."  Lucy Maud Montgomery

Are you tired of all the autumn quotes and decor yet? I hope not, because I have two post full of fall decor for you.

I took so many photos of our fall decor, I decided to break up the posts into two parts. Today I am sharing our foyer and schoolroom with you.

It should be pretty obvious by now that I am a huge fan of neutral colors. When it comes to seasonal decor, there is not much difference. I find it much easier to incorporate temporary decor with our everyday aesthetic when the color palette is very similar.

I kept our autumn accents simple and subtle. I added a lovely cream colored resin pumpkin I found at Home Goods. I also put together a bouquet of dried flowers and faux wheat  in a vintage wire basket I picked up at a local collective. 

 Right off of the foyer is our formal dining room. Everyone in our family knows it as the schoolroom because it is where we store and complete all of our schoolwork.

In this room and most of our common living areas, I added a mix of real and faux mini white pumpkins. 

The faux cream pumpkins are pretty hard to come by. I found them in various craft stores, antique malls and big box shops. If you stumble upon them, take them home with you!! 

As for the real mini white pumpkins, (they are called "baby boos") they are pretty impossible to find in my part of the country. I ordered them for the second time from Paula Jean's Garden.  

This basket filled with baby boo pumpkins is one of my favorite things in our home right now. It rests on our dresser/buffet in the schoolroom. 

Also on our buffet is a medium sized faux white pumpkin and a "fall" chalkboard banner. I love the look of smaller banner on a wreath and this was just perfect.

This amazing vintage bucket was found at Prissy's Parlor inside Old Time Antiques in Crestview, Florida. When I spotted it, I knew it would be perfect filled up with white pumpkins. (And vintage ornaments and pinecones at Christmas!)

 So, that is it for our foyer and schoolroom. Everything is super duper simple, but so lovely. The little touches really bring me so much joy on a daily basis. 

Sharing this week at:
Between Naps on the Porch
DIY Showoff
Craft-o-Maniac
Finding Silver Pennies
French Country Cottage

Room Refresh | Adding pretty to the kitchen.

I am going to try my best to not be too wordy with this post. I know pictures do a great job of speaking for themselves. I recently finished working with one of my first clients. She was an absolute dream to work with as she was willing to go along with all of my crazy ideas without question. 

As you can see, she had a beautiful, clean, streamlined kitchen already. She just wanted to add some accents to make it feel a bit more homey. 

  

A great feature of this beautiful kitchen is the cabinets with glass inserts. My client loves them, but felt unsure about how to arrange the contents. Luckily, she has the loveliest set of vintage Noritake china that had once belonged to her grandmother. Because it is something important to her that makes her feel joy, I thought it important to put on display. The set of everyday china was perfect to store in the glass front cabinets. I carefully arranged the dishes for her and she was happy with the result.

The one thing I frequently stress is only keeping things around you that you LOVE. I asked my client if she loved the crystal fruit dish on her island. She liked it, but did not love it for display. She kept it to use functionally, but I assigned her the task of finding a fruit bowl she LOVED. She did a phenomenal job. {Side note - I am now trying to find a similar one in cream for my own home!!}

Something else I asked my client to be on the lookout for were accent pieces for her kitchen. We picked out a few great things on our shopping trip together, but once I helped her define her style, she flew with it! Sometimes all you need is just a tiny bit of guidance.

My client loves the sage green color. Lucky for us both, I had a few things in my stash at home that really suited her style and taste. One of these was the super cute rooster pitcher to the right of the stove. That was the only piece in the picture above that I helped her with. She found the adorable tins on the left and the coordinating pig pitcher on the right completely on her own.

One of my favorite things to do in a kitchen is to put dish soap, hand soap and lotion into pretty soap dispensers. I then like to place the dispensers on a pretty dish or tray. The result is one of my favorite features in her kitchen. It's so silly, I know, but grouping things together like she did above has such a big impact! The tray she used is a bread plate she already had on hand. She purchased two coordinating soap dispensers for her hand soap and dish soap and then added a matching candle. The tray serves dual purpose. It contains the like items in a pretty display AND it catches the small drips of soap and water that are bound to occur on a daily basis. 

Another one of my favorite kitchen tips is pretty storage for your single use coffee cups. My client really liked this idea as well. We found this gorgeous carved wood box on our trip together. It fits seamlessly with the rest of her kitchen style and it hides a good number  of those all important coffee cups. 

One final side by side comparison of her awesome kitchen. As you can see, there really wasn't a ton to do in the kitchen. It was fun to add just a few super pretty accent pieces and storage. Join me later this week as I share her living area and dining room!

White Party | Monochromatic Entertaining on the Fly

I had the pleasure of hosting some fellow homeschool moms in my home this week for a night a fellowship. I had planned to do desserts, tea and coffee. When I searched for dessert recipes on Pinterest, I looked for "wintry" desserts. While there were no real winners in the recipe department, I noticed over and over people decorating with white and silver for winter tea gatherings. I was inspired. 

While my older two were in piano, I made a quick trip to the grocery store and bought pre-baked sugar cookies, already beautiful white cupcakes, some large pink and white marshmallows, white icing and white crystallized sugar. I searched for the pre-made white meringues, but they were out. I also grabbed two bunches of inexpensive white roses.

Most of my home decor  and accessories are already cream colored or white, so that part was easy. I just set all the store baked goodies up on the plates and trays I had. I mixed a little bit of milk and rose water with the vanilla icing and dipped half of the sugar cookies. I neglected to get a picture, but they were pretty. Not sure how they tasted. ;o)

As for those heart shaped marshmallows.... I set the pink ones aside and got to work with the white. This is super easy and super cute. Stick a lollipop stick into the bottom of a jumbo marshmallow. Dip it in water and shake off the excess.

Slowly roll the marshmallow in a bowl with crystallized sugar. 

Gently tap off the excess sugar and place in a tall container to let the sugar set. When they are all arranged together, it is a lovely accent piece. I am sure they are quite delicious as well. 

Everything I did with the white foods and decor can easily be done with any color of your choice. There is just something so chic about monochromatic decor. 

Cake Stand | Kitchen Helper

 

This is one of my favorite things in the kitchen. A medium sized cake plate with a linen towel is such a lovely place to keep your dish soap, hand soap, counter spray and/or whatever other staples you need to have out on the counter.

 

 

This is not my original idea. I found something similar when I first joined Pinterest two years ago. (Has it been that long??)

 



 

After seeing Natalie's soap stand, I made it my mission to have my own. I love how the idea is the same, but totally my own style. I think that is one of my favorite things of designing: taking a brilliant idea and adapting it to fit my needs.

 

What are your favorite kitchen helpers?

That space above the kitchen cabinets & how to tackle it.

A few days ago I posed a question on my facebook page: "What are your trouble spots?" I had a few readers mention that empty space above their kitchen cabinets. How can you make it look warm and how do you do that without spending a lot of money?

Happily, creating a warm, inviting space does not require spending vast amounts of money. All it takes is a little creativity and a lot of scouring. I would suggest hitting up thrift shops, second hand stores and even some fun antique places. Go to the garage sales in your neighborhood and don't forget to swing by the clearance section of Hobby Lobby and Target! Just browse. Look for something that jumps out at you... something that makes you feel warm and happy. Take it home, clean it up and set it out.

I've collected some photographs from various sources of ideas for you. These are things I would do in my own home. If it is necessarily your style, perhaps it can give you a jumping point.

1. Antique Books
This idea is awesome because old books can be found anywhere for a great price. You can stand them on their sides of stack them. Either way adds a charming touch. {both images via pinterest.}

Let's say you find some books with great shape that are the perfect size, but you hate the colors. Don't worry! Simply cover them in kraft paper (or even a brown paper grocery sack!) and stack 'em up. {For example: Mara Zepeda's gorgeous books}

2. Black & White Photos
I absolutely LOVE this idea from Casa Cullen. I think the key to this working is using the same color of frame all the way across. While the photos don't necessarily have to be black and white, I would stick to photos that are the same tone. Don't go with pictures that are too detailed as that will make it look cluttered and busy. Landscape or architectural photos would be ideal.

3. Vintage Canisters

I love the way Lu styled these canisters and the baby's breath in just one of them is a perfect touch. If you MUST included greenery or faux flowers on top of those cabinets, this is the way to go. Just a little bit. Gone are the days of stuffing tons of faux greenery up there! 

If you are in the market for some canisters and you adore French country, I am in love with this set from Attic Antics. The numbers on them add the perfect industrial touch.

4. Enamelware 

I have a small love affair with enamelware. It is no doubt that a collection of these beauties (large or small) would be a lovely addition to the tops of your kitchen cabinets. {photo courtesy of Country Living}

5. Wicker Jugs

These may be a littler harder to find, but I think it would be highly worth it. They are elegant and simple, yet unique. They are a perfect touch to farm kitchen. {photo courtesy of Atlanta Homes Magazine}

Hopefully, these ideas will help you as you tackle your own cabinets. Please share any ideas you may have as well! Happy decorating.