Continuing The Fall Decorating Process

 Last Saturday I left off here...

I brought up my tubs filled with fall decor. I love whenever I bring up my decor that's packed away; it's like opening up a brand new package, because I can't remember what it was I had. I pulled everything out and started separating it into groups.

I was glad I'd gotten more pillows. I decluttered a few when we moved because we only had the one sectional. Now I had this futon as well, and I wanted to add a few pillows here.

As I take my everyday decor down, I wrap it in old pillowcases. This protects anything that is breakable and is a way of recycling items that I would have gotten rid of otherwise. 

I've had this glass pumpkin for over 12 years. It was a gift from a vendor when I was working as a purchasing manager for a company that closed in 2008. That's how I know it's that old. It was originally filled with candy. Now it's full of orange potpourri. I put it on one of the glass shelves above the dry bar.

 On the next shelf above that one I put this pretty candle that I got on clearance from Target years ago. Since my son E and I have allergies I don't typically burn candles, but I do like displaying them. This one has leaves cut into the wax and a little acorn charm tied around it with twine. I decided that was enough for the glass shelves; I wanted to keep it simple.

I added a couple of pumpkins to my dining room table to complete this look. Dollar Tree has some of the best little pumpkins for $1.00. I've had these for at least a couple of years. They are heavy and really nice quality.

This light up train station is a treasure I've had for many years. It's decorated for fall on this side, and for Christmas on the other. This was from House of Lloyd, from their Christmas Around The World collection.

Next I moved on to the living room. I took away some decor and added some pumpkins. Not too many, though. I feel like it's easy to go overboard and have clutter instead of decorations. The jar on top (I call it my genie jar) was originally in the dining room but I needed some height here. I added two pumpkins; the green one was from the Target dollar spot last year and the white one I got at Walmart. The one on the bottom shelf is the only new pumpkin, from the ones I picked up at Hobby Lobby. 

I did a similar look on the other bookshelf. I try to keep them symmetrical but not identical The Autumn Greetings sign I got from the Dollar Tree this year, and the white pumpkin on the bottom is from Hobby Lobby. 

Over in the corner I replaced the summer artwork with this framed piece that I bought years ago from Kirkland's. It has the first two verses of Psalm 23. I changed out the white flowers in the black vase with these tan and pink flowers in a mason jar, and added a pumpkin from Walmart. That was all it needed to give it a fall touch.

The coffee table got a slight makeover. This tray was on my dining room table, but I put it in the living room instead. These two Dollar Tree pumpkins have the same colors as the vase, and the green leaves match the candles perfectly. Oh, and the Hello Autumn sign in the background? It's under the television set, and I picked it up at Dollar Tree this year too.

There were still more pumpkins, so I decided to add a few to my bedroom. This little grouping is on the nightstand nearest the window. The larger pumpkin is a candy jar that I picked up a couple of years ago from Walmart. I wanted to mix up the colors so it would coordinate with the other nightstand.

A tiny Target pumpkin made its way to my picture shelf.

I moved on to the master bathroom. I don't normally add decor to the bathrooms, but I had this one pumpkin left and I figured it would brighten this area nicely.

We mustn't forget the kitchen! All I did here was add my ceramic scarecrow next to my Puerto Rican Cuisine cookbook. I'd already switched out the flowers; I didn't want to add a whole lot more. Besides, my bowls, which are there all the time and are used daily, have a fall vibe of their own.

I was really excited to fix up my patio area. Everything I have here came from our old house, and all of it is either from Walmart or the Dollar Tree. Y'all, it's possible to decorate a home on a budget and still have it look really cute. You don't need a fortune to have a lovely home.

I did end up making a switch in the living room. When I was unpacking the pillows and deciding where to put them, I found my pumpkin pillow that I got a few years back from Big Lots. I tried it out here and I liked it better than the Costco pillow. Which made me sad, because I really love that Costco pillow. What did I do with it?

I added it to my bed! Whenever I tried it here I knew this was the perfect spot. The colors match beautifully and pulled the whole room decor together!

That's where I finally stopped. My brain was drained from all that moving and switching! Of course I love every minute of it. And trust me, I'm not done. Things have moved around a little here and there, but that's the beauty of decorating. By making small changes we keep everything looking fresh and new. Happy Fall Y'all!

Decorating For Fall

 All over the stores, all over YouTube, all over the internet, everyone is saying the same thing: they're excited for fall. Pumpkin spice everything. Leaves changing color. Temperatures start to go down. Sweater weather they call it. Time to break out all the fall decor, the oranges and reds, the blues and grays, the purples and pinks (yes, I've seen purple pumpkins. Very glam). 

Here in South Florida, September doesn't look like it does up north. Not only are the temperatures still in the upper 90's, it's the peak of hurricane season. At this writing there are six - count 'em, six - storms or developing storms just in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. The humidity is off the charts so there won't be any sweater wearing for at least another couple of months. And while we have some trees that drop their leaves, most won't till January, and palm trees never change color.

Still, we can enjoy pumpkin spice. And we can pretend it's fall by decorating. That's what I did this week.

I don't usually decorate so early. I like to wait until the first official day of fall. But it was past Labor Day and with this whole pandemic and being stuck indoors all spring and summer, I desperately wanted a change. In my last week in review post  I showed some new items I picked up to decorate, and my Itch To Switch post was all about furniture rearranging. Now it was time to get it all put together.

On Tuesday, the day after Labor Day, I started with the items I had close at hand. These were either in my closet or had just been purchased. I started in my master bedroom.

I flipped the bedspread over to the solid side. I always buy bedspreads or comforters that are reversible so that I get two looks for the price of one. I brought the throw pillows that had been on the sectional and added them to the pillows I normally have here. After adding the throw blanket from the living room, I was done for the time being.

I went into the linen closet and pulled out my kitchen towels.

This cute pumpkin towel is, I believe, from Target. I'm not exactly sure. I've had it for a couple of years now. I thought it looked cheery hanging out of my mixer.

These towels are from Kohl's, also a few years back. They are simple and functional, which is what I want in my kitchen.

I pulled this flower arrangement out that I've also had for several years. The base was a gift basket I'd gotten from a girl at work for my birthday, and after eating all the goodies I filled it with fall colored flowers. It has a Christmas tree on the other side so I can use this all through the holidays.

My little coffee station is little for a reason. I don't have tons of counter space. I know tiered trays are all the rage but it would get too crowded here for me, so instead I have this cake plate from the Target Dollar Spot. I replaced the ceramic doll I had on it with one of the tiny pumpkins I picked up at Hobby Lobby and put another one next to the Keurig. Then I switched out the coffee mug for my favorite Peanuts mug and that was done.

I started out very simply in my office. I use my desk regularly so I don't want a bunch of unnecessary stuff on top of it. This storage box was one I found a few weeks ago at TJ Maxx, and I decided to get it to keep my planners in.

I picked it because it was the right size and the colors were pretty. It wasn't until I looked at it at home that I realized it was perfect for fall.

There's pumpkins on it y'all! How did I miss that?! Anyway, it's on my desk, and I put this little vase on top of it, and I love how it looks - clean and simple.

In the dining room, I used what I had on hand. The only new things were the flowers I'd bought at the Dollar Tree.

The runner is from Big Lots, probably four or five years ago. Under the pitcher is a charger from Walmart that I've also had for a long time, though I think they still carry something similar. I use this instead of a tray; it cost $1.00 and gives it some dimension.

I then pulled out my new pillows and started working on the sectional. I was so excited!

I put the two pillows I'd got at TJ Maxx on either end of the sectional. In the middle I put my new pillow from Costco together with a large pillow I'd gotten on clearance from Target a few years ago and a throw blanket that I've also had for years from Walmart. As a side note - Walmart has really nice throw blankets and they are usually under $10. I stepped back and looked at the sectional. I didn't know if the spring flowers on the coffee table were throwing me off, but it seemed like it wasn't right. It was too skimpy - which is odd because I normally don't like a whole lot of pillows on my sofa. Still, the fun of decorating is moving things around and trying new looks, so I added a couple more pillows.

Y'all, I went back and forth with this several times, but I decided I liked the layered look of the pillows best. I moved the Costco pumpkin pillow over to show the big pillow behind it. I liked it but it still wasn't enough. So I tried one more thing.

I liked this a lot better, but I still wasn't 100% sure. I decided to live with it for a while and see. Then I thought, maybe something in my storage bins will have what I'm looking for...

So that's what I started to do on Wednesday. But that's gonna be a separate post, since this one has gotten long enough! Come back to see what got added, what got changed, and what it all looks like now. God bless y'all!