I’m usually not huge on decorating for holidays (except for Christmas of course!), but when it gets cool in the fall I can’t help but “autumn” it up a bit. I just love fall. And cool weather. And wearing jeans and boots. It all motivates me to celebrate the end of summer with a few alterations in our home. My indoor changes are usually just limited to a few choice places and I rarely (if ever) buy new stuff. I like somewhat non-traditional autumness that isn’t overly leafy or obvious with just a few traditional fall decor pieces mixed in there.  Just subtle hints that remind me that autumn is here.

The first location that got injected with a dose of autumn is our floating shelves.

… And we were lucky enough to have a live model on set (Say hi to Lucas!).

To me, fall means natural materials. Cork, wood, baskets, burlap. So, I incorporated all of these textures among the shelves.

As you can see, Larry, complete with his burlap hydrangea got relocated to this woven tray. He is Larry the Table Guy no more, but seems equally content in his new home. I added a bit more literal fall stuff in the form of more cheap gourds (which I glazed with gold craft paint for some shimmer).

On the media console, I paired the existing silver tray and red vase (which is filled with coffee beans) with a fake pumpkin (which I spray-painted white and added a few fake leaves to) and a carved wooden bowl filled with floating candles.

The other area is our dining table. Our centerpiece is an ever-changing project.  I like to swap it around pretty regularly to keep from getting bored (and because I seem to have a problem with sitting still).

First, I started with this….

I simply stuck a metal pumpkin candle holder into a woven basket and added a few leaves of fake greenery, rattan balls, and cheapo gourds that I spray-painted white. The candlesticks remind me of fall for some reason. Like ones you’d find in a haunted house with spiderwebs on them. I added gold candles for some bling and traded out my bamboo table runner for round woven placemats that I got from Ikea for a buck a pop on clearance.

Then, because no project in our house seems complete without me spray-painting something (else) white, I spray-painted the metal pumpkin and added a table runner and some galvanized steel buckets with burlap hydrangeas.

Then, I traded the basket for a gold platter and added some spooky black branches…

For a touch of whimsy, I swapped out my pumpkin for this guy and added some colorful flowers  (sorry about the lighting… it was really overcast that day so I had to turn on the lights).

He started as a very traditional-style Christmas moose that I won as a door prize. I painted him gold and added the red paint. He was intended to be a trophy for a costume contest at a Halloween party we threw a few years ago. The victor happily accepted the winning title, but very sweetly and respectfully declined ownership of ole’ Moosey as he was too creepy.  I love him, though I’m pretty sure I’m a smidge different on a scale of normal (as if you hadn’t gathered yet).

But, alas Moosey wore out his welcome so, I went a little simpler….

Then, I threw simple to the wayside….

And now I’m here…

And my wooden candleholder got a friend…

I’m sure it’ll change a few more times before the Christmas season rolls around.  So, there you have it! Our newly autumnized living/dining area. It’s not over the top, but it’s enough to remind me that my favorite time of year has arrived. So, raise your glass and bring on the boots!!