Countdown to Fall Party!!!

There’s no way to deny that summer is officially over any longer. With shorter days, crisp mornings and cooler evenings, I’ve been wearing sweaters, boots and snuggling under fuzzy throws. We’re still trying to hold off on setting the thermostat to “heat”…it feels too early! But, I’m warming up to the idea of lighting spiced candles and making home more cozy. Once I unburied the dining room this week, I started a little autumn decorating {it’s the only room I really decorate for fall}

autumn mantle

I am so excited to be hosting the Countdown to Fall linky party today! It’s my turn! I’m having so much fun joining my friends from Domestically SpeakingSand & Sisal and It’s So Very Cheri as we celebrate all things fall! {See their projects at the bottom of this post.} And I took a little break from apartment renovating and decorating. I even cleaned up my dining room for your visit today. Welcome! Well, at least what shows in the pictures. Shhh – Don’t tell. 

Countdown to Fall linky party

I was ready to add some rich color to our dining room for the autumn season. So I started with painting a fall leaf onto an old cork board. It still has the pin marks and scars from previous hanging. Anyone else find imperfection charming? Now it’s dark teal, rich red with coppers and golds…”warmth”.

red and teal fall mantle

Obviously I’m not an artist. DIY skills and creativity do not = artistic talent for me. Mr. DIY loves the “lion fish” I painted. What?! Okay, I have to agree that as a leaf, it’s a little sad and after a Google image inquiry, it does sort of resemble a lion fish.

my leaf painting…

teal red fall mantle

lion fish…

red lion fish

But, you know what? We embrace imperfection around here and I love the colors. Besides…it’s art. Unique. One of a kind. It’s precious, right? {you can lie if you feel you need to answer that. lol!} I guarantee no one else has a painting of a leaf from a lion fish tree…I like being different. 🙂 

red teal fall mantle

I’m still playing with it all and next week, you can bet it will all look different but the colors, the theme and that lion fish leaf painting are staying. I do love to rearrange though.

red teal fall decorating

Don’t these colors look amazing together?

red teal orange fall mantel

Materials: “etc.” was a clearance Target find earlier this year, the red and aqua vases are from JoAnns, the orange silk Chinese lanterns in the aqua vase were from Michael’s a few years ago, the silver dollar branches in the red vase are from our yard, the old turquoise insulator turned votive holder is a thrifted treasure, the mini chalkboard is a Shaw Floors/HGTV Home design challenge souvenir, the metallic faux pumpkins are from my long time fall collection. 

Still loving my pallet insert for our faux fireplace too…

red turquoise fall mantle

If you’d like to see more, I shared some more of my fall decorating earlier this week at the DIY Fall Festival…

decorating for fall

Fall Party

~*~*~*~

We all would love for you to join the fun, if you haven’t already. We want to see your fall décor, fall crafts, delish fall recipes, fall traditions… anything that is fall related ! There are currently over 200 fall goodies to inspire you!

Please place the Countdown to Fall button in your post with a link back to this page so your readers can find the party too!



MaryAnn from Domestically Speakingfollow shared her fun fall craft when she kicked off the Countdown to Fall party a few weeks ago.

DIY apple art

A special thanks to MaryAnn who organized this fun fall event and for inviting me to participate! The second week, hosted by Kim from Sand & Sisal welcomed us with a festive fall front door…

Fall Front Porch by Sand & Sisal Thumbnail

And last week, Cheri from It’s So Very Cheri baked a delicious autumn recipe for the Countdown to Fall get-together. Delicious!

pumpkin brownies

How To Get This Beach/Eclectic Cottage Look

Good morning!  There have been some questions regarding the details of the room Cassity and I designed. Then we’ll move on to the regularly scheduled DIY posts.
These are the final professional shots of the beach themed room:

With the exception of the handscraped Rockbridge Dusk hardwood floor and the beautiful Ikat panel area rug, the room, the furniture and accessories are photo props at Tribuzio Hilliard in High Point, NC.  So, nothing from this room was purchased via shopping from a store when we decorated.  Everything was selected from a warehouse.  It was the candy shop for DIYers!  Packed full of decorating goodies.
Here is a breakdown of the room details with links to similar furniture and accents as well as some DIY tips.
Hardwood & Area Rug

Handscraped Maple Hardwood (Style: Rockbridge/Color:  Dusk)and Ikat panel (Multi) by Shaw Floors HGTV Home collection. The rug is listed as contemporary and even has a traditional feel to the design.  We loved the pattern for our cottage room.  As Lisa LaPorta agreed, an area rug is a great starting point for inspiration in your home.

Ikat Panel (Multi)
Selected sample (large)
Wall Color

COPEN BLUE by Sherwin Williams for HGTV Home.

SW0068 Copen Blue
Interior/Exterior

Color Collections
Rustic Refined, The Streamlined Years
Color Family
Blues
RGB Value
R-192 | G-204 | B-198
Hexadecimal Value
#C0CCC6
Sherwin Williams Copen Blue paint
Chandelier

We loved the detail of this chandelier when we found it and felt it added a touch of whimsy to the other red coral accents in the room. This chandelier was originally white.  Painting it antique red was a fun way to add color to the room.

Sherwin Williams antique red paint

SW7587 Antique Red

  • DIY:  Our chandelier was originally white. Paint a thrift store find/old brass chandelier.  Color shown is ANTIQUE RED by Sherwin Williams for HGTV Home.
  • Shop:  (better off with the DIY option with something like this because affordable red chandeliers are hard to find) Home Depot has a glass version.
Sofa

We were limited by what was in the warehouse but chose a neutral color and clean lines.  We both agree that furniture is a big purchase and should be neutral enough for when redesigning or changing accents in the future. Keeping big pieces neutral ensures many years of use and your money’s worth!

  • DIY:  Add a neutral colored slip cover to your existing sofa or re-upholster in a neutral fabric. DIY drop cloth slip covers are a little challenging but affordable!
  • Shop:  Crate and Barrel, custom sofa covers http://www.comfort-works.com/
VeranoSofaCanvasF11
v style=”text-align: center;”>Wall Gallery

Place art on the floor to create the layout you’d like to show off on the wall.  Find tips on how to hang art for a photo gallery HERE. Look for art with a theme.  Add a plate, wooden letters or mirrors for interest.

  • DIY:  Frame prints from books, calendars or printed from a site such as Vintage Printables. Do something unexpected. Mix in a canvas with framed prints. We used double sided tape to display a starfish on the square plate. Non-matchy letters were all painted a pretty oil rubbed bronze and sanded for a distressed look.  Round mirrors simulate port hole windows keeping within the nautical theme. {Tips for Hanging a Wall Gallery}.  Placing a mirror (from Michael’s) or convex mirror into a painted pie pan or plate could give you a similar look to the port hole mirrors.
  • Shop:
    • Small Sepia Nautical Art:  Amazon
2 Nautical Sailing Art Prints Bow Hull Ship Posters Sail Decor Sepia

DIY version using convex mirrors and pie tins:

    • Letters: Craft Cuts, Michaels, Joann Fabrics, Hobby Lobby, etc.
nted wood letters come in many heights and thicknesses.

Accent Table
  • DIY:  Stack crates and top with glass for a vintage look. Often a yard sale or flea market find or build your own crates using reclaimed wood or pallets. Stamp or stencil wording and sand/distress for a vintage finish.

I have this accent table in my barn patio area:
Crate with an old vintage window top…


or use an old barrel as a side table like we did in our sitting room:

 Lanterns
  • DIY:  Accessorize varying sizes of lanterns with small plants for terrariums or add candles with sea shells, star fish or palm leaves.  Wrap candles with jute to add texture.  (Paint lanterns if desired.)
  • Shop:  Target, Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, etc.
Knox LanternMini Lantern Tealight Holder
Horse
Horse Figurines

Mantel
  • DIY:  Use large wrought iron salvaged pieces or a small piece of iron fencing to make a statement and a large clock for balance. Accessorize with old books tied with twine and pottery. Shop thrift stores or yard sales. Find a shape of ceramic pottery and spray paint a pretty turquoise if needed.
  • Shop:
Timepiece - Large Distressed Wall Clock with Pendulum
    • Vintage Books – Etsy
Morph Vase
    • Red coral – 15.97 at Amazon
Worldwide Imports Painted Coral Red 5-7"
    • Cloche. Everything looks special under glass. Try Pottery Barn or search for glass sconces and globes (turn upside down)/etc. at thrift stores.
Lamps 
Southwest Turquoise Décor - 20" Azure Glazed Ceramic Jar Desk / Table Lamp - JCO-X4014
Accessorize
  • DIY:  Use a small old drawer as a tray for books.  Add vintage hardware to the sides for handles. Fill a bowl with glass orbs or DIY your own orbs using twine or seashells to add texture. Spray paint accent bowl if you can’t find the right color in thrift stores. Spray paint small urns and fill with grass.  Small thrifted ceramic fish or other themed accent can be painted to coordinate. Give an accent the spotlight by displaying it under a glass cloche.
Telescope
10x Magnification Tabletop Telescope
Side Chairs
  • DIY:  Search Craig’s List or estate sales for wicker chairs. Great texture!  Spray paint brown to freshen up or a fun color if you love the unexpected.  Add neutral cushions.
  • Shop:  Pottery Barn
Seagrass Wingback Armchair
Typography Ottoman
  • DIY:  Built it yourself (info on this coming soon) or give an old ottoman a new look using fabric similar to this:
Throw Pillows
  • DIY:  Sew or No-Sew using typography printed fabric or grain sacks.
  • Shop:  Pottery Barn and Etsy
PB Found Vintage Grainsack, Blue
Speaking of typography, love these trays from Pottery Barn:
Decoupage Typography Trays
Ceramic Garden Stool
  • So many wooden step stools can be found at thrift stores and yard sales.  Paint and distress if needed!
  • Shop:  TJ Maxx and HomeGoods seem to have the best prices for ceramic garden stools (under $50)
Console Table
Sailboat Art 

We hung two large vertical prints on the left side of the window to balance the art on the right.

Sailboat Sea Nautical Sepia Framed Print Picture
Coffee Table Book
  • Shop: Cabinet of Natural Curiosities, Amazon
Cabinet of Natural Curiosities (The Colored Plates 1734-1765)
Albertus Seba: Cabinet of Natural Curiosities (25)
Large Round Mirror
(shown far left)
  • Shop: Great price on sale at JCPenney!
Drapery

Hang drapery as high as possible to add height to a room. Expand rods past the window and “frame” window with drapery to allow the maximum amount of light into the room.

  • DIY:  Sew your own simple curtains using drop cloths or white linen fabric.  Rod pocket or using curtain rings with clips to hang.  Using white/off white twin sheets is also an inexpensive option.
  • Shop:  Overstock
Coffee Table

Rustic.

Holbrook Coffee Table
Subway Art and Easel
Reserved listing for dstiles84
Hopefully this helps with the details.  What’s your favorite part of the room?
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