As promised last Friday, I wanted to write a follow up post for my autumn inspired pumpkin cookies. If you are a regular reader, you will know by now that I find joy in making ordinary things, lovely. I find beauty in forgotten treasures, and I see the importance of family time and meals filled with love.
One way, I showcase all of those things is by spending time in the home. A home does not have to be grand to be filled with much love. A table does not have to be lavish to be fulfilling.
Dining tables are a blank canvas. They open many possibilities for nourishment, conversation, and beauty. Creating tablescapes to celebrate the ordinary things in life brings me much pleasure.
Autumn is a majestic time of the year- a season worth celebrating! What better reason than a season to create a themed tablescape and some adorable “autumn moments” to scatter around the home. Cue this post- sharing some of my favorite autumn decor ideas.
Join me as I walk you through some of my favored seasonal decorating tips. My ideas are easy to create, distinctive, and fun. So, without further ado, it’s off to the great outdoors we go…
~The Majesty of Autumn~
As the seasons change, we are reminded of many lessons, and it is prudent to heed those lessons from above. God’s world offers much beauty that is free for those who take the time to notice. Beautiful rainbows after a storm has passed, stunning sunsets, breathtaking sunrises, spectacular seasonal changes-majesty in the creation, that points us to the Creator.
Autumn is a magnificent season filled with much beauty, color, and warmth. The vibrant colors of the leaves and the crunch, crunch, crunching sound the fallen leaves make underfoot. The cool, crisp air that fills your lungs when you deeply inhale. Such pleasant gifts.
When decorating my home, I like to first go outside and see if there are any natural gifts I can use without cost. Like a mother hen, I assemble my children, ready to venture out on a scavenger hunt for tangible treasures worth keeping. One does not have to walk far to note that the leaves are the showstoppers of the autumn season. Therefore, I wanted to incorporate the natural colors of the autumn leaves inside my home.
I would only ask you to use your own creativity to look around and marvel at the abundant beauty of nature. And then ask yourself how you can incorporate that beauty into your home or life. Remember, the best things in life do not require deep pockets.
~Leaf It to Me~
Enter the autumn leaf: let us first observe and appreciate it as a thing of beauty. By placing the autumn leaf in the air, and allowing the sun to shine through it, many hidden details are revealed. Upon closer inspection, one can distinguish tiny veins, bold colors, soft textures–all of these things add to the spectacle.
Naturally, as part of a science homeschool lesson, I asked my little pupils to hold a leaf, of their choosing, up towards the light. These were their descriptions of what they saw in their illuminated leaves (with a little input from mom):
“Brown pin prick, freckles. A road map of veins. A vibrant display of hidden beauty revealed when brought into the light. All this camouflaged beauty, enveloped in the curvy outline of the humble autumn leaf.”
~Let the Leaf be the Teacher for the Day~
When planning my tablescape I knew I wanted to incorporate leaves, but how? I decided to have the children help me gather as many beautiful, fallen leaves as they could collect. They did not disappoint. This was a fun activity that we all enjoyed doing together. Time is the gift you see, not always the activity, but instead the time spent doing the “said” thing together.
I find these kinds of simple activities are the best times to listen to your children…really listen with no distractions. You will learn so much about where they are right there in that moment and how you can love them more. How special and wonderful they are. I digress.
~Creating a Leaf Garland~
We gathered our vibrant leaves and brought them to the table- our gathering place. I then took some thin twine, cut the end at an angle, and dabbed a bit of glue on the end (this made the end stiff and fray-free). Once it had dried, I was ready to string the twine through our beautiful fall leaves.
For this DIY project I recommend freshly fallen leaves, as they are still pliable, and will lie flat. Although, by the time I took my photographs, my leaves were already beginning to dry. (Which I didn’t really mind in the end as the little curls in the leaf edges looked charming.) It is important to note that the crunchier the leaf, the more likely it is to tear, and crumble, and curl up at the edges.
To begin, I simply made a small sliver in the leaf’s center and threaded my twine through (making it as long as I wanted and securing each end with a bow). Threading the twine through each leaf made manipulating the finished leaf garland much easier. I like to add little “roller coaster” dips in between my leaves, but you could also lie the threaded leaves straight down the middle.
Note: An autumn leaf garland looks lovely on a mantel. Either draped across the front of the mantel or on top of the mantel (manipulated into slight roller coaster shape again and then layering candles throughout). It would also look lovely on the top of an entryway door.
~Autumn Centerpiece for Home Interiors~
Once I had my base layer for my table centerpiece complete, I then layered some of my favorite things. My grandmother’s crochet tablecloth as the initial cover. The leaf garland in the table center, alongside some small, green and cream pumpkins, all beside my thrifted brass candlesticks.
The wooden candlesticks, I featured in Friday’s post, where my anchors at the end- nestled into my leaf garland. I used my grandmother’s Indian Tree china bowl (also featured in this Indian Curry post) to simply “plop” a green pumpkin into for the table’s center. Finally, with the addition of some wild goldenrod, from the backyard, and some dried flowers…an autumn inspired look had been created.
~An Outdoor Table Inspired by Autumn~
Wanting to take advantage of a beautiful autumn day, I decided to stage an outside table. I love this refectory style table because my husband made it in the fashion of the old English refectory tables. The lovely practice of bringing a table outdoors creates an enchanting feel, while also being laid back. (To see this table staged for a spring garden party you can click here.)
Disclaimer: anytime you have a table outside you have to be aware that “perfection” is a bit harder to achieve. For candles are often snuffed out by gentle winds- and any leaves or flowers that you place as props- will often be blown about and misplaced. I suppose it creates a very natural, organic feel.
For my outside table decorations, I just placed the leaves and goldenrod on the table, but as it would be, every time I went to take a photograph, the wind would pick up and move my decorations out of line. It was if the wind was whispering, “Let it be.”
This leads me back to my original idea of threading the leaves through the twine. A practical aim that is perfect for outside tables because the leaves cannot blow very far when they are threaded to each other. Each garland end can be easily secured down with the weight of a candlestick.
~A Slight Center Variation~
Naturally, I wanted to play around with the staging of my tabletop. One of my favorite things to do before decorating is to lay all of my collected tressures on the ground or a tabletop. This way I can see each treasure and think about how I want to coordinate my considered gems.
~Using Vintage Silver Bowls as Autumn Decor~
~More Autumn Decor Ideas~
I didn’t want to stop there so I also used a thrifted scarecrow flowerpot to utilize the same “plopping of a pumpkin” trick. My collected books wouldn’t go amiss in another “autumn moment” so I used one book here to add height and color. In my opinion, antique books work anywhere, anytime… no matter the season.
~A Small Token~
Finally, I made a mini bouquet of fall foliage from the backyard. These mini bouquets have been shared previously but they are such a simple way to add a bit of ordinary beauty to life. I added a few of my pumpkin cookies, to an old basket with a pumpkin inside, to show how a thoughtful gift can be assembled with just a bit of thought- and love- and very little cost.
~Until Next Time~
In conclusion, I hope these autumn decor ideas inspire you all to create your own beautiful spaces- always remembering that beauty is not dependent on spending loads of money. Some of the most beautiful things in life are free. To find evidence of this just take a walk, smile, open your eyes, and be thankful (that’s for you Craig!).
Stay tuned in the next couple of weeks for more decorations, that I gathered from nature, to use in my home.
See you all Friday, this time for a proper English dessert that is also autumn inspired.
If you enjoyed this post, feel free to subscribe or leave a comment. And as always, thank you for tuning in.
~Elizabeth~