I love a fall house.  It’s so cozy and inviting.  But just like you I’d rather not keep a bunch of orange and black plastic bins full of “fall decor”.  And now that Halloween is over we can take down the black netting and crows that our children insisted on–please tell me I’m not the only one.   But what if you are having people over for Thanksgiving?  You don’t want jack-o-lanterns but you’d also rather not have nothing.

Here’s what I keep in mind when I fall-i-tize my house:

1. Dress your home in layers.

I brought the three-legged cowhide rug downstairs to layer and fill the gap to the second sofa.  Do you know about my three-legged cowhide?  He was only $60 because he was deformed. I knew anywhere I’d use a cowhide it would be partially under a piece of furniture.  I’m currently looking for an imperfect black and white cowhide.

Other things I use to layer: quilts, throws, pillows, I even count piles of books as layers.  Fall and harvest evoke a feeling of abundance, this is the time of year where I don’t mind having a few more items on display in our home.

 

2. Naturalize

Feathers, sticks, rocks, fur, uncarved ‘kins and gourds I’m into it all and they all whisper fall.

3. Incorporate your everyday decor

You don’t want your unseasonal decor to feel left out.  So just fall it up a little.  For me, that means some antlers and feathers in my bust planter.  Maybe you don’t have antlers or feathers or a bust planter, but I bet you have something already sitting around your home that you can seasonalize.  I add a sprig of backyard weeds or a twig with a few turned leaves hanging on.  Just a little bridging of the gap between what I have and the current season.

4. Decorate with Food

My favorite.

That butternut squash from the first picture isn’t in the second picture of this post, because I was gonna cook it.  Nuts, bowls of apples, hot cider, hot chocolate packs in a basket, a stack of mugs next to the coffee maker, I even leave my dutch oven sitting out on the counter in the fall to help beacon me to the kitchen. My favorite fall recipes:

PW’s roast

Lightened Loaded Potato Soup

Stroganoff Meatballs

 

5. Ambiance

For the love of beauty, pick up some candles and don’t forget to actually light them.  That’s what I had to tel myself last week.  Because I was out of candles and didn’t want to make time to stop in and grab a few more.  They are SO worth it.

My pet peeve is never-been-lit-dusty-candles in a house, I’ve found that usually it’s well-meaning people who want to save their candles and just use them for decoration.  But trust me, your candles were meant to be lit.  They want you to enjoy them, their purpose is to be used, you have my permission to stop saving them for a special occasion. Try turn on some music before your someone gets home tonight, turn the lights down a little lower (to hide the real mess) and I’d wager someone in your house will notice, even if it’s just you who notices, isn’t that worth it?

6. What am I missing?  What’s an easy way that you Fall-i-tize your home right before Thanksgiving?