Fall Decorating for Every
Room in Your Home
by Kathy Wilson
The change of the seasons is a special time for home decorator's…and
Fall decorating is a great way to cozy up your home for the colder
months ahead. Fall decorating doesn't have to be just about
Thanksgiving, and it doesn't have to be limited to the main room in
the home. Here are some easy and inexpensive home decorating ideas to
bring the glory of Autumn's bounty and warmth throughout your entire
home.
Make branch bowers for every room in your home. Gather interesting
branches from your yard or a neighbors. Curling, knarled, and colorful
branches add extra character! Gather them into two bunches, and join
the two bunches at the cut ends with wire to make one long swag. Wrap
ribbon and tie bows around the center of the swag to hide the spot
where they are wired together. Now just stick in a couple of fall
dried flower bunches or fall craft berry picks and hang over mantels,
over headboards, and make smaller ones for over bathroom mirrors and
closet doors. Designer look, for pennies!
Gather fall leaves and press between paper towels and heavy books for
several days to a week. The resulting natural beauties can be
scattered over shelving, fireplace hearths, or even over your
tablecloth for your first dinner party of the Autumn Season!
Pick up a roll of raffia or natural colored twisted paper from your
craft shop. Layer the towels in your guest bath, then tie them with
the raffia for a rustic touch. Slip in a cinnamon stick for a heavenly
fragrance when company comes to visit. (Or even when they don't! ) Use
the same raffia as tiebacks on the shower curtain, front drapes, or
even round throw pillows on the porch!
Pick up a grapevine wreath and soak it in hot water overnight. Clip
with pruning shears, and unwind the wreath. Now wrap the wreath around
a chandelier, pot rack, or porch railing for a gorgeous testament to
the beauty of nature! Tuck in some dried flowers and grasses here and
there for interest. When winter arrives, change out the dried flowers
for evergreen sprigs!
Now is the time to start drying some of the flowers from your yard, or
perhaps with permission from a neighbor. Air drying is by far the
easiest way to dry flowers, but not all flowers can be air dried. Some
good choices? Roses (choose them in bud) hydrangeas, grasses, yarrow,
and sedums. Tie them in bunches and hang them upside down to dry, it
should take a few weeks. You can even display them while they dry by
securing the ends with rubber bands, them tying ribbon around the
bands to cover, hang from curtain rods, pot racks, over backsplashes
or create a simple rack for them from a painted board and small nails
or cup hooks.
Visit your farmers markets and pick up inexpensive fruits and veges to
display and eat! Squash, corn, pomegranates, apples, pears…the list
goes on! Small acorn squashes, apples, and even pumpkins can be
hollowed out to hold candles for evening dining. (Don't wait for
company to make your meals a celebration, but this is perhaps
something the kids could help with on the weekend!) Have a bowl on
your kitchen counter and even in your entry, stack squashes and
pumpkins on the front porch, and make sure you make at least ONE apple
pie this season!
Simple, easy, and fun to do with the family! Fall is a great season to
celebrate the simple things that make life special, including time
spent in our homes with our loved ones. Make memories.
Kathy Wilson is a home and garden writer, author and consultant and is
the home decorating expert for LifetimeTV.com. Visit her for more home
and garden ideas at
http://www.TheBudgetDecorator.com,
http://www.TheGardenGlove.com and
http://www.TheBudgetChef.com . Also
visit her at
http://www.Women-on-the-Net.com where any woman can learn
to make money on the internet!