Dreaming About Fall…

Yes, I am definitely dreaming about fall during this latest heat wave here on the West Coast. We manage pretty well in our house without AC, so I can’t complain, but it’s making me all the more appreciative about the upcoming season.

Autumn affects me in a way no other season does. I love the colors (my colors), the food, the cooling temps and even the lengthening nights when we light candles on the mantel. This is the beginning of “hunkering down.” The warm, cozy throws. Long nights for card games, jigsaw puzzles, old-timey movies. Hearty soups and stews and crisp apples. Walks through crunchy leaves. And the delight of some of my favorite holidays.

And back in the day, I was always excited for the new school year to start in September. I was ready to see friends I hadn’t seen all summer and shop for new school clothes and supplies. (I still love using a freshly sharpened #2 Ticonderoga pencil, though nowadays I use the black ones.)

A zillion years ago when I was in elementary school, girls were required (yes, required) to wear dresses to school. The scariest days were ones that were rumored to be “dress up days.” No, it wasn’t a day to wear our fanciest dresses, but one where boys would try to pull up our dresses to see our undies. True humiliation! (And what an innocent concern compared to what our school children face today!)

But I digress.

All this to say, I love autumn. But on the decor front, other than a few artistan-made ceramic pumpkins (I have five total), I don’t have autumn things, per se.

So I tend to rearrange what I already own to reflect the season in a small way! And here’s the bit that’s hard to admit as a vintage seller…most of us already own plenty of stuff to decorate our homes with. I know I certainly do. Of course I also have the advantage of having plenty of inventory to pull into use.

So a few days ago I started pulling stuff out and playing. Here’s where I’m at right now. I put our Ivan Bilibin giclee print (“Vasilisa at the Hut of Baba Yaga) front and center. So perfect for fall! Then I pulled out more of our antique and vintage brass candlesticks, which pre-heat wave we were already using.

Then I started thinking about the dark, moodier things I have. I pulled out a fabulous antique photo of military school boys and then added the 1961 pottery jar by Baba. You know the Baba who lived in Haight Ashbury, loved shrooms and free love. Okay, I made that part up! But I love how simpatico they are.

Then I added the antique Durham Cathedral engraving I recently bought with another mid-century modern pottery piece dated 1966. The colors on the vase echo those in the engraving.

The other thing I added to the mantel was a very old brass post office box door to add a little more “weight” to the right side. I’ve just listed this in my Etsy store, but don’t really want to sell it. I adore architectural salvage like this.

Still, to be honest, I’m not 100% pleased with the overall look. So I’ll live with it for a few days and then tinker some more. Just for fun.

Now it’s time to take a tepid shower and rinse off a bit of this hot day dreaming of those lovely, cool, rainy days ahead!

How do you decorate for fall??

Happy hunting, as always,

Karen