So long, summer. Fall kicks off in 10 days and at HQ we’re happily taking out our chunky knits and massive blanket scarves, embracing every ounce of cool weather and hygge vibes the East Coast has to offer. And while we’re tempted to buy as many pumpkins we can haul in a wagon and fill our homes with endless amounts of gourds and decorative leaves, let's be real, launching a complete interior home makeover isn’t in the cards. So, this season we’re making subtle (and attainable!), changes to our living space, one room at a time. Try them all or master just one, we promise you'll be feeling fall-ready in no time!
The summer days of tending to your window boxes and planters may be dwindling, but DIY lovers rejoice, thanks to their late growing season, pumpkins are quintessentially fall and supply some serious curb appeal. And as much as we love a classic orange gourd, we’re all about elevating the expected. From stencils to spray paint there are endless was to upgrade your pumpkin picks, but this year we’re completely obsessed with these two DIYs.
- House Number: Pick up a white pumpkin or opt to paint one a base color of your choosing. Grab stencils of your house number from any local craft store and spray paint on your address. Easy as (pumpkin) pie!
- Matte Finish: There’s something to be said for subdued muted tones as we enter the fall season. Pick up a a few colors of chalk paint, paint away, and set to dry.
We swear the minute the clock strikes midnight on September 22nd, flannels appear in our closet, everyone and their mother are drinking a PSL, and all of the fall decor inspo comes out to play on Pinterest. And as much as we love bringing the warm and cozy vibes into our living space, when daylight savings time comes knocking, bringing a little extra life into our space is critical.
Adding greenery to unexpected places helps to bring the outside indoors, and allows you to keep things light and bright. Greenery like eucalyptus is long lasting and is the perfect size to drape around mirrors, mantles and even on your bar cart. But if you’re already a not-so-closeted plant lady and you can’t possibly fit another palm in your home, try your hand at a gourd garland to spruce up an living space mantel.
Swiftly approaching is the season of entertaining overload, and we’re betting that you’re hosting at least one get-together (possibly more, possibly all of them). And if you’re anything like us, creating a spread that looks enviably complicated, but is actually a cinch to pull off is high on our list. So, we’ve collected our top tips from years of hosting, to help you pull of an effortless tablescape in a pinch.
1. Nail Down Your Palette
Sticking with consistent colors throughout your flowers and food is the single best way to elevate your table’s “look” (think more pretty, less potluck). Fall colors like persimmon, buttery yellow, smoky purple bring in the season and match the muted tones of your table.
2. Forget Faux
We’re all about the real deal here at AT. Using seasonal fruits (pears, apples and pinecones) and greens (grasses, eucalyptus and even corn husks), at your local farmers market or grocery store, is a cost effective way to instantly bring the current season to life on your dining table. And if you’re looking to take things one step further, purchase (or collect) maple or even magnolia leaves and spray paint them a shade silver or gold, to use as an accent throughout your display.
3. Levels and Layers
Creating a dynamic centerpiece is all about staggering heights, sizes and textures. If candles are your thing, DIY your own birch-wrapped pillars of varying heights. If you often lean more towards snazzy dishware, look towards slices of tree (hear us out) to use as trivets or cake stands, or interesting fabrics like flannel or linens to line the center of the table.
But if you’re more of a one stop shop type of gal, join us at a fall class and picture perfect fall arrangement, to easily complete any entertaining dream.
In a perfect, we would have flowers in every room. Heck, we would have multiple arrangements in every room. That said, we know our fellow #girlbosses are hustlin’ hard and it's not always in the cards to attend a workshop every week. So we’re giving you an extra special sneak peek into one of our favorite early fall recipes you can whip up right at home.
Something Natural
- 5 Pink or Orange Roses
- 3 Orange Spray Roses
- 2 Mini Green Hydrangeas
- 2 Orange Lilies
- 2 Stalks Green Hypericum Berry
- A Few Stems of Ruscus
- Make a grid with tape on top of your vase (just like a tic-tac-toe board). This helps you avoid the flower flops by building structure. This will also help to control and hold your arrangement in place so you get the best-looking arrangement possible.
- Create your base with your ruscus. When we "green our base" we're building the skeleton of the bouquet.
- Work with flowers from largest to smallest. The larger flowers are the structure needed to support the smaller flowers and make them shine. Start by adding your hydrangeas, followed by your lilies, roses, and spray roses.
- Cut stems at a 45-degree angle, this increases the surface area to drink water and also makes sure that your stem does not sit flat on the bottom of the vase.
- Finish off your arrangement with your hypericum berries to complete the look. A textural element is one of the least expensive parts and makes the biggest difference. Whenever we create bouquets, there are always holes or places that don't look right when we are finished. Those are the spots we fill in with texture.
And while you’re in the kitchen, you mind as well whip up something festive, check out our favorite 5 o'clocktails to congratulate yourself on a DIY job well done. Cheers!
