I named today’s fall home tour “Decorating for fall with area rugs” because that is pretty much what I did. Plants and rugs to be precise. For summer I mostly remove all the rugs throughout the house because the floors are easier to keep clean when people run in and out of the house with bare feet and it feels more like summer. But when the cold weather arrives, the bare wood and wood vinyl floors feel too cold, and bringing in some much-needed warmth with textiles such as rugs is needed.
I’m thrilled to be part of Krista, The Happy Housie’s Fall Seasonal Simplicity Home Tour Series this fall and would love for you to start out on her blog to check out all the other blogs that participated this week. Just follow the link to the next person in line every day. And if you have done that already then welcome to all of you coming from Christina, The DIY Mommy‘s beautiful tour.
The plants got shoved into the house also because of the arrival of the cold nights and weather. Since we were unable to go home to Germany this summer, I apparently developed a plant addiction and am now faced with the magnitude of that issue. Some of the plants we had also grown so much outside over the summer and I’m still trying to see how I can arrange them in our bedroom with the cathedral ceilings. Currently, I’m shopping for plant lights to keep them all happy over the winter. The big palm in the living room already as a plant light.
Decorating for fall with area rugs
When I saw the colors of this new rug, I was in love. I wasn’t even in the market for a rug or had plans where to put it. I simply ordered it to see if I liked it at home for fall. I had a 30% off coupon which helped and while some people don’t like the layered look over my existing rug, I happen to like it.
I also discovered this year that I am definitely not a minimalist because I simply love stuff. Things that make me happy. We have been home so much and to me, this just makes our house cozy. Lots of cats, lots of plants, lots of pillows and textures, and now also lots of rugs for the season.
Look at these beautiful colors that match the big pumpkin and our sweet cat Maya. She sometimes loves this rug a tad bit too much 😉 if you know what I mean.
One of my favorite plants I bought over the summer is the below rattlesnake plant. It is so pretty and almost looks fake. What makes it so special is that it lifts its leaves into an upright vertical position in at night. The first time I noticed that I was panicking because I thought there was something wrong with it. My husband googled around though and informed me otherwise.
I had the faux yellow leaf branches from last year and added some faux snapdragon seed pod branches to the mix. Did you know that their seed pods look like skulls or aliens? I think it’s the perfect small creepy addition since we love Halloween so much but still organic and natural. I don’t like the fake plastic Halloween decor you find everywhere.
I also added the seed pod branches to my grasses on my bleached wood dresser in the hallway.
The large baskets still house my craft supplies. I just love them so much. They were a splurge this year but definitely worth it to me.
(check out my recent half-moon tasseled embellishment tutorial on the basket and the faux wooden staircase decals)
I added many hanging plants to the windows this summer because they are perfect for cat owners if you have plants that you want to keep away from them. I made the hanging embroidery hoop planter, easy macrame planter and also the below hanging planter from this basket. I don’t have a tutorial for it though but it is super easy. Just remove the handles and add three strands of square or spiral knots which you can find in my tutorial HERE and done. My Hoya plant looks happy in it.
I also ordered a handpainted faux skull from Etsy for my daughter’s annual Halloween costume blog post and ended up loving how it looked on my newly bleached desk for Halloween.
When I was facetiming with my mom, I ended up telling her that I found the skull at the river and thought it was so cool, so I brought it home. I can’t believe she bought the story because she got super upset that I didn’t call the police LOL. Oh, mom! Of course, I’d call the police if I found a human skull outside.
I also fell in love with the below planter and bought it for my Christmas cactus. Isn’t it pretty?
I’m also still super happy with my shelf makeover. The new wooden boards make such a difference and also look less dusty. And my giant rope tassel is still one of my favorite projects of this year.
Painting vases and planters
Literally everyone on Instagram is painting their old pottery, thrift shop find vases and planters with a leftover paint and baking soda mixture. I had to try it of course as well because I had so many that I didn’t like anymore and am loving how they turned out. The vases and planters you see on my shelves are painted and look just like terracotta, right? There is no strict recipe needed. Just make sure that you prime (my favorite primer) the vases and planters and add a good dose of baking soda to make the mixture slightly chalky and thicker. You can also use craft paint or paint samples. I mixed a couple different shades of tan and layered on the different shades. That’s it!
I also went crazy at Worldmarket when I saw their rugs. The price, quality, and look is just so good. This small rug was only $25. Yup the cats are excited about having rugs for the winter.
I also bought one of them (HERE) in large for our bedroom but our bedroom is a mess right now, so I’ll only show you the rug for now. The reason it is a mess is that I decided to give the dresser a makeover which has resulted in a disaster. I’ll dedicate an entire blog post to it, once I have figured out where to go from here. I have truly never run into an issue like it.
I did not add a rug to the dining room, simply because the area gets dirty from food, and is easier to keep clean without a rug for now.
I also need to find a solution for the plants. The large money tree is from my husband’s office. He didn’t want to let it die there, since everyone is working from home and over the summer it got even bigger outside. Hopefully one day he can take it back to the office.
The below wood bead hanging planter is not a DIY and I actually purchased it. I couldn’t make it for the same price.
My craft and DIY projects shown in today’s tour:
And that is it for today. I’ll be working on my dresser and bedroom for the rest of fall and maybe I’ll have that to share for my Christmas tour. Let’s see. ENjoy your fall season.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Next, please hop on over to Dannyelle’s of the Life is a Party to check out her fall home tour!
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Sharing today with me…
Thursday
Cherished Bliss ** Life is Better at Home ** The DIY Mommy
Cuckoo 4 Design ** Life is a Party ** Rambling Renovators
And sharing the rest of this week…
Monday
The Happy Housie ** Modern Glam ** This is Simplicite
House by Hoff ** Maison de Cinq ** Inspiration for Moms
Tuesday
The Turquoise Home ** Clean & Scentsible ** A Pretty Life
Chrissy Marie Blog ** Colleen Pastoor ** Jennifer Maune
Wednesday
Finding Silver Pennies ** She Gave it a Go ** The Tattered Pew
My Sweet Savannah ** Willow Street Interiors ** Taryn Whiteaker Designs
Friday
Deeply Southern Home ** Tatertots & Jello ** Two Twenty One
Love Create Celebrate ** Homemade Lovely** Maison de Pax
Tschüß,
i absolutely love the tones in that rug- your space feels so warm and cozy!
I’ve been shoving all the things into my little house lately 😬 Thanks my friend.
Your rugs are beautiful and so cozy for fall!
Thanks so much Dannyelle
Julia I love all of your rug choices. Now I feel like I need to run over to World Market and shop for some rugs. Your home and fall decor is gorgeous. Pinned!
Julia, I’m so IN LOVE with all your rugs and your plants. I also LOVE your blue pillows int he living room and those gorgeous baskets. Love your stripped desk and the pottery you painted. LOVE everything. Lots of pinning. xx