Fall Decorating: A Feast for the Senses

Folk art by Christy J. Robb

Fall is a feast for the senses. It evokes all the sensations of warmth, welcome, comfort, and nostalgia that surrounds this time of year. Many of life’s most cherished rituals take place in September and October: school starting, football season beginning, celebrating homecoming. For those old enough to remember, there is the visceral smell of burning leaves, or chimney smoke, beckoning one home to a hot Sunday dinner, of chili, hearty stews, squash with brown sugar and butter, homemade desserts of apple pie and pumpkin bars.

As daylight savings time ends and night falls quickly, deliciously scented candles, with enticing apple pie, caramel, and mocha scents, brighten rooms and fill them with comfort.  Making our homes cozy, feathering the nest, is a tradition that many of us look forward to the moment the calendar page turns to September.

I made the trip last week to the Junk Bonanza, an annual fall mecca of vintage and repurposed treasures. Everywhere I looked there were wonderfully imaginative displays, featuring vintage and repurposed decor, and fun flea market finds.  It was the ideal place to spot some of fall’s biggest decorating trends in vintage home style.

An Abundance of Arrangements Perhaps no other occasion but Christmas rivals fall for decorating with fantastic floral arrangements. The opportunities to create autumnal wreaths, centerpieces, garlands, elaborate pots and swags are endless, as are the vehicles for containing them.

At the Junk Bonanza I found this fabulous antique canister, (originally used for twine in corn harvesting, I’m told) that was perfect for the tall dried flowers I harvested from my perennial garden. Before tossing the remnants of your garden or pots, harvest what you can for  arrangements. Dried cornstalks, cattails, ornamental grasses, withered stems of brown-eyed susans, and sepia-toned hydrangea heads are perfect for tall canisters. I have a pot of ornamental peppers, in maroon and gold sitting beside the canister, which complements it nicely.

Pillows & Throws Throw pillows made of old feed sacks, bedspreads, and old flannels are all the rage this season in earthy, muted tones of cheese cloth and burlap. The Pendleton blanket is having a huge moment this fall, which is wonderful to see. Pendleton is a family-owned company, started in the early 1900s, known for its heavy wool blankets inspired by Native American designs. They are prized for their vivid colors and intricate patterns. Like many vintage pieces, Pendleton blankets have come to symbolize American heritage, authenticity, and craftsmanship.

Found Items from Nature A huge trend that I’m seeing everywhere from blogs to magazines to store windows are naturally shed antlers and faux taxidermy. For instance, I have a pink plaster unicorn head mounted on the wall in my bedroom. I’ve seen amazing trophy deer crafted from sweaters.  You can even find a mounted stag head at Target, and antler decor, as well. Another popular item theme is integrating craft store tail feathers of pheasant and grouse to your decor, bringing that cozy hunting lodge feel to your home. Pine cones, acorns, vibrantly colored leaves, gourds, pumpkins, indian corn, dried sunflowers, artichokes, small heads of flowering kale, all can be used to make charming autumn vignettes.

Mixed Materials  I saw so many fabulous pieces of barn wood made into everything from mantels to dining tables. Metals, woods, tin art, architectural objects, scrollwork, doorknobs, drawer pulls, hand tools, old troughs, all of it rusted, repainted, embellished, or as is. Jumping on the monogram trend, letters in every conceivable material were available to make reclaimed items even more meaningful. A lot of the more utilitarian objects were softened by adding repurposed decor, such as pumpkins made with wool sweaters, chenille, velveteen, and lace, which made a lovely juxtaposition.

Nostalgia The season of Halloween brings out the kid in us. It’s hard to tell who actually enjoys dressing up more these days, children or adults.  I know that I’m am not immune to the joys of decorating with witches and black cats. But over the years, I’ve evolved from paper and plastic ghosts and goblins, to a more primitive, hand-crafted Halloween look that incorporates retro style with recycled and vintage materials. Again, each of these pieces is evocative of simple delights, whimsy, Americana, and the pleasure of hand-crafted items that many of us enjoy.

The great thing about decorating for the season, rather than the holiday, is that you won’t have to rush on November 1st to take everything down. That means more time to nestle up under a cozy Pendleton throw and bask in the glow of your charming fall home.

Smart Perks Blogger Melanie Bisson, is always a sucker for a kitschy vase. For more fall decorating ideas, check out the Smart Perks Pinterest page, Fall Decor Inside and Out.

 The next Junk Bonanza will take place in Portland, October 14-15th.

Check out https://www.instagram.com/purplepincushion/ for some great hand-crafted and repurposed items.

 

 

The Furniture Refurbisher: Willett Table

Refurbished mid-century modern console table from Willett Furniture

If you’re in the habit of writing off every piece of furniture you see at a garage sale, auction, estate sale or at your local second-hand store, then this post is going to make you think again. Just the other day I was out deal-hunting at an estate-sale for something that I could put in my entryway for holding keys and such, when I stumbled upon this beauty tucked beneath a pile of worn-in children’s clothes and a blender:

Experience the thrill of the FIND!

OK, maybe it doesn’t look that beautiful in the picture, but this is a classic piece from the Willett Furniture Company which, until it went defunct in 1962, made and sold some truly amazing furniture. Back when this solid-cherry rarity was made in 1957, it cost $105 and would take weeks for it to be delivered because of the company’s special seven-step finishing process. Today though, original Willett pieces can be worth over $1,000 to collectors. And now, right there before me, was an original Willett.

When I recognized the piece for what it is, I broke into a sweat and tried to subtly inquire the nearest seller about the price. I hid my excitement by casually commenting about the weather and verbally noting how high gas prices are getting. THEN I asked about the table. Even though I’m not planning on flipping the piece, if the seller caught onto my excitement then that could spell trouble. After all, there’s a lot of money at stake!

The price I ended up paying for it was far below $250 and I happily took it home. I remake of this same piece would cost around $2,000, so I was reasonably happy. I didn’t want to flip it because I love the look of it and am probably going to hold onto it for a while. However, the piece did need to be refurbished, which quite frankly, I dreaded. I had never done so before, but after spending an hour or so researching and then a weekend doing the actual project itself, I was ready to go. Turns out it was easier than I thought it would be!

The ubiquitous before shot. You may want to put down a tarp before setting to work.

1. First, I removed the hardware, and then I had to get all that dust off of there. I cleaned every inch of it with Murphy’s oil soap which gives the piece a natural shine and most importantly cleans it without damaging it.
2. Then I sanded the tops of the shelves with very light sandpaper (100, 150, and then 220 grit) to get it ready for refinishing. The rest of it I sanded with the 220 grit sand paper.
3. After cleaning off the dust, I sanded it once more over with 400 grit sandpaper and 0000 steel wool. It’s very important to use light grit sandpapers to avoid scratching the wood.

4. We’re almost there – I then used a rag to apply one generous coat of boiled linseed oil. After letting it dry for an hour, I wiped off the excess with a clean rag.
5. Finally, two days later, I repeated step 4 and then let it dry for two more days. Now it lives here:

Looks pretty nice, right? Not bad for $250 from an estate sale. If you’re looking to do this for yourself, it’s very easy. Take an afternoon and shop around garage sales, auctions, Grandma’s attic or other places where you might stumble upon something with potential. There are even websites such as eBay and Everything but the House which sell great furniture. Then you have to figure out what needs to be fixed or how to refinish it. Google is pretty good for that, but if you’re internet averse there are always plenty of people willing to help out over at your local hardware store.

-Jack

As devilishly handsome as he is clever, Jack is the excellent copyeditor for the Smart Perks team. A passionate music-listener, writer, and all-around great guy, Jack is going to help keep you in the know on fun trends and interesting ideas.