Fall has officially arrived!! Now it’s time to bring the outdoors in by incorporating the colors of the season into your home decor.

I created this tablescape two years ago. It totally gives me heart eyes when I look back at it. So much pumpkin yumminess!! I may have to recreate the look this year.

Pumpkins don’t just have to be porch decor. Bring those beauties inside!

When it comes to fall decor there are so many ways to cozy up your home. The beauty outdoors from the changing colors of the season is great inspiration for colors & elements you can bring inside. I chat about how to add cozy touches to your home with throw pillows, blankets & more here. For now, let’s focus on bringing in natural elements like pumpkins and greenery to take that coziness up a notch.

A beautifully colored Cinderella pumpkin is the perfect addition to this spot. A cozy throw and velvety pillow add texture to soften the look.

Of course the main natural element of the season in my opinion is pumpkins. With so many sizes and colors it’s easy to incorporate them into your decor. Even if you’re not a big fan of seasonal decor you can implement touches just by adding a couple of simple pumpkins to a shelf or table. There is a plethora of faux pumpkin options out there…fabric, wood, ceramic, foam, etcetera. They all make my heart go pitter-patter. Today though, I want to focus on the real deal grown on a vine cuties that I just can’t get enough of.

For my table this year I did a mix of real and faux pumpkins on one of our handcrafted long decorative trays available in our shop.

Just like us, pumpkins come in every shape, size and color you could dream of. The natural beauty of each ones imperfect perfection has me swooning every year around this time. When I enter the local grocery store, farm store or Lord help me, the pumpkin patch, it’s full on blackout mode. I can’t resist bringing ALL of those cuties home and finding a spot to let them shine.

On the shelf on our living room I decorated with a white pumpkin & an accent of seeded eucalyptus to give more interest to the vignette. Handcrafted wood lantern and wood & glass bead strand are available in our shop. Handcrafted corbels are the brackets for this shelf.

A simple mini white pumpkin can be used in a multitude of vignettes, so those are my number one suggestion if you’re just starting with adding in real pumpkins to your home decor.

A yummy fall candle, a seasonal bead strand and a white pumpkin pull this simple vignette together.
My kitchen counter staples are breadboards, antique white dishes & pitchers and seasonal touches. Here I added mini pumpkins and eucalyptus as my seasonal pieces. I also added one of our handcrafted wood pumpkins.
Obviously you can’t go wrong with a book, a candle and a bead strand. Here’s another vignette with those same decor items. Add a white pumpkin and seasonal floral touches to instantly give it fall vibes.
I love using white dishes to elevate items in my kitchen decor. Thrift stores are a great place to find antique and vintage dishes for a great price.
Okay, so apparently I have a candle obsession… I can’t help it, they smell soooo good!! Check out my fave candles here.
Look at the sweet curly vine still on this pumpkin stem…swoon!!

Bring in the pops of seasonal color

I tend to use a lot of neutral colors in my home decor, so I am mostly drawn to the white, pale blue and peach colored pumpkins. If you prefer a bit more traditional fall color go for yellow, orange or striped pumpkins. In the tablescape I created a couple years ago I mixed neutrals with the more traditional colors.

By mixing the traditional fall colors with softer pale tones in this tablescape it helped make the look blend well with my other decor.
Seeded eucalyptus is a great accent greenery. I place sprigs of it throughout my decor to soften the look & add an additional natural element.
Pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere! Next to the stove I ground all the frequently needed items in a basket or on a tray. Here I added a mini pumpkin and some seeded eucalyptus to a vintage creamer. The whitewash pumpkin is an item we handcraft and offer seasonally in our shop.

Mix real and faux to add more interest to the space

In both floral arrangements and vignettes I like to mix real with faux to create interest and give a more realistic look. In many of my floral arrangements I use faux florals and real greenery to add more natural movement to the look. I do the same with my pumpkins. In areas where I use multiple pumpkins I mix real with faux because it adds more texture and realness.

For my table centerpiece I used a mix of real and faux pumpkins and gourds. Pop in sprigs of seeded eucalyptus to add more texture to the look. Can you tell which pumpkins are real?
Even the bedroom gets a little sprinkle of pumpkins. I sometimes like to use dried naturals in place of florals or greenery for fall. The double tassel bead strand here is a new style in our shop. I love the statement it makes with the oversized tassels and chunky beads.

This old champagne bucket (thanks mom!) is great for making seasonal floral arrangements. I implemented the colors in other areas of my home for fall to tie the look in with the room. I added seeded eucalyptus and silver dollar eucalyptus with the faux florals and dried barley to add natural movement. When it dries out it holds its shape pretty well. If you’re worried about it drying out you could add water depending on the vessel so the greenery stays alive longer. I’ve done this for a few arrangements in the past. The double tassel decor strand and handcrafted decorative tray are both available in our shop.

There you have it!! I hope this inspired you to think of real pumpkins as more than just outdoor decor. Bringing them inside to decorate with truly adds such beauty and texture to any space inside or out.

Happy Fall, friend!!

Bringing in natural elements to your Fall Decor

Styling shelves can seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be…

When inspiration struck to decorate my kitchen shelves for Easter/Spring I started with a jumping off point of knowing I would use these precious bunny plates from Pottery Barn

Shelf styling is a common struggle when it comes to home decorating. A blank, flat surface with a million possibilities…where do you start?? Let me bring you inside my decor brain. (You’ll have to push aside the faux florals and bead strands to find a seat.😉) An empty shelf is a canvas ready to be brought to life by your creativity and personal style. Have fun with it! To get started choose a theme or color scheme. Are these shelves going to be left the same for awhile or changed out seasonally? Either way, start by getting a plan together for the elements and the colors you want to feature.

The idea I had in mind when decorating my shelves last summer was to bring the feeling of the outdoors in. I used terracotta pots and greenery with some woods and whites to ground the look.

Start with a blank slate

The first thing I do after determining the look I’m going for on my shelves is give myself a blank slate. Previously I had my shelves styled for Valentine’s Day, so first I clear off the existing decor. There are some neutral items I use as a base layer on my shelves quite a bit, so those items stay close at hand. Give the shelves a good dusting, then we’re ready to create or masterpiece!!

As I clear the shelves I group items into categories. The seasonal items I’m done with go into a group and then get cleared off my work surface to make room for the new items coming in.

Now let’s add a base layer

The shelves in my kitchen are not very wide, but that doesn’t stop me from adding layers of decor to create visual interest and texture. I start by placing the base layer, which I’d say are the anchor pieces for the shelves. I tend to stick with a pretty similar base with my shelf decor. Cutting boards, antique Ironstone pieces I pick up from the thrift store or antique mall, corbels, etc… To get started I place the anchor pieces where I think they’ll look best, like pictured below, but let’s face it… they will probably be shifted quite a bit as I continue to add elements to the shelves.

I start with a neutral base layer. Since these shelves are in the kitchen I typically decorate them with items used in the kitchen.

Time to start adding our Seasonal elements

The second layer I add is the seasonal or themed elements. I’m styling the shelves for the upcoming spring & Easter season, so I’m bringing in bunnies and blooms. When I looked through my spring decor I knew my bunny plates would be the key pieces that I’d be working around. I have the matching dinner plates so I decided to try to tie those in as well.

When I’m layering plates on my shelves I use drawer gripper to hold them in place. I cut small squares and place it under the edges.
Here you can see that I layered a cutting board in front of the decorative metal tile piece. I then added the floral plate in front of that. Layers upon layers!!

Time for some florals

Now that we have our anchors and themed layers in place let’s bring in a bit of texture with greenery and florals. These real touch faux tulips (pictured above) are one of my favorite florals to use in my spring decor. I placed some in a few white creamers I’ve collected over time and as you see they become an added layer to our shelves.

I add a touch of faux greenery in front of the plate to add a bit of texture and movement to the space.
This sweet little vase was a gift from my godparents a few years back. I love adding it to my shelves, but it needs a bit of height added so it can be seen better. I use tiny wood slices to help raise up small items. I found the wood slices at Hobby Lobby.
Depending on the season, try adding different colors and textures of greenery. I added this lighter wispy greenery to a small green vase I picked up from a garage sale a few years back. I placed it in front of the white corbel to help it stand out.

Now for the final touches

To finish things off add in the small details. Since I’m decorating the shelves for Easter of course I decided to bring in some eggs. Find little pockets of space and layer the small detail items in. Add in other details for texture. For this shelf style I added decor bead strands and nests.

Using different sizes and colors helps add to the interest of the decor.
To help this aquamarine glass bead strand stand out , I draped it over an old spindle I found at an outdoor flea market.

Creating a space you love takes time

Don’t worry if after you finish your space you aren’t in love. Look it over and see if there are pieces that need to be removed or switched around. It usually takes a few tries before I have things just how I want them. There’s also a mess to be made when it comes to decorating. Let it happen… there’s beauty in the chaos, and you can clean it up after you have the project complete.

This is what my countertop looked like as I was decorating my shelves. A swirl of cast aside items I decided not to use, extra items that I pulled out thinking they might get used, my coffee (typically forgotten and cold by the time I’m done) and random greenery.

Something I didn’t touch on was tying in areas that are close by. For example, I have a cake stand beside my coffee maker. Take elements used on your shelves and tie them into nearby areas as well.

I used a white pitcher with more of the faux tulips to tie into the area I used them on the shelves. I also added a bunny, nest, eggs, and decor beads to tie the space together.

Now it’s your turn…

Okay, now tell me, did this help you gain confidence in styling your shelves? I hope you have pulled some inspiration to use these tips for styling shelves or a table top in your home. The key is to have fun and not let it get overwhelming. Start with your theme and build from your anchor pieces. You’ve got this!!

Tips for Styling Kitchen Shelves

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