Fall Decor Around the House

Buh-bye, Summer!  We've had a beautiful and hot summer in Toronto, but as much as I love this sweater season, I'm not loving the gloomy and rainy days of Fall.  I know I may be a bit late in writing about Fall decor, but I still want to document this transition with it being our first decorated Fall at this house.

I got my hands on some Fall decor accessories early on, back in first week of September!  I was incredibly honoured that I was invited to participate in HomeSense's Fall campaign.  It was such a fun experience to work with industry pros, from hair and makeup, to professional photographer and videographer, and of course the whole HomeSense crew involved in this Fall campaign.  Not to mention, how fun it was to be invited to go shopping for my fave home decor items!!

Here's my haul in the cart on the day of the shoot!  I was looking for warm metallic decor, but don't we always add a little more to our cart at HomeSense?  ;-)

The one item I was really hoping to get was the gold lantern, and wow, I found it!  The throw was a nice add-on item...  well, so were the rest of the goodies!

One that caught me by surprise was the tiered tray!!  I've always been on the look out for one, but never really found THE ONE.  I loved the bamboo details on this one and it was love at first sight!!

Throughout the past 2 months, I've gradually added these items around the house.  As the weather gets cooler, the use of warm metallics complements the woodsy Fall decor, enhancing our home with a cozy ambience.

Here's how I used the goodies from my shopping spree to decorate for Fall around our house.

The pack of Fall decorative balls in vignettes:

Here's the copper tiered tray from my haul, together with the decorative balls.  It adds just the right contrast to our cool-toned kitchen.

This is the vignette at our entry way's console table.  I decided to make good use of this copper tray by moving it upstairs from its usual spot on our basement family room's ottoman.  I love the mix of warm metallics by adding the gold lantern from my shopping spree.

The wooden top of this console table helps break up all the gold tones in our entryway:

Just me showing some love for the gold lantern by moving it around the house =) ... Here it is on our living room's coffee table.  I've also added my beloved new throw on our couch:

I changed out the blue pillow cover to this darker neutral...

... so that the pillow covers are a neutral backdrop when I add Fall colours in the new silver earthware bowl:

Then I realized, I still prefer soft colours in the living room over the bold Fall colours:

When I finally put out all the Fall decor, which wasn't long ago, I finally packed up these summer decor accessories:

Yes, I know, my transition in seasonal decor is, umm, slow.  Thanks to HomeSense once again for the invite to this unforgettable experience!  I was able to get the early bird dip in shopping for Fall decor and have my hands on these goodies. 

Now that I have our Fall decor down to a T, I think I can start making way for Christmas decor. I'm not really into bold red and green Christmas decor.  This beautiful display of soft metallics and pastel winter wonderland at the HomeSense showroom is just my cup of tea.

Have you started decorating your home for Christmas?  Do you have a colour theme?

Simple Christmas Tour - New House

I should thank the eager Christmas enthusiasts in our neighbourhood that started decking their exteriors in early November.  It got our little man all hyped up and on repeat...  "When are we putting up our Christmas decorations?  Mommy I'll help you!"  "Do we have (exterior) lights like those?"  And when he was told no, we don't, "Aw~~...  can we get them?"  Well, you know the drill...

Don't get me wrong.  Christmas is my favourite time of the year - who doesn't love all the sparkly festival decorations?  I love decorating for Christmas, with Christmas tunes playing in the background on the radio.  It's also a good opportunity to refresh decor around the house.  

With all the hussle and bustle leading up to the Holidays, I opted to keep our Christmas decor simple.

So with little man's help, while he also managed to flip through a Lego catalogue and announced his Christmas wishlist, we put up the Christmas tree.  That was several weekends ago!  After playing around with placements and such, I think I'm happy with our Christmas decor this year.  

Welcome to our new house (not so new anymore)!  This is our entryway console table, on which I placed two IKEA faux sheepskin to mimic fluffy snow for the grazing brass reindeers.  I like how the whiteness of the sheepskin tones down all the gold accents on the table.  

Coming in through the hallway, I kept the garland on the staircase simple this year.  I used to wrap these faux garlands around the banister, but I noticed how the metal parts would scratch the railings at our old house.  This time around, I just used floral wires to gather the garland at the swivels.

We've placed our Christmas tree at the entrance of the sitting area, so that we can enjoy its twinkling lights from most of the ground floor.  And those are real presents underneath the tree!  Wrapping up fake presents is not for me.

I've started to hoard a good supply of LED stringlights* this Christmas.  I've put them anywhere and everywhere I can!  Here in our sitting area, I placed a strand of the LED lights into the container of extra ornaments.  The lights add even more twinkling effect to the beaded cone tree and the mercury glass tabletop finials.

For everyday Christmas decor on the dining table, I added two pots of faux greeneries with some berries on either side of the candelebras.  I pulled apart 2 twigs of faux branch arrangements and fanned out the smaller branches into the mercury glass lanterns.  

The Mr. commented that setting the table makes it more festive, but I'll save that for when my family comes over for Christmas dinner =)

The console table is another spot for me to use those beloved LED stringlights, which I wrapped around tiny Christmas trees placed in the birdcages.  Those are the same birdcages we used in the Spring Tablescape decor back in old house.

Aside from string lights, I've also added some gold accessories to our Christmas collection.  This gold resin deer from Target...

... and this pair of gold antlers were part of my recent haul.

Don't forget to deck the bar cart!  Check out my post on styling the bar cart for the Holidays!

I always love how decorators load up their rooms with Christmas decor, but I can never achieve their same look without everything looking messy and myself being overwhelmed.  I'm never one to dump Christmas all over the house.  Now that we're in a smaller house, I definitely don't want Christmas overload to happen.  I see that's the way it'll be for Christmases hereafter.  (Not to mention, it'll be much easier to clean up!)

I'll save my oohs and aahs as I indulge in other Christmas enthusiasts' instagram feeds #xmasdecor #christmasdecorations.  But for our home, I'll leave it livable and manageable.

I'm also happy (and relieved) to announce that, as of this morning, I'm done with my Christmas shopping!!  Woo hoo!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

* Affiliated link

New House Design Board - Entryway

Since our move to the current rental, I don't drive by the site of our new house everyday.  Not being able to keep an eye on its progress doesn't stop me from longing for its completion!  Coming home to a rental, and knowing it's a temporary home, just doesn't feel very homey.  I look forward to the day of going home to our new house and be greeted with a welcoming entrance.  Let me share with you today what we have done and will do to make our entryway a statement for our home.

The size of the new house's foyer is around half the size of that in our old house, so we had to figure out how to create a welcoming entry that also displays our style in that tight space.   We wanted to make the entryway/ hallway as open as possible, so we made some changes to the builder's blueprint.

1. Remove the closet at the front door, since there's another smaller one by the garage entrance down the hall.
2. The main thing was opening up the whole basement staircase instead of the builder's plan with enclosed stairs via a doorway beside the foyer.
3. Remove the full wall beside basement stairs and replace with a structural pole and stair spindles.  The foyer would look more continuous this way with the wall knocked out, instead of ending it at the wall.

With the changes in place, the squarish foyer now feels much more open.  It's also much easier for us to decorate to make it a welcoming space, like how any home's entrway should be.

Remember my beloved blue ceramic trunk table, as decorated like this in our old house's entryway?  We can no longer use it at the new house for the same purpose, since it would take up half the foyer!  The foyer at the new house is approximately 8' across.  To keep a modest walkway from the door through the hallway, I looked for a narrow hall table to be placed on the left wall.  I was inspired by these beautiful foyers.

image via Style At Home

image via House & Home

To keep the entryway with an open feel, we opted for a console table instead of a cupboard.   I was considering glass console table options, until I saw this. 

Troy Console Table \ Joss & Main

Never in a million years would I consider something like this, since the Mr. and I aren't big fans of mixing wood and metal on a piece.  But somehow this seems to work.  Its wooden top mimics the rustic touch of our existing dining table, while the gold metal legs give it a more polished look.  I think this piece makes a great addition to our home, as I believe the entryway should project a style of what's to come in the rest of the house.  For us, it's a bit of polished casualness… does that make sense?!

The next integral piece of this entryway vignette would be a generous sized mirror.  Don't know about you, but mirror shopping can sometimes be daunting.  After a while, they all look pretty much the same.  There're some mirrors that at first seemed to be a great touch when used by a designer, and then we would start seeing the same style of mirror mass produced and over-used for a thousand times.  If you scroll through my Entryway Pinterest board, you would notice I've pinned numerous mirrors.  But none screams to me except for this:

Gleaming Primrose Mirror |  Anthropologie

This mirror with a delicate iron frame (not resin!) is regal yet understated.  The style of the frame elevates the flare in the casual console table.  At just over 3' high and across, it's the perfect size to complement the console table and draw attention to our 9' high ceiling.  I'm so in love with this mirror.  Do you think there's any chance this will be on sale?  Ever?

Another important piece in our previous home's entryway was the tufted bench.  Again, given the smaller foyer in our new house, we better not stuff the bench there and create a fire hazaard!  Once you've had a seat in the foyer, you won't do without one.  And so the hunt for our entryway seating begins!

Since a large bench doesn't fit in the space, it's time to switch to a chair.  Essentially, I'm looking for an accent chair that's the size of a dining chair.  Here are some examples:

1. Claire Tufted Chair | One Kings Lane; 2. Olivia Slipper Chair | One Kings Lane; 3. Faux Bamboo Chair | Maggie G Designs

I wanted the console table vignette to be the focal point of the entryway, so I chose a light neutral fabric colour for our chair choices.  Although I would have the chair blend in as a background, I would still want the chair to be visible to act as a visual extension of the console table.  That being said, #2 would have to be eliminated, as it's lower than the height of the console.  Another reason for it to go is, the Mr. always prefers a chair with arms over one without.  #1 and #3 both have a very welcoming feel to them, and I love the chippendale style of #3.  However, with the point of the chair being more blended into the entire console table vignette, I would pick #1 over #3, to avoid the tonal contrast of the dark chair frame.

Now that I've the basic pieces down, here's the fun part - accessorizing the space!  Lighting plays a big part in a room's ambiance, and that's especially true for the entrway.  We want to create a bright and welcoming entrance, and one can never go wrong with bling bling.  I think this chandelier hits all the right notes.  It's an appropriate size for the space, and its antiqued silver finish tones down the shiny metal, letting the jewels speak for themselves.  

Veronica Mini Chandelier | Joss & Main

We love classic blue and white decor, as in the photo inspiration above.  This rug below would ground the space nicely with the navy blue pattern and provide some contrast to the entryway vignette.

Barrington Rug  | Joss & Main

From the rug, I came up with the rest of accessories for the entryway vignette, by running through my usual vignette setting guidelines found here.  Blue and white boxes for hidden knick-knacks with a lamp to soften any harsh overhead light.  A chinoiserie pot of tall arrangement on the round mirror tray, which offsets the straight lines of the console table. A rose coloured bowl for an unexpected touch of colour and something to just toss in whatever as we walk through the front door.  Here's my idea of how it would look as you face the left wall of the entryway, with the armchair beside the railings to the basement.

Entryway Design Board | Classy Glam Living; Lamp  Horchow; blue and white boxes, mirror tray, faux orchid arrangement, rose compote  | One Kings Lane.

I CAN'T wait to come home to this!!

What do you think makes an entryway most welcoming?  I'm thinking of adding a tall floor plant or an umbrella stand to the left of the console table.  Let me know if you have any other ideas!

Disclaimer:  The reveal of the entryway may differ somewhat.  Who knows, maybe I would entertain a real orchid plant for once, but who am I kidding...  I'm a plant murderer.