Our Fall Family Room

Fall is finally starting to make itself felt here.  We're having a late fall this year, but the signs are there.  The nights are cooler and crisper, it smells like fall outside, high school football is back in town, and front porches are sporting mums and pumpkins. I've been making some changes in our den recently, and earlier, I promised to share those with you.  Since I'm not quite finished yet, tonight will be just a few sneak peaks at the room as it looks for fall. 

  Most of you have probably seen this chest that sits next to the door from our living room into the kitchen.  I switched out the stack of magazines on top to some favorite decorating books.  The little piece of pottery in front of the lamp was purchased many years ago on one of our first visits to the Blue Waters Mountain Lodge with the Miata group.  I found the bird feathers at various times when I was walking in our cul-de-sac.  

  The hydrangea blossoms came from the Limelight Hydrangea we just purchased at a nearby nursery.  Fingers crossed that the ground will dry out enough for us to plant it -- soon.  🤞  We're also hoping we can get it to bloom again next year.  My mom has one of these, and hers has done beautifully.  "Hal the Gnome" is sitting atop the books, all ready for fall.  

    I always enjoy dressing the mantel for fall, and I don't shy away from traditional fall colors.  I purchased some new silk, fall foliage this year at our Hobby Lobby.  I had used the same grapevine leaves for many years, and I decided I wanted something with a little more color.  I chose oak and maple leaves, and the oak leaf picks also have acorns on them.    

  You can see some acorns in the picture above, to the right of the book.  This mantel is very similar to the one I did last year, with just a few small changes.      

     In addition to the new foliage, I added pheasant feathers this year.  

        I had these big, faux acorns last year.  

  I decided to swap out the two prints that used to hang to the left of the fireplace for these plates.  I've found that I really like brown transferware, but I didn't have any.  I got these four from Etsy; they were being sold in a group, and the seller had several more of these groups of different, but coordinating plates.  All four of these were in excellent condition, and they arrived from Virginia very quickly.     

      A change now and then is a good thing, yes?  I'm really pleased with the way these plates look, and I think they've dressed the fireplace up a bit.  

  This pattern is called "Fair Winds," made by Alfred Meakin, Staffordshire, England.    

  This piece is Royal Staffordshire, "Stratford Stage" (you can see the stagecoach in the foreground) by J & G Meakin, England.  

  "Old Britain Castles," by Johnson Brothers, England.  This plate depicts Haddon Hall, and I adore this brown/multi-colored pattern.  

  This pattern is "Antoinette," by W. Adams & Sons, England, Real English Ironstone.  I love this pretty border on the rim of the plate!  I'm very happy with the look of the brown transferware plates in our family room, as it has lots of browns, tans, greens, and reds. We have a new rug in the den, a roughly eight by ten-foot area rug, and we're thrilled with it.  It dresses up the room, and gives it a cozier feel at the same time.  I purchased new throw pillow covers for the sofa, also from Etsy -- very happy with those, too.  I'm going to hang two small watercolors in place of the thimble and miniatures collections I have hanging in here at the moment.  Those collections will get moved to a bedroom.  In the follow-up post, I'll show you the whole family room, with new rug and watercolors.  Just a few more touches, and the room will be complete (until we get a new sofa).  It's always something, isn't it?   

  This chair is so comfortable; I'll tell you its story in the next post.  😊 

       

  

    

  

  Happy Fall Y'all!  Have you made any decor changes to your rooms lately?  I hope you'll share because I'd love to see.  Thanks so much for your visit and have a good week!