Autumn Flourishes 2017

October 12, 2017October 12, 2017 / Alycia Nichols / 25 Comments

Welcome to the Nichols’ home for a quick room by room peek at a few little flourishes for fall 2017!

Flourishes in the library include a crown of bittersweet on a bust of Diana that sits on a stack of vintage cigar boxes, a feathered owl on the vitrine, and a floral piece adorning a vintage (almost antique!!!) violin on the secretary. On pedestals flanking the vitrine are grapevine balls encased in the same (but smaller) open wrought iron garden orbs as those on the front porch.

Our modestly sized foyer has a few touches of fall including a fragrant candle encircled by a bittersweet wreath, an ample cluster of fall foliage in a heavy ivory pot, a pair of mirrored, open-sided hurricanes from Home Finishings flanking the front door, and another feathered owl balanced on a stack of vintage books on the foyer table.

The dining room has changed several times as I created different tablescapes for publication this season, but this is the final look for the remainder of fall. Blue & white chinoiserie pieces, orange and white mini pumpkins and fall foliage are seen throughout the room including a flat basket of pumpkins on the dining table topped with a berried branch. The china cabinet holds my collection of aluminum ware from Home Goods. Bright orange mini pumpkins, a bit of foliage, and a white pheasant figurine add a fall feel. (To see this room completely decorated with the table set with chinoiserie for fall, visit Autumn Chinoiserie.)

My husband spends most of his time at home in the family room, so everything has to be comfy, cozy, and “out of harm’s way” in here! It’s such a dark room with oak shelving and wainscoting, so I used a combination of deep fall colors with white. Bookshelves get lots of white pumpkins partly shrouded in a trio of wreaths that lend color and texture. A mix of familiar and new pillows make seating on our new caramel leather reclining loveseats more comfortable and add a mix of patterns. (The room is small, so a pair of roomy loveseats made more sense than a sofa that overwhelms the space. I have chronic spine troubles, so recliners are a way of life now! 😦 ) A tall basket holds an assortment of quilts, throws and blankets to help ward off the autumn chill.

And finally, the kitchen…

I can’t help myself. I go a little crazy in the kitchen with decor. It is, after all, the place where I spend a great deal of my day preparing 3 square meals for hubby. Gotta make it as relaxing as possible! The huge stone bunny rabbit is a great decorating opportunity, and I really enjoy decorating the 3-tier galvanized stand on the kitchen table. This year’s autumn decor includes a small wreath made of faux hops, bundles of birch branches, bowls of fragrant whole spices, and brightly colored berries. Front and center is a homemade sign that reminds us daily to “Always Stay Humble & Kind“. Thanks for that Tim McGraw. This world needs a little nudge.

Another post on this site with general fall decorating:
“Finally Fall!“

If you’d like to see more fall tablescapes and home decor, head on over to Susan’s “Between Naps on the Porch” for Tablescape Thursday #472!

Finally Fall

September 20, 2017September 20, 2017 / Alycia Nichols / 25 Comments

I didn’t get a chance to share last year’s fall decor, so while I’m still tinkering with the decor for 2017, I thought I’d drop a few detail pics from fall 2016 – frequently punctuated with bittersweet, pumpkins and acorns – on you. First, a little 3-minute video clip from a recent stint on KCTV-5’s “Better Kansas City” show to remind you of some of the free and easy things you can incorporate into your fall decorating!

The modestly proportioned entry hall…

I bought this branch and twig frame plain at Home Finishings here in Lee’s Summit and wired in a bit of fall foliage. (Lots of goodies from Home Finishings are used in my 2017 decor. I’m so excited!!!)

I created this tilted pumpkin look using just a dot of hot glue on each one. I wasn’t sure it would work out, but it did!

The vintage “telephone table” just inside the doorway had a huge lantern with a cherub inside. I added a little bittersweet garland to tie in with the wreath on the bigger foyer table, a couple of mini pumpkins and a candle. (See the cherub used in a Spring setting, “Showered In Pink“.

The library…

I wanted something with a “gathered” look, so I started with a bed of reindeer moss and a plump white pumpkin then just started adding fall-like elements. I elevated the silver compote with a stack of old cigar boxes.

Dining room…

This huge pumpkin is just plopped down into a large silver compote with a wreath of grapevine, leaves, pine cones, berries and gourds. The woven tray beneath breaks up the riot of color between the arrangement and the runner, and it adds a bit of extra texture. (See the large silver compote used in different ways at “Cranberry Christmas“, “Cranberry Christmas – Squared“, “Roses In October“, and “Happy Mother’s Day, Senator Mom“.)

The kitchen…

I have enjoyed changing out the seasonal decor on this 3-tier galvanized tray (from Costco…just $19.99!!!) over the last year or so. (See the Spring setup at “Spring & Easter Around the House“, the Winter styling on Pinterest, and the Summer arrangement on Pinterest.)

Simple but dramatic, a mass of berry-laden branches create a nice side decor piece.

Top floor hallway…

And finally, the family room…

Those are giant (faux) acorns with the mini pumpkins on a bed for green Spanish moss!

More giant acorns!

I really liked this simple yet effective display of a white pumpkin, leaves, and a berry garland on a bed of green Spanish moss with a deer shed at the base of the putty-colored Z Gallerie “St. Helena” bowl.

That’s it for now. I hope to introduce my Fall 2017 decor in the next week or so. At least it won’t be a whole year late like this one! 🙂

Pheasants & Pumpkins

November 19, 2014 / Alycia Nichols / 43 Comments

INSPIRATION: A pretty resin pheasant purchased for $3 at an estate sale.

Thanksgiving is a week away! Here’s one quick final fall post of a laid back setting that might help fire you up if you’ve not yet decided on a tablescape for the big day.
(Click on any photo, then click again to enhance/enlarge it.)

I’m going with a “woodsy” look throughout the house for both Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. This casual table for 6 has no tablecloth so the wood of the table can be an integral part of the overall look. A tightly woven jute table runner (Pier 1) lightens up the table, anchors the elements of the centerpiece, and brings in the colors of the place settings.

Each place setting starts with a glossy chocolate brown charger (Hobby Lobby) that is topped with a pumpkin-colored dinner plate (just $1 each at our local grocery store). The salad plates from Z Gallerie feature the image of a lone pheasant. Striped napkins from Pier 1 pick up on the color scheme and work well with the runner. Simple, inexpensive glassware from Old Time Pottery and faux mother of pearl flatware from Target round out the setting.

The centerpiece was created using a weathered wooden box that I’ve had for years. I filled it with faux pumpkins, berries, fall leaves and a bittersweet garland. A few real pheasant feathers were added on one end only for an asymmetrical look. My inspirational pheasant was borrowed from the family room arrangement to pose in front of the box. (This, of course, is a demonstration tablescape. For your actual table, consider using real mini pumpkins, leaves, bittersweet, and perhaps whole bunches of grapes to achieve this organic look.)

Distressed pumpkin orange wood finials and a pair of faux artichoke votive holders round out the centerpiece.

The bar cart in the corner is prettied up with a small arrangement using some of the same elements as the table centerpiece and a bark-wrapped vase of pheasant feathers. The painted white pheasant (with tiny specks of clear glitter) was purchased at the same estate sale as the more colorful one.

Across the room on the china cabinet, a vertical spread of bittersweet is punctuated by a trio of pheasant feathers at the feet of a pumpkin-colored serving platter.

That’s it for the tablescape! I hope you were able to gather a few ideas from it. Below, in case you’re at all interested, are a few quickie snapshots offering a glimpse into what fall looked like in a few areas of the house this year. I’ve already begun the arduous transformation to Christmas and hope to bring you those photos in a couple of weeks.

Foyer table with large basket of pine cones underneath, pheasant plates on sconce shelves

Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, Pheasants & Pumpkins: Fall lantern, pheasant with binoculars collage

Pheasant on stack of decorating books embellished with a flourish of autumn leaves. Binoculars for bird watching or pheasant hunting. The large lantern in the window is filled with a pumpkin stack, gourds, berries and fall leaves. The handle is embellished with a Rapunzel-like cascade of raffia and fall leaves.

Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, Pheasants & Pumpkins: Fall mantel

The fireplace mantel is covered in a swath of fall leaves and bittersweet with raffia-tied, pumpkin-colored chunky candles on each end. The huge initial on the hearth is from Hobby Lobby.

Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, Pheasants & Pumpkins: Fall arrangement in violin case in library collage

The secretary in the library is crowned with a large leaf- and pumpkin-laden birdcage. The antique violin in its original case is decorated with a squash, leaf and pheasant feather spray. Those letters in the violin case are from the 1930s from my Dad to his Mother.

Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, Pheasants & Pumpkins: Fall decor on breakfast bar, in master bedroom collage

The breakfast bar is really more of a wine bar around here in the fall! The other pics are of a corner table in our bedroom.

More fall tablescapes on this site:
September Harvest Breakfast Table
Most Egg-cellent Breakfast
Casual Fall Harvest Dinner
Italian Honeysuckle
Quick & Casual Fall Dinner
It’s the Great Pumpkin
Serape High Style
Raining Orchids
September Wine
Pumpkins & Peacocks
Autumn Blues
Pears & Pinecones
American Royal Tablescape
Shake Your Tail Feather
Autumn White Wedding
Simply Bittersweet
Ap-pear-ently Autumn
Copper Zen
Autumn by the Embers
Celebrating Longview Farm
Morocco for Two
Thanksgiving 2012 – A Contemporary Tablescape
Best Laid Plans
Wondrous Wheat
Thanksgiving 2010

I’ll be linking this tablescape up with Susan’s “Tablescape Thursday” on Between Naps on the Porch. Tablescape Thursday goes live at 9:00 a.m. CST on Thursday.

Simply Bittersweet

September 30, 2010July 26, 2017 / Alycia Nichols / 9 Comments

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I am glad fall has arrived! I so enjoy entertaining in summer, but there’s just something about fall that can’t be beat. Probably something to do with the rich colors and fragrant, warm food!

With the chill of the season in the air, I’m entertaining outside less and less now. I’ve invited a few friends over for a casual dinner and a sappy movie. Nothing fancy, just pure fun tonight! I fashioned the main part of the extended centerpiece to mimic something I recently saw in a Pottery Barn circular. Quick, simple, speaks to the season. The addition of the smaller hurricanes lends more presence to the overall centerpiece. Votives add another level of light.

These multi-hued placemats from Pier 1 are among my fall favorites. The chocolate brown acrylic chargers are from Target and the bone colored 10 Strawberry Street stoneware plates were a bargain at Tuesday Morning. I went all European and did the French treatment on the flatware placement (tines and bowls down) even without a fancy monogram to show off!

Look closely and you’ll see that the cotton napkins from Pier 1 are two-toned! I separated one color from the other with a fun wooden pumpkin napkin ring, also from Pier 1. I kept the fan fold of the napkin a bit more relaxed to match the feel of the evening.

Pier 1 sold this fabulous stemware a couple of years back, and I just can’t get enough of it! Each piece is so sturdy, and the wave of contrasting colors is very pleasing to the eye. The orange, cream and brown fit perfectly into my dining room color scheme. Gotta run! My popovers are done! Have a wonderful weekend everyone!!!

A few other autumn tablescapes you might like to visit on this site:
“Casual Fall Harvest Dinner”
“September Harvest Breakfast“
“Pumpkins & Peacocks”
“Wondrous Wheat”
“Pheasants & Peacocks”
“Best Laid Plans”
“Serape High Style”
“Sunflower Simple”
“Raining Orchids”
“September Wine”
“Autumn Blues“

I am delighted once again to share in this Tablescape Thursday with Susan and all my friends at Between Naps on the Porch. If you want to enjoy lots of fabulous tablescapes, hop on over there (after looking here, of course!) to see the work of people from all around the world! Just click on the link to your right.