Our Fall Porch 2016

This year I went for bright colors in our fall front porch display. My goal was for the seasonal plants and pumpkins I arranged around our front to door to pop and draw guests in all the way from the street. 

If you are new here, I should explain that we spend a lot of time on our front porch. Our neighbors often join us for evening "porch time" so in addition to it being a place my family gathers often, it's also a space where we visit with our guests.  I like to change up the look with the seasons.

The wreath on the front door is always the first thing to go up in the fall. My mom made it for us out of our dried wedding flowers (17 years ago and it still looks great)! I went to my favorite local Greenhouse (Sunrise Greenhouse in Goodrich Mi) and purchased beautiful mums and other fall plants to fill my urns.  

The wooden sign was a HomeGoods find, I nestled it among my planters and placed a small stack of gourds in front of it to keep it from blowing away or tipping over. 

I had a lot of fun arranging plants in my urns. I had to exercise a lot of restraint when shopping for supplies, everything at the greenhouse this time of year is so beautiful. I could have easily gone overboard. I mean look at these gorgeous colors...

I was a good girl for the most part and kept it simple. Just a few large mums, a couple small planter arrangements, a stack of pumpkins, a few small gourds were all I needed to make our porch come alive for the season. I bought out a round outdoor rug, some outdoor pillows and knit throws to cozy it up and finish off the look. 

 This time of year is very busy at our house with fall schedules. It also means the kids often have friends and teammates over in between activities. It makes my heart happy to see them playing outside together and enjoying the porch. I look at the seasonal decor as a way to set a pretty backdrop for some of the happiest memories my family will have someday. 

Thanks for stopping by and letting me share a little of my home with you. 

 I hope you are enjoying the season!

For information on my affordable online design service, please click here.

Fall Decorating~And A Winner of the Makers and Doers Festival Tickets!

I'm home!  The trip to NYC for the Better Homes and Gardens Stylemaker Event was amazing!  I can't wait to share the details.  I made it back to Detroit just in time to attend the kids sporting events, do a little fall decorating around the yellow cape cod and to select a winner for The Free Passes To The Makers and Doers Festival… 

The randomly selected winners of a pair of passes are:  
Christianne {Christine@ Beautyforashes.blogspot.com}
AND 
Melissa Liles Peterson

*Congratulations! Please email me at theyellowcapecod@yahoo.com to claim your tickets.

  This week I'll be preparing for the live workshops I'm hosting at this festival {click here for more info}.  I'm so excited to share my tips on decorating your Christmas tree like a pro and simple (but gorgeous) fall and Christmas decor projects.  While I'm busy working on my presentations, I thought it would be fun to look back at last years fall decor...

Welcome to The Yellow Cape Cod Fall Home Tour!  If you are visiting from Laura's home or Jeanne's home you'll agree that they are tough acts to follow.  

 I thought I'd start where all our special guests are greeted, on the front porch…

 Preparing the outside of our home for fall is all about cornstalks, pumpkins and mums.

I use this wreath every year on the front door.  It is made from flowers used at our wedding back in 1999.  

  We celebrate our anniversary in the fall, so having it out every year reminds us of that special day.  {Click here to see a post I wrote about our fall wedding in the country}. 

On the inside, it's more about transitioning our home from a lazy summer hangout into a hub that's ready for school, sports, busy schedules and the best part...company.  

{Dining Room}

I'm grateful that right now, my online design business is the busiest it has ever been.   This year I won't have as much time to devote to seasonal decor as I've had in the past.   So I kept it simple.

{Chalk Tag Place Card and Thrift Store Place Setting}

When Laura from Finding Home invited me on this home tour, I set aside one weekend to knock out our fall decor (by the way, I had the opportunity to meet Laura this summer.  She is just as sweet and beautiful as she is talented).   I approached our decorating in a way that can easily morph from fall into halloween straight through Thanksgiving.  I concentrated on the areas that we use most for entertaining; the entry, the dining room, and powder room.

Here are tutorials for some of these quick and easy fall projects, my no-sew reversible table runner, and simple fall centerpiece, were simple and inexpensive projects that get a lot of attention from our guests.

{No-Sew Reversible Table Runner}

{Click here for a tutorial on this Simple Fall Centerpiece With Yard Clippings and Grocery Store Flowers}

If you happened to see my article in this years Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Ideas Magazine {pinch me I still can't believe that happened}, I confessed to being an early decorator.   "Obscenely early" I think I called it.  By the end of November, it will be all out Christmas up in here. 

{Thrift Store Praying Hands}

 But for now, it's warm colors, spicy candles, pumpkins, fall flowers and praying hands.

While out an a thrifting adventure earlier this year, I picked up this praying hand figure.  Every Thanksgiving scene should have praying hands, right? 

If this isn't your first time visiting my blog, you already know that I love to shop thrift stores for holiday decor and entertaining pieces. 

{Dessert Table}

Mixing and matching dishes and serving pieces to create a new look on every occasion is a slight obsession of mine.  Collecting pieces at thrift stores allows me to do this affordably. 

My buffet (a thrifted dresser that I gave a new life with black paint) is usually our holiday dessert table.  It's officially ready for some apple pies if anyone would like to bring one over.   

I prepared our foyer for fall by placing a gigantic clock over the front door.

No more excuses for missing the bus. 

{Pier 1 Grandiose Clock}




In the powder room, I incorporated some pretty orange towels and hydrangea from the front yard.

{Powder Room Shelves}

I recently painted this room (Garden Gate by Sherwin Williams) and installed these floating shelves during a quick powder room makeover a few weeks ago. 

As Halloween approaches,  these pretty fall decorations get freaky with just a few tweaks. {Here is a Halloween post with some of our scary decor}.

I saved my favorite fall decoration for last, this tree in our front yard.  Each fall it turns vibrant orange for about two weeks.  It hasn't happened yet, I snapped this photo last fall while waiting for the school bus.  

Thank you for visiting.   I'd like to say thank you,  Finding Home for asking me to join this amazing tour with 16 awesome bloggers and ending with Better Homes and Gardens.

Here is the next stop…

Or, to go back to the beginning of the tour…

ENJOY!


Thanks for stopping by!  I hope to see some of you at the Makers and Doers Festival this weekend in Davisburg, Michigan.  I'll be there hosting my Holiday decor sessions at 10:30 and 12:30 on Saturday and at 11:30 on Sunday!  

For information on my affordable online design service please click here.