Natural Fall Front Porch

You guys got a sneak peek at our fall front porch in this post, but I wanted to share more photos after adding a couple of corn stalks to complete the natural "harvest" look.

I stuck to a simple assortment of pumpkins, gourds, mums, and the corn stalks this year.

The spring/summer pillows went into storage and these green striped ones got the job for the fall season.

I looked for white mums, but couldn't find any, so I chose yellow and orange varieties.

I just love the non-traditional colors that pumpkins come in these days.

And with those new porch columns, I'd say our house is looking pretty good these days.  Now we need to landscape and fill up our empty front beds next spring.

Fall Front Porch with Pumpkin House Number Topiary

With the addition of some mums and pumpkins, our porch is now Fall ready (I'm a bit behind this year).

I grabbed a couple of blue pots from Wal-Mart and filled them (and some others I had on hand) with mums and our coleus that is still going strong from Spring.

Mostly green and white pumpkins add to the Fall ambiance.

Inspired by Heather over at At The Picket Fence, I made a pumpkin house number topiary.

I made mine a bit differently though.

First, I used some of our plastic recycling to fill space in the bottom of the pot.  (Note: I also did this with the other pots as well.  It cuts down on the amount of dirt that you need and the pot ends up much lighter and easier to transport.  I only do this with temporary potted arrangements.)

I wedged two pieces of scrap wood down into the pot to support the pumpkins and poured in some dirt to disguise the plastic.  

I balanced the pumpkins on top of one another and added leftover landscape gravel around the base.  After spray painting our old house numbers glossy black, I hung them on the front of the pumpkins using twine.

Yay for a successful project!

I also added a little bit of Fall around the mailbox.

Maybe next year, I'll be more on top of things.

Coleus Gone Wild

I have found a plant that I can keep alive on our shady front porch.  In fact, they are not only alive, they are thriving.

They are different coleus varieties and I am in love.

Aren't they beautiful?

Unfortunately, they won't survive the winter outside here in Tennessee.  They like it warm.  So, I'm going to move them inside when it gets colder and hopefully I can enjoy their beauty a little bit longer.

Has anyone else tried to move any coleus inside?  How long did they survive?

A Summer-Ready Porch

Since the cloud of yellow pollen has come and gone, I decided to clean off and spruce up the front porch.  I washed the slipcovers from our World Market furniture, hosed everything off, planted some annuals in various pots to fill up our plant stand, and used a couple of vintage crates to add some charm to the sides of the front door.

Our porch is shaded pretty much all day so we ended up choosing multiple types of coleus for our pots and then adding in some other annuals.  **Note:  It was very difficult for us to find annuals that do well in the shade.  Please let me know if you have any favorites!  Some of our annuals are not labelled for shade but we were told by the nursery staff that they should do ok.**

The plant stand is a DIY creation modified from this Ana White plan.  It was one of the first things that Seth and I built together and it was not quick, easy, or painless.  There was arguing and yelling involved.  But...it is done.  And although it is not the most attractive thing close up, it is stable and functional.  And I am quite pleased with how closely the style and stain match those of our existing furniture.  I'm counting it as a win.

I used a couple of old wooden crates that I picked up at a local antique shop to create small vignettes on both sides of the front door.  That's a pig watering can in case you couldn't tell.  

The glass hurricane candle holder is from Target.  I think this side is a bit lacking.  I may try to find something around the house to add to it.  

The red lantern was a sweet housewarming gift from an Illinois friend when we purchased our first home up there.  And it's still going strong two years later.  Thanks, Lindsey!

Still to do:

• make new shutters for the house and paint them gray
• paint the front door
• paint the sidelight trim white
• change out the front door hardware
• trash the old house numbers and get more modern ones
• paint the iron columns or figure out a way to box them in and paint them
• spruce up the coir doormat (I've got a plan)
• consider making a new wreath for summer

Have you guys been making any changes to your outdoor spaces for summer?  I love spending time outdoors this time of year (minus the mosquito bites) and I'm happy when I am surrounded by plants.

Five Small Touches of Fall

I apologize for the decline in regular posting lately.  There are some projects in the works that I should be able to share soon.  I guess I am good at starting things but not always finishing them in a timely manner.  For now, I wanted to share a few more things I've done around the house to add small touches of Fall.

First, I found this doormat at Target a few weeks ago and just could not pass it up.  The size was too small for our front entry, but it works great at our back door leading out to the carport.

It makes me happy every time I see it.  I think it's the colors and the leaf motif.  It just screams fun Fall decor to me.  And it doesn't hurt that it color coordinates with the door fulfilling my strange need for things to match (which I am trying to let go of slowly).

Secondly, Seth and I bought some pumpkins at the local farmer's market a few weeks ago to put on the front porch.  It's nothing too fancy - we decided to keep it simple this year.

Maybe next year when we are more settled, we can spice it up a bit.  I think some height would definitely help so I'll have to be on the lookout for something to fulfill that need. Maybe some old crates or a discounted garden stool.  I also like the idea of spooky decor. Nothing with blood and guts but just a good amount of eeriness (is that a word?).  I like these ideas below that I found on Pinterest.  I think next year I'll try a raven/spider/insect theme.  

insect and faux bois pumpkins

LOVE the ravens

spooky hanging bats

DIY spiderweb welcome mat

cheesecloth banner

Third are a couple of new pillows I found on Overstock.  I got them for two reasons - 1) they have more Fall colors in them than our blue and green ones and 2) one of the colors in the fabric will surely coordinate with whatever color we finally decide to paint our front door (again with the matchy, matchy - it's a sickness).  

Fourth - I created a Fall tablescape.  Again, nothing too fancy.  I started with a burlap runner that I picked up last month on a visit to Collierville and some candlesticks and vases that I already had from West Elm.  I added some new green taper candles from Wal-Mart, some branches from one of our oak trees whose leaves had started to turn, a couple of orange owls that I picked up at Kohl's for 65% off and then another 20% off with my coupon, and some fake pumpkins that I found at Jo-Ann's and spray painted white and silver.

I guess I could have moved that step stool in the background.  But, hey, I'm keeping it real here.  This is how we are living - with boxes, tools, step stools, and bubble wrap all over the place.  

And....fifth.  While at the farmer's market this past weekend, Seth and I picked up a huge mum and a couple more pumpkins to dress up the mailbox a bit.  

Not a great pic with that shadow.  I said I was working on my photography but I didn't say I could control the sun. Eventually, I will learn what time of day I need to photograph each part of our house and yard to get the best lighting but I'm not there quite yet.  

So, with some simple, inexpensive additions we have added a bit more seasonal charm in our house.  It doesn't look like we're going to get a fireplace mantel installed before the end of October.  Maybe I'll be able to create a Thanksgiving mantel.  OH - and also for me a huge part of the holidays are the smells.  I bought the Apple Pumpkin fragrance from Yankee Candle (go to Bed, Bath and Beyond and use a 20% off coupon) and it is divine.  It makes our house smell just like Fall.  

What do you guys do to spruce up your home for Fall?  Do you have a favorite candle or fragrance that you use during this season?  Anybody decorating their porch with insects or ravens?