Hello and welcome to my attempts to be a homemaker! A great follow up to last week’s post don’t you think? 😉 Normally neither Andrew nor I are super into decorating our home for holidays or seasons. We did decorate for Christmas the year we bought our house because we were understandably excited. Since then, we just never get it done.
This year is going to be different since I’m working from home and simply spend more time at home than ever before.
Rather than decorate our front steps as many people do, I decided to decorate our fireplace instead. I figured that this way we can actually enjoy the decor while we’re inside rather and in the moments before we walk into the house. Also, it’s quite rainy here in Seattle and I hope that my plants and pumpkins will last longer indoors.
I only had a few criteria when I was planning out what I wanted to do decor-wise. Number #1, I wanted it to be affordable and easy. I also have a little ankle-biter who is very interested in getting into everything that’s at his eye/ground level so ideally, my decor will be (mostly) baby proof.
It’s very minimal but it’s a start and I’m happy with how it looks. I used a mix of items I already had on hand (baskets and blankets) plus a couple of new things for the season (plants and pumpkins). The basket is full of Teddy’s toys and a couple of baby blankets so I just switched out the blankets for this one from Pendleton and covered up his toys with it. The big pumpkins are from the store and I’m thinking that we’ll carve them this weekend while Andrew’s family is in town. I might get a couple more depending on who is interested in the activity. The potted mums are also from the store and just add a little more festive color to our neutral home. I think in total I only spent about $20 and ended up with a little fall festive feel to our hearth. The little pumpkins my parents grew in their garden and brought over for Ted to play with so I’ve included them along with his other toys. Hopefully, it will keep him from getting into the plant but my hopes are low on that score.
As we don’t have space to store a lot of seasonal decor, I tried to use all items that will or can be repurposed. I asked some of the following questions when it came to the items I was buying and using:
- pumpkins – can you display pumpkins that you’ll later decorate, carve, or bake?
- seasonal plants – Christmas isn’t the only time to bring outdoor plants inside. Are there any that can withstand the transition?
- blankets – do you have any blankets or throws that have some seasonal prints on them?
- baskets – can you repurpose storage items or clean up clutter with a decorative basket?
Now I need your help. What would you do to decorate the mantle? I’m thinking about getting some pretty and colorful leaves or tree branches from our neighborhood and putting them in clear glass vases. Or should I use them to cover up the sound bar? Give me your opinion!
Until next time,
Ana Luiza
