September 24, 2007
How do you decorate for fall?
The Monday lunch blog resumes with the conclusion that it is now officially Fall. I think.
Chinese Lanterns — the plant, that its — hang in the Granville Island Public Market (October, 2006)
My mother always brought the seasons and holidays into our home. The fall saw gourds and miniature, ornamental pumpkins, perhaps some dried leaves, and of course the annual Halloween decorations I put up every year til I moved out. She had me tastefully decorate the gourds once with a little bit of fabric paint.
Now it's my second autumn in my own home and I'm feeling the urge to embrace it with decor. Nothing tacky, and hopefully nothing plastic. I saw some gourds at the supermarket but I'm hoping to find something a little "fresher" and more local, say, from the farmer's market. If anything spells autumn, it's nature and the harvest!
Dried cornstalk at the farmer's market (October, 2006)
So do you, readers, have any suggestions for simple, organic ways to warm up the house for the fall? I have a coffee table and dinner table I can do up with baskets, a corner table and a windowsill or two. Even the TV bench would work for small things. I passed by Michaels and perused through their flyer later at home and saw a few good things, but crafts in the common sense are too cheesy for me. Pinecones are nice as well but I associate them with Christmas generally. I'd love to see what the Finns do this time of year especially given our geographic similarities.
About
I am a communication designer in Vancouver, BC. Most of my writing and community activism are in the interconnected issues of public transit, local eating and food security, politics, health, environment, and sustainability in general. At heart, I'm a geek and a total treehugger. Nature, tea, good food and great company make me happy.
Currently reading:
"Trauma Farm: A Rebel History of Rural Life"
Brian Brett
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Comments (6)
Apples are always good, all different kinds. The UBC apple festival is coming up in October too, I heard they have a number of varieties that aren’t normally found in stores.
Mmmmm, that’s a good idea! I heard about that apple fest, I should go check it out. I hope it’s on for awhile…
A bonus to living where I do now is that I walk by a number of houses now to get home, instead of 2 or 3, and most of them have kids. That means most of them also have decorations of some sorts, the most popular being Superstore’s cute and festive scarecrow. Ahh, mass production. I should make my own!
How about dry grasses. grains and weeds, bullrushes, branches with berries, maybe some with colourful leaves still on them. Real dried flowers. A bowl of unshelled nuts. Mixed vegetables. A pot of chrysanthemums. One really needs to go into the woods and fields…
That sounds good! Lots of fields and woods around here. I collected some horsechestnuts last year… I should put those out. Good ideas.
Too bad it rained today!
Now, you’ve inspired me. I want to decorate for the fall too! Parthenon’s on Broadway has lots of nuts in the barrel. I think I would put them in mason jars and then put in them in the window a la Martha Stewart.
Also, I read on the botanical garden website that the apple festival will be on for Oct.13&14.
Oh, good!
All my mason jars are full of delectable treats ;) One includes nuts, come to think of it…
Excellent. I’ll try to make it. In the meantime I have gourds from the farmer’s market!