I really did wanted a Welcome Fall rustic living room tour… but at the moment, I didn’t think it would happen.
I was sitting on the sofa watching a little TV. When a commercial came on, my eyes wandered around the room.
The fireplace mantel was FAR from a fall rustic living room tour.. in fact, it was completely bare. There were no vignettes on any surfaces. It was (sort of) clean and plain.
Oh so very plain.
Then my eyes landed on some newly found antique skis leaning against the wall with a cute snowflake pillow propped nearby. It felt a little too early for Christmas decorating but I put them there because that’s next anyway.
And that’s when I realized… how can that be next when I didn’t even celebrate fall?!
Fall is such a missed season for me. I’m generally in the middle of belting out fall stencil designs, then I hit it hard right into Christmas. Now that my designs are complete (and listed! Check them out HERE), I had time to sit and look at all the things I didn’t (yet) do.
Because of the fall void, I decided to replace the snowflake pillow by whipping up a Falling Leaves one. Which got the fall ball rolling very quickly!
Oh hey you cute little photo bomber!
Gotta love it when your cat match your stuff.
I LOVE this pillow. It’s the vision I had for at least a year, so that’s why I created the Falling Leaves stencil. It’s a random design that looks great extended, which is exactly what I did.
This post contains some affiliate links below:
Fall pillow how-to:
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1. Select a plain pillow cover. Mine is an Ikea Gurli white 20″ with a 20″ feather insert.
2. Insert something waterproof inside the pillow cover. I used a plastic garbage bag.
3. Position the stencil where desired. I started on the top left. (The random pattern was then continued to cover the entire pillow. No exact matching required! So easy to use.)
4. Stencil the images with black paint. I used Fusion Mineral Paint’s Coal Black.
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In just a few minutes, I had the cutest pillow in the land!
View the Falling Leaves stencil HERE
Learn how to stencil on pillows HERE
See all the other pillows I’ve made HERE
And it looked EXACTLY as I imagined it would.
Plunking the new leaf patterned pillow on the white Ektorp sofa was a great start.
But it needed some cozy friends.
So I fluffed up some some blankets, decked out the fireplace mantel with the cutest antique and Welcome Fall crate, gathered up some little white pumpkins, lit the fireplace, grabbed a few leaves from outside and called it done!
And this was the result… my fall living room is just a clean, cozy neutral space to enjoy and appreciate this beautiful fall season!
I love how the fireplace mantel turned out. It’s a mesh of woodsy antique crates, little white pumpkins, and flickering flames against that greige rock.
(see the fireplace tutorial HERE)
I had forgotten about these metal candlesticks! And as luck would have it, I had two brand new tapered candles still in their box found from a garage sale this past summer, so BOOM! Instant added ambiance.
If you look closely, a little Welcome Fall label was added to the bottom crate to pay homage to the season.
Rustic Welcome Fall sign how-to:
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1. A little cedar strip was cut to size.
2. The Fall Greetings stencil in small was used to paint Welcome Fall in Fusion’s Coal Black.
3. The cedar plank was masking taped from the back, then simply stuck in place.
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Isn’t it just enough? I love that font. It’s got a true antique sign feel.
Find the Fall Greetings stencil from HERE
Learn all my favorite stenciling tips and how to stencil from HERE
You’ll remember seeing this view not long ago in the pumpkin pillows and placemats post HERE.
I pulled the little patio table into the living room, created a secondary woodsy shelf down below, which was just right.
Sofa Trick
And here’s a little sofa trick I play when I don’t feel like de-cat-hairing umpteen pillows…
I use two pillows on one side of the sofa, (one 26″ and one 20″) then spread a blanket all over on the other side.
This is actually how my sofas look and how I use them. I sit on the blankets. I don’t even have to move anything out of my way!
A post on the sofas I have is HERE
On the black Antiques trunk, this small vignette with an antique toolbox, a couple of white pumpkins, a metal mesh lamp (from Walmart last year), and leaves from outside was just perfect.
I rather like how the orange in the leaves bounces off the black.
And with that? Welcome, ya welcome fall rustic living room tour! You were needed.
I’m thrilled I made the effort, and all in one afternoon! It feels like someone lives here again!
Hmm… I should do this pretty stuff more often…
Have you decked out your home for fall? What room did you focus on?
See other past home tours HERE
Visit all my other fall projects HERE
Check out my other fireplace mantels HERE
I love the white pumpkins against the rustic woods, and now to take you right to Thanksgiving all you need is a rotisserie with a turkey turning in the fireplace. Oh wait, did Canada already have their Thanksgiving? No worry add the rotisserie for Christmas then and put a goose on it.
My cats would love me forever if I attempted that! Oh my gosh… that visual…
How simple, but very elegant! I was waiting to see some of your hydrangeas appear on the mantle! My limelight hydrangeas have turned a beautiful dusty pink outside and every time I look at them, I think of you 🙂 Happy Fall!
Thanks Sharon! Your hydrangeas sound decadent!
Sadly, mine didn’t do well during the last bit they were in bloom… we’ve have some strange tree diseases in our area and I just hope mine make it!
I love the fall colors but it seems we go from Halloween to snow so often here (I live in Michigan) that I don’t feel motivated to decorate for fall. I love how your living room looks! It’s so bright and cheery!
Thank-you Pam!
Yes, fall does feel like such a short season! I think it gets overlooked by more than we realize!
That looks wonderful!Less is more! I have not decorated for fall at all this year. Don’t know why, it just didn’t happen. Now I think”What’s the use”. But I am looking forward to Christmas season, so we’ll see. Keep up the great work! Love what you do.
Thanks Jane! I nearly did the same… not sure where I got my adrenaline hit from but I’m glad I pushed! It does feel very cozy with just the right amount of stuff.
Even a few clipped branches in a vase looks very pretty and takes seconds!
Love the clean fall decor! Your pillows are so sweet too. I decorate for every season, and will be tasked today with putting away the Halloween things so I may enjoy the remaining fall items until the Christmas things appear! Thanks for sharing your home with us!???
Thanks Sharon, and good for you! I generally do something for each season as well. Then there are times I want everything bare… LOL I think a minimal look is working for me so it isn’t as overwhelming.
I reserve the right to change my mind in about a month’s time though… LOL
Hi Donna, Sharing this on the weekend edit (goes live on Saturday-ish). laura in Colorado!
Plain and Simple, old wood signs and boxes, leaves, pumpkins and candles.
Beautiful.
Thank-you! The mantel with the candles and crates is my fav. I generally don’t burn candles so to see the added flicker felt rather special!
Good morning, Donna
You out did your self again. So simple! Love your mantel and of course everything else. I decorate for all the holidays, usually family room, kitchen and living room. Sometimes add a touch to the bedrooms. Look forward to Christmas decorating. I try and change out my decorations yearly.
Thanks Nancy, and the same here! I always like to change it up to challenge myself to something new too. I still am not sure which way I’m leaning for Christmas… guess once I start crafting, I’ll get inspired…
Simple and elegant Donna! I too am not ready to let go of Fall just yet and am going to jump into more fall decor now that my bats have gone into hiding. I need to think about Christmas for a bit before actually taking out the tree. Enjoy your sweet and restful living room with kitty.
Thanks Mary! I still need to dream up this year’s Christmas theme too… I think I’ll start on small projects and see where it goes. Here we go…
That fireplace is a winner to begin with and you really pulled “fall” together so nicely. It looks so cozy and warm. Great job.
Love your fall decor – so simple, beautiful and effective. Looking at your living room pictures you’d never know you were in a newish house – so rustic looking.
?, the black handles on the tray in front of your sofa – I’m looking for something just like them for a box I made, any chance you got them from someplace I might also get them? (I’m in Toronto – I’ve checked a few hardware stores and Amazon.ca without any luck)
Just simply beautiful!! Looks great with the two sofas and says “come in and have a cup of coffee with me”!! Very cozy!
Thanks Karolyn! For the most part my cats use one and I the other (LOL) but it comes in handy when folks visit for certain!
hello,
I love reading your posts, they always inspire me!!!
I was wondering where you got your candlestick/taper holders from? would love some for my mantel.
Thanks for your site!
y.s.
Hi there, and thanks for the kudos! And sadly I don’t remember where the candlesticks came from. LOL I think it must have been from a home decor store. I’ve had them for a number of years. They are pretty cool!