Happy October

Here in Anchorage,
just a few hundred miles from the Arctic Circle,
the trees are nearly bare of leaves.
The air is crisp during the day.
The evenings are downright chilly.

Each morning, we wake to frost glittering all across the city
and the snow steadily creeps and inches its way down the mountains.
Any day now, the ground will be covered in billowing clouds of white and the dark of winter will be upon us.
For now, we are enjoying the last bit of daylight and basking in the final days of sunshine.

[bctt tweet=”Merry October! Enjoy cozy throws, pumpkins, tiny candy bars & an Alaskan Fall Home Tour” username=”Olivia_Designs”]

Welcome to Our Fall Home Tour 2016

Sebastian will always be the first to greet each person at the door.
With sleepy eyes, he waits patiently for me to snap the ‘Welcome to Our Home’ photo.

Don’t let that look fool you.

He loves visitors!

Now that we’ve stepped inside,
let me alert you to the disaster zone of the foyer, it’s a work in progress.
We are headed upstairs.

Many Alaskan homes are built backward.
The main living area is upstairs rather than downstairs.
This floorplan helps brings in as much light as possible during the dark winter months.

For the second go-around with fall decor, I embraced a soft faded more neutral fall style.
Whites, cream, overall neutral tones set the base for the peach and amber tones, along with blues.

This isn’t my first go-around with decorating for fall!
The previous look of vivid pinks and purples contrasted with green.

See the Previous Fall Look Here.

Fall In The Living Room

Baskets were stacked to store cozy throws.

I’ve also tucked throw pillows into larger baskets for easy access when it’s time to relax with a movie or read.

Who doesn’t love to curl up and sink into a fluffy sofa on a
cool fall day or nestle into multiple pillows, fluffy fleece or cable knit throws?
Maybe even a perfectly broken-in comforter?
Now that’s what I’m talking about!

The coffee table, another piece of furniture
that I refinished, needed only one pretty pumpkin to take center stage.
You can see more details about the Gustavian Coffee Table here.

Along with every other blogger,
I adore heirloom pumpkins, especially the Porcelain Doll variety!
Unfortunately and much to my dismay, they are impossible to find up here.

I employed the help of my dear friend, Jodie,
to help me find a faux pumpkin with a similar shape to the Porcelain Doll.

She was down in California, Googling away at home
while I drove the streets of Anchorage feeling bummed and frustrated with traffic.

She discovered a resource for pumpkin seeds, which I will share in a future post,
and also sent me driving to Target where I discovered this shapely gem of a pumpkin.

Based only on what I’ve seen only in photos,
armed with a little bit of acrylic craft paint I strived to create the look I longed for.

This is as close to the real thing as I could get.

Touches Of Fall In The Kitchen

The bar stools, kitchen cabinets, and pantry door were painted and refinished by me.

After the holidays, all are due for an updated look.

The cubby works well for adding seasonal touches of decor.

A chunk of moss that I collected on one of our daily walks
and some bits of other dried items from nature are nestled between the  single white pumpkin and the cookie jar!

Warning!

You do not want to help yourself to a cookie in that jar!
You won’t like them!

It is filled with  homemade dog cookies and treats for Sebastian and King.
They smell delicious and identical to human cookies but they are as dry as old shoe leather from 1902.

When someone unknowingly grabs one and says,
“Gosh, these are awfully dry cookies.
They smelled so good and looked like real biscotti!” I laugh!

Tell me you wouldn’t laugh too?

I do try to alert everyone  who visits about the cookie jar.
Sometimes I forget.

Here we have our little King.
He and Sebastian are best friends.
He visits a few times each week and is such a blessing to have around.

King insisted on being a prop and refused to move from this spot.

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts,
I have an undying vast amount of love for dried and preserved flowers.

This kitchen vignette has been styled this way for quite some time now,
but it plays perfectly into my fall home decor.

A small lamp sits on top of the fridge, which may seem odd.
Due to the darkness of our Alaskan winters, the extra light is necessary.

On the dining table is a collection of larkspur, roses, and peonies.

Rather than using dried autumn leaves in my fall decor,
I  find dried flowers to be an excellent alternative.

I have always favored softer looks for fall.

The elegance of flowers speaks to me year round.

 Dining Centerpiece- Charming Floral & Pumpkin

This is a quick look at the simple natural fall style in the dining area.

As in real quick.
Hurry.
Look.
Scroll.

I didn’t want to hide this area just because I can’t take perfect photos of it.
I feel a little vulnerable.
Go easy on me.

You have to follow me on Snapchat! to get all the nitty gritty action on the day-to-day basis.

Th dining area consistently gives me fits when photograph time comes.

Fall Touches Around The Fireplace

This area around the fireplace is my favorite.
Of course, everything is focused around the
French Country hutch so that is the reason for my fondness.

An old metal bucket filled with wee pinecones on a favorite stool brings in rustic fall touch.

Definitely, visit the Before & After Hutch
where you will also see more fall inspiration and details of how I styled the hutch.

Birch logs that I wrestled from Sebastian and King
are placed in the antique footed brass bucket.

Another faux Porcelain Doll pumpkin along with a collection
of creamy white pumpkins, and a bucket filled with a variety of
dried flowers is how I interpret how a rustic French Alaskan fall style to look.

Here’s a look at a couple small vignettes on a side table and below the television.

Originally, each of the mini pumpkins were orange or green.

Using  spray paint their look changed.

The stems were hand painted with layers of green and
umber colored paints, then given toning washes to look more natural.

Affiliate Link:
I used Krylon Chalky Finish Spray Paint.

I hope you have found yourself inspired
and will use some of my ideas in your home to create a cozy fall
style that is a reflection of you and what you love about the season.

Please Pin and share everything that you love!

I would love to see your home tours too!
You are invited to leave your links in your sweet comments to me.

I’m so thrilled you joined me and the pups today.

The complete fall look on the front porch is ready.
Just click the photos below to head over.

Meanwhile, I will be joining these inspiring link parties:
A Stroll Through Life | Cupcakes and Crinoline
Cedar Hill Farmhouse | Savvy Southern Style

Simple Nature Decor | French Country Cottage
The Charm Of Home | Craftberry Bush

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