Fall Kitchen Decor

Hello friends! I hope you are all keeping safe and well. We are plugging along here. September went much easier than expected and for that I am grateful. But, in regards to online/hybrid schooling, it seems to be catching up to my kids already. Especially our high schooler who has always had more difficulty with school and is on a hybrid schedule. We are constantly researching and debating options for him moving forward, while attempting to predict just when school might possibly return to a more normal schedule. It is exhausting. Our college kid is doing well in his classes but some days are more frustrating than others and there is the constant question of - how much is he actually learning in relation to how much college tuition costs? I know these are the same issues most families are dealing with on some level and there are no easy answers. Some days it is easier to accept that than others. 

Anyway, I did finally add some fall decor to our home and I want to share our kitchen with you today. As usual, I brought out much of my decor that I have collected over time. I try to add in a couple of meaningful pieces each season but I mostly enjoy the tradition of using the same things year after year. I store all of our fall decor in bins in our attic that I bribe my boys to bring down at the beginning of the season. They are already dreading bringing down the Christmas bins!

It's difficult for me to remember the time before we painted our kitchen island Oval Room Blue by Farrow and Ball two years ago. Fun fact, we painted this island in the days that my husband was retiring from his job in law enforcement as a distraction - and it really helped! Two years later, we are more relieved than ever that he isn't working at that anymore AND we still love the island. We have needed to touch up the paint once and I probably should do that again soon, especially on the cabinet that houses our garbage pails and gets a ton of use on a daily basis. This year I added a vintage paint-by-numbers in a fall scene over the range on the mantel and I love how it ties in with the color of the island. I do move the painting when I cook anything that might create grease to protect it.

I brought out the same wreaths as last year and re-used the sink skirt from last year until I finally found a new one that you will see in the later pics in this post. I also added the Happy Pumpkin Spice Season sign that was from Michaels a couple of years back over the sink.

I always enjoy decorating the smaller spots most and these baskets hanging on the side of our cabinet are always a favorite each season. I brought out Susan Branch's Autumn book, which provides inspiration every fall. The curtains are a dish towel from Amazon. I haven't been shopping in stores as much and so I turned to online retailers and was mostly pleased with what they had to offer. 

I enjoy collecting cookbooks and, in order to better appreciate them, I usually display one on a cookbook rack (mine is from Hearth and Hand) on the counter. The one pictured above is Keeping Good Company by Roxie Kelly.

\

I did finally find a tablecloth to use to make a sink skirt a couple of weeks ago. It was $7.99 from Christmas Tree Shops and it ties the colors in from the curtains perfectly.

I wasn't sure how much seasonal decorating I would do this year. Some days, home decor seems so silly and unimportant. But then there are good days and I remember that, of course, creating a warm and welcoming home where my family gathers is more important than ever!

Have you done much decorating for fall this year?