Looking to decorate for fall, but don't know where/how to start?
• For inspiration, look at magazine spreads, decorating trade journals and newspapers. Also, attend some of the free fall decorating workshops, says designer Chris H. Olsen, who offers such workshops at his retail garden centers Botanica Gardens in Little Rock and Plantopia in North Little Rock. "We are creating with things that are readily available to you. And we're all about creating projects that are not 15 steps, but two to three steps that can be done in 10 minutes so it's not overpowering for people."
• Also, Olsen adds, drive around. "You can look at people's houses and what they're doing ... will give you some ideas as well. I say, don't copy. Expand it. Make it your own."
• Keep it simple. "I always go back and edit" after seasonal decorating, says Nashville-based entertaining expert Elizabeth Scokin, whose roots are in Blytheville. Olsen agrees: "Too much is always too much. And that's what happens with people. They [use] too much hay, too much straw, too [many] scarecrows and fall leaves. Just keep it clean and simple."
• Don't be afraid to blend things together. Pick out different embellishments for an element -- say, a wreath -- and work with them, suggests J. Michael Jackson of Little Rock's J. Michael Jackson Designs.
• Love to set those jars of scented candles around for some fall ambience? Fine, but they're "a huge no-no" when it come to the dining experience. "Nothing is worse than smelling pumpkin or spice candles, especially on the dinner table," Scokin says. "Candles at dinner should always be unscented. No exceptions."
• If you're decorating for Halloween, put some lighting on your decor. "Get some kind of strobe lighting to kind of pulsate on it, and maybe even do ... the old-fashioned black light because it makes a nice glow at night," Jackson says. " A lot of people are doing the little purple lights" that are made like Christmas lights. Orange lights of this nature are available as well.
• As Thanksgiving approaches, add a cornucopia to your fall decor. Put it atop a runner. Surround it with mini squash, turban squash, butternut squash and miniature mums, Jackson urges.
• For Thanksgiving table decorations, Scokin suggests silver, pewter, and crystal candlesticks with ivory candles, and a white, heavy tablecloth with crisp white napkins. Then add color: orange medium-to-small pumpkins, small sheaves of wheat, autumn leaves, tiny branches of bittersweet atop each napkin. "Sometimes, I use berry-colored roses in several short, small vases, scattered around the table as well," she says.
• Use family heirlooms for Thanksgiving decor and entertaining. "I choose to use things that have a special significance for my family," Scokin says, "such as [my grandmother's] silver; Thanksgiving plates I have collected from antique stores over the years; and a collection of porcelain and ceramic roosters, turkeys, and chickens I bought for my children when they were small."
-- Helaine R. Williams
HomeStyle on 10/10/2015