Decorating Rebecca's House for Fall

Hi, Everyone!  I hope your week is going well now that the work week is almost over.  I wanted to share my busy last week with you~  Last Monday morning I got a call from a friend of mine named Rebecca.  She was contacting me to see if I would be willing to decorate the outside of her home for the fall. She wanted to brighten things up a bit.  I told her I would be happy to but, I was leaving for Washington D.C. on Friday. My main concern was being able to get all the materials necessary for the job.  In our neck of the woods the supply of fall items such as pumpkins, cornstalks, etc. starts to get a bit skimpy as Halloween approaches. After Halloween it is almost impossible to find large orange pumpkins or even a cornstalk.  I had already done my fall decorating and knew this problem was real.  I didn't want to wait until I came home to start the work on Rebecca's house and since we didn't meet until Wednesday morning to discuss the job, it meant I only had two days to get it done.  I got out my sketch pad and off I went!!

Here is Rebecca's house without any fall decorations.  It is a beautiful house that sits high on a hill with a lovely pastoral view from the front porch.  Rebecca wanted the front entrance, her mailbox and this large rock to be decorated with natural fall decorations.

Rebecca's neighbor had placed this geranium and flag in front of the mailbox earlier in the summer.  Pretty nice neighbor, wouldn't you say?  Our weather has been so nice this year that the geranium was still in bloom.  It was a shame to move it but, fall decorating was waiting :).

The first area I started to decorate was the mailbox.  I grabbed a few bundles of cornstalks, various colored pumpkins in different sizes and a few autumn plants.

I added the bows on the cornstalks for more color, as well.

On that first day, I was also able to place a few large pumpkins on the the large rock.  It was just enough to
add some color to this area.  (Sorry about the quality of the photos.  I only had time to take quick pictures
with my iphone.  Time was of the essence.)

The next day I set out to decorate the front porch, the largest of the three areas to be decorated.  I had to do this in stages because even though I own a large SUV, I couldn't fit everything I needed in the car ~ all in one trip.  So, I started with the cornstalks and hay bales and then added the pumpkins and mums.

Originally, Rebecca had wanted only orange mums in the design but, I could not find enough orange mums in good shape to decorate in all of the areas.  As I said, the supply was getting slim and I had driven around quite a bit trying to find the best ones.  I think the pop of yellow was a nice touch in the end.  I was hoping Rebecca would like it too.  Later, she told me she did :).

Rebecca and I had also decided that putting a large pumpkin on either side of the front door on the ledges would balance the design out. The pumpkins would also be able to be seen from her country lane which sits way down at the bottom of her front yard.

 At this point in the day, I was thinking the front porch still needed a few more items to finish off the design.

So, I added some white pumpkins and a few more seasonal grasses.  I also made two orange bows to be tied onto the cornstalks.

Rebecca wanted  only orange and white pumpkins.  That was the look she liked.  I liked it too!

I loved the look of this bushel basket, as well.  I only wish I had been able to find more of them.  They seemed to be in short supply too!

This was the finished product. Rebecca had wanted a somewhat reserved, classic fall look.  I think that was achieved, at least I hope so.  I personally think the orange bows finished everything off nicely.

 The porch is so pretty on its own but, adding a few fall favorites like pumpkins, cornstalks and mums really seemed to add some fall fun and festivity to the front of the house.

The next day my husband and I were on a plane to D.C.  We had a wonderful time but, I was glad that I had had time to do the decorating job for Rebecca before I left for Washington.  When I came home the following Tuesday, I discovered that things were just as I had thought.  Mums and cornstalks were pretty much no where to be found and the ones that were left were not worth the trouble.  Plus, Rebecca was able to enjoy her decorations that much longer which made me happy.  All-in-all, a good result~

As a side note:  If you ever get the chance to go to Washington D.C., please go.  Our nation's capital is pretty awesome!  If I had taken enough photos, I would probably be boring you all with the story of my trip.  Suffice to say, we had a great time and celebrated a wonderful anniversary :).

Joining these Link Parties:

Feathered Nest Friday ~ Snickerdoodle Create-Bake-Make

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