Fall Home Tour

Welcome!  I'm so glad you're here!

I'm thrilled to be part of the All Things Home Fall Home Tour, and I'm even more thrilled that you've come to visit.  Here's our home in the Autumn:

We're blessed to live in a fairly new house in an old neighborhood in beautiful Durham, North Carolina.  Isn't that Autumn sky something?

Now step right up the front door.  We love the traditional colors of Autumn here.  Maybe that's because we're a family of redheads.

We could just sit here on the porch for awhile if you like.  This is one of my favorite spots in the whole house.  It really is our outdoor living room.  You can read all about it here.

Or you could come on in!  I've cleaned and scrubbed and polished in anticipation of your arrival.  

When I'm looking at home tours online, I always wish I could get a sense of how the rooms flow.  In case you're wondering how our rooms are connected, here's our main level floor plan.  Sorry that it's so smudged, but it'll give you an idea of our space.

Now let's peek into the rooms, shall we?

To the left of the front door is my husband's library.  It doesn't take much to make this room feel fallish.

A mum and a jug by the fireplace echo the autumnal colors in the rest of the room.

Now back across the foyer to the and the dining room.  I had a red dining room for 20 years, but I sure have been happy with it painted blue.  I like bold colors in a dining room.



Here's a view looking back toward the foyer.  The arches and built-in china cabinets are some of my favorite features of our house.



Simple and elegant was my approach for decorating the dining room for fall.  For the tablescape, I combined mercury glass pumpkins and candlesticks with DIY birch candles and placed them all on a DIY burlap runner.



I crafted an arrangement for the buffet from natural elements; I'll share more about it next week.  Well, technically this is not a buffet; it's actually just the bottom of my china cabinet.  I removed the hutch this year and I've loved having the open space on this wall.



You may have seen some glimpses above of the living room.  This room in the final stages of a makeover that's taken many months (I'll post a complete reveal soon!).  I didn't do too much fall decorating there, but I did add a couple of seasonal elements:

Both the living room and the dining room lead to the kitchen.  You might have noticed that the floor plan shows a kitchen, breakfast room, and keeping room, but we just use the whole space as one big room.  Here's a view from end to end:



And from the other end looking back toward the work area:

Another of my favorite features of this house are the lighted nooks above the cupboards.  They're filled with my collection of pitchers.  Above the kitchen sink is my DIY no-sew faux Roman shade.



As you can see, this is a working kitchen.  We're definitely a small-appliance-out-where-they're-easy-to-use kind of family.

Now, wouldn't you like some pumpkin bread?  I just baked some.  Click here for my recipe--I think it's the world's best!



Believe me, the kitchen is not usually this clean.  Home tours always make me want to see what people keep in their cupboards and closets, you know?  If you were to open this one of mine, you'd discover one of my quirks:  I have a special love of beverage napkins.  My friends laugh at me and my stash of pretty napkins.



Now moving to the other end of this big room.  To the left are the stairs leading to the lower level; to the right stands my mother's prized dough cabinet alongside our huge table.  A lot of teenaged boys can fit around this table!



The dough cabinet is one of my favorite pieces to decorate for the seasons.



I'm crushing on the combination of aqua and orange this season.



On the large wall leading down the stairs is my DIY family portrait wall clock.  You can read about it here.



I made a centerpiece for the table by placing seasonal elements on a tray.  That way I can whisk the centerpiece aside easily when we need the use of the whole table.



Through the French doors is our screened porch, which will be the last stop on the tour.  Our house is built on a hill, so the screened porch is high off the ground.  I feels like being in a treehouse!





I created a simple tablescape by stapling some ribbon to the table to make a runner, then adding a tool caddy filled with autumn leaves and some beautiful blue Ball jars.

Some mums and pumpkins complete the fall decor out here.  Told you I was loving aqua and orange!

Thank you so much for visiting me here at Imparting Grace!  I'd love for you to poke around while you're here.  My prayer is that you'll be blessed by your visit.

And now for an incredible giveaway (I've saved the best for last!):  

Enter to win this gorgeous hand painted Sarasota Chest in Crème Brûlée from Somerset Bay, a prize valued at $1,500. The contest is open to U.S. residents only.  I'm having trouble with the Rafflecopter widget, but you can enter easily by visiting Marty's Home Tour and scrolling to the end to the Rafflecopter form.   Just follow the directions to enter the giveaway.

And for more fall inspiration, be sure to visit everyone on the Fall Home Tour!  Here's a complete list:

Monday, September 23

Nellie Bellie
The Rustic Pig

French Country Cottage

House of Hawthornes 

Town and Country Living

Tuesday, September 24

Mom 4 Real 

Our Southern Home 

Stone Gable 

Fox Hollow Cottage 

So Much Better With Age

Wednesday, September 25

Marty's Musings 

A Button Tufted Life

AKA Design Decor 

Adventures 

Confessions of a Plate Addict

Thursday, September 26

Worthing Court 

Everyday Home

Back Porch Musings

Inspiration for Moms

House on the Way

Friday, September 27

Setting for Four

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Imparting Grace

DaisyMaeBelle 

At Home with the Barkers

Thanks again for touring my home!   I'd love to connect with you.  You can find me here:

Click here to have Imparting Grace delivered to your inbox.