THE FIRST TOUCHES OF FALL - SEASONAL DECOR IN THE SHED

I wake to the pitter-patter of rain striking the shingles of our log cabin. The dog days of summer have ended, and a deluge has arrived to see them out. The sun is many hours from cresting the hills that shelter our holler, so I lie in bed and listen to the sheets of rain coming down.

When the day finally breaks, the sun illuminates what my ears already knew to be true. The rain has ceased, and the once voluminous storm clouds now take their turn to rest, lying down across the landscape as the morning haze.

Summers in Tennessee can be relentless. Heat and humidity weave themselves together into a heavy blanket that drapes across June, July, and August, and all who find themselves beneath it swelter until the sun sets. But on mornings like this, as the season nears its end, nature begins to give us small hints of what’s to come.

A softer morning breaks through the mist. Pumpkins and sunflowers, which have spent the last couple of months soaking in the summer sun, are now ripening, blooming, and dotted with dew drops.

After admiring the beauty unraveling outdoors, I feel a familiar call: to bring it into our home. So stems are snipped, pumpkins are picked, and a few treasures are gathered from Patina Home & Garden, before heading to the Shed to join in on the redesign.

I make my way to a corner cabinet, the starting point of our interiors’ seasonal shift. I begin with the focal point: freshly cut sunflowers, set in one of my favorite vases. Against the muted backdrop of antique books, vintage bowls, and wooden mushrooms, their vibrant blooms remind me of the sun brightening this once-gloomy morning.

Next, I reach for our dainty white Casperita pumpkins to fill bowls and empty spaces, their presence adding little clouds to the skyline unfolding on my shelves.

The finishing touch is a Cinderella pumpkin, placed on the bottom shelf—another shining reminder of the season to come.

With the cabinet refreshed and my mind fixed on decorating, I turn to survey the rest of the Shed for spaces where I can continue making subtle shifts.

First, I plop down new pillows to complement the landscape’s evolving hues.

Then, I gather a few antique pieces that have just arrived at our shop and begin arranging them on the primitive wood table.

Potted geraniums and antique French paper books create a backdrop, while an antique Swedish wooden horse with a slatted cart in the foreground forms a vision straight out of a storybook.

After setting the final pot down and fluffing the pillows once more, I step back out through the doors and into the garden, pausing to admire the evolving work of nature’s Designer, as the landscape is rearranged for its next seasonal display.

xx,

Brooke