This week: Decorating for Fall

I love fall, so I start decorating my house for the new season the day after Labor Day. That does not mean I put away my antiques, but simply add to them with things available during this colorful season.

Now, in addition shopping at the antique stores and thrift shops, I supplement with shopping trips to other stores like Bayport Flower Houses, Rita's Real Foods, CVS and King Kullen. Decorating for any season is easy and inexpensive if you know how to do it and where to shop; you buy a few staples you can use for every season, then just add to them.

Here are a few suggestions:

First, look around your own home for things you can use. Anything in the vibrant colors of fall or black (think Halloween) will work.  Neutrals work great as well.

Next, use nature to help you decorate. If you are heading outside to take a walk in the brisk autumn air, why not pick up a few leaves in colors you love? Place them in between some tissue paper then put them inside the pages of a big heavy book. In 2-3 weeks they will be dry and you can use them as decorations on your table for Thanksgiving or on your windows. And don't stop at leaves- pine cones, acorns and branches also make great natural decorations.

Then head over to Country Junque, The Barn Thrift Shop or The Salvation Army, where you can purchase old dishes and glasses for pennies. Pick up dishes in all sizes- platters, dinner, salad and dessert.

Saucers work great as candle holders for pillars. White dishes and clear glass bowls, glasses or cups are best. Think of them like the little black dress- always in style when used with the right accessories.

Now you are ready to shop for items at the other stores:

• Bayport Flower Houses: Small pumpkins, gourds, a bouquet of fall flowers and mums in your favorite colors.

Pumpkins are not just for carving or baking-they are great for decorating. Put some in a basket for a side table or mantel display. Or use one in place of a vase for the flowers. Hollow out a pumpkin, place a container of water inside and cut the flowers to fit. A white pumpkin (known as a lumina pumpkin) works really well for this, too. And don't forget about the mums. They are not just for planting outside. Use them on the mantel, on top of a refrigerator or on a side chair. Toss some gourds into a clear hurricane vase or place them on a white platter with some of the things from your walk (acorns, pine cones, etc).

• Rita's Real Foods: Red pears, apples (whichever variety you prefer), lady apples (sometimes called crab apples) and winter squashes.

These things are not just for cooking and eating. A white platter filled with a variety of these items or just one variety is pretty and festive. Throw in some cinnamon sticks to supplement the fragrance (see CVS list).

• King Kullen: All the items listed for the other stores, plus nuts.

If you can't hit all the stores, then a supermarket is your best bet to get everything in one trip. Mixed nuts (brazilan, hazel, walnut,) work best as do chestnuts, if they are available. All these nuts come in different shades of brown which make for a striking display inside a vintage candle hurricane holder or a clear glass bowl (even an old salad bowl will work great here- add some gourds and crab apples for variety and throw in a few cinnamon sticks as well).

• CVS: The three C's: candles, candy and cinnamon sticks.

Get the big pillar candles in off white or vanilla. Place them on a mantel inside hurricane holders or on a plate surrounded by pine cones and acorns (which should be removed if you light the candles). Candy like M&M's and Hershey's Kisses come in fall colors this time of year so they are fun to decorate with and look great stored in Mason jars on the kitchen counter, as does candy corn. Wrap a cinnamon stick around the middle of the jar with a piece of twine or raffia for an extra special touch. Or you can put some of the candy in an old clear dessert cup or wine glass and place them on your coffee table in place of a regular candy dish. Try placing a handful of black or chocolate Twizzlers inside a cordial glass or a juice glass standing up.