COUNTRY MODERN
This bountiful farmhouse celebrates the season in style.
Learn from this beautiful, bountiful farmhouse how to celebrate autumn in style.
“For our family, the fall season includes
as much ritual and togetherness as the Christmas holiday,” says homeowner and designer Anne Marie Hauer, who shares her Warrenton, Virginia, farmhouse with husband Steve and their children, Garren and Callie. “When we first moved here, our city friends wondered if we’d get bored living a quieter life. But what we’ve found is with every change of season comes a new round of traditions to be explored.”
SEASONAL LIFE, SEASONAL STYLE
In the autumn months, the Hauers spend lots of time outdoors: picking apples, attending twilight polo matches, having bonfires, visiting pumpkin patches, hiking state parks and frequenting local wineries. This time in the outdoors is reflected in Anne Marie’s seasonal style.
Their farmhouse itself is set on 4 acres of lush woodland in the heart of Virginia’s horse country. A tree-lined allée leads up to the 1901 home, while old stone walls surround the property. It’s not surprising that this bucolic setting helps form the inspiration for Anne Marie’s unique brand of fall décor.
“I like to use heirloom pumpkins, cut grasses, patches of moss, bittersweet vines and hollowed branches,” says Anne Marie of some of the elements she likes to incorporate into her home for the season. Some is foraged on the property; some, gifted by friends and family from their lands.
The stoop always gets special attention. “The porch is the main entry to our home, so I always like to decorate it. But, like
collecting for your home, it’s a constantly evolving process,” she says. Eventually the stoop fills with an array of different-shaped heirloom pumpkins in a range of hues. Potted cabbages and perky pansies are interspersed, adding color and life. The door wreath is made of dried grapevines and adorned with both fresh and dried plants.
AUTUMN HUES
“The palette travels inside from the porch to the Thanksgiving table, all those pumpkins and plants becoming a rich scheme of purples, browns and greens,” says Anne Marie.
The table is set with placemats made from pheasant feathers, and collected accent plates depicting game birds. The washed-eggplant-hued napkins are linen. For a centerpiece, small hollowed logs found on the property are filled with moss and planted with cacti. The amethyst-tinged glassware is vintage, in keeping with Anne Marie’s overall décor.
“Our home is a collection of old and new elements; the décor is simple but eclectic, natural yet refined,” she says. “I always work in textured, worn and unusual pieces to add interest and warmth.”
heirloom pumpkins, cut grasses, patches of moss, bittersweet vines and hollowed branches” ... Some is foraged on the property; some, gifted by friends and family from their lands.
Her fall decorating has a similar vibe. She places contemporary glazed vases next to her antique potbellied stove, and fills them with branches of fall leaves. Or she pops found birds’ nests under bell jars on the cocktail ottoman’s tray. Here and there, dried grasses and fresh eucalyptus fill collected pitchers with texture and interest.
“At the farmhouse, of course, we love to entertain outdoors by our fire pit whenever we can, with a S’more in one hand and a cocktail in the other,” she says.
While outside, it’s not uncommon for Anne Marie to forage around for additional fall decorating finds. She may snag some bright green moss after a rainfall or pick up a newly downed branch after a storm. “There’s always something out there,” says Anne Marie.