FRESHEN UP FOR FALL

Learn how a few small stylish moves will deliver big seasonal style.

Check out stylish moves designed to deliver loads of character, color and curb appeal to your home.

How do you usher the feeling of fall into your home?

You know, that warm and fuzzy feeling that you get when sipping hot cocoa next to a fire or bundling up in a cozy sweater to fend off the cold? Designer Janna Allbritton of Yellow Prairie Interior Design does so with a seasonal vignette, which brings loads of color, character and curb appeal to her home.

MAKE A STATEMENT

On the front porch of her farmhouse, Janna achieves a charming look using cornhusks, flowers, pumpkins and bales of hay. These are just a few natural items that reflect the time of year and bring ample color and texture to the otherwise neutral scene.

As a fan of farmhouse style, Janna adores blending the old and the new, such as fresh flowers and crusty cornhusks. She treasures old, worn-in furniture and salvaged barn wood, mixed with shiny hardwood floors and modern appliances. But she didn’t always feel that way.

Five years ago, Janna left her job as a preschool teacher and founded Yellow Prairie Interior Design. She aimed to share her love of country style, “but at the time, it seemed like no one else was doing that,” Janna says. “My husband and I liked to joke, when is our style going to grow up? When are we going to replace our old, tattered furniture?”

But then Fixer Upper came along just in time to validate Janna’s old-timey style, which prioritized comfort and warmth and channeled the DIY spirit into every project. “Probably everybody says that Joanna Gaines inspired them, but she taught me that it’s okay to be true to your own style, whether it’s called country or farmhouse style.”

CREATE A FEELING

What can we all learn from Fixer Upper? Well, farmhouse style resonates with the fall season because both the style and the season are concerned with maintaining balance, introducing character and ushering in a feeling of joy through meaningful design choices.

For Janna, the best way to bring the outdoors to your door, and perhaps beyond, is all about heading to your local farm or nursery to pick up pumpkins, plants and more. Flowers play an important role in setting the mood, so select bright orange peonies for a refreshing vibe or burgundy hydrangeas for a romantic ambience.

Once you have your living décor, Janna advises picking a focal point for your vignette. (She used the old door as the focal point in her vignette.) And last but not least, “when you’re done, take a step back and look at your design. Then edit!” she emphasizes.

By taking on a more organic approach to your design and looking to nature for inspiration and style, you can refresh your home for autumn with just a few easy and affordable changes. After all, “Fall is all about celebrating the season,” Janna says. “It’s about what’s outside, what’s growing, what’s blooming.”

AUTUMN LOOK. Cornhusks bring vertical interest to Janna’s doorstep. But unlike pumpkins and flowers, cornhusks never come inside the house because little critters live in them.

|OPPOSITE| DOOR-STOPPER. This old white door serves as the focal point for Janna’s fall-inspired vignette on the front porch. Smooth pumpkins, soft flowers and crisp cornhusks offer just the right amount of texture to complete the look.

COOL CONTRAST. Janna designed this simple gallery wall with a few of her favorite things: fresh plants, old books and, of course, a family photo. Wire, glass and wood materials achieve rusticity and visual interest.

SAVE & SPLURGE. Janna used board-and-batten wainscoting in the office, master bedroom and powder room sparingly. Though it upped the budget, it was well worth it. Wainscoting is a classic farmhouse feature, after all.