GOING ALL OUT FOR FALL
Gather tips from a resourceful Maine homeowner to give your home’s exterior as much seasonal whimsy as its interior.
Meet a talented do-it-yourselfer who reinvented the dilapidated property around her Maine home into an enchanting harvesttime haven that’s chock-full of whimsical seasonal icons, salvaged goods and loads of natural flourishes.
When Jodi Gilbert bought her home in 2005, the structure was vacant and, frankly, needed help. The windows and roof leaked, the ceilings were ruined, and the backyard had become a dumping ground for refuse. However, not one to be deterred by a challenge, Jodi had a vision for the early 1900s house located on a dead-end street. “This is going to be my primitive dream,” she remembers telling friends. “I hope I’ll be here forever.”
Jodi has worked since then to improve the home she now shares with 5-year-old grandson Landon, Siamese cats Smoky James and Lucy, and Shih Tzu–terrier mix Faith Izzabella. She has done much of the work herself to transform the Brewer, Maine, residence into a hospitable primitive haven for her family.
Presenting an attractive home exterior is on an equal footing with an eye-appealing interior for Jodi, and her outdoor efforts are on special display in fall. “I’ve always decorated my yard,” she says. “It takes me as long to decorate the yard as it does the inside.”
Memories flood in every autumn as she reminisces about harvest parties—complete with apple bobbing in the renovated backyard— that she hosted when she was raising her four children. Taking drives to view vibrant fall foliage and searching for perfect pumpkins were other favorite family activities.
“So now I have four grandkids, so I’m doing it all over again,” she says. “I like all the traditions I’ve created in the fall. It just makes me feel warm and cozy. Fall is my season.”
Jodi, who owns A Primitive Past, a shop in Fairfield, Maine, has owned four other home decor shops previously and has gathered a lifetime of primitive items with which to surround herself. However, if she is inspired by something new she sees on her travels, Jodi doesn’t shy away from making it herself. She has woodworking equipment tucked away in the basement and backyard.
The autumn-inspired spaces outside Jodi’s home are a big hit with neighbors and trick-ortreaters, and even her mail carrier recently paid her a compliment. “Every time I deliver your mail, there’s something new out here,” she recalls him saying. “It made me feel good, that all my hard work was worth it.”