It is my favorite month of the year!. I love the relief from the heat, the goldness in the Autumn sun, the turning of the tree, and the smell of burning leaves. As with every season beginning, I have to make adjustments in my self and home. As much as I love fall, I am not a change of season decorator. I notice most of the blogs I read have all posted ideas for fall decorating. I don’t do that. I only decorate for Christmas. :)). But I do make a seasonal adjustment.
Warm n Cosy Bedroom
Bed Linens
One wish I have for my home is to be welcoming. A warm and cozy home. For that reason, my decor is a bit vintage, lots of pillows, a bit of clutter, etc. I like my visitor to have no qualms about coming in and sitting down without worry.
I strive for that ambience and get to attempt that mood over and over again with my adjustments. My I don’t like that now adjustment, that doesn’t work adjustment, and of course my seasonal adjustment.
One such adjustment is my bed linens. I am what society now calls: a mature woman; so, that means I am rarely cold in the house. In fact, since menopause, I find I walk a back and forth path between too hot and cold. For that reason, I might wear a cotton undershirt, short sleeve T-Shirt, and a neck scarf…as I am doing today. Any of you ladies relate??
Last night it got down into the ’30s, and we had a bit of a frost in NE Ohio. I awoke cold in the early morning. I don’t want to get in the habit of turning the furnace on and off. So, I went to the closet and pulled out an old Amish quilt to put on top of the bed, which solved the problem.
This year was jaw-dropping hot here. At one time, it was over 100 degrees on the back porch. My bedroom faces that side of the house and can get quite warm. I drew the curtains a lot this year to block the sun and purchased some lighter linens for the bed.
I did buy linen bedding from Parachute. A natural fiber, linen breaths and is cooler than the other sheets I had. I did find that to be true for me too. I especially loved the Parachute pillowcases. I am prone to facial breakouts and have fine hair. I always use silk pillowcases and change them twice a week. For this summer, I used the cooler linen pillowcase. I liked them so much; they are still on the bed with my old sheets.
Amish Quilt
I wrote about my “Amish” quilt a while ago. I have had the star pattern quilt for years. In the 70s & 80, there was a large contingent of Amish and Mennonite people in this area of Ohio.
When the suburbs expanded into the countryside, many of those communities found it intrusive and sold their large farms and moved to more Amish community areas. Once the farmers began those sales, it encouraged others to follow suit, and now there are few large farms, few, if any, horse and buggies, and a smaller Mononnite community.
More and more non-Amish came and built homes, put in new roads, electricity lines, fast food stores, etc. Twenty years ago, I moved to one of those housing developments. I traveled down the road to the local shopping area and found a quilt store. They only carried quilts, and some of them were magnificent.
Of course, those were the handmade quilts made by local women and local quilting bees. Women who learned their craft from their mothers and grandmothers as small girls, and now were as skilled as skilled can be. It was very evident in work offered, in beauty, and justifiably so, in price.
I bought my little star pattern quilt in that shop. I knew nothing about quilts, but it was all I could afford at the time. I think it was a stock filler item. Stores buy them from manufacturers who mass produce a stock item to bring people into a store. It gives those who are not going to buy the high-end item a chance to purchase something. A good shopping experience creates a happy shopper, and a happy shopper is likely to return.
Now that I know more about the craft, I can see it is not hand-stitched and has a single-run polyester clear thread. It is not genuinely quilted. But, I have had the light quilt since the 1980s and have hand repaired it a few times. My kids used in when home from school ill with whatever. I did too. So I did get good value for money. Today, I would be able to buy a small handmade quilt, but that shop is long gone. Maybe I should think of a trip to southern Ohio or western PA.! haha.
Many Covers
Even though I said a like a warm and cozy bedroom, I only used a sheet, a thin blanket, and a blue and white coverlet this summer. Cozy was achieved by my use of my blue and white coverlet, pillows, and flowers.
A few weeks ago, it got cold, and I pulled out my comforter and went to my percale bedding. I woke up hot and sweating, threw the comforter off, and got the blanket back out of the closet.
I now have problems with my body heat regulation and find it challenging to wear polyester type fabrics. The same holds in bed linens. I only use cotton but do not use flannel in the winter. I toss and turn, and the flannel kind of inhibits tossing and turning. I have gone through about four down comforters, trying to find one that is not too hot or not hot enough: they are mainly too hot.
I spent winter in Ireland for many years and have not yet adjusted my bed linens for the Ohio winter. It rarely frosted in Ireland, and lightweight cotton and down comforters used year-round use are easily found.
I went online a few years ago to find a light comforter for Spring. Here is a one-inch thick item I found at “Natural Comfort.” It is a down alternative material- encased in polyester, but I find it does not make me overheat. The link I have here is supposedly all cotton, and that is better.
So far, I have kept my blue and white coverlet on the bed. It is from Laura Ashly, and I am unsure of the pattern name or where I purchased it: bu, I love French blue and white Toule. This light coverlet dresses the bed nicely.
I have gone off using duvets. It wasn’t easy to keep bed comforters washed in Ireland. We only had a small front load washer, typical in the country. There wasn’t the room, nor the need with two inhabitants to purchase a huge American style washer dryer.
The washer and dryer here are big enough for the comforter. Chasing that duvet cover over the comforter is a frustrating task, so I have put away most of my duvets. I use them in my guest room and spare room bed. Those rooms get very little use now.
Winter is just around the corner and is not a favorite season.winter. A readjustment of bed linens will be required. I’ll get out the big down comforter, but instead of a duvet, I will use the blue and white coverlet to dress the bed.
Bedroom Project Update
A while back, I shared my bedroom redecorating project. Unfortunately, COVID had significantly inhibited my normal gad about weekly runs to Homegoods, Pottery Barn, and local shops. I need to make a productive trip to buy some gold frames. In that prior post, I showed you an inspiration wall I loved. Based on that photo, I want to arrange a pattern of gold frames vintage – style pictures on the bedhead wall. Unfortunately, I only have a small one so far.
I still need to change out the drapes. I want to use white sheers and perhaps a gray drape. I love blue and white but unsure about locking myself. into those colors. Finally, I want to place a tall French-style mirror on the floor. Remember, I favor a vintage Euro decor style that is not minimalistic in any way.
Meanwhile, take good care. I am sorry to be so sporadic with the posts. This COVID isolation really has me down. Hopefully, I will have the completed framed doily picture to show you soon.
Dara
