Victoria Autumn Bliss 2018

After an exceptionally hot and humid summer, I am ready to welcome the cooling breezes of autumn and make some home décor changes to signal the changing of seasons. My favorite reminder of fall is the bounty of brilliant orange pumpkins I find at country markets and in my neighborhood grocery. These showy orbs bring a happy touch to doorways, porches, and patios, as well as to interiors. Newer varieties, such as the white or Ghost pumpkin, offer another way to have a touch of autumn indoors, in colors ranging from white to soft blues and greens. We have included in this issue several stories with visual appeal to inspire your seasonal décor updates. Over the past few years, I have seen a shift in how we select and prepare food.…

Shapely gourds remain a symbol of abundance and a vivid representation of fall’s artistry. Nearly as enjoyable as gathering treasures from the fields of a local provider, such as Gordon Skagit Farms in Mount Vernon, Washington, is taking these riches home to organize in stunning seasonal displays. RADIANT SPLENDOR SOFTLY SHADED…

The telltale light is the first hint of autumn’s imminent approach. Suddenly, during the day, it sparkles before bursting into flames, then is followed by embers at dusk. If I had no calendar—even if no one reminded me of dates, commitments, and appointments—when the air finally cleared, I would sense fall’s arrival. Meanwhile, the climate sends other signals of the seasonal change. Some messages are subtle, like dawn’s heavy dew settling on the garden. But gradually, those cues become unmistakable calls to action. The chill arrives earlier every evening until, if I put my nose to the air in October, there’s a slight hint of wood smoke somewhere in the neighborhood. I walk more briskly; I add layers; I look more and more like a sheep. That’s how I know that…

Although Kathryn Long, of Ambiance Interiors, has been designing exquisite spaces for more than three decades, her initial, natural affinity for the profession revealed itself at a very young age. When she was four, a Christmas Day fire destroyed her home, and the only thing the firemen were able to salvage was her bag of building blocks. After the family moved to her grandfather’s rambling farmhouse, she continually refigured those blocks into dwellings for her china dolls. Kathryn’s mother soon noticed her daughter was also drawing house plans on the backs of church bulletins and promptly bought the budding artist a ream of paper so she could scribble to her heart’s content. Throughout her childhood, the young girl accompanied her mother to estate auctions all over Asheville, North Carolina. “We would…

When Linda Porche moved several hours away from her former hometown, the sense of casual elegance she had come to embrace in New Orleans seemed to settle into the bones of her new house. Creamy neutrals—a palette she calls café au lait—showcase furnishings curated during three decades in Louisiana.…

When British potter Charles James Mason patented his formula for a type of stoneware made with the mineral feldspar in 1813, he christened it ironstone, though in truth, it contained no iron. Whether he chose that name to confound his competitors or it was simply a savvy marketing technique to underscore his product’s durability is unknown. What is known is that it quickly became a much-loved alternative to the more delicate porcelain and bone china. Mason’s was just one of several potteries to manufacture ironstone. Although brands sold in England typically bore transfer designs, those available in North America, Australia, and the European continent were left unadorned, giving them versatility in addition to their strength. In the United States, pioneers and rural families in particular appreciated these sturdy, chip-resistant goods. Often…