this year's halloween tablescape

Why do I love Halloween so much?

I think it’s because I have the happiest of memories from my childhood filled with creating costumes, carving jack o’lanterns and heading out on cold nights to trick-or-treat to our hearts content.

I still can’t resist all the fun of decorating for Halloween. 

It’s fun setting a themed table for my family… this year’s tablescape features my favorite black and white transferware plates. They both feature birds with a floral motif, so why not add a few black birds to the centerpiece?

Elegant with just a touch of spooky is always my m.o. so this vintage looking bird cage from Oriental Trading was the perfect focal point for the center of the table. 

I just pulled some of my favorite pieces out and reimagined them in a new light. You may remember some of these accessories like the black wine glasses from last year’s Halloween table.  

To add a touch more drama, I connected all the elements with twigs, green moss and spooky cheese cloth, also from Oriental Trading. I like the cheese cloth better than spider webbing because you get a neater overall appearance.

A little bit of orange was added with napkins and glass votives. Black and white all over is lovely, but this year I felt like the table needed a pop of color.

The little crow looks quite comfortable in his mossy nest. 

Transferware plates are my favorite table top accent and these black and white patterns offer the perfect juxtaposition with all the rustic and slightly eerie holiday décor. 

Candlelight is essential for Halloween and these cheery votives evoke thoughts of orange pumpkins and jack o’lanterns.

Another feathered friend stands guard over the stash of white and glittery gold pumpkins.

These glittered pumpkin votives will make a perfect transition into my Thanksgiving décor.

It’s just a casual setting for four, and now I have to work on my menu…

A little roast chicken would be perfect for the night and maybe some roasted butternut squash soup. My favorite recipe is from Michael Chiarello, and includes cinnamon, coriander, molasses, sage and balsamic vinegar. I’ve made it several times and it’s amazing!!  

Halloween dinner will be tonight because 

tomorrow is reserved for lots and candy and pizza! 

ciao! fabiana

And it all came together like this:

Black Wine Glasses:  Oriental Trading

Orange Glass Votives:  Oriental Trading

Dinner Plates:  Home Goods

Bread Plates:  vintage Wedgwood

White Salad Plates:  Home Goods

Orange Napkins:  World Market

Hammered Silverware:  World Market

Spooky Cheese Cloth: Oriental Trading

Green Moss: Oriental Trading

Bird Cage:  Oriental Trading

Black Crows: Dollar Tree

Bundle of Twigs: Oriental Trading

Glitter Pumpkin Votives: Oriental Trading

Glitter Spiders:  Dollar Tree

Spider Web Runner: Home Goods

Round Placemats:  Ikea

All Pumpkins: Roger’s Gardens

Riviera Side Chairs:  Serena & Lily

Thank you to Oriental Trading for sending me these products to review. 

The opinions expressed in this post are truly my own.

witchy storybook style

A little Disneyland vibe

and a little touch of Grimm’s Fairy Tales

just about sums up this whimsical

type of architecture called Storybook Style.

You may recognize this iconic Witch’s House

from the corner of Walden and Carmelita in Beverly Hills,

It's the crème de la crème of Storybook architecture!

For decades, the Beverly Hills Witch’s House,

aka the Spadena House has provided amazing

memories for all the children trick-or-treating

in the neighborhood.

Who can resist this quirky style,

especially on the spookiest night of the year?!

This fun style of architecture is sprinkled

throughout Beverly Hills, Los Angeles and

even Laguna Beach.  

Here are a few fun details

of my favorite storybook homes

 in Laguna Beach.

Notice the old-fashioned doors

and charming diamond pane windows.

This little cottage has recently been lovingly restored.

Don't you love the pop of cobalt blue 

and all the pretty purple blooms?

This home is surrounded by fanciful

butterfly bush, deep purple sage and lavender.

Here’s Orange County’s version of a witch’s house.

It's not as prominent as the the one in Beverly Hills,

but it is quite popular in North Laguna.

Built in the 1920's, this home has eerily

tall gables, crooked stone steps and even had 

a large boiling cauldron that originally hung over the

huge stone fireplace. 

You can see the influence of this style

in the quaint details of the homes 

surrounding the Laguna witch’s house.

And, if you want to explore this more,
 here's a fun book that has lots of storybook design inspiration, 
including my favorite, the Spadena House!

ciao! fabiana

Spadena House photos are from Yelp

a little peek at the latest tablescape

That spooky time of the year has arrived…

and, I had to do it. I had to bring in a little bit of orange to my Halloween table this year. Usually, I like to keep it black and white with a hint of green, but this go around, my vintage black and white transferware plates just needed a little bit of a boost.

Do you have any themed Halloween

plans for the weekend?

If so, tell me all about it…

ciao! fabiana

pumpkin lovin' by garden studio design

Isn’t this entryway so elegant?

My design crush this week is

Chris from Garden Studio Design,

who styled these pretty vignettes.

She’s always a fixture on the

Corona del Mar Home Tour and this year

she really knocked it out of the park

with these copper dipped pumpkins!

Not one hint of orange here,

just white, copper and that

 pretty grey-green pumpkin color!

These colors look pretty amazing with

the pretty landscaping Chris

designed for this gorgeous farmhouse.

Peace and harmony in the garden,

for sure!

ciao! fabiana

photo credit: Garden Studio Design on Instagram

cdm home tour today !

It was a HOT one today!

The Santa Ana winds are blowin’, 

it's so sunny and

 the air is super dry...

It reminds me of one of my favorite movies, The Holiday,

starring Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet.

Have you seen it?  J

Well, that didn’t put a damper on the

Corona del Mar Home Tour today!

Here’s another peek at some of the homes

from some of my favorite designers on Instagram…

ciao! fabiana

photo credit:

1. Studio McGee

2. Tru Studio

3 .Adrienne Brandes

4. Brooke Wagner Design

5. Brandon Architects

6. Adrienne Brandes

7. Adrienne Brandes

8. Barclay Butera

9. KRS Development

10. Brandon Architects

11. Brooke Wagner Design
12. Pottery Barn South Coast Plaza
13. The Homely

more halloween porches

Oh, how I love my neighborhood!

It’s quite eclectic. 

I live in a community where each house

is pretty unique, built in different decades

by different builders and it gives it that

quirky, unique quality that I love.

So during the holidays,

it’s always fun to see how my neighbors express

themselves through décor.

There are lots of spooky front yards around,

but I’ve chosen the more simple and elegant ones

to share with you all today!

Yes, all these homes are quite traditional,

but they all have their own style as well,

don’t they?

You may recognize a couple of these homes,

because I kind of have a little “crush” on them!

There's nothing wrong with that, right?

My love for architecture and design 

runs deep, lol.

There’s always a house or two

that really stand out and

set the tone for the neighborhood,

don’t you think? 

ciao! fabiana