Did you feel the chill in the air this morning? Here in our neck of the woods it was in the very low 50’s… wonderfully cool and chilly 50’s. Sleep with the window open and pull up all the covers 50’s. Sipping spiced chai teas 50’s. Yummy break from the heat and humidity 50’s. And it sure got me thinking about and craving pumpkin.
No… not these kind of pumpkins…
and not these…
or this…
and not this…
and not that…
or this…
and not those…
And not even my favorite wool pumpkin runner…
but a very different kind of pumpkin. But more about that in a minute!
First I wanted to show you where Audrey and I went the other day. After 4 days of very much needed rain, the clouds parted and it was a perfect day for an outing. Our shopping buddy Bonnie couldn’t make it so I drove north and picked up Audrey … at her awesome and very prim home.This was my first time inside and I am kicking myself for not taking my camera in with me. It is chock full of eye candy! You can get a few glimpses into her home on her blog Audrey’s Prim World if you click ~HERE~. You have to check out the gorgeous stenciling she just did!! So after I drooled a bit, off we went with our lunches in tow.
Our first stop was in Baldwinville, MA at Primitives Fore Ewe. It is a really cute little store and it was all decked out for fall including mums outside…
and pumpkins and crows inside.
There are lamps and lighting, rugs and placemats…
and pillows and dolls and bears and other hand mades…
as well as birdhouse, bowls, thermostat covers, 
autumn decor,
gorgeous textiles,
and even some Christmas goodies!
To find our more about Primitives Fore Ewe, just click on the name and please tell Cindy and Tracy I sent you!
Up next was Country Mischief in Templeton, MA. I have blogged about it several times because it is a great place to shop. It is HUGE and full of prim and colonial goodies. It is housed in a 19 room home built in 1770! These pictures I snagged from their website:
It is also home to the Mischievous Chef, a wonderful restaurant. In the cooler months, you can eat inside by the fire and in nicer months the huge screened in porch, shaded by old trees is the perfect place for a meal. After Audrey and I explored every room, the smells coming from the kitchen finally got to us and we decided that despite having packed lunch, we just had to eat there. It was gorgeous on the porch and we both thoroughly enjoyed one of the specials, a spinach, red pepper and parmesan quiche. Now where is Bonnie when we needed her?? No pictures of the meal folks, sorry! But trust me, it was delightful! To find out more about Country Mischief and the Mischievous Chef, just click ~HERE~.
With full tummies we headed off to another quaint little store in a nearby town but unfortunately, it was quite empty. I had been there several times with Jill and we always found something to take away. Not this time. It was really quite sad. So we called it a day and headed for home!
All of my goodies came from our first stop. I needed a new rug in the kitchen by the sink and found one to match the other by the back door.
And I got a nice homespun towel for the bathroom.
I love the coloring – sort of a mushroom and dark mustard plaid.
And I found a really cute little iron candle holder.
It was just the small touch I needed here.
But more important than coming home with goodies, was time spent with a good friend!
Okay, back to craving pumpkin! One of the benefits of doing all these photo shoots is that we get to see a wide variety of styles of prim decor and all that goes into a prim home. And they can be a source of much inspiration. And that is what brings me to pumpkin. We have photographed a few REALLY nice pieces of furniture painted in a pumpkin color. I have been so drawn to them! I have seen pieces painted in shades of pumpkin in shops for years but seeing them in use really has inspired me. Here are snippets of two very different styles and in very different shades of pumpkin. 
They each inspired me get brave and not stick to my usual black, tan, red and mustard shades and I decided to add some pumpkin to our home and that is what I did this weekend. I started with this piece from the master bathroom. I got it a few years ago at Apple Hill in NH.
It was fine the way it is but I wanted a change so here it is now along with a pumpkin colored towel I bought last year that I used as a color match. Not bad!
I love how it looks with my redware pieces. The paint I used was Anita’s Acrylic Craft paint in Terra Cotta. It reminds me of the back of my better redware pieces and so I thought that was a good place to start. After sanding and distressing it, I went over it with the toner from Caromal Colours paint and then gave it a top coat of a Minwax Satin finish polyacrylic.
Depending on the lighting, it looks a little more like salmon than pumpkin so I decided to try another small piece in another shade of pumpkin.
This piece in my kitchen already had a textured aged finish but I thought it too would look great in pumpkin.
This time I took the Terra Cotta paint and added a little of a dark orange, barn red and black to it and tested it on the back.
I actually like this color better than the Terra Cotta alone.
I finished this the same way.
And just for comparison sake, here they are, side by side…
So what do YOU think? Are you craving pumpkin too? are you brave enough to step outside your comfort zone and add a new color to your home?
I think I am going to try one more shade next time. Something a bit more ‘golden pumpkin.” After all, it is just paint and if I don’t like it, I can paint it again, right? I have a feeling I'll be adding touches of it to every room in the house soon. And who knows, maybe after you see full size photo’s of those inspiration pieces in future issues of A Primitive Place magazine, you will be as intrigued as I was and maybe together we will start a whole new trend in prim decor! Now if I can find some year round textiles in pumpkin, I’ll be all set!
I have also been painting another piece – a much bigger piece and no, not in pumpkin this time. I am using the Caromal Colours line of paints for this piece. I’ll have that to show you the next time I come back!
To each of my 720 followers and those who stop by just because, thanks so much for making time to make Behind My Red Door part of your day!
Until next time, hugs, Grammee Linda
