Bring Autumn’s Beauty Home

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Life on Nantucket is a never-ending tapestry of natural beauty. This island is where I find joy in the simple rhythms of the day, as well as much of my design inspiration. Although many people come here for the summer, with the beautiful beaches, warm evenings and the whirl of social life, there is just as much to inspire us when the weather turns colder and the leaves have fallen.

 

My husband, Frank, with G.G. at the Farmers’ Market

 

Come along with me  as I share how I find comfort and beauty as the seasons change!

The first place I go: the island’s Farmers Market, sponsored by Sustainable Nantucket. It had been a long, quiet, and lonely road through the pandemic, so the joy I felt being with the artists, craftspeople and island farmers at the Saturday markets this summer was indescribable. (Luckily, there are a few more days this year to gather: for the Downtown Holiday Market on November 25 and 26, and then the Farmers and Artisans Market during Christmas Stroll on December 2 and 3. )

 

The colors of autumn!

 

Here’s what I love: the way original artwork and crafts combine with fresh food and locally-grown produce to bring people together! That combination also brings fresh ideas, and a new way of seeing. Fall changes the slant of morning sunlight, and breathes its frosty breath on the last of the autumn roses. I rush home from the Farmers Market with an arm full of bright red and orange tomatoes, eager to lay a fire and light candles.

 

“Bees do have a smell, you know, and if they don’t, they should, for their feet are dusted with the spices from a million flowers.”–Ray Bradbury

 

It’s time to say goodbye to the bees until spring, but the market offers a final glimpse of a busy hive. Nantucket is home to many island beekeepers, with Sustainable Nantucket offering a beekeeping mentoring program for novices. I love bees, birds, and butterflies, and have long forbidden the use of pesticides and fungicides on my lawn and garden. A connection with nature is vital to our health.

Watching the busy little gold and brown insects gives me other ideas for autumn-warmed rooms. Inspiration can come in the tiniest of ways!

 

 

The local artists and craftspeople find natural beauty to inspire them, too.  Nantucket’s unique whaling history and the salty ocean waves that surround the island bring internationally famous artists to our shores as well.

 

From the mid 1700s to the late 1830s, Nantucket was the whaling capital of the world.

 

In the waters surrounding Nantucket, you can find Humpback whales, Finback whales, Minke whales, Pilot whales, and the endangered Right whales.

 

Fresh Flowers!

 

I believe in  bringing the patterns and textures of nature inside. As a sustainable LEED-accredited Professional with a specialty in Interior Design and Construction (LEED AP + ID + C),  I love fresh flowers, nature-based artwork, and natural fabrics.

Each of us will look at the jewel-tones of autumn and find a unique way to bring the outdoors in. “The question is not what you look at,” said Henry David Thoreau, “but what you see.”

I agree!

 

The painting, “Finches–Right Eye,” is by the American Neo-Expressionist painter Hunt Slonem.

 

You can nestle right in to sumptuous hues such as persimmon, spice, pumpkin, sage, and olive in fall. Dujardin’s Senior Designer Price Connors and I used those rich colors in our design work at the historic Thomas Starbuck House, brought to Nantucket’s Milk Street by barge in 1790.

 

The dining room retains its original cooking fireplace with two ovens, considered one of the finest examples of its kind in New England.

 

Warmer hues were  perfect for this historic home, built when earthy colors such as stone, ocher, red, pumpkin and sage were widely in use.

Poet A.D. Posey said, ” Life is a sea of vibrant color. Jump in.”

Why not?

 

The paneled wall surrounding the fireplace is painted with a Farrow & Ball paint that reflects the traditional colors of the period.

 

You’ll want to place a soft blanket where you sip your morning coffee, with a throw pillow that brings a touch of nature indoors . Little details are not little at all.

On the contrary, as the painter N.C. Wyeth said, “To elevate the little into the great is genius.”

 

A contemporary version of a Hepplewhite sofa is a graceful addition to the parlor.

 

The last fall touch takes place in the kitchen with a pot of soup simmering on the stove,  Helen Keller told us that “scent is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands of miles and all the years you have lived.”

Do you have a favorite recipe from your grandmother? If not, I’ll share mine!

 

 

My favorite Butternut Squash Soup recipe is actually one of Ina Garten’s.

 

Old school green bean casserole

 

And since I’m originally from South Carolina,  side dishes from Southern Living really resonate with me! My favorite is the Old School Green Bean Casserole, made with canned fried onion rings. My mother made it even simpler with Campbells’ Cream of Mushroom Soup. Here’s the recipe! 

 

 

My other favorite is the Sweet Potato Casserole--we always had it with marshmallows!

 

 

And Price loves the Corn Pudding, and makes it every Thanksgiving!

 

 

Wherever you find yourself this fall, remember that your life is enriched when you attend to the small details and the little moments. I wish you all the comforts of home as you celebrate the season.

Watch for my new blogs once a month, and Instagram (@dujardin_design) and Facebook (@DujardinDesign) posts on Thursdays. Once a season I send a newsy email letter to you, too! Be sure to subscribe to get all the best design advice and beautiful inspiration through photos of our projects. I want all of us to live in happy, well-designed, healthy homes!

 

Embracing the Autumnal Earth

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autumn in ct

 

Autumn is a second spring, when every leaf’s a flower.–Albert Camus

 

farm 2

 

God gave all men all earth to love, but since our hearts are small, ordained for each, one spot should prove beloved overall.–Rudyard Kipling

 

 

 

 

 

For how many people do you think might yet stand on this planet before the sun grows cold?  That’s the responsibility we hold in our hands.–David R. Brower

 

 

 

 

We need the tonic of wilderness; to wade sometimes in marshes where the bittern and the meadow-hen lurk, and hear the booming of the snipe.–Henry David Thoreau

 

 

 

 

How many hearts with warm red blood in them are beating under cover of the woods, and how many teeth and eyes are shining!  A multitude of animal people, intimately related to us, but of whose lives we know almost nothing, are as busy about their own affairs as we are about ours.–John Muir

 

 

 

 

There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart…pursue those.–Michael Nolan

 

vidal with pumpkins better version

 

Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see. –Neil Postman

 

The photo above is of my husband Frank’s grandson, Vidal, and the light of my life.  We try to spend as much time as we can with Vidal outdoors, as I am a believer in the Children and Nature Movement, chaired by Richard Louv, the author of Last Child in the Woods. Sometimes called Leave No Child Inside, you can learn how to start your own movement here. 

If there are children in your life, I urge you to read Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder.  I promise you that you will be inspired to make more room for nature in your every day life, and in the lives of the children you love.

 

Autumn in Connecticut

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photo courtesy of Michael Passarello

 Dear Readers,

This post was written before the devastation of Hurricane Sandy across the northeast.  The beauty of fall is one side of the story; storms and dangerous weather are also part of life in Connecticut, and throughout the world.  I invite you to join me in a look at the gentler side of Autumn, even as we keep those still without power or homes in our thoughts.  I’m making a donation to the Red Cross today.  I encourage you to do whatever you can to help restore our communities.

Autumn is such a beautiful season.  My friend Michael Passarello sent me some wonderful pictures he’s taken, and it inspired me to share the beauty of Connecticut with all of you. Come join me on a virtual walk through the countryside I love, and let’s enjoy the beauty of a Fall day together!

 

japanese maple leaves; photo courtesy of Michael Passarello

“Autumn is a second spring, where every leaf is a flower.”  –Albert Camus

autumn hydrangea; photo courtesy of Michael Passarello

“Autumn, the year’s last, loveliest smile.”–William Cullen Bryant

stewarthia; photo courtesy of Michael Passarello

“Autumn burned brightly, a running flame through the mountains, a torch flung to the trees.”  –Faith Baldwin

photo courtesy of Michael Passarello

“Autumn is the mellower season, and what we lose in flowers, we more than gain in fruits.”–Samuel Butler

photo courtesy of Michael Passarello

“The morns are meeker than they were, the nuts are getting brown; the berry’s cheek is plumper, the rose is out of town.  The maple wears a gayer scarf, the field a scarlet gown.  Lest I should be old-fashioned, I’ll put a trinket on.” –Emily Dickinsen

“Delicious autumn!  My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.”–George Eliot

You can’t celebrate autumn without enjoying its wonderful foods.  My husband, Frank, makes a delicious pumpkin tart:  it’s gluten free, sugar free and lactose-free!

  Here’s the recipe.  We call it:

Frank’s Amazing Gluten-free, Lactose-free, Sugar-free Pumpkin Tart

(that makes its own crust!)

Do it all right in the blender!

First of all, all ingredients must be organic.  No pie crust needed – it makes its own thin crust – more like a souffle.

Place in blender:

  • 1 can 16 oz. organic pumpkin
  • 1 can or 13oz. either organic unsweetened evaporated milk or organic Rice Milk or Almond Milk (Amasake) – each one gives a different consistency
  • 2 organic eggs
  • 2 teaspoons organic vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons organic pumpkin pie s pice mix (or to taste)
  • 1/4 cup sugar OR 2 teaspoons local organic honey –which we prefer (or to taste)
  • 1/2 cup of organic rice flour

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Lightly butter a pie plate. (We use Earth Balance–an organic buttery spread that’s gluten-free, vegan, lactose-free, expeller-pressed oil)

Put all the above ingredients –except rice flour– in a blender.  Blend until smooth.  Gradually add 1/2 cup of organic rice flour to the blender mix until absorbed – can add more if consistency is too thin.  Pour into pie plate.  Bake until golden brown and knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 50 – 55 minutes.  Refrigerate any remaining pie.

Enjoy!

 

Photo credit:  Michael Passarello is a writer, photographer, greenhouse consultant and all around nice guy, living in the woods in North Stamford in Hedy Lamar’s old house.  You can reach Michael to inquire about his photographs at zylvert@gmail.com.

Thank you, Michael!