Happy Fall, Y'all! Trends at the Queen of Hearts

September brought a new season, and at the same time we celebrated the Queen of Hearts 20th anniversary. Seasons change in the blink of an eye, and years go by so fast. It seems like yesterday, Jim and I were negotiating with Ingles to take the Alpharetta location and turn it into a 33,000 square foot antique and interior mall!

From the beginning, we allowed the merchandise mix to include not only antiques, but newer merchandise as well. This has helped us survive and grow into the brand that we are - adding the Buford Queen of Hearts in 2004 and the Marietta Queen of Hearts in 2006. We put a lot of sweat and tears into this business but could not have done it without the amazing staff we’ve had along the way, the most awesome dealer-merchants ever and of course our very supportive customers that continue to return over and over to find their one of a kind unique piece(s) for their homes. We thank everyone for the continued support and dedication these last 20 years.

Now onto what is important — fall trends! Did you ever think that painted furniture would still be in the picture? Neither did we. All three locations have painting technique demonstrations each month showing the capabilities of each paint line. The trends in painted furniture tend to lean towards the grays, off whites and lighter tones. The total decorating look still seems to be in the monochromatic theme with some pops of color. Our dealer-merchants have gotten really creative in how they paint and repurpose furniture, to make sure this trend never gets stale.

The magazines are showing that “brown” furniture is still popular and can be mixed in with the painted pieces. They recommend each room have at least one very nice “antique” to ground that space. Many painted pieces leave the tops as finished wood showing the grain, therefore allowing one to appreciate the patina as well as the painted area.

On the horizon, it seems that some muted shades of blue are returning to the decorating scene. Who doesn’t love blue? Blue is such a soothing color and can be mixed in with other colors to give everyone the peace they deserve. Navy is a great color for these cooler seasons, gentle on the eye yet moody enough to be perfect for the winter months – you’re going to see it everywhere.

Right now the Queen is seeing lots of sideboards/servers go out the door — the holidays are right around the corner and the dining room better look GOOD. As always the Queen of Hearts is known for her furniture — farm tables, desks, chest of drawers, coffee tables and side tables are selling right now. Another hot item, and way to freshen up a room very easily, is oversized original artwork. All three Queen locations have great artwork from original, local artists.

Even though the south tends to stay a little warmer the first couple of months of fall, we see that Queen customers are ready and purchasing very pretty fall decor — velvet pumpkins, fall colored serving pieces, dough bowls and painted pumpkins in colors other than orange. How fun!

We hope to see you soon at the Queen of Hearts as we get ready to head into the holiday season, and hope you'll join us for our Holiday Open House in November. Happy fall, y’all!

Stacey Anderson is the owner of the Queen of Hearts Antiques & Interiors in Alpharetta, Buford & Marietta with her husband, Jim.

Decorating your Home for FALL! Guest blog from A Bit of Décor

When we think about decorating our homes for fall, we think of heavy fabrics and darker colors. When we come out of the summer heat, we want to cool down; we want to change things up.  Don’t get me wrong we love the summer and the bright colors, but there is something about fall that makes us want to change it up and bring that sense of home and comfort back into our lives. So what do we do it? How can we make our homes reflect ourselves and the themes for the fall?

Darker fall colors can be added in the throws or pillows that you use, or through decorative accents you might add to your home. Throws can add texture through knits like cable, faux fur, or even a depth in the nap of the fabric. A pillow can be something that you can throw on a chair, or on the floor even, close to the fireplace. Look at the basic colors that you have throughout your home, and pick a darker color to coordinate with those colors in your rooms. Many decorate or update just a room, or a few rooms, you can easily do it throughout your whole home. Think about it – add a throw to your bed, or the chair in your room, or even in your home office. Just add one ruby red, mustard yellow, bright orange or deep purple fall colored pillow or set of decorative items on your end tables.

Many of the decorating books and magazines serve up examples with each season. There are always the predictable, but use your creative side and sense of whimsy to update your home. It doesn’t have to be expensive or difficult to do, especially if you know what you're looking for. Here are some ideas:

Better Homes and Gardens presents this view with the addition of fabrics, throws and pillows.

Adding just a fall themed pillow will add that sense of whimsy and accent for your home. Check out the dark colored ruby red chair and we LOVE this acorn pillow!

A Bit of Décor at Queen of Hearts – Antiques & Interiors in Marietta, GA offers a variety of throws, accents, along with pillows and general ideas to help with your decorating for fall.  All of the dealers at Queen of Hearts have many things available as well to accent your home for fall and the upcoming holidays - come in and take a look!

This blog was written by dealer Amy Ahrens, of A Bit of Décor (WACL) on Calhoun St in Marietta - like her page on Facebook to see all of her fabulous finds!

https://www.facebook.com/ABitOfDecoQueenofHeartsMariettaWACL