Halloween is over and the holidays are right around the corner, but don’t get those Christmas decorations out yet. Ben Lee, owner of Benjamin’s Flowers & Gifts, suggests not overlooking autumn and Thanksgiving — his favorite time of the year.
“Fall is my favorite season because of all of the colors,” Ben said. “I like a lot of orange, rust and gold colors. The tones are saturated and rich and pretty.”
He said, for many homes, it’s easy to incorporate fall and autumn colors because people already have many of those colors in their homes.
“At my house, I could have autumn out all of the time and it would match everything in my house,” Ben said.
As a business owner, he has noticed that people tend to overlook the Thanksgiving holiday and fall decorating, and jump right into Christmas after Halloween.
“The day after Halloween, everyone takes their Halloween stuff down and puts up their holiday decorations,” he said.
To follow the business trend, starting in June, Ben starts to put up the fall décor he has for sale in his shop at 43 Reilly Road. Fabric pumpkins, autumn-scented candles, fall pillows, fall wreaths and more begin to fill his shelves.
“I think it’s easier to decorate at fall because there are many more options with pumpkins and leaves,” he said. “After the leaves turn colors, you can cut holes in them and add them to arrangements.”
Ben has handmade all of the wreaths that are for sale in his shop. He incorporates, what he considers fall flowers — sunflowers, black-eyed Susan, marigolds, goldenrod and more — into them. He also recommends removing the tops of pumpkins that didn’t get carved for Halloween and putting mums or other potted plants in them. Look for mums, pumpkins and gourds at the Franklin County Farmers Market and Happy Jack’s Farm. He also sells mums at his shop.
The most important thing Ben says about decorating your home, in general, is not to overthink it.
“Always in the past, there were rules on decorating,” he said. “All of that is kind of gone now. Everyone has their own personal taste.”
Ben offers the following fall decorating tips:
• Pillows always add a good touch to a home. They’re not expensive. You can bag them up and store them at the end of the season.
• Candles and autumn smells and scents are good additions to your home in the fall.
Ben sells many scented candles at his store including harvest pumpkin, southern pecan, harvest grains and more.
• Decorate fireplace mantels and table arrangements using fall-colored candleholders and candles of varying heights. You can also add pumpkins, leaves and Indian corn. Don’t forget to add feathers and turkey décor items.
• Decorate the outside of your home with wreaths, stalks of corn and hay bales for props. Lanterns with candles in them can hang or sit on a patio to add interesting lighting.
• Change out your patio furniture coverings with autumn colors or add autumn pillows. Throw an afghan over a chair.
• If you’re interested in recycling items in your home into fall décor, one tip is to gather old bottles or bourbon bottles and spray paint them different colors.
Ben also says you don’t have to spend a lot of money on fall home décor. He recommends checking out New Leash on Life for seasonal items.
“You don’t have to spend a lot of money on things,” he said.
However, if you do spend a lot of money on a décor item, take care of it.
“I find if you purchase quality nice items and take care of them, they will hold up for a long time,” he said.
Benjamin’s Flowers & Gifts is located at 43 Reilly Road in Frankfort. Store hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. The store is closed on Saturday and Sunday.
