Magnolia Cottage: 2019 Fall Home Tour

Since next week I’ll be sharing our 2021 fall home tour (and of course we not only live in a different house now but a different country), I thought it would be fun to look back on my tour from two years ago. Enjoy!

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It’s fall home tour time, friends! Today I’m joining Marty at A Stroll Thru Life and 29 other talented bloggers; we participate in Marty’s tour each season and it’s always one of our favorite series.

I will admit that I’ve been stressing a bit about sharing my tour since we’ve only lived in Magnolia Cottage for just under eight weeks now and I’ve spent more time painting than decorating (I’ve painted eight rooms, the steps, and the front porch–phew!). Plus it’s still in the mid-90’s here in North Carolina, so the bottom line is please be gentle with me.

If you’re visiting from Heather at Southern State of Mind, welcome. We’ve known and loved Heather for years and I love following along as she makes their beautiful new house her own.

For those of you who are new here, my name is Christy and I blog with my dear friend and former college roommate, Amy. As I mentioned above, I’m currently in North Carolina and she lives in Virginia. My husband has been in the Army for 28 years and so we move a lot–so it’s a good thing that I love to decorate and DIY. You can read more about us and our families HERE.

Our little Magnolia Cottage is about 100 years old and located in the sweet small town of Southern Pines, North Carolina.

We’re renting since we don’t know how much longer we’ll be here, but the homeowner is very supportive of all of my DIY’ing {you can see what the interior looked like when we moved in here}. Older homes are so charming–and quirky–and we’re really enjoying our time here. It reminds me of our original 11 Magnolia Lane house , although this one is smaller.

It’s still summer on the front porch, but I’ve added a few small fall touches like a pillow for the porch swing and some lanterns and ceramic pumpkins.

{See more of the front porch here}

We come and go at the side porch that opens into the kitchen; this is rescue kitty Brontë’s favorite outdoor napping spot (isn’t her coloring perfect for fall?).

Our living room and breakfast room are my favorites right now; I do most of my work at our antique pedestal table.

{You can see more of the breakfast room here}

The decorations in the living room are minimal; I just added a few velvet pumpkins.

{ Vintage blue velvet chair }

Random aside: would you believe that the painting above the fireplace is actually our TV? It displays art when it’s not on, and I love it so much. I seem to be choosing a lot of Monet’s paintings recently, but there are dozens to choose from, or you can upload your own photos.

| Art Frame TV |

I almost always have lilies in this vase. While they don’t really say “fall,” they’re in season right now, they smell amazing, and they were in my bridal bouquet when I got married (also in September).

{You can see more of the living room here}

I have to admit that I didn’t do a wide shot of the living room because it’s in a state of upheaval right now. I just ordered two new chairs and am working the space, so stay tuned for another update next week.

So far, all that I’ve shared of our dining room is the stairway, but it’s worth another look because this is what it looked like when we moved in:

I spent quite a bit of time painting those steps! This is what they look like now:

I won’t lie, I’m thrilled with how they turned out.

{Painted table and monogrammed chairs}

In the dining room, I added some dried lavender and burlap pumpkins above the china-cabinet-turned-bar.

Last weekend, I painted the upstairs hall and stairwell and it looks so much better; paint always works miracles.

The kind of sad little plant is my son’s; it’s supposed to live in his dorm room but he forgot it when he went back to school so I’m taking care of it in the meantime.

The bedrooms aren’t quite ready to share, but we’re getting there, slowly but surely.

If you’d like to see more of Magnolia Cottage (plus Amy’s beautiful Virginia craftsman house), we’d love to have you subscribe to our Sunday newsletter. You can sign up here:

Now, be sure to head over to visit Deb at Seeking Lavender Lane. She’s incredibly talented and you will love her twist on fall decor. Here’s the lineup for the full week; if you need fall inspiration, you’ll certainly find it here!

2019 Fall Home Tour Monday Lineup