Fall entertaining with a home tour

Who says you need to be a celebrity, wealthy or Martha Stewart to have your home on display? Although you certainly can be any of those things if you like (except Martha), all that’s really required to showcase your home this fall is imagination, decor inspiration and a few friends. As the air turns crisp and the leaves change, it’s the perfect time to entertain with a fall home tour theme. Think progressive dinner meets fall flavors.

Begin planning a fall home tour by convincing a few friends to commit to hosting. Four or five homes, depending on proximity to one another, is a comfortable number. Anything less and the wow factor diminishes; anything more and logistics get complicated. Not everyone on the guest list needs to have his/her home featured on the tour.

Although food doesn’t necessarily have to be included as part of a home tour, it’s a nice enhancement, especially with fall flavors making their way to the menu. There’s nothing that mandates a full-blown meal at each home stop. The fun of this tour is it can be as simple or elaborate as desired.

EASY LIKE SUNDAY MORNING (OR AFTERNOON)

If going the easy route sounds like something that works for you and your crew, think about a Sunday afternoon home tour. Instead of a progressive dinner, plan a progressive appetizer tour.

As for how and where your home tour begins and ends — go minimalist, but mesmerizing by simply featuring one main room of the house. For a fun spin, have each host pick a different room to feature — one living room, one kitchen, one backyard — or alternately, have all homes feature the same room.

The beauty of this year’s fall decor and staging is that the focus is simple, but impactful.

“We’re seeing a lot of intermixed copper and brass elements this fall,” says Andy Glanz, creative director for Encore Creative, “as well as a trend in DIY distressed-painted containers and an overall vintage, rustic look.”

Adding color into fall decor goes a long way as well. To feature a hearth room for the tour, Glanz suggests playing with this year’s purple, yellow and orange palette.

Keep color continuous by implementing blankets and accent pillows, and don’t be afraid to mix it up. While guests get comfy amid the autumnal entertaining area, serve a fall-inspired appetizer like HGTV’s Baked Brie with Raspberry Preserves or the Pioneer Woman’s Perfect Fall Cheese Board filled to the brim with aged cheeses, a variety of olives, nuts, fruits and more. At the last home to be toured, feature a pumpkin cheesecake dip and graham crackers (anightowlblog.com).

HARVEST MOON MEETS DECOR MASTERY

For those who are staging masters, or who’d at least like to emulate them, there are several fun fall trends to try.

To create a dining room atmosphere worthy of a magazine spread, follow Ganz’s lead and draw attention to the center of the table.

“Floor-length table cloths are a thing of the past,” Ganz says, “Instead, use a wood plank as a table runner — using old barn wood.”

Atop a rustic table runner, consider serving a hearty salad like Redbook’s Glow Salad with lemon dressing, featuring roasted cauliflower, sweet potatoes, apples and grain. The next dining room stop can treat guests to a Roast Pork Loin with Rosemary Applesauce (TasteofHome.com). The last two homes can offer dessert like Apple Crisp Cookie Cups and Pumpkin Chocolate Bread Pudding (Delish.com) and then after-dinner Fall Festive-tinis with pear vodka and peach schnapps (allrecipes.com).

COLD NOVEMBER RAIN, WITH A COZY THEME

Another way to incorporate fall into a home tour is by choosing a theme and then playing it up.

“Use stacked firewood and crates to create a beerhouse atmosphere,” Glanz says.

Don’t be afraid to throw a fur or two on floor, and pull out the beer steins. Serve a stout beer alongside fall-flavored Bratwurst like Bobby Flay’s Beer-simmered Bratwurst.

“Another popular theme to incorporate this fall is to mimic a ‘winehouse’ by using stained glass windows and salvaged-barn wood,” Glanz says.

Remember too that small accents can go a long way when prepping your home for visitors.

“Use pumpkins to make a pyramid on a coffee or side table,” Glanz says, “or put out a variety of fall and winter-themed books as decor.”

This story was originally published October 26, 2016 at 12:41 PM with the headline "Fall entertaining with a home tour."