A fresh, artistic twist on painted pumpkins that works for your home, your hostess gifts, and yes — even your college kid’s dorm room. Painting pumpkins in fun festive colors makes fall feel a little more intentional, more personal. Not the simple, solid-colored kind — though those have their place — but the layered, artful, genuinely beautiful kind that makes people stop and ask where you got it. The kind that looks like it came from a boutique shop but was actually made at your own kitchen table on a Sunday afternoon with good music playing and a glass of something warm nearby. That is exactly what we have been up to getting ready for fall Shookhill, and we are so excited to share it with you. We are calling them Color Play Pumpkins — and once you see how they come together, we think you are going to want to make a whole batch of your own. What Are Color Play Pumpkins? The concept is beautifully simple. Using oil-based paint in a coordinating palette — we started with a range of blues, from deep navy to cobalt to bright sky blue and soft white — you layer short, confident brushstrokes across the surface of a pumpkin in a patchwork, mosaic-like pattern. Working in stages and letting each layer dry completely between applications, you build up an all-over design that is rich in color, depth, and texture. The finished result looks like a painted tile mosaic, a watercolor study, or a piece of folk art, depending on how you approach your colors and brushwork. The variation in shade — the way a deep navy sits next to a bright turquoise sits next to a pale powder blue sits next to a stroke of white — is what gives these pumpkins their extraordinary depth. No two look exactly alike, which is part of what makes them so special. Think of it as color blocking taken to its most playful, expressive extreme — hence the name. Supplies You Will Need mini faux pumpkins oil based paint set gold paint for pumpkin stem mineral spirits (for thinning and cleaning) flat 1/4 inch paint brushes Why Oil-Based Paint Is the Secret We specifically chose oil-based paint for this project, and it makes all the difference. Oil paint has a richness and opacity that water-based craft paints simply cannot replicate — it goes on smoothly, layers beautifully, and dries with a slight sheen that gives the finished pumpkin a polished, almost ceramic quality. The drying time between layers, which might feel like a slight inconvenience, is actually a feature rather than a bug — it gives you time to step back, evaluate the coverage, and decide where the next layer wants to go. Working in stages is what creates that gorgeous depth of color. A few things to keep in mind when working with oil-based paint on pumpkins: Use natural bristle brushes for the smoothest application and the most satisfying stroke marks. Work on a surface you don’t mind getting paint on — we love a sheet of parchment paper or a silicone mat. Allow each stage to dry fully before adding the next layer. Patience here is everything. Work in a well-ventilated space — oil paint has more fumes than craft paint, so open a window or work outside if the weather allows. Clean your brushes with mineral spirits or paint thinner between colors and at the end of each session. Oil-based paint takes days to fully The Step-By-Step Process Step 1: Choose Your Color Story This is perhaps the most enjoyable part. Decide on your palette before you begin. We love a monochromatic approach — all the blues, all the greens, all the warm autumn tones — because the variation within a single color family is endlessly interesting. You could also work with complementary colors, collegiate colors, or a classic fall palette of burnt orange, rust, deep red, and gold. The pumpkin is your canvas. Choose colors that make you happy. Step 2: Prep Your Pumpkin Wipe the pumpkin clean and allow it to dry completely. If you want a base coat — as we did on our cream-and-blue version — paint the entire pumpkin in your lightest color first and let it dry fully before beginning the mosaic pattern. This gives you a beautiful, clean foundation for the brushstrokes to sit against. Step 3: Begin Your Brushstrokes Using a flat or filbert brush, apply short, confident rectangular or square strokes of paint in your darkest shade first. Don’t overthink the placement — part of the beauty of this technique is its organic, slightly imperfect quality. Leave gaps between the strokes at this stage. Step 4: Layer and Build Once the first layer is dry, go back in with your mid-tones, filling some of the gaps and slightly overlapping the existing strokes in places. This is where the mosaic quality begins to emerge. Continue adding lighter shades, building coverage and depth until you are satisfied with the overall look. Some areas will have more layering and some will have less — this is exactly right. Step 5: Fill to Your Satisfaction Continue working in stages, letting each application dry before adding more, until you have the coverage and color balance you love. There are no rules here — some of our pumpkins are almost fully covered and some have the base color peeking through in places. Both are beautiful. Step 6: Finish the Stem Once your mosaic pattern is complete and fully dry, it is time for one of our favorite finishing touches: paint the stem gold. We used a metallic gold paint and applied it carefully with a small brush. The gold stem against the blue and cream body of the pumpkin is absolutely stunning — warm, glamorous, and just the right amount of elevated. Once dry, reattach the stem with a small amount of hot glue if needed. Step 7: Add a Bow (Optional) For some of our pumpkins —…
Projects
Easy Indoor Summer Home Updates
A few thoughtful, budget-friendly changes that make your whole home feel lighter — no major project required. Late August has a funny way of sneaking up on you. One moment you’re planning your summer, and the next you’re deep in the thick of it, looking around your home and thinking: something needs to feel a little more finished in here. Not a renovation. Not a mood board that spirals into a six-month project. Just a refresh — the kind that makes you exhale and think, yes, this feels right. That’s exactly where we are at Shookhill right now, and this month we want to share what we’re actually doing to keep our spaces feeling cool, light, and effortlessly fall-ready. Because here’s what we truly believe: you do not need a big budget or a free weekend to shift the entire feeling of a room. You need a few thoughtful changes and the willingness to trust that simple is almost always better. Why Late August Is the Perfect Time for a Home Refresh There’s something about this particular stretch of summer — that warm, golden, slightly-slower August pace — that makes it ideal for turning a little attention back toward home. Most schools are back in session, but it still feels like summer outside and fall projects feel a little too soon. We are firm believers that the way your home feels has a direct impact on how you feel inside it. A room that breathes, that has a little visual lightness, that feels intentional rather than heavy — that room genuinely changes your mood. And in August heat, making your interiors feel even slightly cooler and airier is not a luxury. It’s a gift to yourself. This summer at Shookhill, we kept our refresh focused and manageable. Think lighter textiles. A few well-placed plants. Simple swaps in the rooms where you spend the most time. No overwhelm, no big commitments — just the kind of changes that make you smile every time you walk past them. The Simple Swaps We’re Making This August Before we get to our main project (which we are very excited to share), here are a few easy, low-lift updates we always recommend for bringing that breezy summer feeling indoors: Swap textiles for lighter autumn ones. If your sofa is draped in a light linen, cotton or woven fabric throws, it’s time to make the switch to early autumn. Light-weight woven fabrics in warm blues, sandy neutrals, and muted greens instantly shift a room’s energy. You don’t need new furniture — just new fabric. Bring in greenery. A single beautiful plant — a pathos trailing from a shelf, a fiddle-leaf fig in a corner, fresh herbs in a window — does more for a room’s feeling than almost anything else. Plants add life, movement, and a natural coolness that no candle or throw pillow can replicate. Clear the clutter. This costs nothing and delivers everything. Late August is a wonderful time to do a quick edit of your surfaces. Less on the coffee table, less on the countertops. Give your rooms room to breathe. Our Main Project This Month: The Bookshelf Refresh at Shookhill Now, for what we’re most excited about sharing. This summer, we tackled our built-in bookshelf in the family room — and the transformation was genuinely stunning for how simple and affordable the whole project was. Here’s what we did: we added peel-and-stick grasscloth wallpaper to the back panels of our existing shelving, and installed LED strip lighting along the shelves. That’s it. Two materials, one afternoon, and the bookshelf — which we loved, but had always felt a little flat — now feels like a true design feature. It anchors the whole room differently. It’s warm, it’s textured, it glows softly in the evening, and everyone who sees it immediately asks about it. Total project cost: under $100. We purchased a roll of grasscloth wallpaper and one pack of LED strip lights. The grasscloth adds incredible natural texture — that slightly woven, organic look that is very much having its moment right now, and for good reason. It reads as effortlessly chic, and it works beautifully whether your style is coastal, traditional, modern farmhouse, or anything in between. The LED strip lighting tucks right behind or beneath your shelf edges and gives off the softest, most flattering ambient glow. In the evenings, when the overhead lights are dimmed, the shelves look absolutely beautiful. How to do it yourself: Measure the back panels of each shelf section carefully and add about an inch on each side for trimming. Cut your grasscloth to size — most peel-and-stick grasscloth wallpaper goes on beautifully and is entirely renter-friendly. Make sure your walls are clean before applying the paper. Smooth out any air bubbles from the center outward, trim your edges cleanly, and you’re done with step one. We used a clean microfibre towel to help smooth out the paper when applying. For the LED strips, simply peel the adhesive backing and press along the underside of each shelf (or behind the shelf lip, if you prefer the light to be more hidden). Most LED strip kits come with a small remote or app control so you can adjust the warmth and brightness to your liking. We keep ours on the warmest, softest setting in the evenings — it makes the whole room feel cozy and intentional without trying too hard. The entire project took one afternoon, start to finish. And the result genuinely looks like something you’d see in a professionally styled home. That’s the kind of update we are here for. The Bigger Philosophy: Small Changes, Big Impact What we love most about this kind of project — and about home refreshes in general — is that they remind you how much power you have over the feeling of your own space without spending a fortune or disrupting your life. A $42 roll of grasscloth. A $37 pack of LED lights. An afternoon with…