Make: Easy Fall Décor

I grew up in an enthusiastic home. This enthusiasm could be applied to a wide range of topics and occasions, but particularly holidays and seasons. We celebrated everything in full-force: the front porch wreaths and flags had quarterly rotations, my mother wore timely appliqués, we started planning our next Halloween costumes on November 1st, and even now my sister and I (along with our husbands) get Easter baskets. It was great.

 

Most of that perennial enthusiasm has stayed with me (with the exception of appliqués). I just love having my home reflect the year's changes. Packing away the lemons and apples to be replaced with pine cones and acorns feels like I am drawing a giant orange highlighter over the declaration
"Fall is here!".  I also just get tired of looking at the same stuff year-round!

If you think that seasonal décor is too much hassle, know that you can make just a few small changes that shift the overall feel of your home. You also don't need to spend a fortune. Most of what you see pictured here was either A) made by me or B) bought on the cheap. A festive home just takes a little effort and creativity. It helps if you live near a craft store too.

Front Porch

Let's start with the first thing that everyone sees: the front porch. Matthew and I take advantage of our porch whenever we can. It's not uncommon for us to load up our dinner plates and head for the Adirondacks. With this in mind, I try to make the space inviting for ourselves and guests alike.

In years past, I have lined our porch steps with pumpkins. Before long, however, they would be nibbled on and ruined by a few very pesky squirrels. This year I have a two pronged approach: just one pumpkin and I'm going to spray it with Apple Bitter. Fingers crossed it will last til Thanksgiving! The mums are a new addition that Matthew picked up at a nearby produce stand. The deep orange blooms are a welcome pop of color.

The front door wreath was a very easy and affordable DIY project. Actually, I believe it was the first thing I ever made for our house. I bought a simple grapevine wreath and LOTS of fake leaves from the dollar store. Then I arranged the leaves in a nice layout and hot-glued them into place. Done and done.


Living Room

I put the most effort into the space that we spend the most time: our living room. Our fireplace mantel is part-function, part-form since we keep most of our in-progress books there. Besides that unchanging component, I like to switch things up with staggered glass containers. They are a quick and easy way to transition from season to season. As referenced above, during spring and summer I fill the cylinders with apples, lemons, and limes. Now they are showcasing pine cones and autumnal potpourri. You will have to wait to see what winter looks like! I did a similar arrangement on the coffee table, using some leftover potpourri and three small pumpkins.

After seeing so many adorable word collages online, I decided to use some around the house. I printed a few, threw them in some super cheap frames and voila! Instant cute home décor with minimal effort. Here is a great collection of free printables.

Dining Room

Since I am not one for overkill, the fall decorations end here: the dining room. Naturally, my favorite new craft gets prominent placement on our dining room table. I found these chocolate brown placemats and napkins on clearance at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Wanting some additional color on the table, I then made the napkins rings. Similar to my front door wreath, this was another figure-it-out-as-I-go project. I cut up cardboard paper towel tubes and covered them with some extra-wide ribbon. Then I hot-glued faux leaves here and there until I was happy with the final product.

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So there you have it! Hopefully this will inspire you to bring some seasonal beauty into your home!

On a related note, I'm excited to say that with the start of autumn begins a fun little "challenge" I'm posing to myself. I will to try one new fall-ish recipe each week! Sometimes I may write about them more extensively, but generally I will just provide a link at the end of my regular posts. Up first are some super easy Pumpkin Chocolate Cookies.