Let’s Get Our Fall Decor On!

It’s that time of the year! Leaves crunching under your feet, the smell of crisp apples as you pick them off the tree, getting to wear sweaters again without sweating your bunns off, pumpkin everything, and fall decor! Sigh. It’s glorious! I live in Ontario, Canada and the change in season here is breathtaking! You wouldn’t believe all the colours the trees can produce. Every day when I drive into town (yep! I live in the countryside) I am blown away by the majesty of it all!

This year when I began to work on my fall decor I wanted to include familiar fall colours and sparkly golds, but to anchor the look with some neutral tones. I tend to be a more “neutral” kinda gal when it comes to decor so I’m really pleased with how it all turned out! I spent very little, repurposed quite a lot and hit up the Dollar Store and Michaels to make some pretty awesome DIY fall decor that I think you’ll really love and that will inspire you to create something new too. Have a look and let me know if you have any questions on how I made anything below. Let’s start decorating!

Doorway Fall Decor

I wanted a bunch of pumpkins/gourds/squashes near my doorway for my outdoor fall decor but pre-made decorations can be super expensive. I rounded up my budget-friendly collection from a couple of different sources. The large pumpkins I got from a local grocer and paid about $15 for them both. I got one white and one orange, then I used Marth Stewarts “Gold Liquid Gilding” to paint the orange one gold and I LOVE how it looks!! It went on so smoothly and dried super fast.  The best part was that I only needed one coat of paint. #timesaver  I like how the white pumpkin looked so I left it as it was.

The 2 green squashes were given to me by my mom. I painted one of them white to blend it in with the other pieces a bit more.

I found the smaller butternut squash looking ones from the Dollarstore for a dollar each. My husband helped to paint them white (they were a fluorescent orange before..haha). I really like how they turned out for my outdoor fall decor. TIP: if you are worried they’ll blow away, try glue gunning some rocks or bean bags to the bottom.

Next, I got a couple of vases from the dollar store (4$ total) and picked up some faux flowers (spent around 50$ on this but also used some for my mantel, some for the front porch and some for the wreath that I made). It’s reusable so I think it was especially worth the money in the long run. I love the pop of colour it adds to the front porch and I am so glad I invested in them. More tips on picking faux flowers below in the “mantel” section.

TIP: Varying Heights & Odd Numbers

Make sure to have varying heights and use odd numbers when bunching items together to make each section of your display look full. I used this log block to display my larger pumpkin. I also used buckets/bins/bowls we had laying around that were varying sizes and wrapped them in burlap (only 2$ at the dollar store) which I attached with a glue gun. Boom! It all looks so cute and welcoming. Most importantly, everything flows together so well.

Table Centrepiece Fall Decor

It was important to me that the centrepiece was functional as well as beautiful. I found this great wooden container that holds four mason jars perfectly. It was on sale at Michaels (TIP: sign up for their newsletter or get their app. They always have crazy sales and it’s worth checking out). I put flowers in the empty mason jars before dinner, but then during dinner, I swapped them out for jars that had the cranberry sauce in them, or pickled beets etc…. Condiments basically. It added colour and looked beautiful and was actually functional!

I found these adorable mini pumpkins at the Dollarstore that were only 2$ for a set of 3. The only problem was that they were a matte bronzey brown colour. My husband and I painted a few sets of them a shiny gold so that it would match the fall decor throughout the house. Then, I also used two of the painted white gourds to frame the centrepiece. Placing it all on a few strips of burlap was the finishing touch that really brought it all together.

Place Settings:

For the place settings, I used my regular black dishes (from Ikea). I stacked the side plate on the dinner plate, placed a white and blue striped napkin, then placed the soup bowl on top. Inside the soup bowl, I set a red leaf from the faux leaves/flowers I bought and one of the mini gold pumpkins. It was such cute and simple fall decor, I loved it!

Mantel Fall Decor

For the mantel, I wanted something tall because the only spot for our faux fireplace is on a strange angle in this awkward little corner. I wanted to draw the eye away from that. So I got a very tall vase from the dollar store (2$) and filled it with the faux flowers.

I also wanted an earthy vibe so I got a green garland to frame the front of the mantel. It’s always helpful to consider and to play with layering because it helps to make all of the individual pieces look cohesive.

To help create dimension and height, I placed two mini pumpkins on either side of the decor on the mantel. Then, I also placed one on each side on wooden coasters that I had my dad cut for me. Placing the white gourds and the tall black lanterns with red candles added even more height & dimension. It also accentuates the vase as a centrepiece.

TIPS on picking faux flowers for fall decor.

1. Decide the colour scheme you want to go with and stick to it. I picked reds/oranges/whites with some green
2. Choose flowers/leaves with different textures even if they’re the same colour. It will help make your arrangement more full and interesting.
3. Think about layering – framing the flowers display with leaves in the back row makes the flowers stand out more.
4. Think about balance – you may want to get doubles of most things so that they match on either side and make the whole bouquet look [mirrored and] balanced
5. If you don’t like the colour of the flowers but you love the design/shape they hold, just spray paint them a more preferable accent colour.

Fall Decor Wreath

This fall decor wreath was very simple to make and only took me about 30 min. What I like to do is get a large metal or wooden flower ring from Michaels. They usually run about 4-8$ depending on the size. I then lay it on the floor, and place my flowers over the wreath in the rough arrangement that I think I will want them in. I just play around with it until I like how it looks.

Tip for arranging your fall decor wreath: To make the wreath look more “full’ don’t just follow the loop of the metal wreath with the flowers/leaves. Have some flowers/leaves pointing in, some pointing out or up or down. I usually glue the base of the flower/leaf onto the hoop, then let the top of the flower/leaf hang off the hoop a bit. It makes the whole wreath look larger. Alternatively, if you want it to look smaller, let the flowers hang over on the inside of the hoop.

Then I move each flower just off to the side of the hoop. This helps me to remember where the flowers are supposed to go. I then glue-gun them on to the wreath. So easy! Yes, I do glue the crap out of my fingers (I’m too impatient and touch it before it’s truly dry). However, if I ever decide to pursue a life of crime, I won’t have to worry about leaving fingerprints behind! So there’s that! haha.

If you want more wreath inspiration, check out the spring wreaths that I made last year. They’re super versatile and I’ve actually kept them up all year so far. Plus they were less than 10$ to make!

Last Tip: How to Make Your House Smell Like Fall & Boost Your Immune System!

This incredible Essential Oil, On Guard, from doTERRA, adds the perfect finishing touch to any home. When you diffuse it, not only will your home smell like Fall, but your immune system will also get a boost! It only takes 2-4 drops of this amazing blend in your diffuser to make your house smell warm and welcoming. And if you diffuse it every day, you’ll notice your immune system will stay strong all through cold and flu season. I love diffusing it and highly recommend getting started! If you want to laern more about Essential Oils, you can join one of my free online classes. There’s no pressure to buy anything, it’s about learning what oils do and how to use them. If you want to get started with oils click here. 

What are you doing for your fall decor? Will you try any of these fall decor items?

Let me know in the comments below. Make sure to follow me on Instagram to see what I’m up to next!

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Thank-you all for reading! Happy Fall, Harvest and Thanksgiving season to you all!

xoxo

Ruth