Crisp fall weather is upon us and from now through Thanksgiving your friends and family, who stop by for coffee, dinner or just to chat, will be visiting with you inside rather than on the deck or patio. Why not wow them with tables, the mantle and/or hearth decked out in fall fashion? Our fall photo gallery shows you how.
Your local craft store, plant nursery and supermarket are chock-full of natural & faux decorative items including pumpkins, gourds, corn stalks, flint corn, acorns, etc. Your own backyard and garden are also a treasure trove for branches, seed pods and leaves that can be used as fall decor.
Be creative by filling the flower vases, baskets, bowls, trays and boxes you already have with these items to decorate the spaces within your home, and while you’re at it, don’t forget the porch and front steps. Have fun with it because there is absolutely no right or wrong way to bring the sights and scents of fall into your home this month.
For a festive, yet easy to move tablescape, add decorative acorn vase filler or fresh nuts in the shell to a wooden tray and add seasonal colored candles and a few dried fresh or faux leaves. Layer 2 table runners for a dramatic effect.
When bringing fall colors and decor to your mantle and hearth, start by removing all decorative items so that you have a blank slate to work with. Mass pumpkins, vases of silk or dried flowers, candles, photos and other momentos or decorative items.
Right mantle vignette: a tall pottery owl, surrounded by pumpkins in glass, paper mache, painted wood and metal, brings height to this end of the mantel. A tall vase or apothocary jar filled with stems or small pumpkins would work here as well.
Left mantle vignette: pumpkins in varied sizes and materials, including glass, wood, and paper mache, are grouped with silk mums in an acorn shaped bowl.
Bring interest to the hearth by grouping your treasures such as this black stone cat and vintage wooden box, with fresh and/or decorative pumpkins (this pierced metal one holds a tea light) and 3 battery candles set to come on at dusk.
Hearth candles at dusk. Battery candles will add a glow to any area of your home, they’re safe to use and with the timer, you can set them and forget them.
Another hearth vignette, this one with a clear glass vase filled with dried flowers & branches from the garden as well as bead and pumpkin stems to bring height. This is grouped with framed photos and decorative pumpkins.
Fill a basket with small pumpkins and gourds and tie a bow to the handle using a matching ribbon. Place the basket under a table or by the door to bring interest to an unused space.
Place fresh pumpkins and a bundle of wheat or a cinamon broom on a bench and add a variety of winter squash such as acorn, buttercup, butternut, calabaza, hubbard and turban. A festive grouping that can be cooked and eaten after Thanksgiving.
Fill a crystal bowl with small, shiny pumpkins and place it on an entryway or end table or on the dining room buffet. Using miniature fresh pumpkins and gourds, placed in any glass bowl or vase you have, will also makes a quick and easy fall decoration.
Make your own wreath for the door or over the mantle. Purchase a plain grapevine wreath from the craft store plus a few flower, leaf or berry picks, in the colors you like, and a pre-made bow. The wired picks will easily slide into & stay in the vines – no need to tie or wire them on. Add the bow and you’ll have a personalized decoration that your friends are certain to admire.
A vintage butter churn and tin milk box are surrounded by a hay bale from the craft store, pumpkins, one mum and a welcome sign, all (with the exception of the pumpkins and hay bale) repurposed from around the home and garden.
A bare space under the shrubbery bursts with fall appeal. Silk flowers and a bow in autumn colors were stapled to the top of an old window sash purchased for $12 from a second hand store.