Best of Fall: Decorating Ideas & Inspiration

I’ve got some serious love-hate feelings about summer turning into fall – while I love the cooler weather, anything and everything pumpkin, and a good pair of fall boots, I hate that it’s the gateway to winter (which is soooo not a fun season in Connecticut). So I’m going to enjoy summer while it lasts and not jump into any fall decorating for a few more weeks but that doesn’t mean that my wheels haven’t started turning about how I’ll be adding some fall touches to my home this year. I know some of you are starting to think about it too and luckily there’s a whole lot of fall inspiration coming your way today because I’m joining seven of my favorite bloggers to share our best fall decorating ideas from past years to help you get a jump start on your fall decorating this year!

My favorite fall decorating tips and ideas are the ones that are simple and don’t take a lot of time to put together (post includes some affiliate links – see my full disclosure statement {here}):

Look No Farther Than Your Own Backyard

There’s nothing that you can buy from a store for fall decorating that rivals the beauty of colorful fall leaves so simply clip fall branches and use them in the same ways that you normally use flowers! One of my all-time favorite fall tablescapes is this one where fall branches are the star of the show:

Just know that fall branches don’t last nearly as long as flowers or other greenery so if you’re using them for a tablescape it’s best to clip them just a few hours before they’re needed. And while acorns are a great backyard find too, I had an ugly worm incident a few years ago that I’d rather not repeat so a few years back I bought {these faux acorns} that you see in my tablescape and I reuse them each year – they have faux nuts but real caps so you can’t tell the difference from the real thing! You can check out more pics of this fall tablescape {here}. 

Another backyard find that I love to use in fall decorating is hydrangeas – they have the most beautiful hues in the fall and can be cut and used fresh or hung and displayed dry. Last year I cut some fresh blooms from our backyard to use in the nesting herb crates in our kitchen:

and in a vase on the console of our home office:

Use Inexpensive Fabric Remnants to Bring in Fall Colors

I’m a little bit of a total fabric hoarder which makes it easy to add colorful, seasonal touches to any space. Use a fabric remnant with your favorite fall hues (you can often get great deals on small fabric pieces on Etsy if you don’t have your own stash!) to tie around a potted plant, frame as art, or wrap around books like I did with the stacked books on our entry console:

Making a temporary fabric book wrap is as simple as ironing down the ends of your fabric to fit the width of the book and tucking the short edges inside.

Use Sunflowers to Make Beautiful, Simple Arrangements

If flower-arranging isn’t your forte, go with a simple sunflower bouquet for the win! Our local farmers market and grocery stores have an endless supply of sunflowers at very reasonable prices this time of year so I often have several small bouquets throughout our house including one by our kitchen coffee station:

I’ve also used sunflowers as a centerpiece in our dining room mixed in with some eucalyptus:

and individually in teacups as part of each placesetting:

Don’t Forget to Eat Use Your Veggies

When you’re working on your fall planters and window boxes, don’t forget about your veggies! Ornamental cabbage, kale, and peppers make beautiful, colorful additions like these that I mixed in with mums, pumpkins, and gourds for our fall window boxes a few years back:

Ornamental cabbage and kale are also beautiful mixed with flowers in centerpieces – a combination you might find me playing around with this fall!

Get Your Kids (or Grandkids) in on the Decorating Game

My girls love to craft (wonder where they got that from?!) so it’s fun to get them in on the fall decorating action and see what creative ideas they come up with. One fall my daughter and I worked together to create these simple salt dough name tags using letter stamps from Michaels:

Not only is it fun to have a little helper to craft & decorate with but you end up with decorations that are uniquely yours and that your kids are proud of having created.

Choose Accessories That Easily Transition to the Holidays

By the time most of us get our fall accessories out, it’s only about two months before it’s time to switch things out for the holidays. Choosing accessories that can transition from fall into winter and Christmas is both a time and money saver. Last year I placed two lantern trios on our front porch in the fall to decorate for the season:

and kept them there through the new year by simply dressing them up with some holiday ribbon:

You can do the same thing with lanterns inside your house too, filling them with acorns or small gourds for fall and then with Christmas ornaments or candy canes for the holiday season. And of course there’s endless options for sizes and colors to fit the style of your home:

That wraps up my favorite fall decorating ideas….ready for some more ideas and inspiration? I can’t wait to see what my talented friends have to share! Your next stop is Eclectically Vintage where my friend Kelly is sharing her best fall decor. Be sure to pop over and say hello to Kelly and her little Boston terrier sidekick “Sushi”!  She’ll direct you on to the next blog to visit from there but here’s the full list of my fall inspiration blogging buddies if you want to make sure you don’t miss any:

I hope you guys enjoy all of the fall inspiration!