How Do You Decorate (outside or inside) for Fall???

Parent Cafe
1

Today is the first day, right? Even though my mind is still in summer gear - I’m always about a month behind mentally this time of year…some leaves/nuts are falling from the trees, the nights are cool, the air/sounds outside just feel “different”!

This weekend while strolling my daughter’s neighborhood in another town I noticed many houses already fully decked out for fall - not Halloween, but fall. (now, this is also a neighborhood that FULLY indulges in all decorating opportunities - the houses are manicured and presented in the most homey way possible!)

One thing I noticed that I want to try - dress your window boxes for fall - pie pumpkin sized pumpkins, larger gourds, some fall flowers - either mini mums or artificial leaves, orange/yellow/red flowery stuff - looked so cute! I have three window boxes that will get this treatment.

I did make a new wreath for the front door - I can never find a big enough sized door wreath that is showy enough but not tacky for our large front dutch door - so, I made my own with a large grapevine wreath, silk off white hydrangeas, some fall greenery and some smaller red/orange poppy type flowers - it looks great!

We have a homemade scarecrow we made years ago that we put out front each year - made with H’s old denim shirt, a pair of S’s old jeans, a bright bandana, pumpkin head, face painted by D1, straw hat, rope belt - really, it’s adorable and everyone in the neighborhood looks for “him” each year - I set a large mum or some of my leftover hanging baskets near him for a display of sorts.

The geraniums in big pots still look great so they add color. I’ll change my back deck flag to something fall-ish. I have a slate fall sign I hang by the back door which we use almost exclusively. I do love fall!

Inside? A pumpkin on the mantel. Some dried hydrangeas from my garden in big pottery vases. Once October hits, I’ll pull out a few light up Halloween pumpkins and put out some sparkly lights here and there that will stay out for the winter months (kind of my “happy” lights!! haha!)

Any new ideas to share? The simpler the better!

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Actually tomorrow, September 23rd is the first day of fall, but yesterday’s weather in my area felt like the first real fall day. :slight_smile:

I follow the adage, " What goes up, must come down." Since I decorate for Christmas, I have learned in the past that there is a teeny tiny window in which to take down fall decorations and put up Christmas decorations. I don’t work well under pressure. So no fall decorations for me except the hardy mums I have in the front of the house.

But I will say I’ve been enjoying the beautiful fall decorations that some people have adorned their homes with already.

3

I can’t wait to put out the hay bale, pumpkins and gourds! I also plant mums in the planters on the front steps.
I don’t do this too early though as I keep it out through the end of November. I refuse to have my guests walk past Christmas decorations on Thanksgiving.

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High five to @FallGirl! I’m in that same camp - no Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving is done!

I have high expectations of your decorating and fall enjoyment with your name and all!!! :wink:

5

We change the big wreath over the fireplace from the red geraniums and ivy to the fall leaves wreath and decorate the sideboard in the dining room with the leaf vines (small white fairy lights in those), tiny squirrels, etc. Still have to go shopping and find some nice, small gourds and use them on the mantle piece.

6

Leaves, lots and lots and lots of leaves. Their bright colors make the place look festive. :smiley:

7

Well, the guy near us still has his Christmas wreath up over his garage so he is already ready for Christmas! I put some small pumpkins out on our front porch and have big fall wreath on the door with a small scarecrow on it. Our back yard looks like fall as the pumpkin patch went crazy this year with lots of pumpkins!

8

I have a fall wreath a friend made for me that I sometime years put up. Some years I buy mums and put them I’m my pots, but my summer pots still all look great. I have vinca and spikes in my window boxes so once the begonias die I’ll just leave the greenery in. H will bring home a pumpkin at some point in Oct.

9

I am working on this right now. :wink:

We already have mums in the pots on the patio. I will put some grape vine wreaths on the doors of the kitchen house at the back/bottom of the garden. Till now I’ve picked up weekly arrangements for parlor and dining room from a local farm, and they have been glorious fall colors the last few weeks… sadly, they will stop for the fall/winter in two weeks. I will probably fill those vases with some hydrangeas I dried last year.

Since we have a big Thanksgiving gathering, I decorate and then just add to the decor for Christmas. A neighbor is giving me some magnolia branches and leaves off her trees and they will go on the mantles sometime in Oct. She has also offered holly, so I will just have to see what I think when I put it up. I am pretty excited to have the magnolia and that may just be enough for me.

Before becoming an empty nester, I was queen of Christmas with at least 5 trees, each with a different theme. Now I only do one small because no one really cares, and the downscaled house has room for no more than that. Creating a swag for the stairs in the center hall is always a challenge. I am hoping to do it with magnolias. I am decorator challenged, but a neighbor comes with florist wire and glue guns and all sorts of tools and goodies and helps me out. I save all the wired bows she helps me make so there are a bunch from previous years to work with at this point. I have brown burlap looking bows for Thanksgiving and can change them out for something different afterwards, keeping the greenery in place.

If you can’t tell, I’m pretty excited about access to magnolia leaves and branches.

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Beautiful new wreath for the front door, yesterday.

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As my kids have gotten older and needing less time from me, I’ve begun decorating for the seasons/holidays. In my living room, I have a large wall unit with shelves on top and cabinets below. This is a large area for me to decorate and it’s been a fun challenge for me - esp because I do it on a shoestring budget.

Right now I have it all decorated for fall. I own several fake pumpkins collected over the years (some made by me), silk fall leaves and I also use white pottery which stands out well against the dark wood shelves. I also have some pillow shams that are fall themed. I have shams for several different holidays/seasons so my living room pillows get a new look every few months.

There is a large fall leaf wreath on the front and back doors. I made both of them. I will eventually put up a fall leaf garland around the doorframe of the front door.

12

All I did and will do is put some mums in the ground. I don’t really even like mums, but my garden tends to look way past its prime at this time of year.

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I am surprised no one has mentioned Halloween decorations. When the kids were younger I went all out- the scarier the better. They were put up quickly just before the trick or treaters came and taken down very early the next morning when the mums and pumpkins, etc came back out (kind of kept the mystery). The neighborhood kids just loved it although the full size candy bars (which we still pass out) may have also been a draw.

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I actually always cringe when I see the first mum for sale - SOMEONE IS TRYING TO SAY THAT SUMMER IS DONE?!!! I will buy one or two, but I’ve learned to save a little $$$ and just rearrange some of my many pots that as someone above said, “still look great” to more visable “public” areas.

@ahl, I’d love to see a picture link to an example of how those magnolia branches/leaves might look that you will use.

I love picturing everyone’s decor!!!

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https://www.google.com/search?q=magnolia+garlands+swags&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0CC0QsARqFQoTCLS-p5Lqi8gCFYSMDQodVsMO5g&biw=1280&bih=668#imgrc=pWu3IwElYbJz3M%3A

https://www.google.com/search?q=magnolia+garlands+swags&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0CC0QsARqFQoTCLS-p5Lqi8gCFYSMDQodVsMO5g&biw=1280&bih=668#imgrc=c7id50p–h9fPM%3A

I have export blue and white porcelain on the mantles that I don’t want to move. I am going to begin by just tucking magnolia leaves all around them. I have a bunch of dried seed pods and the like from last Thanksgiving that I will add. Maybe some lemons. Wish me luck. I have no idea of the end product. I am not a crafty person.

I think and hope the branches can go on top of my corner cupboards which hold more blue and white porcelain. Since there are already some large vases on top, that may not be as easy as I’m imagining.

The leaves are so beautiful when they are green, but I love when they dry all out and get brown as well.

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I put cover on air condition.

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In the past I would always say that I will not buy mums as I spent a lot on summer flowers and the fall season is so short! But I loved the look and eventually bought one or two. Or three or…

So now I just embrace the beautiful season. I put mums and pumpkins in a grouping on the front porch. I add an electric lit jack-o- lantern on Halloween. I also hang a wreath I made several years ago when I was being much more crafty then I am now. I also use to carve pumpkins instead of of putting out an electric one.

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We change the wreath on our front door, the tablecloth on the dining room table, and the placemats in the kitchen.

That’s it.

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I also decorate the mantle above the gas fire place. I intertwine a garland of sunflowers and a garland of a grapevine. I add purple lights and small interesting shaped gourds. It is really pretty. I keep it up past Thanksgiving and then change to Christmas decorations.

In the past I carved pumpkins, had a wood fireplace, probably did not have any mums and made my kids Halloween costumes. Now that kids are adults and I am getting mail from AARP, the gas fireplace and electric pumpkins are so da…n much easier . And I buy a few more mums.

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Alh, yes, just as pretty as I thought they would look! Let us know how it turns out. I think the blue/white and a dash of yellow (lemons) along with the magnolia would be beautiful - fresh but the greenery would keep it fallish.