Fall is our family’s favorite time of year. We love the cooler weather, the crackle of dry leaves in the yard and the rich color of squashes and corn ready for harvest. To bring that color indoors, I skip the store bought decor and rely on nature to decorate my house. Here are a few green ideas I use to decorate my house for fall.
Baskets of gourds
Whether you grow them yourself or buy them at the farmers market, colorful gourds and squashes are an easy way to add fall color to your home. I arrange smaller gourds in reed baskets to scatter around the house. The larger ones are placed on the fireplace mantle, on end tables or around the porch.
Bales of Straw
Arranging a couple of bales of yellow straw on the front porch is a fun way to spruce up the house for fall. The bales can be used for exterior seating or decorated with pumpkins and a home made scarecrow. Straw can be purchased at all feed stores (and some pet stores for $4-6 each)
Bowls and jars of pine cones
Another easy way to decorate your home the green way is with bowls of pine cones gathered up from your walks around the neighborhood. I mix up spruce and pine cones, acorns, and sprigs of pine needles in clear 2-quart canning jars which are then put in the window sill of my kitchen.
Woven garlands and wreaths
If you have access to grape vines or Virginia Creeper vines, these flexible vines are super easy to weave into garlands and wreaths for the home. Once the vines are woven into the desired shape, you can either leave them plain or add dried flowers, pine cones, acorns, or other seed pods found around the yard.
Add autumn colored textiles & accessories to your rooms
The most basic way of living green is using what you already have in the house. I raid my linen and storage closets to pull out everything I own that is autumn colored (olive green, brown, orange, & yellow) and figure out clever ways to work them into my decor. Some ideas:
*Yellow sheets can be draped over easy chairs to give them a new look for the season
*Autumn colored pottery can be moved out of the pantry and into the living room where they can hold dried seed pods, dried flower arrangements, a collection of acorns and more
*Place your autumn place mats on living room end tables to add a splash of fall color
*Drape Grandma’s colorful crochet work over the back of a chair
*Wrap strands of orange twinkle lamps around the stair rail or over an archway
More by this contributor:
How to weave a grapevine wreath
How to make a tabletop sheaf
One chair + old sheet = 90 second makeover
