I have to admit I had Zero intention of decorating for fall this year. Zilch, nada, none. Not even a little bit. Don’t get me wrong it’s not that fall hasn’t been good to me it’s just that summer’s been better. Some of you know what I’m talking about. And let’s not go into the whole pumpkin spice latte discussion. Pumpkins may be a fruit but they look like a vegetable and I don’t put vegetables in my coffee. Truth be told, I prefer my coffee like a 7/11 slurpie, blended icy sugary goodness drowning in caramel. It’s the perfect blend for this summer girl.
But alas much like my diet on donut day, my resolve to stay true to summer went out the window with the first fall harvest farmer’s stand. Since I caved and went full out fall on my front porch, I thought I would share with you my 10 Fall Porch Decorating Tips and Tricks
1. Pick a color scheme.
I always start with some basic colors in mind. For fall this year I wanted to go a little softer and chose whites and muted oranges. Keeping within a set of colors will help to create a unified successful design. That’s not to say the colors have to be matchy matchy or all the same tone, they just need to work together cohesively. Start with a basic plan and build from there!
2. Lead the eye to the front door.
This is the front of our homes after all and the purpose is to create a feeling of welcome invitation. As you look at the front of your home, where is your eye drawn to? Try to use décor to draw the eye along a invisible path that ends at your door. Wreaths are great to draw the eye towards the door. (You can find the instructions for the wreath I made on my door here)
3. Use what you have in a new way.
Buying new each season isn’t necessary and most of us can’t afford it. (me) The good news is you don’t have to buy new to get a totally different look. Here is a little sewing cabinet turned planter that I pulled out for the summer. It was very summery as you can see here. Instead of putting it away, I recreated a fall look by pulling out the summer flowers, cutting up burlap bags, and using corn stalk leaves and mums.
I also walked around my yard and found fall items that I could add to complete my fall look. I was able to use Sedum from my garden in my planters. The spikes in the pinkish red planter came from ornamental grass that is growing in my yard as well. Look around your yard for filler and plants you can use to complete your own fall look.
4. Change out the fabric on cushions.
You don’t need to buy new chair cushions just because they don’t go with the current season. Wrap a the cushions with a remnant of fabric like you would wrap a present and secure with safety pins. At the end of the season you can easily remove the fabric and go back to the original look.
5. Add variety with Texture and shape.
You know how after working on something for a while, you step back, look at and something doesn’t feel right but you can’t put your finger on it? This was happening to me when I was adding the mums to the planters. I loved the mums and color but something was off. By adding the cabbage I got a different texture and it made the look more interesting. But that was not enough, I needed the tall sedum to keep the arrangement from being one big round mound shape. Remember texture and shape!
6. Pumpkins! Lots and lots of pumpkins.
My favorite thing to do is create a pumpkin obstacle course and see if my family can navigate their way out the front door. Kidding. Although, I have to admit I do love a good death trap of pumpkins clustered down the front steps, but it is not the only way. Using pumpkins in mass creates a very visually appealing picture. Create groups and scatter pumpkins throughout the front porch to create a mass effect. Remember to pick out pumpkins in varying shapes and sizes to make the composition more interesting.
7. Save money, buy local and at thrift stores.
I first checked out my local big box home and garden store. They had some nice pumpkins and the price wasn’t bad but still I would only be able to get a few. Then I stopped at a local farmers stand set up on a street corner in my town. Wow what a price difference. The decorative pumpkins at the store were 3 & 4 times higher in price then the little local Mom and Pop stand. Score! When you see a stand stop and check it out. You may be pleasantly surprised. I also picked up 99 cent baskets at my local thrift store. Thrift stores are great for baskets.
8. Burlap!
Burlap is a great way to cover a pot that otherwise may have little fall appeal. A simple way to cover a pot with burlap is to place the pot on a swatch of burlap, lift the burlap up over the pot and secure it with a landscape pin. With the large planter in the above photo , I placed the whole pot in a large burlap bag. EASY BREEZY!
9. Create depth and consider the negative space
It’s tempting to have all the décor up against the house because it’s natural to want to keep everything out of the way. The problem is, it creates a boring one dimensional look. Remember to mix it up and pull some of the décor forward away from the wall. This will add interest to the overall look.
Negative space is the unused space around your object. For example, the part of the wall in-between the door and the cornstalk is negative space. In the photo above, had the cornstalk been smaller, it would have left more negative space and possibly drawn the eye away for the focal point which is cornstalk. If the cornstalk was much bigger, the negative space would be smaller and the cornstalk could appear crowded or cluttered. Learning to look at how negative space plays a role in the placement of your objects will help create a better over all balanced composition.
10. Pull away
Step back often and look at things from a distance. This really helps to get a better picture of the overall look and balance. Sometimes when I get so focused on a few items and nothing seems to be working, I walk away for 24 hours. When I come back the next day, I have a fresh set of eyes and it all comes together.
Lastly, Have fun and don’t sweat it
As nice as it is to have a well decorated house, it just isn’t that important in the grand scheme of things. Have fun with it and who cares if it’s not perfect. I can decorate but guess what, my house isn’t all done up and I’m not worried about it. We have kids and school and work and lots in-between. The Queen isn’t coming. And at the end of the day I want people to remember how they felt when they were with me because of how I cared for them and not because of how pretty I could make a space. So don’t sweat it, it will be great either way.
Happy Creating,
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Cindy Richter says
I think your porch looks like it should be on the cover of a magazine! It’s stunning – Love it!
Candy Walsh says
What is the name of your paint color on your door? I LOVE it! Everything looks so inviting!
Kati says
I am jealous of your front porch, maybe in my next home I will have a beautiful front porch to decorate just like this! Thanks for sharing at the Wednesday Showcase party. Pinned!
Sabrina says
Your porch looks so beautiful! I love the colors!!
angie the freckled rose says
Hi Jenny! I wanted to let you know that I chose your fabulous post to be featured this week at Dishing It & Digging It- http://www.angiethefreckledrose.com/dishing-it-digging-it-119 Thank you so much for sharing with us & hope to see you back again this week 🙂
Linda says
Your porch looks amazing. So much style with so many shaped pumpkins. The cabbage is so pretty mixed in. What a lovely vision for your guests when they visit. Thanks so much for sharing your lovely inspiration at DI&DI.
nikkifrankhamilton says
Great tips. Your porch looks amazing! I love the different shaped pumpkins, and the unique colors that you’ve chosen. I always love the unique, they are so much more interesting to me. The use of the cabbage is so cool. I have loved these for the last few years, I really need to get a few. The colors and the texture is incredible. And burlap! Love it! Can’t get enough, and it looks great nestled in the pumpkins!
Mary-The Boondocks Blog says
Jen you are such a jokster wanting to create an obstacle course with the pumpkins. I have to say when I wa visiting the in the States a few years ago, I was overwhelmed by the variety and volume of pumpkins for sale. I say this in a positibve way because here in Greece things are pathetic. We do not appreciate the great pumpkin even thought we are an agricultural country. Your composition is perfect and I am taking notes here.
Gayle Kirby says
Hi Jenny! thanks for all of those great Fall porch decorating tips! I saw your post over at the DIY by Design blog party.
shandyarend says
Really great tips! I love the idea of covering cushions with fabric and safety pinning…genious!
Jenna Owens (@aSavoryFeast) says
I love the color of your front door! And the way you decorated your porch for Fall is so pretty. I have some Fall decorations for my porch, but I want to add more this year. Thanks for the ideas!
masqueradingcrafter says
I Love this porch!!!! It truly makes me happy just to look at it 😀 This is my Dream Home period 😀 I am so happy that you are privileged to live here so do enjoy it well 😀
Carol says
Great tips and I love the look of your porch.
Jennifer says
Thank you so much Carol. I appreciate that.
XO, Jenny
Stacey Keeling says
Jenny, this is the prettiest porch I’ve seen this year! I love the way you mixed the plants and pumpkins. Your porch is perfect for decorating.
We are moving soon so seasonal decorating is on hold for me. You are making me really wish I could deck out the front!! 🙂
Jennifer says
Thank you Stacey. I totally understand where you are. We recently moved . That in-betweem time is tough. I wish you the best of luck with your move.
Hugs,
Jenny
Virginia says
From the looks of your porch, you look like just as much of a Fall girl as a Summer girl. It’s beautiful!
chastityeads says
I love the tips! The red furniture piece is so pretty too!
Jennifer says
Awww thank you!!!
XO, Jenny
Ivory says
Gorgeous front porch and yard. Thanks for sharing
Jennifer says
Thank you Ivory
Nikki G says
Beautiful job! You are inspiring me to actually get up in the attic and pull out my fall things. And I love the color of your door. Did you make the wreath?
🙂 gwingal
Jennifer says
Hi Nikki! Thank you so much. I did make the wreath. There is a link in the story but you can search in the side bar search box “Diy white pumpkin fall wreath” good luck on getting your decorations out of the attic. I almost didn’t decorate but after it was all said and done, Im glad I did. You will be too.
Have a great weekend
XO,
Jenny
Tammy says
Hi Jenny,
I love the way you transformed your front porch. And the sewing table…brilliant. It looks amazing with the burlap and pumpkins. Can a girl really have too many pumpkins?!?!?!?!!!
Jennifer says
Never too many pumpkins Tammy!! Thank you my friend.
Hugs,
Jenny
cozinest says
I love all the color! And what is the pink antique on the porch with all the flowers? That’s my favorite! Gorgeous!
Jennifer says
Thank you sooo much. Yes that is an old sewing cabinet that I had in my basement for many years. I’m glad you like it.
XO,
Jenny
Renee Gibson says
This is so beautiful! I love the burlap covering the pots. I had to pin this for inspiration;-)
Jennifer says
Thank you so much Renee! I really appreciate that.
Have a great day – Jenny