Vivid colors, the rich, spicy scents, and pumpkin flavored everything… Fall is my very favorite season. Decorating is one of my treasured pastimes all year round. Unfortunately, I am on an extremely tight budget this fall. We’ve just had so many circumstances lately that are squeezing our budget dry. I was a little bummed about it and really wasn’t even in the decorating mood. I put it off and then reluctantly asked my sweet husband to get the decorations from the attic. I started going through the boxes, seeing the lovely colors, and dreaming about the romantic and lovely aspects of fall. I decided to make the best of it and see what I could do with what I have.
One of the easiest and most inexpensive ways to decorate on a budget is to use the foods of the season. Most of us have glass bowls or dishes collecting dust in our cabinets. Displaying some shiny, red apples or other fall fruits on your counter is a beautiful way to decorate for fall. The pops of color through the shiny glass add to the charm of your home, and I find it also reminds my kiddos to grab some fruit for snack time.
It’s always a lovely idea to incorporate God’s creation by bringing the outdoord into your home. I purchased a distressed wooden box from Hobby Lobby. I painted some special and meaningful words on the outside. It’s my go to decor for pretty much any season. I just change the contents to items related to the season or holiday. I had some old orange, yellow, and eggplant colored silk flowers, so I arranged them in the box with some burlap. You could use real or silk flowers. You could use real flowers from your yard, pinecones, etc.
Discount stores like Dollar Tree are great because they carry things like silk flowers and wired ribbon. This fall printed wire ribbon adds a lovely touch to my dining room chairs.
I couldn’t think of a tablescape for the dining room. I usually struggle with the dining room trying to find a balance between casual and formal. I like it to be big and bold, but sometimes less really is more and in this case that worked to my advantage. I had a burlap runner and silk fall garland, which I decided to use it to drape down the center of the table. My sweet son and I searched the backyard for pinecones. Magnolia leaves are beautiful all year long, so I gathered groups of leaves and filled in around the garland. You could make your own all garland by stringing leaves and other natural items together.
I already had some old rings of silk flowers most people use around hurricanes. I decided to simply put them around my two wall candle sconces on either side of our window.
For decorating the outdoor of our home, I simply used the same fall garland I’ve had for years. I also revamped an old grapevine wreath by adding silk flowers from the dollar store.
I have an old wooden crate that I use for all sorts of things. I just turned it over and arranged some old artificial pumpkins. You could use real pumpkins. I’d prefer real, but I used artificial in keeping with our budget.
I kept my summer flowers on display as well. I think they pair nicely with the fall colors. This also keeps my decorating costs low.
You don’t have to always use items for their intended purpose. Get creative, be frugal, re-purpose, and decorate your lovely home for fall on a budget!