Fall Decor : All Season Long
I'm not great at the styling and staging stuff. I do enjoy decorating, and I'm working on refining my style, but it is a hobby that requires a lot of cultivating and practice. (Pinterest is my friend!)
One of my biggest frustrations with Pinterest and the blogging world in general is... well, I just get overwhelmed. I mean, really, who has the time to change out their throw pillows every month and where on earth do you keep all of those extra, seasonal wall signs you cycle through?
(Confession: I'm secretly just jealous that I haven't mastered the art of rotating through my seasonal goodies and finding clever ways to store them without losing my sanity.)
This season, I decided it was time to dive in.
But really, we have this adorable new house we built, which makes the perfect canvas for getting creative.
However, I couldn't just go out and go hog-wild and buy every adorable sparkly pumpkin and harvest wall painting on the shelf. (Well, I could, but my husband would not be very happy about that!)
So this year's theme is DIY / homegrown decor that will last all season long. Maybe eventually I will be able to distinguish between Fall / Harvest / Halloween / Thanksgiving, but not this year.
Pumpkins
We must have been thinking ahead when we planted our garden this spring, because we had a few pumpkin plants that were ready for picking at the beginning of October.
Pumpkins make great decorations - real or not - and they will fit your decor all the way up until the Christmas season.
They're super flexible too - you can carve them, paint them, or even make your own out of wood. They come in so many different shapes and colors too, just piling them up in a bucket or crate can add a pop to any fall vignette.
If you don't grow your own pumpkins, make a new family tradition and head over to your nearest pumpkin patch!
Corn
We also grew corn in our garden this season. When the ears were off and the stalks had turned gray, I cut down several of them and tied them together to make bushels.
These are great on a porch, tied to a lamp post in your front yard, or standing in containers around your patio or deck. If you have some ears left on your stalks, stash those in a cute barrel or bucket for an added splash of color.
Corn stalks are usually available at your local pumpkin patch, apple orchard, and many farmer's markets. Some craft stores will have them seasonally as well.
Straw
You might call it a hay bale, and I won't correct you. (My husband would..and does...regularly). But straw bales are a simple, neutral way to add structure to any set up.
We live "in the country" so several of our neighbors advertise straw for sale at the end of the summer. Several of our local hardware stores and lawn/garden stores sell the large bales during September and October. You can find smaller "fake" bales at craft stores for use indoors.
Mums and Other Container Plants
Don't abandon your containers and plants as soon as the weather gets chilly. Many containers can be "wintered" throughout the colder months and come back each year. I'm hoping I can keep these pretty yellow mums from dying during the brutal Indiana winter. Stay tuned!
The moral of this story?
It's easy to get swept away by all of the adorable decorations as you peruse the aisles at Target or TJ Maxx. But, don't underestimate the potential of everyday things you have either in your yard (wildflowers, leaves, twigs and branches) or readily available. Also, try to create decorations that will last beyond just Halloween so you don't have to store as many seasonal items when it's time to put it all away again.
The best part about all of this is: you can easily add to your decor collection every year. I can't wait for all the goodies that go on clearance when the Christmas stuff hits the shelves!
