My Guide to Autumn Decor

The coziest season has arrived, & I’m swooning over all the changes it’s ushering in! Burnt orange in every corner, vanilla pumpkin candles warming every room, & homemade apple fritters fresh out the fryer. Yup, autumn has returned! Mother Nature is already hard at work painting leaves & sprinkling in cooler days, so let the apple picking & tailgating begin! I love that it causes us to reflect on the fleeting year & all the blessings it’s brought. So, let’s get in the spirit with a little decorating, shall we? Pile on the plaid, craft a wreath, & stuff a basket with your softest blankets, because cuddling is basically a prerequisite to the season. So, here’s my guide to the getting the Fall home of our Pinterest dreams...

Swap out pillows:

If you're looking for a fall decorating idea that's insanely easy but makes a big difference, look no further. Head to TJ Maxx or Home Goods for the biggest bang for your buck, & quality pillows that will hold up to being packed away & reused each year. Easily adding a fall twist to any spot in the house, pillows aren’t limited to couches & chairs. Store under a console table for a fall touch & close proximity for getting extra cozy. If you’re not crazy about pumpkins or calligraphy on your pillows, opt for solid burgundy, burnt orange & velvet or fur styles for your seasonal sprucing. Create a space that you can’t help but want to plop down in, & maybe give those unopened beach reads another chance. It’s never too late, right? Curl up with a glass of wine (Gallivant Chardonnay), & you won't miss the warm weather a bit. 

Hang A Wreath:

Craft your way to a festive space, or just squeeze in enough time to pop in Kirklands on the way home from school drop off or work for a premade beauty. If you want the best of both worlds, head to a local farmer’s market. There is almost always a booth of handmade, one of a kind wreaths, with the added bonus of supporting a small business. Maybe you don’t have time to get crafty, or you’ve just never been bitten by the artsy bug, but this way you’ll still get a special piece, & support a talented woman’s passion & her family. Either way, hang something that will make you smile when you walk by it. Again, wreaths aren’t designated to doors! Obviously you want them there, but they can also transform a room when hung over a bed, & happy up that little window in the powder bath. Just make sure it’s the right size! Measure the width of the door or window. For a standard 36-inch wide door choose a wreath with a diameter between 24 & 30 inches; the larger the wreath, the more dramatic the look. For windows or larger doors, size the wreath so it’s two-thirds to three-fourths the width of the window or door.

Ready your porch:

Cooler weather means more hours spent rocking away, sipping wine (Hushkeeper pinot gris& Middle Jane Cab are my fall favorites) as you wave to the pick-up of neighborhood walkers. Catch ya later bug bites & sweaty brows; hello pumpkin covered stoops, leafy garland wrapped front doors, & blanket covered rocking chairs. This is the first impression your guests, trick or treaters, & holiday visiting families will get. Make it a welcoming one! Bring a little life to your walk up with real pumpkins & gourds lining the way or check out the artificial ones at Michaels. A little pricier, but you can reuse them every year. And mums the word y’all. Purple, yellow, orange...give them all to me! Just be sure to follow these tips I found at Better Homes & Gardensto keep them alive all season. I’ve definitely killed my fair share in the past, so learn from mistakes, & don’t waste your money...follow the care instructions! 

Spread the warmth:

You can’t think Fall, & not get visions of roasting marshmallows around a campfire or cuddling up next to the fire place with a glass of...I know I’m back to wine, I’m sorry y’all, but the Middle Jane cab, was made for nights like this! Regardless of what you have in your glass, just make sure you don’t spill it from shivering! Get toasty by a propane or wood burning fire pit, or work up a sweat building one like this yourself. These serve as both pretty & practical staples for the backyard. Space heaters are also a great investment for porches & patios. Ours, which you can find here, keeps us having dinner & watching games on the screened in porch well into December. They can heat a pretty big area, & are well worth the $135 to keep us outside all year. Now let’s get to firewood. Stock up on oak firewood as well as some starters, if you don’t want to work too hard. Keep fresh-cut wood in a basket with handles so it's easy to carry & looks pretty placed in the house or on a porch. If you can’t have a real fire source; no problem, just make sure you have plenty of soft blankets around. Keep them in a crate or hung on a blanket ladder like this one, for a rustic look & convenient storage spot. 

Speaking of fireplaces: 

Restyle the mantle. Birch logs, orange berry stems, candlesticks, & some perfectly stacked art books highlight how beautiful a fireplace is as the hearth of the home. Bring pops of color in with different style pumpkins & candles in varying sizes. Garland is my go to accessory for every season, & fall is no exception! So, bring on the maple leaf, pine cone, cotton, or autumn medley garland, & drape, swoop, or plain old lay it across the mantle for a touch of harvest decor. Obviously work within your budget. If you can splurge a little for a quality piece like this one; I definitely recommend it. It may seem obnoxious at the time to spend $40 on it, but you’ll be glad you did when you get years of use out it. If that’s not in the budget, get crafty! Set out for a scavenger hunt with the kids & make a one of a kind piece you can take pride in displaying! It doesn’t have to be perfect, just fun & festive! It’s your home, not Martha Stewart’s, love what ya got! 

Paint Your Gourds:

Pumpkins may be obvious, but still worth including. After all, they are a season staple, & the easiest & most cost-effective way to update your home for fall. If you want something a little more chic, go for white, sage green, or checkered instead of orange. Different textures are a fun way to mix things up too. Check out this awesome tutorial for turning toilet paper rolls into pretty pumpkins here! As cool as it is, I think this only works for people who already have fabric or really pretty dish towels on hand, otherwise it could get pricier than buying the pumpkins. If that diy isn’t for you, throw a pumpkin painting party! Grab some friends, head to a pumpkin patch, & then throw down some tarps out back & let the kids go crazy on their picks.

Stock the bar:

I’m just gonna say it, no get together is complete (or at least as fun) without some quality booze, so make sure to incorporate touches of the yummiest season in your glass when cheersing all the blessing the passing year has brought. Have the staple ingredients of the season on hand to put a fall twist on any drink, & pick up a cute & helpful bar book like this one for inspiration & direction. Or get an extra pretty one here for you girly girls ;). Anything practical that also serves as décor is a win my book, so one is proudly displayed & referenced often in our home. Add a gold tray to pretty the counter, & effortlessly carry those spiked caramel apple ciders in to friends.  Subscribe to my blog and get the recipe for my favorite fall drink…

Autumn Dreams:

Of course you want to hit the guest bedrooms with a little seasonal decor with all the holiday traffic they’ll get, but don’t neglect your space. Afterall, you deserve a bed worth FALLing into too! Grab your cuddle buddy, & add a dark fur throw or plaid wool to warm the space. Obviously, I’m a little cuckoo when it comes to holiday decor, so naturally I designed my room around the idea. I went with neutral paint colors & a white down comforter, so it would be easy to transition to fall & Christmas. Something as simple as swapping out some throw pillows & artwork for a big wreath can really transform a space. You can even swap out linens for burnt orange, like these, to really go for a bold look.

Warm up the entry’s:

Now this is how you make an entrance. Garland, candles, pumpkins, the more the merrier on entry tables. Add a pretty runner underneath for some color & warmth. Maybe even swap out your standard entry table for an upholstered bench. Top it with throw pillows & books for a more home-y entrance. A built-in reading bench is also a cozy spot to settle while you take off all the added layers of clothing. Throw a little garland on top & call it a day.

Ignite all the senses:

Scent plays a huge role in mood, so set the right tone in your home by lighting seasonal candles that make you feel cozy, warm, & ready for the holiday season ahead. My favorite ones are Sensational & DW Home candles. If you can find the really big Sensational Pumpkin & Oud one at your local TJ Maxx, stock up! They are natural, soy burning, & will fill your entire house! If you don’t have luck at TJMaxx,you can find the 19oz pumpkin spice here. DW Home’s hand poured pumpkin donut, found here, is another favorite of mine.

Don’t forget the bathrooms:

We all know this space can benefit from a candle like these, but don’t stop there at “showering” this space with love. No matter what style your bathroom is, you can get it ready for the chillier season ahead by swapping a summery bathmat for something a little more plush. A touch of comfort that will keep you from getting cold feet. Add festive bath towels like these, & you’re all set. I stick with modern farmhouse looks for most spaces, but in the kid’s bathroom I like to make them smile with a more fun style like these. Then I throw up some window stickers like these on their mirrors. It’s such a little thing, but my daughter gets really excited when it’s time to put them up. A silly little thing, but I know she looks forward to it each season, & is always pointing to & talking about them every time we brush her teeth. (They aren’t up in these photos, because Sept. was a little early for the Halloween décor, but I will make a Halloween post soon with updated photos).

Include the kids:

Speaking of those cute little nuggets & what makes them happy…include their artwork in the decorating! Nothing will put a bigger grin on their faces, than when they come home from school & see their handprint Frankenstein hanging on the wall. Quite honestly nothing makes me happier than seeing their handmade crafts around the house too. Not only are they beautiful, but they often bring back a sweet memory of creating it together. Even as a 30yr old, I still get excited to pick a Christmas ornament out of the box at my parent’s and put it on their tree. It’s nostalgic & warm, fuzzy feeling, so I want to give my children as many artefactual memories as I can for every holiday. If you look closely, you’ll see their pieces in a lot of these photos, but I will do an entire post on fall crafts next week, so stay tuned for some cute & easy ideas!

So there you have it, folks; all my tips on how to make your home feel festive & warm for the season! What are some of your favorite decorating tips & traditions? I would love to hear from you on my Instagram @lostinthelowcountry! Happy decorating friends!