Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

| By | | 100 Comments

Fall Decorating Ideas

I got all leaf-happy to add a bit of that fall/Thanksgiving vibe to the dining area. It was free and it took about ten minutes total. Here’s the dining table with some pretty branches from the cherry tree out front:

Thanksgiving Leaves 1

And I popped a few smaller branches from the same tree into my floating cb2 hanging vases.

Thanksgiving Leaves Wall

Thanksgiving Floating Vases

Sure, they’re looking a little limp, but after adding some water to the vases, they perked right up. And since they’re free I’m ok with them lasting just a week or so if that’s what mother nature so ordains.

Oh and I thought a $2 bag of mixed nuts looked kinda Thanksgiving-ish (saw something similar in an old Pottery Barn catalog of yore) so I grabbed the bag and dumped them into two clear glass vases for more of that seasonal vibe. And I added an apple we already had in our fruit bowl- just for more of that pretty fall color.

Thanskgiving Apple Nuts

The great thing is that those apples & mixed nuts can look Christmas-y too, plus they’re edible. Talk about multitasking only-takes-a-minute decor.

Thanksgiving Leaf Jar

Oh and our etched “Thanks” jar is turning out to be a pretty fun project. We haven’t skipped a day of recording something that we’re thankful for yet (one of us usually reminds the other) and we can’t wait til the end of the month when we can read them all (I have no idea what John’s writing but he snickers from time to time, so I’m thinking it’ll be funny to finally read his in a few weeks).

Any fall or Thanksgiving decorating going on at your house? Remember those fun trace-your-hand-and-make-it-a-turkey projects back in kindergarten? I basically lived for that when I was a kid.

Comments

  2. Laura says

    It looks great; so simple and elegant. I love using natural elements. Right now I have something similar. I took a branch that had fallen from the tree, hot glued some leaves back on to it, (after I ironed when with wax paper to last longer) and put them in a bright orange vase on the ottoman. I don’t use water because the 2 year old-likes to dump it out, hence, the wax paper/ironing trick. I even mail out leaves to family living in the West desert and their kids’ classrooms for some fall fun.

    Reply

  4. Mary Sue says

    For some reason I haven’t ever noticed your treatment of the inside of your fireplace… I have a fireplace that I do not burn wood in and it looks boring. I love your idea of putting a mirror & some candles in there to brighten up that space and make it look warm & cozy! Nice!

    Reply

  5. Jenn(ifer) says

    Looks great

    Off topic: Since you like painting and spray painting so much, maybee you should consider one of those machines for spray painting wall paint and vanish. It saves a lot of time (especially when you have to do a whole house) and is much better for the enviornement than to buy those cans of spray paint all the time…
    Unfortuantely I can only tell you the one we bought (we live in Germany…=
    Wagner WallPerfect W 867 E

    X
    Jenn(ifer)

    Reply

  6. Paula/adhocmom says

    The mixed nuts are a very impressive use of $2.00. June went wild collecting acorns – super cute (that she collected them and in bowls in house) UNTIL THEY HATCHED BUGS. But I can totally let her buy a $2.00 bag of nuts. She’ll dig that.

    Reply

  8. Lindsey d. says

    Lots and lots of mums at my house! In my first gardening victory EVER, I managed to keep the potted mums I bought last alive all year. They make me happy every time I pull into the driveway and see them blooming.

    Additionally, I snagged some great orange fake flowers at Micheal’s in October, cut them out of their pot and created two arrangements from them. That along with some pretty faux gourds is my fall decorating in a nutshell…

    Reply

  9. Jasa SEO says

    This blog always comes with fresh ideas of what home should be like.

    Now, I’m reading this post and fascinated of how you can take advantage of some ordinary things and change it into extraordinary accents for your heavenly-called home! =D

    I wish you will post what all the thanks post contain =D

    Reply

  10. JMB says

    This summer, I found a beautiful, large glass bowl at a local thrift shop for 75 cents. It has been in the middle of the dining table since September filled with pine cones from the backyard. It works for the entire fall season and into Christmas (maybe with a few cinnamon sticks and a little holly thrown in with those pine cones).

    Reply

  11. bex says

    @Laura – that’s is stinkin’ brilliant! I’m so going to use the wax paper trick on a leaf that I brought back from Wurzburg, GE. I’ve been trying to figure out how I can preserve it (it’s already crackly, so I hope it’ll still work!) to put it into a frame, and that might be the ticket.

    Also, I’ve got a big CB2 order that I’m getting ready to place – good timing with mentioning the floating vases. I keep forgetting that I love them. :)

    Reply

  15. Jen @ The Decor Scene says

    I love that idea of the branches from outside. I wish I had seen this post just a few days ago, but after the 50 mph winds we had on Long Island yesterday, all the leaves are gone now. LOL! And I love the wax paper idea that Laura wrote about. I will have to try that one next year. I really love the floating vases with the leaves in them, great touch.

    I have some posts on my blog for the Fall. Check them out here: http://www.thedecorscene.blogspot.com/

    Reply

  17. Rachel @ The Avid Appetite says

    So cute! I have a gorgeous Tiffany plate that my husband and I got as an engagement gift. I use it as decor every season. For Halloween/Thanksgiving it’s filled with 3 small pumpkins. I put it on an orange burlap runner that my mom made – easy peasy!

    Reply

  19. Jenn from Much to My Delight says

    Are you guys feeling wistful that these will be the last holidays you spend in your first house? (Did I spell wistful correctly? It looks wonky.)

    I lurve that thankful jar idea; you guys are so good at creating special traditions like that.

    Jenn

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yes! I’m so nostalgic and emotional! It’s going to be so hard to leave our first love, but the insane excitement for the new house keeps me going. I keep reminding myself that when one door closes (the one to our first house) another door opens (the one to our new casa). Should be a wild ride…

      xo,
      s

  22. Erin says

    My kiddo likes to collected zillions of acorns that COVER our entire yard. They look nice in a short clear glass vase like your nut version. If only it really helped clean up the yard…

    Reply

  27. Christine says

    I have to ask – how do you keep your Lack shelves from sagging? We have a few of the next-size-shorter (two in the bedroom, one in the walk-in) and they started sagging after a few months. We didn’t even have anything heavy like dishes on them – one holds my purse collection, one holds our towels, one simply holds a few tealight holders – and yet we recently had to buy some brackets to support them (luckily Ikea had some pretty brackets I liked!).

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hey Christine,

      I wonder if it has something to do with the length of ours? They’re reinforced with a steel hanging rod, so even with lots of heavy stuff on them for the past 4.5 years we haven’t had any sagging issues. We also used metal anchors to hang them, so maybe that helped?

      xo,
      s

  29. sarah says

    Cute idea! Even if they don’t last very long, you can just grab more!

    Maybe you can come help us out: sevensistersinchrist.blogspot.com/2010/11/i-dont-be-leaf-it.html

    hehe

    Reply

  31. Liz says

    Please be careful that Burger doesn’t get into the nuts. We have a good friend that had a small dog and she ended up passing away because she got a hold of a whole nut with the shell on and ate it and couldn’t digest it.

    I’ve not had whole nuts in my house again just because of that.

    Reply

  33. Deidra says

    Yesterday at the grocery store I had the choice between normal green Bartlett pears and gorgeous red Bartlett pears. Three of them look so good in a ceramic bowl– the husband thought they were fake. I love double duty decor, pretty looking and edible, too!

    Reply

  35. Keri Lynn says

    We usually don’t decorate for Thanksgiving but you’ve given me some great ideas (as always)!
    The only Thanksgiving decor we have ever done which doesn’t last very long… are the apple, raisins and marshmellow turkeys. I used to love making those… and eating them not long after lol

    Reply

  37. Kaitlyn says

    I love the trace-your-hand-and-make-a-turkey project! A few months ago I made a chalkboard using chalkboard paint on our basement door. Usually we write a to-do list on it, but this week we’re going to make some crafty turkeys!

    Reply

  38. Paige says

    I spent under $4 to decorate our main living area. We have a group of candles on the coffee table, so I picked up a bag of pine comes from the dollar spot at Target (though it was one of the items that was $2.50 instead of just $1–sneaky!) and I placed a few among the candles. Then I got a pumpkin-y gourd from Trader Joe’s for $.69 and put it on top of a stack of books on one of the end tables. Finally, I got a faux white pumpkin as a gift, and I put that on our hutch.

    Reply

  39. Caitlin says

    It looks great and what a nice bonus to have most of it be free! Since you guys are moving mid-December, do you think you’re going to have enough time to get all of your Christmas decorations up?

    Reply

  40. Jenn says

    Hooray for free! I noticed that, since moving out of my moms house yearsssss ago, I never managed to acquire halloween/fall/thanksgiving decorations. I had already made a goal to decorate by using 95% stuff we already own and maybe, just maybe 5% snazzy new stuff. So I skimped on turkey day and saved my 5% for Christmas. Thank goodness we’re not spending thanksgiving here!

    I love your earthy additions to the house for November =)

    xoXOxo
    Jenn L @ Peas & Crayons

    Reply

  41. Diane says

    Hi guys! Love what you’ve done. So simple, pretty, and budget friendly. Hey, I have a question about the shelves behind your beautiful fall table. Sorry if this is a silly one, but how do you get those white plates to stand up? I love the look, but I can’t figure out how to get my plates standing all pretty without a not so pretty plate stand.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hey Diane,

      We use that sticky tack that people use to hang posters on the walls in dorm rooms. A wad of that in front of the plate (at the base) holds it up. Then we put a bowl or a cup or a candle in front of it to hide the spot of putty sticking the plate to the shelf. Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

  42. Irina@CanDoGal says

    Everything looks so cozy and pretty. And Iove those floating vases. I’ve seen people put goldfish in them. I’m sorry if you’ve answered this somewhere else on your blog, but I see you have a candle arrangement in the fireplace. Does it work? Is there some reason why you don’t use it?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hey Irina,

      In four and a half years here we have only used that fireplace once (it does work) but we rely more on the gas fireplace in the den throughout the winter (since we spend more time in there, and gas is so easy to use). We do light those candles in the fireplace on occasion though, it’s a lot easier for us than cleaning up after a true woodburning fire and all that ash.

      xo,
      s

  45. kristen says

    hi! how did it take me so long to find your beautiful, amazing blog?? i don’t know, but i’m sooo happy i have now! i’m all about seasonal stuff [as my 12yo daughter mentioned yesterday], & am in the process of collecting things to put together a “seasonal shelf” within our living room bookcase … a little takeoff on the waldorf nature table concept. anyway, for thanksgiving, i’ve got three miniature felted pumpkins, a little wooden squirrel figurine, a felted bowl with a leaf embroidered on it & some twiggy potpourri in it, a big autumnal candle, a pair of fall votives, & now i can complete it with glass cylinders full of mixed nuts – the perfect complement! thanks for this idea & the so, so many other ideas your blog is giving me … i’m grateful for you [& your mood boards – fabulous!]! ~ kristen :)

    Reply

  46. Reese says

    I LOVED the turkey hand!

    No fall decorating here, since we’re moving right after Thanksgiving and the only guests we’ll be having are those kind enough to help us move. But I’m ready to decorate for Christmas!

    Reply

  47. susan says

    I took an old silver candy dish, filled it with leaves from my yard, sprinkled it with yellow raffia and added 3 baby pumkins and a squash given to us at Halloween in the Woods. Total cost-$0. susan

    Reply

  49. Abby R says

    Since you mentioned the Pottery Barn catalog, I have to point you to this blog: http://catalogliving.net/page/1. Every day she uses captions from catalogs like Pottery Barn to jest about the absurdity of some of the decor. Your nuts are perfectly sane; I’m just saying this reminds us not to go too far in the PB direction! :)

    Reply

  50. Cameron says

    Okay, I just had to tell you that when I glanced at the first picture, I couldn’t tell what was in the jar on the right, but it appeared to be salmon filets! Upon closer inspection, I realized what it was, but I was REALLY confused at first! It looks great (now that I know you’re not using fish as a part of your holiday design scheme) and I LOVE the thanks jar idea.

    Reply

Stuff We Love

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *