Easy Fall Decorating Ideas on a Budget!

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With just a few practical tips you’ll be on your way to a beautiful fall home. These easy fall decorating ideas are both inexpensive and simple to do!

A room filled with furniture and a table

The breeze blows gently through my hair, the leaves crunch under my feet and the air feels crisp and fresh this morning.

I clasp a mug of my favorite Instant Russian Tea and my heart beats faster.

It’s finally TIME!

My favorite season of the year is here!

Actually, it began a few days ago but here in NC the little invisible person on my weather app didn’t get the message.

Fall arrived and the hot temperatures remained while my brain was immersed in work, parenting and a new grand baby!

As for my home? Until a few days ago there was a “Summer’s Here” sign on the front door. 

Yep. I’m a DIY home decor blogger doing everything backwards this year.

My “seem to always have it together” blogging friends put their fall decor up in August and were frantically scouring the countryside for pumpkins.

A living room filled with furniture and a fire place

I.just.couldn’t.do.it.

Not this year, folks.

Sometimes you just gotta go against the tide and stand alone.

Am I singing your song right about now?

Good intentions, Pinterest boards full of great fall decorating ideas and all that jazz.

Maybe you even purchased some craft supplies for you and the kids to make together because they were JUST SO DARN CUTE (like this Candy Corn Banner made from a paper plate!)

Table and Plate

It’s ok if you didn’t get it done. Life happens. A lot. 

Give yourself a break today and let’s just do this together, with a few easy fall decorating ideas for under $10. 

NO GUILT DECORATING. That’s my motto this year.

pumpkins and fall decor in living room

So many of you want to know how to decorate while staying within a budget so here’s how I do it.

Easy Fall Decorating Ideas for Under $10

Tip 1. Use what you already have.

I love using everyday elements with a few seasonal touches. Below I just added pinecones, pumpkins and greenery to decor I already owned.

fall vignette on top of white chalk painted chest

My china hutch is one of the easiest places to decorate. I already use red and aqua so I just added a couple of pumpkin elements to the mix.

White china hutch decorated with orange and blue for fall

Before we remodeled, this vignette by my front door was one of my favorite places to dress for the season. But since I was short on time I just kept the books stacked like they were and added the fall wooden letters (stolen from this easy DIY wreath project!)

A living room filled with furniture and a fire place

Have a few old books? Turn them backwards and use them as part of a vignette!

backward books and tin as part of fall vignette

2. Add inexpensive natural elements.

I’m a big fan of adding small pumpkins and gourds to your decorations. They’re inexpensive and easily available once the season is in full swing. Plus, they come in many colors these days!

A table topped with lots of different fruits

For this 3-tiered yard sale tray I added artificial pumpkins (bought on sale at the end of the previous year) with pinecones, one of the cheapest and easiest natural elements!

Decorating Tips and Hacks
Get my FREE guide: How to decorate your home for practically nothing!
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A bowl of fruit sitting on top of a wooden table, with Idea and Home

Gather a few pine cones with a bright colored ribbon and hang them on your front door!

Idea and Home

Pine Cone Door Arrangement

Have a favorite container? Add a few pine cones to an unusual basket or something similar to this copper tin.

pine cones in copper basket

Go outside and find a few sticks and use in a fall centerpiece. That’s what I did!

A vase filled with flowers sitting on a table

Use dollar store plates, candles and scarecrows to create an inexpensive fall place setting.

A table topped with plates of food on a plate, with Orange and Mod Podge

Most of my home decor accessories are from yard sales. (If you want to know how I do it my best tips are here.) 

These candle holders were from my husband pre-wedding and I’ve since painted them white. They go with everything and are so simple to dress up for the seasons.

Wrap them in ribbon (or burlap here) and tie with string or jute. Such a cute idea!

A vase of flowers on a table

Add a few mini pumpkins to the tops for an adorable part of a vignette.

Pumpkin and Table

The vases and flower arrangements in this vignette were $1 yard sale finds and the picture was a gift to us many years ago when we were first married. It had been hiding in my attic stash for a long time but I love the way its simplicity lets the pops of orange shine!

A living room filled with furniture and a fireplace

Tip 3: Fill in with new decor by shopping end of season sales, yard sales and thrift stores.

Decorating can be as simple as adding yarn balls and acorns to a large glass jar (found for $1 at a yard sale.)

Pumpkin and Glass

My DIY Step Ladder Shelf holds a couple of those pumpkins and a few rustic odds and ends. Casual and easy.  

Hutch and Shelf

One of my all time favorite yard sale finds was these $1 shutters, now chalk painted and hung over the love seat in this picture. (This wall is now gone! You can read all about it our kitchen remodel here.)

A living room

I’ve struggled with what to hang on them but these grapevine wreaths are perfect, decorated with some floral stems found at a you know where!

Idea and Book

Whew, that’s a lot of ideas! How about a freebie to close this post out?

Free Chalkboard Printable for Fall from Marty's Musings

Fall Chalkboard Printable

 

I really need to know, for my sanity’s sake, is anyone else just now adding a few fall touches to your home?

 

Were you inspired or encouraged by these easy fall decorating ideas? If so, I’d love if you’d share this post!

Pin it reminder for Marty's Musings blog

A room filled with furniture and a table

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16 Comments

  1. Hi Marty. I’m also a late fall decorator this year. I started putting my fall things out Monday and I still have the outside to do. Hopefully this weekend when it’s supposed to be nice out. I’m also in the process of making a new wreath for the site where my son had a car accident. I somehow cannot figure out where I put his from last year. I also lost the flowers I make in clay pots for the cemetery so I’m busy doing that. I love your house so much and the way you decorate it. You are so talented.

    1. Hi, Danna. I’m so sorry for your loss. My sister passed away 20 years ago in October so I know how hard anniversaries are. Much love to you!

  2. I can hardly wait every year to get out Harvest/Halloween decorations…the day fall begins, I dive into my couple of bins of collected-over-many-years (and curated) decorations. My living/dining/kitchen areas blend into one another and are all dusty reds, greens. and golds. Warm fall colors and these rooms so complement each other. Except for a couple of jack-o-lanterns, I can continue this thru Thanksgiving.
    I have a new (to me) home, and I’m excited about finding spots for Christmas decorations, but I’m enjoying the way fall looks.
    I like the way you work natural objects like acorns, small pumpkins, pine cones. etc. into your vignettes. You photos inspire many of us to be creative!

    1. Hey, girl! Thanks for the compliment! Pumpkins in August means none at Thanksgiving! Of course by then Christmas has long taken over the world. Miss you!

  3. Very interesting and helpful. I have a big basket on the porch waiting to be adorned with fall things from Hobby Lobby I bought awhile back……does this count as decoration if it’s still in the bag?? Lol. One Item has glitter all over it! WHY did I buy that lol.

    1. Hey, Janet. Baskets certainly do count as decoration but you do have to take the stuff out of the bag! I love glitter of all kinds but I’m trying hard to resist it and go more a la natural. Although Christmas says bold and glittery to me!

  4. Great job Marty and yes I have added fall touches. I think I’m resting up for Christmas in which I intend to go all out. I do wish I could find great deals like you, like that lamp!

    1. Hi, Diana. It’s good to hear from you. I definitely agree with resting up for Christmas. We have a ginormous DIY project planned that is top secret but I think resting may be out the window for a while. I hope to be sharing it very soon. I can’t wait to hear about how you’re going all out, though!

  5. Your home looks beautiful and I am bowing to your thriftiness. i also love all your natural touches – those are such wonderful ways to make your home feel ready for the next season.

    1. Thanks so much, Kim. You are equally thrifty but you just do it in a little different way! Having a home built by your own hands is such a wonderful accomplishment. Truly takes the meaning of home to a new appreciation!

  6. Really liked how you decorated your place ,both my late mom and grandma used to take me to tags sales .My late grandma had a panio just like yours .And my late mom bought tag sale furinture and repainted it to use in my bedroom as a child .I found your blog and enjoy reading your site with all the neat things you write about take care Tracy

    1. Hi, Tracy. What wonderful memories you must have of your mom and grandma. My piano was passed down to me from my mom and I practiced on it through my entire childhood! Thanks for reading my blog and commenting!