Natural Fall Decor for Any Home

It is so easy to use natural fall decor in your home.  In fact, autumn and spring are the two best seasons to find free decor items right outside your doorstep.  And what is better than free?  Home decor that looks great – that’s free, right?

Before jumping in, I would like to talk about some decorating concepts that come to mind when planning specifically for the fall.

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Decorating Concepts

Warm Colors for Fall

The colors of fall are natural on their own.  Warm tones of brown, orange, yellow, and red.  Even gray fits into the fall color palette quite nicely.

I live in rural Pennsylvania in the US and the weather changes are quite noticeable here, which I love.  I grew up in South Florida, where every season was pretty much hot and sunny, for the most part.  So seeing the leaves change colors always makes me happy.

The changing weather makes it pretty easy for me to find items outside to decorate my home.  But not everyone is as lucky as I am.  So I will do my best to incorporate some choices that can be found in other climates as well, when I can.

Natural Rough Textures

I also love the rough textures of fall.  In fall, I think of peeling bark, and rows of corn on a cob.  Even pumpkins and gourds have different textures that add so much interest to a home.  These are all such great options for natural fall decor pieces.

Our home is surrounded by corn farms and corn stalks are easily obtained for free around this area.  They are also sold at many different stores around our town.  Corn stalks are a great choice for fall decor outdoors, like on your porch.  Just tie them to your porch posts.  We use stretchy old panty hose (really, black tights) to tie them because our posts are so wide around and these stretch really well.  Here are our corn stalks this year.

Layering

As we are starting to see a change in weather outside, we seek warmth inside.  So fall is a great time for layering.  Layering different textures adds visual weight and coziness that people like during this cooler season.

Natural-Fall-Scents

I must tell you that my favorite time to walk down the candle aisle in any store is by far autumn.  The scents of pumpkin and vanilla, apples, and warm spices all appeal to me.

You can achieve these scents naturally and safely within your home with little effort.  Keep reading.

Hit-the-Great-Outdoors

Just make sure that you aren’t bringing any insects inside your home with the pieces you are collecting!  Those guys need to be outside where they can do their jobs for the ecosystem.

Sticks for Decor

Once you start collecting sticks for decor, you will never look at them the same way again.  What sticks make the best decorating pieces?  Crooked ones.  Sticks with lots of interest.  Think about branches that have thinner branches growing out of the sides.  I have certain trees in my yard that I favor over others because their branches tend to be more crooked and interesting.

Long sticks in a large bottle make an excellent rustic centerpiece.  Just make sure that they are not reaching where they can poke anyone in the eye.

We have a persimmon tree whose branches are always reaching out in different directions.  It’s perfectly imperfect, and there are always some dry and dead branches lying on the ground for me to collect just in time to use in my natural fall decor.  I love that tree for this reason.

We also love visiting the forest to collect great sticks that fall from the different trees, just to have a variety of choices around our home

Nests-for-Natural-Fall-Decor

This is a little controversial a topic, and I know that people can give a whole host of reasons not to bring nests indoors, but please hear me out.

If you are a birder, you know your yard and your birds.  You know when they are completely finished with a nest and when they are not going to return to it.

Certain birds, when they have their eggs and their babies fly away, leave their nests unattended and other birds never come to reuse that nest.

On the other hand, some birds’ nests are reused over and over again, either by the same species, or by other species of birds.  Interesting, right?  In fact, in a nest that we watched robins grow out of, we now have a little family of doves.

When you see one of the nests that you know is not going to be used again, like the nest on our porch that has sat since last season and no birds have touched it at all this entire spring and summer, you can bring that nest indoors and use it in your decor.  Just wash your hands after touching it, for goodness sakes!

What is more natural than a bird’s nest?  And it’s the perfect fall colors!  Now, you may be concerned about insects, so inspect it very carefully.  Or you could keep it under a glass cloche or inside a lantern like this:

Rocks, or Stones

Whatever you call them, these items are a decorator’s friend.  You can get these free, outside, if you know where to look.  If you live near a creek, you can find nice, smooth rocks there.  Just make sure that you are allowed to collect them and that you are not causing harm to the environment by removing them.

We like to collect rocks where streams have already dried up and are no longer running, either because of damming or because of natural processes.  Here is my daughter Gabby, collecting rocks for this post.

By the way, you like Gabby’s bag?  It’s made of 100% organic cotton and it stretches for DAYS! We take this thing everywhere we go and it washes so clean and easy.  It is to die for!  You can get one from the Conscious Minimalist, and you can pick it up for 10% off by using my Affiliate Code, EARTHFUL10 during checkout (for anything on the site). This is an affiliate link so I will get a small commission if you purchase anything, but you are not being charged anything different because of this.

If you live in the mountains like we do, it is pretty easy to find rocks in anyone’s yard, even your own.  Heck, I could go into my garden and dig out more rocks than I want.  Creeks and rivers create smooth rocks though, which have been worn down by the water over time.

Rocks can add texture and an earthy tone.  They can be that extra little touch that you are looking for in your autumn vignette.  You can fill a bowl with them and let them be the feature.  I know that these are dirty, and if you wanted, you could soak them for a few days before putting them on your table.  I am digging in the earthiness though.  What do you think?

Leaves

Of course, the first thing that I think of when it comes to natural fall decor is leaves.  In the fall, you can find the most beautifully colored leaves.  Why not use them to decorate your home?

Like rocks, leaves can be the little extra touch that elevate your vignette or your centerpiece.  Leaves can be used to highlight certain objects in your Thanksgiving table setting.

You can use soy wax to laminate your colored fall leaves and create a beautiful, but inexpensive wreath that will last for years.

Dried Flowers

You would need to look ahead for this decorative choice, but if you dry your flowers from your spring and summer gardens, these make great additions to your fall home decorating.

If you would like to see a great guide on drying flowers, check out this one by TreeHugger.

Lavender is a favorite dried flower for fall decor, and it seems to be a favorite scent.  I love the deep yellow of sunflowers and I am especially fond of daisies.  I’ve never really tried drying flowers and I don’t even know if these two kinds can be dried, but with Treehugger’s guide, I am inspired to give it a try this year.

Spoiler:  She even shows a microwave method that allows you to dry the flowers right away instead of waiting weeks for them to dry!  That’s more my speed.

Mums

If you live in the Northeast, you are familiar with mums, the poster child flower of fall.  Every store around starts stocking these pretty blooms around the end of August and they continue selling them throughout the season.  Porches all over are decked out in dark reds, golden yellows, and deep purples atop dark green stems and leaves.

Truth be told, mums aren’t my favorite flower, but I’m outnumbered in my house and family is about compromise, so we often have mums on our porch throughout the autumn.  Mums and bales of hay, that is.

Hay

There is something so rustic about a bale of hay.  To me, squared off bales of hay feel like home – and smell like home.  As I’ve said previously, we live in a farming community, so we are surrounded by barns and straw and hay.  This is probably my very favorite thing to decorate with in the fall, because it is so useful afterward!  We can use it to mulch our rosebushes for the winter, or we can save it for planting grass seed in the spring.  We can put it in our compost.  It’s such a great tool in the yard, and it looks so fantastically rustic!

Here’s something that should blow your mind.  Did you know that companies now make hay bales out of plastic?  Plastic hay?  Can you believe it?  Why take a perfectly good, inexpensive, outdoor product and create a non-biodegradable plastic version of it? PUKE!  Don’t buy plastic hay, y’all! 

Apples

This is so simple and yet such a great tip that you’ll be wondering why you hadn’t thought of it sooner.  Apples make a fantastic fall decoration.  Real ones, not plastic.

Put some apples in a basket, or a bowl and place them on your coffee table or your dining room table.  Who knows?  You might inspire someone to eat a healthy snack, while adding some dark red (or golden yellow, or green) to your natural fall décor.

Pinecones

Another great – and free – fall decorating find from the outdoors is pinecones.  Texture, color, scent – it’s all there for the taking!  Usually all over the ground!>

If you add some cinnamon essential oil drops to them, you’ll have your own cinnamon pinecones to deodorize your home!  Then in the winter, you can still use them to decorate for the holidays!  Or you can burn them in your fireplace!

Pumpkins and Other Gourds

Of course, if you decorate for fall, pumpkins and other gourds should be included.  There is nothing more classic than an orange pumpkin on a doorstep.

Nowadays, you can find pumpkins in all different colors for sale at grocery stores.  I love the white ones!

And the lumpier the better.  The ones with all the bubbles and warts all over them – those are the ones I like the most.  That extra texture is what I am after!

Even better than buying pumpkins at the store (please make it a farmer’s market, if you must purchase one!) is growing your own!  Plan this ahead of time so that you can plant pumpkin seeds in your garden and harvest your pumpkins or other gourds to decorate your home.

Natural Fibers

In addition to the pieces from the outdoors, you can also combine items made of natural fibers in your decor.

Burlap (Hessian)

Burlap, or hessian, is a natural fiber that is made from the skin of the jute plant.  According to Tree Hugger, jute is a sustainable choice that is “ideal for fair trade initiatives.”

This fiber is inexpensive and widely available at so many locations.  It has a very natural appearance.  Not to mention that it coordinates extremely well with other natural items, like those from the outdoors mentioned above.

Adding a hessian runner to your dining room table immediately turns it into a fall decorative piece.  You can upgrade the look of a glass candle holder by wrapping a piece of burlap around it and securing it with some glue or even by tying it with rafia or a piece of jute twine.

You can make an entire wreath using burlap ribbon and just a few other supplies.

Here is a really pretty one for only $10.00!

Jute Twine

Like burlap, jute twine is a great fall fiber to use in your natural fall decor. Some rustic jute wrapped around anything glass looks super autumnal!

In fact, if you wrap a small jar entirely in jute twine, you completely change the look of it.  It is an easy way to make something new out of something old.

And you can get this twine in various tones of tans and browns.  You could wrap balls in different shades and place them in a bowl.

A group of similarly colored books tied with some natural jute twine are a great free addition in your home decorating as well!

Let your imagination run wild with this – the possibilities are literally endless. And think on to the winter holidays!  There are so many options!

Baskets

I used to be a basket-a-holic.  There was a time when I had baskets of every shape and size, color, and type.  I even had a huge collection of vintage sewing baskets that I attained one by one, from flea markets and thrift stores.

I love the intricate weaving and the artistic texture of baskets.  They are so interesting and then to be functional on top of all that beauty – come on, right?

Like look at this handmade basket that I got at the farmer’s market for only $1.99!  I love it and I am using it in my porch decor! I thought about leaving it on my dining room table here, but if I did, our cats would jump up there and try to eat those pumpkins and sticks.  So it had to go on the front porch where it would be more safe.

Striving to achieve minimalism in our home however has forced me to get rid of a lot of my baskets, and to hang onto only my very favorites.  By the way, a great place to get baskets is in second hand stores and yard sales. 

Baskets are fantastic for decorating, especially for fall.  They are normally naturally colored and they have lots and lots of interesting texture.  And they hold things!

You can line baskets in burlap and put anything in them.  Nests, rocks, leaves, jute balls, jars, whatever.  Or you can display a basket alone and it is decor. (I don’t know about you, but in my house, any empty basket is just asking for junk to be put into it, so it’s better to fill it with decor in the first place to prevent that from happening!)

Now that I’ve written this post, I am so excited to finish decorating my home for the fall.  So I’m going to go do that now.

I hope that I have inspired you to do the same, and that I’ve provided some good ideas that hadn’t previously occurred to you.

To my dear Damaris:  Thank you so much for the opportunity to be a guest author on your blog.  It has truly been an honor to be asked to create a post for Rainbow Vegans Rock and it has been such a fun experience to work with you, my British friend! I look forward to swapping posts again in the future. xoxo

About the Author

Sue from Earthful Enlightenment is a lifestyle blogger who writes about her family’s journey to a more simple, sustainable lifestyle.  She lives in beautiful rural Pennsylvania with her family and her 7 (yes, seven!) pets.  She and her family harvest and filter rainwater, make their own laundry detergent, and more. Stop by to get to know her better at Earthful Enlightenment.

Sue has also set up an Etsy shop selling natural handmade soap and shampoo bars, do have a look and support this small business if you can.

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