Fall is here, and apparently our homes are expected to make the transition from breezy summer (or chaotic summer if you have kids at home) to cozy fall overnight. Meanwhile, I’m over here wearing my summer Birkenstock sandals and pretending this whole “new season” thing isn’t happening. But it’s time to trade those sandals for clogs and decorate for autumn.
I’ve been in low-power mode for the last few weeks, so decorating my home for fall, normally one of my favorite things, is sounding suspiciously like a chore. I’m not interested in hauling twelve bins out of the basement, redecorating every room, working on easy DIY fall projects, or covering my house in pumpkins just because the calendar says September. So I’m taking the easy route.
Instead of major redecorating or doing a big DIY project, I’m showing you how to make a few simple swaps that help your home leap from summer to cozy season without spending a fortune or turning your living room into a pumpkin patch overnight. Think less “complete, head-to-toe seasonal makeover” and more “put on a cardigan and call it fall.”
Consider this your lazy gal’s guide to transitioning your summer home decor into fall decor. Everything in this easy fall decorating idea guide is capital E easy, budget-friendly, ladder-free, and requires precisely zero decorating heroics. Let’s begin.
Swap Out Textiles
While summer is all about linens and lightweight fabrics, that fall feel embraces cozy textures, heavy blankets, and quilts. Switch up the pillow cover on the couch, add a chunky knit throw to your favorite chair, or toss a quilt in the kids’ reading nook.
If you do just one task, make this your number one priority. Adding cozy textures and fall colors to your textiles is the highest-impact change. Bonus, it’s also the lightest lift of all the inexpensive fall decor ideas in this article..
Some examples:
- Chunky knit throw on the chair
- Vintage quilt draped over the back of the couch
- Heavier velvet or knit pillow covers in earth tones
Decorate with Brown and Earth Tones
Summer decor is synonymous with light woods, airy colors, and brighter tones. Trade in some of those bright accents for moodier, earth-toned fall decor; your home will start to jive with the fall season surprisingly quickly. Start by adding warm wood, leather, wicker, rattan, or aged brass accessories to your home.
Some examples:
- A wooden bowl on the coffee table filled with photos
- Vintage stool next to the bathtub
- Brass candlesticks on the buffet
- Brown pottery crocks in the kitchen
- Woven baskets just about anywhere
- Rattan footstool by a favorite chair
Bring In Fall Foliage And Branches
Nothing is cheaper or screams budget-friendly fall louder than bringing nature indoors to decorate with. Go outside for a nature walk and cut some branches with interesting leaves, seed pods, or berries. Trim them up and arrange them in a big pitcher or a crock. Some of the ugliest weeds outside can be some of the most beautiful indoor fall decorations.
Some examples:
- Maple branches with leaves changing
- Sumac fall leaves turning red
- Birch branches for a lighter, woodsy look
- Goldenrod stems in a big pitcher
- Wild grapevine for an unruly, whimsical look
- And don’t underestimate the power of bare, leafless branches (bonus, they transition great to Halloween decor)
Bonus…other ideas for bringing nature indoors include an acorn collection in a bowl, pinecones next to a ceramic taper holder, fall foliage pressings, and other natural material fall craft ideas.
Put Away The Summery Accessories
Not every season means you have to totally redecorate your home. To transition from summer to fall, it’s just about removing some of the things that are screaming beach vacation and summer at you. I love this one because we’re not adding anything, just taking away a few things. The minimalist in me is rejoicing. Spend a little time, sweep through the house, and put away anything with a summer vibe.
Some examples:
- Bright or tropical colors
- Beachy wall signs or art
- Seashells or sand collections
- Summery feeling artwork
- Lightweight woven accessories (aka the things you find in a Serena and Lily catalog)
Switch To Fall Florals
Along the same lines of decorating your home with branches, updating the florals in your home is a great way to add fall color and bring autumn in. And by “fall flowers,” I don’t always mean “flowers” but also things like eucalyptus and grasses. And dried flowers too.
A word on the fresh or faux debate. I am staunchly in the real florals trump fake flowers camp. The less plastic in my house, the better. If faux stems are your cup of tea, more power to you. But I’ll be over here choosing plastic-free.
Some examples:
- Dried hydrangeas
- Goldenrod cuttings
- Eucalyptus
- Wheat or grasses
- Dahlias and zinnias in rich colors
- Sunflowers
- Cosmos in burgundy colors mixed with some whites and pinks
- Chrysanthemums (aka…mums…get them at your grocery store)
- Amaranth in a loose arrangement
- A dried bouquet from summer
Layer An Outdoor Rug With A Doormat
While I will never be one of those big influencers telling you to switch out the summer rugs in your home for fall ones (who has the time/money for that?! Not real humans who live in real life houses.) I will sing the praises of layering a fall-ish outdoor rug under your doormat. It’s the easiest upgrade for a fall porch and preps the space nicely for October’s outdoor DIY crafts and pumpkin projects.
Some examples:
- Welcome mat over a plaid rug
- Plaid welcome mat over a jute rug
- Welcome doormat over woven, natural-colored, striped fringe rug
- Thankful doormat over a buffalo check rug
Accessorize With Candles
Candles can instantly up the fall season, cozy vibes. Especially dark colored tapers in candlestick holders. While there’s a place for those scented jar candles (see later in the list), this is more about adding ambiance to your fall home decor without making the room feel like a pumpkin spice explosion.
Some examples:
- Deep purple candlesticks in wooden holders
- Jewel-toned tapers in aged brass candlestick holders
- Chocolate brown tapers in ceramic holders
- Or try some mismatched tapers
Sneak peak of the paper bat project happening in the keeping room. Note the easy transition from fall decor to Halloween decorating?!
Put A Wreath (In A Fall Color) On It
If you already have a rustic or fall-themed wreath, grab it from the attic (or other storage location) and hang it. A wreath hanging on a door makes for some festive fall decor. And if you have a bit of giddyup as you transition out of low power mode, try making your door decor. Perhaps in traditional fall colors?! Or a grapevine wreath accessorized with natural elements. It’s an easy DIY fall decor project. You may find other places throughout your home to hang a wreath and bring fall inside.
Some examples:
- Interior windows
- Above a mantel
- On a wall as a focal point
- Or layered over something larger like a tobacco basket (see photo below)
- Front porch door
Or A Garland On It (Mantel)
If you already have it, and on a random Tuesday you feel up for a trek to the attic to find it, add a garland to your mantel decor. Whether it’s a simple twine garland with waxed leaves hanging from it or something more elaborate in a yellow autumnal hue, let it out.
Some examples:
- Dried leaf garland in shades of red
- Orange slices strung on a piece of twine
- Dried fall bloom collection
- Dried hydrangeas
- Acorn garland
Just make a garland with whatever nature gives you for an eye-catching display all season long.
Switch The Artwork
This is a sneaky good one. Find one or two pieces of art in your home that can easily be swapped out for something that feels more like fall. You don’t need a gallery-wall overhaul, as that would be crazy. But one little swap here or there, like the print leaning behind your coffee station or swapping out a painting leaning on a dresser, can change the mood.
Some examples:
- Landscape art
- Botanical prints
- Moody still lifes
- Vintage maps
- Antique-looking illustrations
- Anything with rusty/brown tones
Create A Simple Fall Dining Table Look
Give your home’s dining table a fabulous fall feel with a few simple refreshes. Trade the light blue linen table runner for something darker and more substantial or create a simple nature-filled centerpiece.
Some examples:
- Switch out the runner
- Add a wooden bowl
- Add a few candles
- Put branches in a crock
- Use cloth napkins in a darker color
- Arrange a simple, affordable fall centerpiece with items from nature
Bonus…Nature provides the most inexpensive fall decorating materials. Use what nature provides to make a simple fall craft or arrangement in a few minutes. Hashtag fall on a budget.
Transition To Cozy Fall Bedding
Fall naps are the best. The air is cooler and breezy; you can still crack the windows open; and it feels so good to wrap yourself up in flannel sheets, soft bed blankets, and grandma’s quilt. So break out the favorite fall bedding and transition sleep to cooler temps.
Some examples:
- Switch linen sheets for flannel
- Add an extra soft bed blanket or coverlet
- Throw a quilt (or two) across the foot of the bed
- Add a decorative pillow in a deeper shade
- Bonus: choose a mix of textures and fabrics
Curate A Signature Autumn Scent
Decorating for fall and making your home feel like the season involves ALL of the senses, including your sense of smell. Think about how you can make your house smell like fall and curate a signature scent for the season. Whether it’s putting a simmer pot on the stove, crafting a custom essential oil blend, or lighting a favorite scented candle, stimulate the olfactory system with the scents of fall.
Some examples:
- Cinnamon + Orange + Vanilla
- Apple + Cedar + Clove
- Pear + Ginger + Cardamom
- Fig + Amber + Sandalwood
- Cranberry + Orange + Clove
- Pumpkin + Vanilla + Cedar
- Maple + Brown Sugar + Smoked Wood
Make A Nook Glow
Creating glow and ambiance for your fall home amps up the cozy factor during the growing darkness of the season. While I abhor overhead lighting and much prefer layered lamps, I’m not about to upgrade the lighting in my entire house. Instead, this fall a chose a nook in our living room where I love to read and really made it glow.
Some examples:
- Twinkle lights in an office
- A classier version of a traditional reading light
- Vintage lamps next to the living room seating
- Put a table lamp somewhere unexpected
- Use a salt lamp or diffuser like a nightlight
- Add a candle inside a lantern or hurricane glass
- Cluster candles on a tray
- Light the fireplace or woodstove
Other Small Fall Decor Ideas Here And There
And lastly, look for tiny opportunities here and there to make your home feel a little more like fall. Therese are small, easy decorating ideas, like adding a single leaf to a bud vase on a shelf. As we move from September to October, bring in a pumpkin here or there. We’re not going straight from summer to pumpkin patch, just slowly leaning into the decoration ideas for the season.
Some examples:
- A warm wood tray in the bathroom
- Swapping in vintage things for daily use
- Adding branches to a vase
- Cozy textiles in the living room
- Using candle collections
- Bringing in muted earthy colors
- And even just a solo pumpkin on a shelf (or stool)
As October arrives, start bringing in the pumpkins, gourds, plaid, and Halloween-ish bits and bobs. For now, we’re keeping it simple with basic ideas for a cozy home and embracing fall. This gives you a much longer decorating season, feels more collected over time, and keeps the overwhelm at bay. Although I cannot confirm or deny that I may have completed the “add pumpkins to your front steps” portion of the fall display program. If you’re there, here are some tips on decorating with mums and pumpkins on a porch. Happy fall decorating at home, everyone!
Pssst…I’m forever waging war against the sumacs in our yard, but once autumn rolls in, they’re some of my favorite branches to bring inside for easy DIY fall decor. What’s your go-to for transitioning from summer to fall decor in your home?! Or your best decorating ideas for a cozy home?
