How to decorate for Autumn

[GorgeousGeekGirl]

So I'm posting a how to I know how to do. I'd love to hear others ideas and techniques. I have family visiting in a few weeks, so I want to spruce up the house in great Fall themes.

Pumpkin floral arrangement: get a fake pumpkin (or real if you're hardcore). Cut open the top like a jack o'lantern. Put in a piece of floral styrofoam. Get about a dozen fake fall flowers (real if you don't mind dead flowers in a week). As you experiment with arranging them, you'll eventually find a look you like and even trim a few a bit shorter. Use a ribbon or wire to affix the pumpkin lid to the side. Take some fall ribbon and tie it loosely around the flowers or pumpkin and give it a big fluffy bow. You can find directions on YouTube or Pinterest. This project will probably cost about $30 and take about an hour.

 

[GorgeousGeekGirl]

Autumn-mas tree: I've seen a few craft stores with Christmas trees decorated for Fall. Easier than you may think...

Pull out the tree or pick up a used one. It's ok if it looks a little tired. Its also very ok if the lights dont work. Take fall floral stems and insert them evenly. Go through your Christmas ornaments. Look for nature, animal, food, country, hunting, yellow orange red brown, and animal. Use floral ribbon to make bows. Use straw stuff. Put hay bales and wicker baskets at the bottom. Use pumpkins and gourds and such. Small scarecrow people are also great. Country woodsy stuff also works. Little bundles of cinnamon sticks and pine cones are really good. Remember oranges covered with whole cloves? Try one or two of those. A topper may seem difficult, but it isn't as needed as on a Christmas tree. But if you really must, a recommend a scarecrow or pumpkin, but it's your tree, do what you like!

 

[GorgeousGeekGirl]

Hay or grapevine wreath: a grapevine wreath is one of those stick looking ones.

Get a couple handfuls of Fall picks. Arrange them till you like them on the wreath. (Or until you're sick of looking at them and say good enough! I need wine!) usually you will hear to use floral wire and hot glue. Ugh, one pokes and the other burns. Screw that. I say use curling ribbon. Don't hide it, make it bigger. For each pick, cut two strands 2-3 feet long. Tie on the pick then curl the ribbon. It secures the pick without pain and makes your wreath look fuller. Loosely wrap some floral ribbon around and throw in a couple fluffy bows, again using the ribbon to secure it.

 

[GorgeousGeekGirl]

Yummy smell goods: we all have ancient spices sitting in our spice racks. I mean seriously, you only use that little bit of nutmeg once a year at thanksgiving for pie.

Take your old spices and boil them in a pot on the stove. The happy smell spreads through the house. Or, if you're burning a candle, sprinkle a bit into the melted wax.

 

[satindesire]

Wait... you really decorate your house based on the season it is? I have never heard of this.

Seasonal house-and-porch/yard decorating is so common in the US South that if you don't do it, you're seen as a potentially "bad neighbor". I'm not kidding.

 

[satindesire]

That's insane. Is this something only wealthy/well off people do or everyone? This feels to me, like a giant waste of money and I'm not one to really care too much about wasting money.

Not at all! It's actually so commonplace here in the South that even stores like The Dollar Tree (where everything costs 1$) carries seasonal decorations. When Mister and I moved into our first apartment here, I actually decorated our entire livingroom, kitchen and bedroom for Halloween for less than 40 bucks by purchasing items from places like The Dollar Tree and Wal-Mart.

When we moved, we literally packed everything we owned into the trunk of an old 1980's Thunderbird and our furniture consisted of an air mattress, computer and guitar. So seasonal decorations aren't out of reach for young couples, broke/cheap people, or folks new to decorating who don't have a stock of previously purchased items.

It's actually pretty easy, too, a wreath with the appropriate seasonal colors on your door, a few fun cheap window decorations and viola! Instant neighborhood acceptance!

ETA:

For example, this site is one I've used before to buy seasonal decorations and as you can see, they're extremely inexpensive. My kids LOVE the window clings!

http://www.partycheap.com/Thanksgiving_Holiday_Decorations_s/32.htm

 

[satindesire]

Not to diminish what you're saying, but I'd dearly love to see you in that turkey hat. That is some classy hat right there.

OK, so you would leave those decorations up for more than just the actual day of Thanksgiving or Halloween? I thought they'd go out just for the day/event. Over here, we decorate pretty much for Christmas and that's it that I know of. We put the tree up 12 days before Christmas and it comes down on the last day of December.

Of course, most stores put their Easter Eggs and assorted paraphernalia out on New Years Day, and Christmas stuff seems to come out right after Easter but you know.. they're just money grabbing bastards so they don't count.

Are you kidding? I would decorate the turkey hat with some festive pins and a ribbon and ROCK THAT SHIT because I'm faaaaabulous!

Anyway, I would say that it depends on what you're decorating for, you know what I mean? If you're decorating solely for Halloween then you'd want to decorate about two weeks before, max, and take them down very quickly after, say within 2-3 days after Halloween. If you're decorating for just the SEASON, then you can leave them up all season long. It largely depends on the type of decorations and how "specialized" they are. Jack-o'-lanterns are not the same as a generic "punkin" (as we say 'round these parts), you know? One is going to be suitable to leave up much longer.

ETA Again: I know way too much about this shit. I really need to move!

 

[satindesire]

I'm going to remember this and come Thanksgiving you're going to be changing your AV to Turkey Hat Fab, girrrrlfriend!

If I actually get a Turkey Hat, I will take a picture of myself wearing it JUST FOR YOU.

 

[blulilacgrl]

My guys love decorating for the seasons, especially Halloween. We do a 'graveyard' out on the lawn complete with headstones, fake bones and mice. The mice are a favorite of the dogs in the neighborhood as they are squeaky toys we picked up from the Dollar Store.

I also have a whole 'Witch's Table' that I put up in my kitchen.

Point of fact I was just looking at some decorations to add for this year.

Whaddya think?

Thought these would look cool painted with glow in the dark paint and put into the woods.

 

[Violette_Elan]

I usually do a nice basket of dried, multi colored corn cobs, miniature pumpkins, and squash horns in beautiful fall colors. It doesn't look cheap, and keeps for a nice decoration for the entire fall season.

 

[Primalex]

Wait... you really decorate your house based on the season it is? I have never heard of this.

No kidding?

 

[Eilan]

Wait... you really decorate your house based on the season it is? I have never heard of this.

A good friend's ex-husband actually used "You don't decorate the house for holidays and seasons like my mom used to" as one of his excuses for moving out.

 

[desertslave]

Point of fact I was just looking at some decorations to add for this year.

Whaddya think?

OMG I love this! I think I would keep it out all year, just to tweak the earnest young missionaries biking around.

If anyone else shares my 'different' sense of humor and uses Facebook, follow the "Horrific Finds" page. They post some cool decorating ideas, plus a bevy of gorgeous to grotesque abandoned houses with a Gothic bent.

 

[Que]

What I like to do is throw my ego around a bit thereby tillting the earth on its axis.

That has the effect of causing the sun's rays to filter to the trees at a bit of an angle for less hours of the day then heretofore experienced during the summer months.

With this method I can change the colors of trees as well as cause them to shake in fear and drop nice colored carpet of leaves all over the yard.

These make for a nice crunch underfoot are fun to pile up and jump into and make for tremendous bonfires.

I do like to play with fire.

Sadly I haven't been able to have this effect on the world since I was about 11 and moved from the eastern seaboard a few blocks from the ocean.

As far south as I am....a significant shake off my Atlas-lke shoulders doesn't seem to have any effect on the trees around here.

 

[GrrlFriday]

Wait... you really decorate your house based on the season it is? I have never heard of this.

I wonder if taking fire prevention measures in the spring counts as decorating? One would certainly look askance at any neighbour who didn't appear to be doing anything, if something clearly needed doing.

 

[GorgeousGeekGirl]

My guys love decorating for the seasons, especially Halloween. We do a 'graveyard' out on the lawn complete with headstones, fake bones and mice. The mice are a favorite of the dogs in the neighborhood as they are squeaky toys we picked up from the Dollar Store.

I also have a whole 'Witch's Table' that I put up in my kitchen.

Point of fact I was just looking at some decorations to add for this year.

Whaddya think?

Thought these would look cool painted with glow in the dark paint and put into the woods.

I loved the pic of the Ghosts. It looks like sheer shimmery ball gowns. That would be a great Halloween thing

 

[Derya]

love the creativity of decorating

I don't do a lot of it because of time and too much house to deal with and too much stuff but I love the creativity of decorating for all kinds of seasons and coming up with ideas.

In party planning for showers, b-days, anniversaries, dinner parties things like this, this is part of what I love. And I do happen to be in the South but I did not know that other regions don't decorate seasonally? And some folks around my region do more than others in this regard but it is not unusual at all to see lots of decor change around per seasons/holidays and I figured this was the norm; is it more a regional type thing? that's kind of curious to me

 

[MeekMe]

Decorating by season is something that is commonly done. Something that is easy to do is introduce fall colors. Change out throw pillows (or make your own if you have the talent) or put out a simple vase with an Autumn motif/color scheme. I like to change simple things, like the throw over my couch. In the warmer months its light and breathable. In the colder months its heavier and warm to wrap up in.

Simply adding in some color can do a world of difference. Remember you probably already do some seasonal changes in your home to prepare for hot and cold. I also like to burn an apple cinnamon candle once on awhile. Makes me think of fall. If you don't like burning candles, stores start selling cinnamon soon and those bundles smell amazing.