5 Ways to Decorate For Fall On a Budget

In 2023 I think we are all feeling like saving our pennies. But you probably still want to decorate for the season, especially since you are at home more than ever before (unless you work at a hospital, a grocery store or a liquor store).

Today I’ll be sharing five decorating ideas for adding fall to your home on a budget.

What makes a home feel like fall? It’s not just pumpkins. In fact, pumpkins are not on the list of five. I’m not including any item that won’t last more than a few weeks. Fruit is such a gimme, but it doesn’t last. While fall colored fruits can be a fun way to add some color I don’t like to have to replace my decor after one or two weeks. And I hate to waste food (if it spoils on the counter).

1. Bring Fall Fabrics into your home

Burlap is a really affordable fabric and it’s warm and rustic, just like fall. If you want to bring fall into your home on a budget go buy some burlap. Burlap is hard to sew, but it’s possible to use burlap without sewing.

Stay tuned for a tutorial how to make a burlap runner next week. I LOVE this burlap runner on Etsy. You can choose the color of your stripe and the length.

I use affiliate links so I can afford to keep doing this. Hope it saves you time. See my disclosure policy.

Other fall fabrics include plaids and anything with a heavy texture. Plaid signals cooler weather. Even a larger buffalo check is a good thing to add for fall.

2. Use wood accessories

Wood accessories add warmth and a cozy feeling. You can use wood bowls, wood candle sticks, a wood cutting board, wood boxes, wood blocks, wood balls, you name it. I have a set of wood balls from some kind of game that I use. The only downside is that sometimes they roll off onto the floor and they are heavy so it’s always a shock.

I also use both a wooden salad bowl and a rustic looking cutting board in the hutch. During the summer these are a little heavy looking so I put them away.

3. Bring in Faux Greenery

You can bring in real greenery for free, that’s true. I’m not including that because I don’t like to have to clean up when the leaves start to fall off or lose their color. I will make one exception for my favorite real greenery, the pussy willow branches.

I bought these pussy willow stems from Trader Joe’s last fall and they still look exactly the same a year later. If I move them they will lose one or two of their white blooms, but they are unbelievable.

Faux stems are reasonably priced and you can reuse them year after year. Here are some of my favorites.

4. Add Copper

Not all copper is expensive. I’m not a huge fan of orange, but copper feels different to me than orange. You can find some great deals on copper at places like flea markets and garage sales. They also have copper at Target and Walmart.

I found a copper pumpkin at a garage sale. This is the best pumpkin because it doesn’t rot and it doesn’t feel so orange.

5. Use Fall Colored Books

Take a look through your book shelves and pull off some of the paper covers. I bet you will find some books with brown binding or darker shades of grey and black. You can save the covers if you feel bad throwing them away, but the binding of a hardcover book always looks warmer than the shiny paper.

You can also use your books with the pages facing out. I do this a little but some people (including my husband) really don’t like it. It can make it hard to find books you are looking for. Here’s an example of that.

Free fall decorating ideas

If buying any of these things is not in the cards for you this year, you aren’t alone. You can still add some seasonal decor even without spending a dime. Here are a few more ideas that don’t cost a penny, but they do take time.

• Find and cut some branches with fall leaves
• Re-purpose a scarf – Do you have a scarf in your closet you could throw on your table this year?
• Frame a free printable – This is kind of cheating because you have to have a color printer and an extra frame to make it happen. If you don’t have a color printer you can find fall printables that are black and white.

When Should You Decorate for Fall?

The answer to this question depends on where you live. When the temperatures start to cool off, that’s when it feels right to add some fall decor. Otherwise, it feels like it’s too soon.

Where I live, this isn’t until at least mid-September.

If you’re looking for more fall decorating ideas you might like, how to decorate using all of the five senses for fall and non-orange fall decor ideas.