Fall Decorating Inspiration - Five Simple Affordable Ideas

Do you want to add touches of fall to your home or apartment without spending a lot of time or money?

It’s nice to add something seasonal to your decor if for no better reason that because it makes you feel good. Even small things can make your home feel in the season even if you don’t have the budget to do something big but.

Here are five low cost, simple ideas that are also relatively quick and easy. You’ll find even if you only do one, it will make you feel like you’ve prepared your home for fall.

1.) Hang a Fall Wreath

I’ve never had the chance to put a wreath on my front door. The front door in our last house was completely hidden from view from the street. This year is different.

I searched for something reasonably priced to hang on my new door. Etsy has tons of great options if you don’t feel like going to a store. I love this one for just $65 (available in multiple sizes) and this one at just $25. There are lots of great options at Target and even your grocery store often has something inexpensive and it’s not an extra stop.

2.) Choose one Shelf to display Fall color

For this it can be a shelf in your living room or even a coffee table. The point is to just choose one surface to put a few fall colored accessories.

This is my mom’s fall shelf. Every few months my mom changes the shelf outside her apartment. She lives in a retirement community and many of the residents do the same. This is her shelf for fall. What’s on the shelf can change, and doesn’t even have to represent the season. She often uses ribbons and flowers, small pitchers or vases and small artwork.

One season she used old jam jars from a thrift store filled with flowers. Many of her decorations feature these black and white silhouettes, which can fit any season.

Is there an empty shelf in your house you could put something fall colored on? You could do this in just about any room. Just add some fall colored ribbon, flowers, dried leaves or even fall colored books.

3.) Decorate your Mantel

Many people decorate their mantel for the holidays, but you can put something seasonal on your mantel any time of the year. It can be greenery, ribbon, or a vase full of flowers. Here are two simple fall mantels. One has just a home made Halloween garland, a pumpkin and a fall colored throw. The second one has copper.

The first photo was taken about two months after we moved into our new house. What you can’t see just outside the frame of the photo is the chaos that lingers after a move.

But having just one or two fall things in the room made it seem decorated for the season. Nothing says fall like a pumpkin!

4.) Decorative Pillows

A few throw pillows make a big change to the way a room looks and feels. I don’t have room to store many, but I have a few.

Here are some I like this year. Full disclosure, I love Halloween. Fall decor, for me, means Halloween.

I choose every product I review. I may earn an affiliate commission if you buy from one of the product links, at no extra cost to you. This income supports this site. See the full disclosure.

This fall pumpkin pillow from Etsy comes in several different sizes and prices range from $15 and up.
I also love this buffalo check pillow from ThePillowCoverStore. They have every color and size
This crow pillow is perfect for Halloween.
This boho style pillow is a little more subtle, but still fallish.
This damask throw pillow from target is a more subtle fall touch.

5.) use a Garland, even without a mantel

A garland like the one on my fireplace is an easy decoration to hang or drape anywhere in your house. Garlands look great on a shelf, in a windowsill or even down the center of your table. They can be wound around a house plant or light fixture.

Garlands are a simple way to add color that doesn’t require a lot of time or effort. This is an example of a simple Halloween garland made out of construction paper, ribbon and glue. I love it because it’s totally unique and easy to store.

There are some great faux maple fall leaf garlands available on Etsy. Here’s a great example of an inexpensive fall garland over a frame.

If you want to make a home made frame with fall, here’s an easy DIY flower picture frame from Crafty Julie.

Simplify Your Fall decor

If you want to get your house ready for fall try one of these five ideas. Are there more ideas out there? Yes, you could come up with 20 ways to decorate for fall, but make your life easy. Just try adding one or two fall home decor items and see how that makes you feel. You don’t have to go crazy trying to get your home to feel decorated for the season.