There’s always that first day when you can feel fall coming. The light starts to change, the evenings feel a little different, and suddenly I’m ready to pull out the pumpkins and start making the house feel cozy again.
I’ve always loved decorating for fall, but over the years, I’ve realized that some of my favorite spaces aren’t the ones filled with brand new things. They’re the ones where I’ve pulled out pieces I’ve had forever (when sometimes to my disappointment, I realize I’m looking for something I sold at a garage sale 2 years ago…oh well, someone else will get to pull it out and enjoy it!) moved them around, painted something, tucked things together differently, and some how made it feel new again.
For me, the porch is always one of the first areas I decorate. It sets the mood for the season before you ever walk through the front door—and it doesn’t have to mean buying an entirely new collection of fall decor every year to make it beautiful.
Give those old florals another fall
This year, I pulled out warm fall florals I’ve collected and used for years. Since anything on the porch is going to be exposed to the sun, wind, and weather, this is actually the perfect place to use some of those older stem. I like to group older florals together to create fuller arrangements. Mixed together, they get a whole new life, and I don’t notice a few fallen blooms or leaves or worry quite so much about the weather being unkind to them.
Old florals are also perfect for an easy DIY front-door swag. Gather a handful of leftover stems, layer them until you like the shape, secure them together, and finish it with a pretty ribbon. It doesn’t have to be complicated or perfectly arranged. A loose, slightly gathered look is part of the charm—and it makes a cute front-door decoration using things you may already have tucked away in your fall bins.
before buying new – look at what you have
The same goes for pumpkins. Those old plastic pumpkins we’ve all had tucked away forever? Paint them! A little paint can completely change the look, add some character, and make an inexpensive or dated pumpkin feel new and interesting again.
And pillows don’t need to be an investment either. Instead of spending a fortune on pillows that are going to live outside, I picked up some inexpensive ones from Amazon in warm, muted fall colors. Save the beautiful, pricier textiles for inside where the weather can’t get to them.
layer, layer, layer
If there’s one thing that can make a space feel cozy and collected it’s layers. That is really the secret to a cozy fall porch. Instead of setting one pumpkin beside a planter and calling it done, add another pumpkin in a different size or color. Tuck in a basket. Drape a throw over a chair. Layer a textured pillow in front of a plaid one. Add a lantern beside a planter or let some fall stems spill over the edge.
Varying the height, texture and size of things is what turns a collection of fall decorations into a space that feels finished.
And don’t feel like everything needs to match. In fact, I think it’s more interesting when it doesn’t. Muted greens, warm oranges, creamy whites, natural wood, wicker and aged finishes can all live happily together.
Mix old with new, inexpensive with special, and let your porch feel like it was gathered over time rather than purchased all at once.
That’s the kind of decorating I love most at Soft Suburban—beautiful, comfortable, attainable, and never too precious to actually live with.
And now I’d love to hear from you: What are you pulling out and reusing this fall? Do you have an old decoration you’ve painted, repurposed or somehow managed to keep decorating with year after year?
🍁 The porch is just the beginning. Stay tuned—we’re heading indoors next for more fall decorating ideas.
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