Autumn Decorating Ideas - Jump Into Fall!

by Kelly D.

Autumn is a wonderful season full of colors, smells and tastes that are well loved and well remembered. Its also a great theme for decorating your house because it encompasses a few different holidays such as Thanksgiving and Halloween. But what sort of ways are there to incorporate autumn and the surrounding holidays into your home?

How about our sense of sight? Trees in the fall are crowned with leaves in a variety of colors, so lets start there. Shades of red, yellow, orange, brown, green and everything in between. Try to find some ribbon, cloth, even paper (tissue, wrapping paper) in those vibrant hues. To find those items in inexpensive ways, try checking out dollar stores and thrift stores in your area. Lots of Wal-Marts sell cloth, ribbon, and other craft items for great prices. You can also use construction paper or old clothing (like pretty dresses that have been torn or don't fit anymore).

Candles, baskets, bowls or glasses can add some nice touches. You can also use ribbons to accent un-lit candles or baskets (but don't light candles with any cloth or ribbon on them). You can then take the candles and arrange them, maybe even cutting some of them to they sit at different lengths. If you can't get them to stand up or if you're using taper candles, you can use a seasonal plate and a lit candle to "glue them in place" by melting a few drops of wax to the plate, sticking the bottom of the candle to it, repeat until they're arranged how you like them. You can even arrange ribbon or flimsy material (like toile, which can be purchased very cheaply by the yard) in and amongst the candles for an added touch (but don't light them!). Or take a basket, wrap some ribbons around the handle or try to weave them in and out of any holes in the basket's weave, and then add in some fall foods like gourds, squash, or corn. Or even crumple pieces of construction paper into balls and arrange them in the basket. If you want to go the extra mile, you can dab a bit of liquid glue along the lines and ridges of the paper balls and sprinkle glitter on the wet glue (don't forget to tap off the excess glitter).

Another great visual effect is a sort of leaf collage. For that, you will want to collect leaves that are not dried (they would crumble while you're working with them) but have their fall colors, or at least have started to turn. You'll also want a piece of stiff paper (you can use foam board, a piece of cardboard painted over, or anything that will stay standing if you leaned it against a wall) and some spray glue or decoupage glue. Arrange the leaves the way you would like them on the board, and then glue them down. You can even add some fall colors ribbon around the edge, or as little floweret bows.

Now, onto our sense of smell. There are many great ways to bring fall smells into your house. Baking is one thing, as the smells of bread and cookies make a person feel warm and at home during the colder parts of the year. But if you're not the baking type, you can get scented candles, potpourri or fragrance fans/plugins that have the smells of cinnamon, cookies or pumpkin pie.

Whatever decorating scheme you're going for, incorporating the seasons into your house is a great way to get people into the spirit of the holidays. Using your parts of your 5 senses will help get the job done even better. By nature, humans are sensory creatures, our memories are made up of a lot of smells, tastes, sounds and so forth. If you can play upon the brain's ability to relate to those things, you can create an amazing atmosphere that will be remembered for a long time.

About the Author-
Kelly D. is a staff writer and site editor for HolidaysDot.com.