25 Chic and Cheap Ways to Decorate for Fall with ZERO Pumpkins!

If you are alive and breathing and went pretty much anywhere this past weekend you surely noticed the switch.  Store shelves, magazine racks, decorative displays, they all went pumpkin on us one day last week, undoubtedly at the stroke of midnight, and are now squatting happily on summer’s territory before it’s technically time.  And no matter how we feel about this annual assault, we all know the drill and we know fighting it is a losing battle.  It may be hot outside but fall has no warm feelings for summer and has officially staged it’s coo.

Now, if you’re like me, you just can’t fathom how you’d possibly manage to break out the pumpkins just yet but you’re willing to ease into the idea before carving out some time to do a full on transition, that is of course of you even do a transition, then this is for you.  And if you’re home decidedly never gets involved in these seasonal squabbles and refuses to play favorites, that’s fine too, but you may want to take a peek as some of these simple and on trend ideas are just that, great ideas for any season or reason. So either way, I’ve got 25 of the best on trend ideas that will add a little pumpkin spice into your decor before you go full blown pumpkin pie smothered in caramel pecans sauce.

25 Ways to Warm up to Fall for under $50.00 – ZERO PUMPKINS!

1. Go buy brass if you haven’t already or don’t currently own any.  Not only is brass the metal du jour for adding some bling to your otherwise boring, it’s also creates warmth and adds texture to your space, making it feel cozy and curated.  Not into brass, copper is huge this season as well and you can’t go wrong with gold, ever.
2. Take note of this Fall’s Pantone colors and head to Home Depot or HomeGoods, possibly even both!  Sample paints are generally free and you can take that paint right on over to HomeGoods to create some happy fall offerings.  Paint a wooden stool (hello IKEA), an accent table, a serving tray or any other decorative accent with the seasons rich hues or natural neutrals and refresh your decor with little effort and big impact.
3. Add in some plaid!  Nothing says cozy like some mad plaid and this Fall it’s chic and cheap thanks to Target.  The entire store has gone totally Tartan with more 200 items under 25!
4. While at Home Depot picking up your free paint samples, grab some basic clay flower pots and give them a facelift by painting them in the same fall palate chosen for this year or try a little DIY and get mad about plaid yourself.
5. Buy a serving tray, again if you don’t already own one.  And bonus if you buy one that’s accented with brass.  Serving trays allow you to easily collect items to display in a way that contains them while curating them.  If you own one but it’s not quite right, then get it right.  Paint it, add a decorative lining, tack on brass nailheads…the possibilities are as endless for what you can do with it as what you can do to it.
6. Update your throw pillows or add a few more in the season’s highlighted hues.  This is always one of the absolute easiest ways to instantly alter your interiors.
7. Tied with throw pillows on ease but with slightly less impact, throw blankets.  Grab a new throw that embodies fall and add a layer o f texture.  It can be plain or plaid, printed or petted (think faux furs), but it doesn’t have to be pricey to cozy up a couch.
8. Chalkboard paint, as in buy some and paint a wall or a nook.  I love creating new themes on our kitchen walls that go with the seasons tidings and my kids get a real kick out of it.  It’s also an instant art swap with a definite ease in factor built in.  And if you don’t want to change the color of your walls, no problem, not anymore anyway.  You can now buy clear chalkboard paint that goes right on over your current wall.   Genius!
9. Not into painting a wall, then buy a large chalkboard.  I’m telling you, with all the free downloads for season appropriate stencils and ideas, you don’t need to any skills whatsoever to make coffee shop perfect art.
10. Buy a magazine or book full of fall images you can’t help but stare at and find a wall or a way to create a gallery of season evoking inspirations.  Washi tape works wonders for a decorative and dirt cheap way to achieve this, as do any number of hooks and clips made specifically for this purpose.
11. If you like the idea of adding some fall friendly art but want a slightly more permanent way of switching out the seasons, turn any piece of paper, be it a page out of Vogue, a picture off your printer or a tear out from a book, into canvas.  It’d crazy easy and crazy cheap, check out my tutorial here.
12. Buy some scented candles, potpourri or even a fall room fragrance.  Sometimes all we need is a gentle shove, like the smell of apple cider or a pumpkin spice latte to get us in the mood.  Bonus if the packaging is also fall friendly and it doubles for adding color.
13. Peel and Stick wall decals.  I’m a huge fan of this idea as we do it each Halloween.  But with sites like Etsy and wallsneedlove, you don’t have to be theme specific and can instead opt for adding interest to a wall in a chosen pantone that speaks to fall instead of literally welcoming it with a banner.
14. Not that all banners are bad!  And if you have kids, creating a fall or autumn or halloween banner is just plain fun.  Get them involved in the DIY or get one custom, the ideas are plentiful and they don’t have to be in your face.  A simple burlap banner with little more than scalloped edges can do the trick!
15. Go faux and use that serving tray you prepped for Fall to corral succulents and faux florals in rich hues, a simple pretty and chic way to layer in color and texture and eye candy.
16. Take faux one step further and add a faux animal head.  Be a bit bolder and try Targets plaid deer head — if you can find one!
17. Buy a few yards of on trend and in season fabric and open up your doors to 100 ways to fall in love this season.  It’s amazing how much Fall you can add with $50 bucks and a couple of yards of fabric!  Think of fabric like a fall decor genie in a brass bottle, it he can wrap it, glue it, stitch it, cover it, tie it, hook it, drape it, darn it, tuck it, trim it, braid it, frame it or layer it, just to name a few options, then dream on!  Fall inspired prints and patterns can adorn just about anything you set your mind to these days and as easily as it can be added, it can be subtracted.  Create no-sew throw pillows, wrap a lamp shade, cover books, frame it.  Seriously, the list goes on and on and on…
18. Get woodsy.  Adding wood elements like cut logs, candleholders, trays…they all speak Fall.
19. Mull over the idea with a cup of coffee and display it!  Fall is full of inspiring kitchen decor that is anything but you’re grammy’s.
20. Set the table your way, placemats and table runners can easily inject new life into your decor and set the stage.
21. Take a trip to the grocery store and display anything from apples to zucchinis  to create a unique centerpiece.  Be it on a kitchen or dining room table, or on an accent able or even your dresser drawers, the season is a true cornucopia of ideas and you’d be surprised at how many of them don’t make you hate all that is fall.
22. Decorate a million ways a mason jar!  Fill mason jars with the outdoors like interesting twigs or feathers, paint them, illuminate them, stamp or sticker them.  Then fall in love with how easy it was!
23. Buy a planter box or grab a drawer from a thrift store treasure and fill it with Fall’s bounty.  And if you keep it simple you’ll aslo keep it on point.
24. Hang unexpected items like baskets and plates in vignettes to create a seasonal focal point that sparks interest and imagination.
25. Turn an old sweater into your new favorite pillow or patch a few together and make yourself a throw with those oldies but goodies you simply can’t throw out.  Cable knits say cozy all day long.

Fall Decor Buys and DIYs for Under $50!

For visual inspiration, image sources and credits, check  out my accompanying Pinterest Board.  One disclaimer however, it does contain pumpkins.  I can’t control the images or omit them entirely from all these great ideas so if need be just pretend they are apples, or squash, or just a figment of your imagination.  Or simply save them for an easy update when the pumpkins come knocking at your door.

Follow Messy By Design’s board Fall Decor Buys and DIYs for Under $50 on Pinterest.