Home Tour: Fall 2018

Today I thought I'd share my fall home decor before the season is over.

I mostly decorate seasonally in my living room and dining room. We'll start in the living room, since that's the first room you see when you walk in my front door.

This is an end table arrangement. The sign and mini pumpkins came from Dollar Tree this year.

I made the sunflower balls last year with Dollar Tree supplies. Last year, they hung on my porch. This year, I decided to bring them inside instead.

The glass vase/jar was a $1 yard sale find, the doily was a yard sale find ages ago, and the candle was from last year's fall clearance at Dollar General.

As a side note, I've been pretty happy with the throw of the three-wick Dollar General candles. The one-wick versions have been disappointing, but these candles smell amazing.

This is the other end table arrangement with a different Dollar Tree sign and a different yard sale doily underneath. The end tables are on either side of my sofa.

Next up is my coffee table arrangement. I made the "lantern" from Dollar Tree frames and some black foamboard (also from Dollar Tree). The top of it isn't as convincing as the bottom of it, so I'd leave it off if I were to make it again. But the loop of flowers helps to hide the worst of it.

I made the pumpkin jar (far right) last year for a ladies' meeting craft. After we did it, I found the idea on Pinterest, too. Apparently I wasn't the only one that thought of a pumpkin when I saw that jar!

My coasters are made to hold pictures (behind glass), but I prefer to swap out appropriately-colored scrapbook paper for the seasons.

The tassels came in a Michaels $4 grab bag a month or so ago. They were supposed to be summer-themed, but I thought they worked quite well with my fall decor.

Everything else was a yard sale find.

We have a bay window in the living room, and I like to put something pretty there. This was made entirely with yard sale finds. I added a few florals to the cornucopia, since it really needed more fullness. It's not perfect, but it works!

I'm pretty sure this crocheted runner is from my great-grandmother. If not, it looks exactly like hers (which I may have tucked away in my hope chest if this isn't hers). I tend to pick up crocheted doilies when I find them cheap at yard sales. I do crochet and love a good doily now and then, but old ones have a lot of character.

You've seen a tiny bit of my mantel already, but here's the full arrangement.

I did switch out the wreath, since I liked the colors of this one better with my arrangement. My daughter wanted a fall wreath for her bedroom door, so she got the one I originally had here. I made this wreath last year with two yard sale leaf swags attached to a wire wreath form (Dollar Tree) and three mini pumpkins from Dollar Tree.

I made the faux window frame from Dollar Tree mirrors. You can read more about it here.

I found the little truck framed print a few months ago at Dollar Tree and just had to have it. I really do like the "little red truck" items. There's something about the shape of the truck that I really like. Anyway, this was a way to bring it into my fall decor.

I made the pumpkin apothecary jars from old Home Interior candle jars and candlesticks (all yard sale finds - a whole box for $1). You can read more about those here. I filled them with miscellaneous jar filler that I picked up at Dollar Tree last year.

The candlesticks, crocheted runner, and swag were all yard sale finds. (Yes, there is a theme here. It's called, "I'm cheap frugal.")

I have a combination buffet/china cabinet next to our dining room table, and I've started to switch out the display seasonally. I've never owned a matching table and buffet before, so I'm enjoying this set. I know this wood stain and style are out of vogue. Most people would have painted it white and distressed it. However, I'm 41 and don't follow all the home decorating fads out there. I know what I like, and I keep it that way until I no longer like it. My home is about pleasing my family, not Pinterest.

Anyway ... The signs were all from Dollar Tree. They had some nice ones this year, but they sold out fast. I happened to be in the store when they unpacked these or I wouldn't have gotten them. They were gone when I went back a day or so later.

The lanterns were yard sale finds. One was $1 (on the left - flameless candle inside), one was $0.75 (on the right).

I have no idea where I got the pumpkins and sunflowers. I don't remember buying them, but they appeared with the rest of my fall decor when my husband and son brought my decorations down from the attic. One of us must have picked them up at a yard sale or thrift store last year. They're quite realistic, and I like them a lot.

Lastly, this is our dining table. In our previous house, I had a formal cherry dining table with intricate carving (a gift from our last church family). My kids were very young then, so I mostly protected it with a tablecloth. I wish now that I had enjoyed the look of the table and pulled the cloth off now and then. Oh well, it was pretty, even with a cloth on it.

Maybe that's why I've resisted adding a tablecloth to this table. I like the wood finish, and I like that the grain is decorative. I may add a runner at some point - maybe next year, if I can make or find one after the season is over this year.

My husband picked up these elegant placemats at the thrift store, along with a bunch of other nice ones that I'll be switching out seasonally. Up to this point, I've not been much of a placemat person. We rarely used them growing up. However, my sister-in-law really likes them, and I learned from her that they can add a lot to the look of a table, even when you're not eating.

I bought these gold chargers from Dollar Tree this year. They stay at the table to make it look a bit more polished between meals, and then we just add our regular dining plates on top of them at mealtime.

I don't remember where the big pumpkin in the middle came from. It was in the same bag as the other mystery fall decorations. However, I do know about the knitted white pumpkins because I made them. I thought I had posted about them on the blog, but apparently I didn't. If you knit, they're fast and easy. I used this free pattern from Ravelry and tweaked it just a bit after reading how others had modified theirs. You can read my notes on Ravelry here, if you'd like to make one yourself.

Well, that wraps up my fall decorations. I hope you enjoyed looking at them as much as I enjoyed creating them!