Pumpkins have been a front porch staple since the first front porch was built.* They're vibrant, inviting, and can offer a sense of nostalgia, back to times spent carving around a newspaper-covered dining room table with loved ones or jumping in big piles of leaves after spending all day at the pumpkin patch.
With all that pumpkins and autumn in general have to offer, why stop at the front porch? This fall, bring the season indoors with these simple decorating ideas.
*Statement not fact checked, but probable.
Start at the beginning
Whether seasonal decor is something unfamiliar to you or you're seasoned in the art of rotating interior design, your homes entryway is the perfect area to begin your indoor fall takeover.
The entryway is your homes first impression, where visitors will either be enticed by your chic and thoughtful decor, or left with much to be desired. It seems like a lot of pressure, but something as simple as small, mix-matched gourds in a hurricane jar or two adorned by faux-fall-foliage (say that ten times fast), is something that can be thrown together in under ten minutes by even the most un-crafty decorator.
If space allows, including an accent cabinet like this one as your entryway staple will give you the year-round bonus of bringing your style to the forefront of your home while still being able to change the accents with the seasons. Bonus #2: the one linked above has visible interior shelving, meaning you can either keep your favorite decor on display or really get into the seasonal vibe (haunted cabinet for Halloween? Yes, please!)
a little here, a little there
The beautiful thing about seasonal home accents is that you don't need to displace virtually anything if you don't want to. What's more, you don't have to bring a single leaf or pumpkin indoors if you really don't want to.
Incorporating seasonal decor can be as minimal or as prominent as you're comfortable with. That vase you always have on the mantel? Fill it with mums, sumac, or helenium for a touch of fall that won't be overwhelming.
To keep it consistent, warm up your dining room table with golden place mats and orange napkins. To add another layer of depth, a dining room set that's rich in color, like this dark brown set from Haddigan, will make your place settings pop without the need for loud, borderline obnoxious hues. It's the small details like that which your guests will appreciate and that will make you seem like a seasonal decor pro.
The proof is in the pumpkin (spice)
If you still aren't sold on the idea of decorating seasonally, consider how your other senses can play a part in the impression your home leaves with your guests this fall. Your sense of smell is extremely powerful in evoking emotion. The scent of a pumpkin pie cooling on the counter, or just a touch of cinnamon in the air can trigger special memories of moments in life that you or your guests treasure, creating the same sense of nostalgia as seeing jack-o-lanterns adorning a front porch.
If daily pie baking is out of the question, consider incorporating pumpkin or chai spiced candles into your living areas to give the illusion that you slaved away all afternoon baking the perfect pie, and then you won't have to tell anyone you got it pre-made at Shop-Rite.
