Busy Mom’s Guide to Seasonal Decorating

Even though it was 90 degrees in the DC area this weekend (Seriously, what’s up with that?!) I’m super excited to join nine other talented bloggers today on the Touch of Fall Home Tour.

If you’ve stopped here by way of Sense & Serendipity, welcome! I’m so glad you’re here!

You probably can guess how this kind of a tour goes, right? Bloggers join forces, give you a glimpse of how we decorated our homes for fall, and then you leave feeling inspired to go sprinkle some pumpkins and maybe a seasonal throw pillow or two (like these!) around your humble abode.

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Sounds good? Great!

I have to tell you, I don’t do a ton of seasonal decorating. (Unless it’s Christmas. If it’s Christmas, I will put Martha Stewart to shame because Christmas decorations are my jam.)

I know, I know. You’re probably sitting there wondering, “So why is she writing this post about fall decorating? And why is she participating in a fall home tour?”

The answer is simple.

It’s because I want to give you some ideas about decorating for fall that are easy, inexpensive, and don’t require any DIY-ing.

Here’s the thing: If I had all the time in the world, I would go all out with seasonal decorations. I mean, Lord knows I have pinned enough images in the past month of elaborate front porch setups with pumpkins and haystacks and every gorgeous autumnal decoration your heart could possibly desire. Honestly, I would love for my home to look like one of those fall-fabulous Pinterest images.

But the reality? I don’t have all the time — heck, I usually have no time — and I know I’m not alone.

So today I’m sharing the three things I did to get our home — namely, our living room — ready for fall.

Even if you’re juggling work meetings and soccer practices and PTA bake sales, I promise that you can still pull off these easy decorating ideas. And I bet all your house guests will be swooning over how fall-fabulous your home is!

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Let’s start with some photos of our entire family room first.

Like I said, the fall decor in our living room is pretty subtle:

Reader Favorites From Kate Decorates

See? Just a couple simple decorative accents give our living room some autumn-y vibes.

Here are my three tips for adding seasonal decor to any room in your home.

Swap your everyday stems for fall foliage.

I spotted this bouquet of fall gorgeousness (for under $20!!!!) and could not pass it up. I love using faux florals around my home but only if they look real, and this harvest-inspired bunch did not disappoint.

Seriously, you have to look at this:

No, really. Please take a closer look. How awesome are these faux florals?! Jackpotttttttt.

So I swapped out my usual faux roses (you can see the everyday look right here), then added these stems of preserved and dried leaves, pine cones and wheat stalks to my favorite tall blue and white vase (here’s one that’s similar).

Fall decorating game = instantly on point. Hooray!

Buy every seasonal item you can find from the Target Dollar Spot.

Okay, maybe not every seasonal item, but I have yet to meet anyone who isn’t head-over-heels in love with Target’s Dollar Spot.

That’s where I scored a variety of burlap-covered and metallic pumpkins last year, like this one that’s perched on a tray on our kitchen table:

Another burlap pumpkin is sitting on the credenza next to our fireplace. (Go on, I know you want to give that hand a high five. Don’t be shy.)

And I have two more on our mantel:

And that cute little “gather” sign? It was a whopping $3 at Target. Score! Let’s take another look at it:

I made a Target run this past weekend and the store had so many adorable faux pumpkins in stock, like this one I was eyeing. I had to give myself a serious pep talk so that I didn’t buy stuff I don’t need.

Or on second thought, maybe I do need that stuff. (Cue me backing out of the driveway and speeding off to the nearest Target.)

Anyway, therein lies the beauty of Target’s seasonal decorating stash: You can spend just a little bit of money once, nab some great finds, and you’ll have a collection of beautiful fall decor year after year.

Sounds like a pretty good plan to me.

Make your house smell like a PSL.

A scented candle or some pumpkin spice potpourri is a small investment, but wow….it makes your entire house smell heavenly.

I love this candle so much that I already bought a second one, and one of my favorite white ruffled bowls is sitting on the coffee table filled with this beautiful and yummy-scented pumpkin spice potpourri.

It’s full of pine cones, faux leaves, berries and more. Isn’t it so pretty?!

It’s times like these that I wish this blog could be of the scratch-and-sniff variety, because I promise you that you’d be so excited right now.

It’s amazing how much a certain smell — like cinnamon and spices in the fall or evergreen trees in the winter — can put us in a festive mood.

Shockingly, my son has only picked up a pine cone out of this bowl once or twice. One made its way into the kids playroom, but when I asked him to “clean up his work” (that’s what the teachers at school say) he totally went and got it and put it back in the bowl.

I had doubts that this potpourri was truly going to be a kid-friendly addition to our fall decor, but so far it’s working out just fine. Fingers crossed that it stays that way.

See? Simple additions and swaps really can make a major difference.

Fall-ify Your Abode and Shop the Post!