Happy Fall, y’all! Although it doesn’t feel much like fall outside today, it’s here and I want to share how I’ve started decorating outside for the season. It’s not totally finished, but I’m trying to put my social media-induced perfectionism to the side and share anyway. I’m all about making the best out of what you have, spending very little, but also shopping for pieces you know that you’ll continue using. So here’s a quick fall porch/entry decor idea to… help get your wheels spinning. This is NOT a structured project. Shop your home and use what ya got and don’t spend a lot. Mmmkay? *smile*
Since we’re getting closer to the holidays, I brought one of our Bluepoint Juniper trees from PlantingTree to the door as I plan to decorate it for the season. PlantingTree also sent me some pretty Kaleidoscope Abelia shrubs that I wanted to display for fall. Depending on the amount of sun they get, they’ll turn shades of orange and red or stay green and yellow. I decided to display the abelias in 14-inch urn planters that I found on Amazon for $10.99 each. The white planters were cheaper, so I ended up spray painting one of them black… using what I had on hand; Rust-Oleum black appliance epoxy paint. Listen, it worked and that’s all that matters! I knew that I wanted to add some height to the planter that would sit behind the other planter, so I used a small crate that I found when rummaging in boxes. I hit that with some of the black epoxy paint as well.
After potting the abelias, I added a festive flag to the planter in the back to add a pop of orange and tie into our wreath. Flags are an easy way to add a festive touch to any outdoor space. This one was $8.22 on Amazon. At Walmart, I found decorative resin welcome pumpkin for $7.99. To preserve it, I sprayed it with a clear coat of Rust-Oleum spray paint. When I brought it home, I was tasked with displaying it so that it didn’t get lost on the black and white patio rug. I had this terracotta planter I wasn’t using, so I flipped it upside down and, bam, I had a pumpkin stand. Although the terra cotta pot gave the space another necessary pop of orange, the patina situation was a little rough, so I painted it a combo of Rust-Oleum silver spray paint and the rest of the black epoxy paint. I then, realized I had too much black and white going on so I sent the hubs to the store for a real pumpkin. Nothing says fall like a real pumpkin!
Now the Abelias, if planted in full sun, will turn shades of orange and red throughout the year. Since they are in a partially shaded spot of our home, they may stay green and yellow. For good measure, I added another pop of color by arranging my purple wandering jew and Persian shield plants inside of the front planter. I love how the purple gave the display some omph. As the temperatures drop, I’ll swap the purple plants for mums.
I’m pleased with how everything looks. This is my first year going beyond a wreath for fall and it feels good. I’ll admit, I did iron the flag and placed a Walmart Pickup Today for a new welcome mat in the middle of snapping pictures for this post. My perfection protest lasted all of a few hours. Like this project, I’m still a work in progress. All that’s left now is to refresh the wreath with more florals and possibly painting the T black. I also have clear lights for the Blue Point Juniper coming and I plan on swapping out the locks on the door for something with a bronze finish.
What fall decorating projects are you working on? I wanna hear about them! You can plop a link in the comments or tag me on social media. 🙂
Materials Used
Kaleidoscope Abelia
Blue Point Juniper
Autumn Wreath
Patio Rug
Welcome Mat
Autumn Blessings Flag
Welcome Pumpkin
Urn Planters
Galvanized Planter
Rust-Oleum Spray Paint