13 Fall Decor Hacks for a Stylish and Seasonal Home Makeover

Decorating our homes each season has become more popular than ever. With the rise of YouTube channels devoted to decor ideas and tips, more and more people enjoy sprucing up their homes throughout the year.

In particular, Fall and Halloween decorating has become increasingly popular. Whether you watch or make videos or not, no one can deny how much seasonal decorating dominates the minds of those who love it.

Still, not everyone has the means or desire to buy new decorations yearly. In that case, there are simple ways to give your home that cozy autumn feel. As someone who must decorate on a budget, small purchases and utilizing things you own can transform any room from drab to magical.

Add Pillow Covers

It can be tempting to buy new pillows every year, especially when stores come up with cute new designs. However, this proves difficult between the price and the inevitable need for storage.

An easy solution exists: pillow covers. You can go the simple route and choose plain pillow covers in Fall colors like orange or brown or autumn-colored plaids or tartans. Or you can pick up covers with Fall leaves, pumpkins, or more Halloween-leaning designs like ghosts or skeletons.

Subtle covers such as these orange pumpkin ones or these covers with leaves and pumpkins from Amazon have a pretty and classy feel. Whatever you choose, pillow covers will be cheaper and take up less space after the season ends.

Color Charger Plates

If you have your dining room table set all year round or like to do so seasonally, color chargers help elevate your display. For Autumn, colors such as gold, shades of orange or yellow, and brown chargers will look best, especially paired with white or cream dinnerware.

The best thing about chargers will be their price and versatility. Gold and brown chargers can especially be used for Autumn as well as other seasons like Christmas and spring. One can go the inexpensive route with Dollar Tree or the more upscale one like Crate & Barrel.

Bring Nature In

Bringing nature inside is an effortless way to make your home feel more like the Fall season. Pine cones and fall leaves will be appropriate, but they must be placed in the proper receptacles and cleaned.

A rinse with warm water will suffice for pine cones, while a brief soaking of water and soap will help remove dirt or dust from the leaves. Placing them in clear jars or as accents on tiered trays, mantles, or tables instantly gives off a lovely touch of Fall. For those with bad allergies or who don’t have access to the genuine thing, stores like Michael’s have fake leaves and pine cones galore at reasonable prices.

Seasonal Candles and Soaps

One of the easiest ways to add seasonal touches to the home is with scented candles and soaps. Add the soaps to the kitchen and bathrooms and candles to the living room and bedroom, and the scents will instantly create that sweet serenity associated with Fall.

Autumn scents include pumpkin spice, cinnamon, vanilla, and apple. Major retailers such as Bath and Body Works offer an array of candles and soaps to choose from. If you want to support small businesses, various Etsy shops offer handmade items.

Extra Throw Blankets

Cozy and the Fall season go hand in hand. So, that means it’s time to break out every single throw blanket that can go with your decor. Soft, fluffy, or woven blankets in creams and browns will look perfect on couches and chairs. Add one to the foot of the bed or even over the bedspread to make your bedroom look more cozy.

Plaid throw blankets in the appropriate colors, especially wool blends, also feel undeniably autumnal. Break out the ones you already own or purchase a few new ones. They don’t need to be expensive. Stores like Home Goods, Amazon, Target, and Ross always have lots of blankets to choose from.

Bring out the Fall Color Decor

Utilizing everyday items packed away in cabinets or drawers remains one of the best ways to partake in seasonal decorating with little effort. Set up displays in your kitchen or dining room tables with mugs, tablecloths, or placemats that match your fall color scheme.

If you only have a few things, invest in some staple pieces like four mugs or placemats in Autumn but neutral colors.

Pop Culture Decor

Certain things, such as Harry Potter, Gilmore Girls, and countless movies set during the Halloween season, feel undeniably fall. Those who love these classics undoubtedly already possess at least a few decor items inspired by them. If that’s the case, placing them in more prominent areas or creating decor motifs around your home can add a dash of whimsy.

Beyond traditional Halloween decorations, things like floating candles, a stuffed owl, jars that look like potions, a time-turner, Luke’s coffee mug, or a Stars Hollow sign would be delightful but classy additions to your Fall decor. These floating candles were a big hit in my home last year, and most Gilmore Girls favs would agree that coffee out of this mug will taste infinitely better.

Place Books Everywhere

There’s something about Autumn and libraries and bookshops that feel unmistakably linked. Place books everywhere if you want your home to feel like a mystical, spooky library or a comforting hole-in-the-wall bookshop. Line them up on shelves and mantles, stack them on coffee and end tables, and use them as risers for other decor like candleholders or figurines.

Classic murder mystery books like Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie, Harry Potter, and other “on-theme” titles will add some flair to your home. Additionally, any old book with plain hardback covers will work perfectly. Thrift stores are an excellent place to find books for decorating purposes.

Break Out a Clue Game

Who doesn’t love a good board game? In the case of the classic whodunit Clue, the game can serve a second purpose. It can be part of your seasonal makeover.

Place the board, all the playing pieces, murder weapons, and cards on and around a coffee or dining room table just as you would for gameplay. One could also make it look like the middle of the game. Murder mysteries also feel so Fall to me, and a display such as this adds visual and unique appeal.

Coffee, Tea, Hot Cider Station

Autumn will always be a time associated with specialty hot drinks such as Caramel blend coffee, pumpkin spice lattes, or hot apple cider. These days, almost all these drink flavors will be available each year to make at home in various ways.

So, why not create a Fall drink station around your coffee maker? Include a few seasonal mugs, stirrers, and all the ingredients, and you’ll create a station that could be a fun focal point for your kitchen or dining area. The drinks will be delicious, and the aromas will be divine.

Fall Photographs

Most everyone has photographs displayed throughout the home of family and friends. During the Fall, photos will be simple to swap out for something more seasonal. Instead of photos only existing on your phone, find your favorites from a trip to a pumpkin patch, an apple orchard, or amongst the golden and orange-colored leaves to print out and place in the picture frames throughout the house.

In truth, any picture taken in Fall outfits will work. You can also download apps such as Canva or Beauty Plus to edit your photos with filters that give them a richer quality appropriate for the season.

Seasonal Artwork

Similar to swapping your photos for season ones, putting Fall or Halloween artwork in any other frames on your walls or shelves proves to be an easy and inexpensive decorating hack. A quick internet search will pull up a treasure trove of images you can download, print out, and display.

The more artistic types can also try their hand at painting something themselves or creating digital art on the computer. Thrift and antique stores also frequently have landscapes that can brighten up and give your home the spooky aesthetic of your dreams.

Display Your Brooms, Mops, and Vacuums

Fans of the film Hocus Pocus, Salem, or witches in general will love this simple hack. Instead of keeping your brooms, mops, and vacuums in a storage closet, put them on display. Any corner will suffice.

If you want to get creative, sprinkle a little baking powder or arrange cotton on them to make them appear dusty and full of cobwebs. This will give a room a witchy vibe that only the coolest visitors will get.