Bobbing Apple Votives
Nestled snugly in a bed of chestnuts, these apple votives are easy to make. Remove some of the apple to make space for the candles; to get a clean, accurate cut, score the apple first with the metal top of a tea light. For fall fan bonus points, use candles with seasonal scents.
Related: 10 Easy DIY Candles for a Festive Season
Functional Storage Tree
Here’s a great way to put salvaged branches to good use. Transform an empty wall into a storage station by nailing up a wooden frame fitted with hook-shaped branches to hold hats, bags, and jackets.
Related: 18 Clever Storage Solutions You Can DIY for Free
Etsy via DriftingConcepts
Floating Leaves
For a striking autumn mantel or wall display, press colorful fall leaves between a book to flatten and dry, then showcase each leaf sandwiched between two equal-size pieces of glass inside a frame, as the blogger at Stone Gable Blog has done.
Related: 30 Budget-Friendly Home Buys and DIYs for a Cozy Fall
Rustic Twig Mirror
This project takes just a few supplies, and the result will be a home accent you’ll want to leave out all year long. A ring of cardboard creates the perfect surface upon which to hot glue a starburst of twigs, which can be left natural or spray-painted. Add some homemade pom poms to the front or attach a round mirror to the back to add extra style or functionality.
Related: 9 Inventive Ways to Decorate with Tree Trunks, Branches, and Twigs
Filled Jars and Vases
Repurpose different-size glass vessels by filling them up with your fall finds. Use leaves, acorns, pinecones, branches of bittersweet, or miniature pumpkins...or make the displays edible with dozens of bite-size seckel pears or clementines.
Related: Say Hello to Fall with 21 Quick and Easy DIYs
Autumn in Disguise
If your overall home decor just doesn’t jibe with the warm hues of autumn, then paint autumn to suit your palette! There’s no reason why pumpkins and pinecones would mind spending some time underneath a cover of green, blue, or whatever suits your fancy, like in this vignette by Jennifer Rizzo.
Related: 13 Easy DIY No-Carve Pumpkins
Felt-tastic
Unapologetically colorful, these felt autumn leaves come together with thick, yellow yarn, and add a playful touch to any room. There’s no “right” way to create your own. Go for simple rounded leaves or cut out felt in the shape of oak or maple leaves.
Related: 9 No-Sew Projects to Dress Up Any Room
Fall Finials
In less than 10 minutes, you can adorn a doorway, mantle, or staircase with a taste of the outdoors by gracing them with pinecones from your yard. Bake the pinecones in the oven for a few minutes to kill any bugs, then screw some cup hooks into the base of the cone and attach them to a length of natural ribbon, as the bloggers at Redeem Your Ground have done. Spray-paint the pinecones gold, silver, or any other color that complements your decor or leave them au naturel for a more rustic look.
Related: 50 Fall Decor Updates for $5, $15, $30
Words of Thanks
Especially appropriate for the Thanksgiving sideboard, these stenciled wood slats say it perfectly. Reclaimed wood from a crate or chest serves as the background for stenciled or freehand words of thanks.
Related: Set the Table with 9 Thanksgiving DIYs
Etsy via truelovecreates
A Window With a View
Summer may be over, but there’s no need to put away the window boxes for the season. Fill them up with gourds, small pumpkins, dried wheat stalks, and hardy green plants like decorative cabbage and kale. This box from Pretty Pink Tulips even includes evergreen vines that are hardy enough to weather the crisp days of fall.
Related: 21 Ways to Color Your Yard This Fall
In the Round
A wire wreath frame and a skein of yarn come together to make a modern and striking fall wreath. Cut strands of yarn to the desired length (pictured here, 4 feet), then fold in half and loop pieces over each layer of wire. When arranged along the bottom third portion of the wreath frame, the strands naturally form a chevron shape that is simple yet beautiful.
Related: Deck the Doors: 10 Wreaths for Autumn Decorating
Birch-Look Candles
A plain LED pillar candle is transformed into a rustic fall accent by applying birch-patterned scrapbook paper with craft glue. The blogger behind this project was inspired by a pricier version at Pottery Barn and replicated the look for only a handful of dollars.
Related: Bob Vila's 35 Must-Do Projects for Fall
Fall Flair
A few DIY accents can really bring the beauty of fall into your home.
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