Easy Fall Decorating Ideas And Home Tour

FALL DECOR IN THE FOYER

It’s fall home tour time! Yay! And I can’t wait to share easy fall decorating ideas with you! If you are just not quite ready to display all those pumpkins I have lots of inspiration for fall decor without using one pumpkin. There is not a pumpkin in my early fall home! Just a few green and white gourds. I’m so happy you are here, come on in!

As I am getting ready for this year’s home tour in a couple weeks I thought you might like to see last year’s early fall tour. There is such beauty in early fall and lots of stunning organics to decorate your home with. I hope you enjoy the tour!

The front door is open wide hoping you would visit!

HYDRANGEAS IN A BASKET IN A FALL FOYER

Today I’m part of a fall home tour hosted by Marty at A Stroll Thru Life. She is a treasure and I think Marty has been blogging about as long as I have maybe even longer!

Make sure to check out all 30 fall homes at the end of the post!

If you are coming from GOLDEN BOYS AND ME, welcome! Courtney’s style is warm and lovely just like her! Her colorful kitchen is so charming!!!!!

And WELCOME to all of you! My fall tour is huge and is filled with lots of pictures and ideas. So grab something to drink and settle in!

Today’s post is about easy fall decorating ideas!

THE FOYER

I tend to gravitate towards neutrals and softer colors even in the fall! This year is no different. The hydrangeas in the foyer give you a hint about the color I worked into my neutral color palette this year.

GREEN!

I’ve added beautiful, soft green!

FALL FOYER TABLE

It’s early fall and there is still very little saturated color outside so thought it would be a fun idea to carry the green I see outside inside too!

I am the biggest white pumpkin fan! So decorating without a pumpkin was different for me. In October I plan another tour of our home filled with pumpkins!

Our foyer reflects the changes I’ve been making to our home over the last 18 months. I’ve moved from Farmhouse Style (because we no longer live in a farmhouse-inspired home) and am now embracing the beauty of Transitional Style.

Pretty is back, my friend! The trend for beautiful furnishing and style is very strong and I think it is here for a long time! I couldn’t be happier!

FULL VIEW OF FALL FOYER

I’ve noticed this trend for about a year or so now and I’m embracing it! I LOVE pretty! Don’t you?

I just ordered a new runner for the foyer, but it isn’t here yet! I can’t wait for you to see it! So as soon as it is on the floor I’ll do a post about this unexpected runner and new look!

I lit the candle in the foyer and noticed how warm it looked so I decided to turn on the lamp as well!

I’ve learned that light from lamps is a big no-no when photographing a home. And natural lighting is KING! It still is but love the warmth the lamp and candle bring to this photo!

What do you think?

FOYER TABLE DRESSED UP FOR FALL TOUR

The vertical coat racks hold my favorite grab-and-go bags and a bit of fall fluff!

FALL FOYER EASY FALL DECORATING

I am such a proud Lancasterian! I love this bag with Lancaster’s coordinates on it.

Did you know that Lancaster Pa is the oldest inland city in the United States? Steeped in history with the most beautiful farmland! It’s worth coming to see!

If you like my bag you can get one with your own town proudly displayed on it HERE.

THE LIVING ROOM

Let’s head down the hall to the living room.

EASY FALL DECORATING IN THE LIVING ROOM

I added just a little green to the decor in here too! A couple of citron green velvet lumbar pillows and I repeated the fluffy greens and gourds from the foyer.

The mantel is very symmetrical this fall! Symmetry is instantly attractive to our eyes! They love it. No wonder so many people love to see a symmetrical mantel.

There is more than meets the eye (pun from above) to styling a beautiful mantel or any flat surface. The post highlighted below has tons of designer info and ideas for mantel decorating and decorating flat surfaces in your home.

See THE ULTIMATE GUIDE FOR DECORATING A BEAUTIFUL MANTEL.

One of my favorite ways to create cohesiveness in my home is to repeat decor elements in different ways! It’s such an easy design trick!

You might like to read HOW TO CREATE A COHESIVE HOME here.

EASY FALL DECORATING IDEAS AND HOME TOUR

I had a reader ask me about the “pear” on my hearth. It’s really a dried gourd. I used to grow them in my garden and I’m so fond of displaying them during the fall season! It really does look like a huge pair, doesn’t it!

EASY FALL DECORATING IDEAS IN THE FALL LIVING ROOM

This year the lanterns I added to the mantel are goldtone. Actually, I’m been mixing a lot of different metals in my decor lately!

Although the lanterns on the mantel are gold the candlesticks are ORB (oil rubbed bronze) they work together. I think mixing up things like metal and decor makes our homes look much more interesting!

There are lots of easy designer tips for creating that perfect mix!

You might like to read about them here… HOW TO MIX METALS IN YOUR HOME.

And here is a must read post about HOW TO MIX DECORATING STYLES.

EASY FALL DECORATING IDEAS ON A MANTEL

We don’t have a lot of walls in this house. Our home is open concept. It’s lovely for giving our home an open and airy look but a bear for furniture placement and finding places to hang art and mirrors.

So I covet the big, long wall the white buffet sits on! You can’t see from this image but the wall is two stories high!

Sorry, I don’t have any long shots of our rooms on this tour. My camera fell off a table and my best lens broke. So I took all these images with a 35mm lens! UGH!

Back to the white buffet and the big wall.

EASY FALL DECORATING IDEAS ON A BUFFET

The white buffet holds a wooden vase of hydrangeas. Adding hydrangeas to your decor is one of the easiest fall decorating ideas!

Hydrangeas make a big statement and mine were free from our front yard! A beautiful gift from nature!

I decorate for fall with mostly organic things. Bringing the outside inside is one of my most often used tricks!

Here are some posts that are filled with tips you can use for easy fall decorating in your home…

DECORATING FOR FALL WTH NATURALS AND ORGANIC ELEMENTS

100 INSPIRING FALL DECORATING IDEAS

HOW TO STYLE A FALL ORGANIC DOUGH BOWL

BEAUTIFUL WHITE BUFFET DECORATED FOR FALL

These poor hydrangeas were out in a huge thunderstorm and are a little worse for wear but they still work their magic and show off their lovely green color.

It’s time to dry hydrangeas in my area and maybe yours too! Hydrangeas are the gift that keeps on giving! They look so stately with their big moppy heads when they are blooming outside and are real attention grabbers when they are brought inside and styled en masse!

Here is a very informative post with lots of tips about HOW TO DRY HYDRANGEAS THE EASY WAY

HYDRANGEAS IN A WOODEN VASE

Balancing the hydrangeas on the other side of the buffet are beautiful gold floral candle holders. They give off the most lovely glow at night!

Many of the items I use for fall can be used almost any time of the year. But put together with a few gourds and drying hydrangeas they create an early fall feel!

FALL DECORATING IDEAS

Let’s talk about balance for just a minute. Not until I understood this amazing interior design concept did I stop struggling with the decor I put on my flat surfaces!

Here are a few great interior design tips that will help you so so much with balance in your home… BALANCE AND HOW TO USE IT. Balance creates beauty!

WHITE BUFFET

Our Transitional home is lightly decorated with just a hint of fall this year!

Transitional style is characterized by a neutral palette, slimmed down traditional furnishings, the addition of a little smattering of other styles, and light layering.

WHITE BUFFET WITH LAMP

Although I love to layer decor I’ve learned to use a restrained hand! And that was hard for me to learn! So I choose what to put on flat surfaces in my home with great care! If left to my own bent I would probably overdo it!

FALL DECORATING IDEAS IN THE LIVING ROOM

Decorating is part art, part science and part knowing when enough is enough!

BEAUTIFUL FALL DECORATING IDEAS IN THE LIVING ROOM

I’ve been going back and forth about this coffee table in our Tanglewood living room since we moved in. I love it… some days! And others not so much.

For me, it’s important to keep the decor on it low and simple because the fireplace and mantel are not too far away! I don’t like to look through the decor on the coffee table to see the fireplace!

BASKET OF FALL PLANTS

I added preserved golden boxwood and sage green candles to a long low white basket tray on the coffee table.

TOP VIEW OF TRAY ON A COFFEE TABLE

Did you notice the little green and white gourds scattered here and there around our home? They are called spinners. Our local Amish farmer plants them every year. If you give them a twist between your thumb and forefinger they spin like a top!

Aren’t they adorable? I think they are so cute and at 5 cents each, I got a bag full!

Across the living room from the white buffet is the Curlacue chest. I’ve had this piece for almost a decade. It was a big splurge for me but I am so happy I bought it!

When I first saw it, it literally stopped me in my tracks!

EASY TO DO FALL DECORATING IDEAS IN A LIVING ROOM

I call this a once-in-a-blue-moon decor purchase. There are just some furnishings you LOVE so much and know these things will work forever in your home. I say if you can swing it without causing too much pain GO FOR IT!

These purchases are not once a year or even every other year. They are rare! And that is exactly what the Curlacue chest was! A rare find!

It’s dressed up for fall with a couple of fall arrangements.

My arrangements are usually made up of bits and bob and cut apart garland and repurposed stems I have collected over the years. I keep all these different bits of fluff in clear shoebox type boxes and use them over and over year after year creating new looks out of old stuff!

CHEST WITH A FALL ARRANGEMENT ON IT

The blond leaves were cut from a wreath I used last year and the brown spiky balls were from a big spray of them I also used in last year’s fall home tour.

The bits of green were from a faux plant I pulled apart to make several little fall arrangements. You can see one on the white buffet above.

In the bottom of the ribbed vase is one of my favorite decor fillers… pinecones!

They make a fabulous base to poke bits of bobs into! Another very easy fall decorating idea!

BEAUTIFUL FALL ARRANGEMENT

Next to the arrangement is a container of bunny tails! Isn’t that the sweetest name?

When I create an arrangement I sometimes like to sit a smaller arrangement, with something different in it, next to the bigger one. It’s like an arrangement buddy system. They just look happier together!

THE DINING AREA

Now, let’s head to the dining area. This is the most open room (if you can actually call it that) in our home.

This little area lives large! We entertain a lot and enjoy sharing a meal with family and friends here.

I just recently replaced the rectangle concrete topped dining table with a round one I had in the basement. My basement is a wonderland of furniture and decor!

This table has a couple leaves and opens up to become a really ample sized dining table!

FALL DECORATING IDEAS IN THE DINING ROOM

I keep the dining area quite simple. It can be seen from most of the main floor.

Instead of adding green pillows on the chairs, I chose pretty gold ones with a stiff sisal trim to work with the gold in the rug.

DINING ROOM DECORATED FOR FALL

Tucked in the corner of the dining area is a bar cart! I’ve had this for years. I also put the bench that I had in the foyer under the window in the dining area. It makes a great extra seat if we need it!

I have the same bench with black legs. So I’m thinking I might switch the white one out for the black.

It’s important to change up your decor to keep it fresh. I change out little things like adding spinners and hydrangeas to our home or changing out a chair or bench. And I also change out bigger things like adding a new table or lighting fixture! Nothing is static in our home!

My brother-in-law calls this the “Shaffer shuffle”. My sister and I are always moving the furnishings in our home around… and our maiden name is Shaffer!

One of the best ways to keep your home interesting and fresh is to shop your home. I am a savant at this if I do say so myself! LOL!

Here are 6 BRILLIANT WAYS TO SHOP YOUR HOUSE.

DECORATING IDEAS FOR FALL IN A DINING ROOM

On the dining table, a simple wooden planter holds a big white mum!

I think of plants like mums as long-lasting cut flowers. With a little care, mums can last a long time! I love to bring these big happy plants indoors during the fall season! And what an easy fall decorating idea!

BIG BOWL OF WHITE MUMS

You might like to read CARING FOR FALL MUMS INDOORS.

THE KITCHEN

Ready to head to the kitchen which is just a few steps away from the dining area!

FALL DECORATED KITCHEN AND DINING ROOM

My kitchen went through a big renovation just one year ago! It is my favorite room! It dresses up so nicely for different seasons! Today it is ready for early fall!

You can see my EARLY FALL KITCHEN TOUR with lots of easy ideas for fall decorating and no pumpkins!

FALL DECORATED KITCHEN

There are lots of fall kitchen pictures and lots of inspiration waiting for you!

I hope you have enjoyed a look at my early fall home. And I also hope you are going away with lots of easy fall decorating ideas! Stop back for a pumpkin filled home tour in October!

Here are some home decor items from our home you might like…

It’s time to send you on your way, my friend! I’m so thrilled you stopped by!

Please head over to Quarters One by Shand! She has a deep line of family service to our nation! Thank you Shand! I love your home on an island off the coast of the Carolinas!

Happy Fall and Happy Decorating!

A Stroll Thru LifeInspiration for MomsWorthing Court

Pink Peppermint DesignClean and Scentsible LeCultivateur

Southern State of MindThis is Our BlissCuckoo4Design

11 Magnolia LaneDecor to AdoreNoting Grace

Grace In My SpaceRemodelando la CasaWhispering Pines Homestead

Up To Date Interiors The Stonybrook HouseThrifty and Chic

CitrineLivingOur Southern HomeSouthern Hospitality

Hymns and VersesA Pretty Life in the Suburbs DIY Beautify

Golden Boys & MeStoneGable Quarters One

The Woodgrain CottageWhite Arrows HomeChalking Up Success

PIN FOR FALL DECORATING IDEA POST

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67 Comments

  1. Happy to be joining you on the last day of the Fall home tour. Your home is so pretty and always such a pleasure to tour, Yvonne! Happy Fall!

  2. Beautiful home and such a lovely place to decorate.

    1. It is a fun place to decorate. I just have to remember, because it is so open, to decorate it with a light hand.

  3. I have been looking at rugs just like the one you have in your foyer. Can you share where you found it?

    1. Hi Theresa, I found it years and years ago at Wayfair. I don’t see the same one there anymore. So sorry!

  4. I love your foyer – just lovely. I also have a buy of a lifetime – but it wasn’t all that expensive. I had seen a lovely little glass topped table in an antique store about 50 miles from our home but didn’t buy it. About six months later we went back to see if it was still there. Yes! After a search I found it tucked back in a corner. It has been in our living room for over 20 years. It was green when I bought it, but I am now painting it a soft ivory to be more compatible with my cream color sofa – and soft brass accents. I’m so glad that brass is back – love the soft brushed finish.

    1. Then you know how a piece of furniture can still make your heart flutter every time you see it! Happy Fall!

  5. Ethel Alderson says:

    So enjoy the way you spread.color and objects through out the home. One thing you have taught me!
    Please show me where I can purchase your bench. I like the cushion also.
    Be well.

    1. Hi Ethel, the bench is from Ballard Design and the cushion was custom made. Hope this is helpful. Happy Fall!

  6. Beautiful, just absolutely beautiful. God has blessed you abundantly with your decorating talent. Thank you for sharing your home with us. You give us wonderful inspiration.

  7. Julia@Cuckoo4Design says:

    I love the muted greens and earth tones sprinkled throughout your beautiful home for fall Yvonne! Lovely tour as always and happy fall.

  8. I love your blog! I wanted to order the bag with your area on it, but was unable to locate it on the link. Could you please send me another link. That one led me to another blog.
    Thanks,
    Becky

  9. Nadeen Filiberto says:

    Yvonne, your home is beautiful. I have enjoyed your blog for years and appreciate the beauty and tranquility it brings to me as I read it and look through your pictures. Thank you for sharing the links so that I can bring that peaceful feeling to my home as well.

    1. What a great question, Nadeen! I use a bit of wax, like the dots here:https://amzn.to/39jTWfG in the bottom of my candlestick to keep the candles from getting wobbly or leaning from side to side.

  10. CarolbinTX says:

    Any secrets in keeping your taper candles straight? For years, I’ve been collecting big chunky candle holders, but noticed in your’s and other’s decor, tapers were coming back. I bought a set of brass candleholders and searched diligently for rust colored tapers (Hobby Lobby has every color). Every evening, I step back to admire my mantel and the tapers are always leaning! I adjust, go to bed and wake up to find them leaning again! I fitted bits of paper towel around them, but that hasn’t worked…I’m thinking clay or play doh might work.

    1. I love your blog and have followed you for a long time. I love the subtle hints of fall in your decor. I visited the Lancaster area several years ago. I loved driving through the countryside seeing the beautiful farmland, simple white farm houses and wood barns with silos. (I live in a Central California farm community. Our barns are large metal buildings and no silos.) Another beauty was seeing the beautiful horses pulling the Amish carriages.

  11. I always find so much inspiration in your lovely home, Yvonne! The soft colors are so soothing and also create an inviting and cozy feel. Happy fall!

  12. Such a beautiful home. Thank you for all your inspiration.
    Also thank you for sights we can purchase from.
    I would love your mirror above the table with bunny tails.
    Any site to find that?

    1. Hi Lisa, all the things I have sources for are listed. I found this mirror at HomeGoods years ago. I’m thinking of painting it. Sorry I could not help more.

  13. I always love seeing how you decorate your home each season. The soft greens this year are a favorite. You have taken your “new” home and turned it into such a lovely space that reflects your beautiful style and warmth. I am inspired every time I stroll through your home. Thanks so much for joining the tour again this season, your home is stunning.

  14. Linda Shaffer walkup says:

    Wow. My maiden name is Shaffer also. Not many spell it this way ! My shaffer set is from Paducah, Ky!!!

    1. Oh, I did not know that. My Shaffer’s hail from the Ozarks and Missori.

  15. Melissa Trani says:

    Yvonne, thank you for a beautiful tour!
    I live about an hour east of Lancaster and visit often. I love the shops and have many favorites. I’d love if you could share some of your favorites.

    1. We are blessed to have some great decor shops here. I love Cocalico Home on rt 30. The wooden bowls, fern pictures, lantern on the hearth and more are from there. I also like The Treasure Place in Intercourse. Really beautiful home decor! Festoons and Details in Lancaster city are two boutique shops not to miss. And I hear great things about Prussian Street Arcade in Manheim. Happy shopping!

  16. All the sighs, sweet friend! So… I love the lamp and candle being lit. It def gives a warmth that is so pretty! (Where is the candle from?) And your new table looks great! I also love the buffet with the fern prints on either side. It really helps to ‘fill’ the area and balances well with everything else on that wall. Love that arrangement on the curlicue chest! And the bunny tails are perfect, too! I’m going to get some items from that store!
    I will definitely visit Lancaster County! 😉

    1. Yes, you will visit Lancaster and me in just over a month. I’m so excited! The candle came from Pottery Barn. It’s sage mint. xo

    2. Sandra Palmer says:

      Can you give the size and color frame and color of writing you went with for “The Lord Bless You” picture in your foyer?

  17. Gorgeous! Your home is always one of my favorite tours. I love all of your big urns and vases with the fall floral and those orange boxwoods are so cute! Wishing you and your family a happy fall!

  18. I really like your round dinning room table and new chandelier. I think you got it right. Also the new entry console is very lovely. Happy fall.

  19. I love your beautiful entry , it sets the tone for the rest of your gentle Autumn feel . Lovely Yvonne .

    1. Thanks Angie! I just got the table and it really changed the look of my foyer.

  20. I always come back to your blog for inspiration! How do you hang things properly on the wall? I had a coat rack hook fall down this week. I think this is why those command picture frame strips are so popular. Especially, if you have things that you want to change out seasonally.

    1. Yes, command hooks work great. I’m not the expert at hanging things, my hubby is. He makes sure they are secure on the wall. Sorry I can’t help you more.

  21. Sue Struzik says:

    I love all your ideas and follow year round. Can you tell me if your mums are in water or just dried? Beautiful arrangement and I have so many!

  22. I love your style. It is so similar to mine…use what you have…neutral big ticket items and seasonal color, organic, etc. Maybe it’s in the genes. My lineage is the Quaker Shaffers who settled in Lancaster County in the 1700s.

  23. Your home is always one of my favorites, Yvonne–you do a great job of bringing texture into your lovely neutrals. My grandmother was a Shaffer before she married and there are a ton of them in Pennsylvania (where my mom’s side of the family lives). I wonder if we’re related a few generations back? 😉
    Happy Fall!

    1. We might be, Christy! The spelling is the same. I think there are 7 ways to spell Shaffer.

  24. Oh I just love those pops of lime/sage green. The gourds are really neat and I need those velvet pillows. You have such a beautiful home Yvonne!

  25. Thank you for sharing your lovely home with us! Do you have a link you can share to the white curtains with the horizontal stripe?

  26. Loved your fall home tour! You always inspire me. Can you please share where the foyer lamp is from? I clicked on your product board but nothing came up.

    Can’t wait to see what new ideas you have for Christmas!!

    Lori

  27. Can you please tell me where you got your print “May the Lord bless you and keep you”. I love it SO much and it gives me peace. Thank you.

  28. Pamela Cook says:

    Hi Yvonne,
    I was wondering what kind of hardwood flooring you have?
    It’s beautiful! I have Brazilian Cherry and I would like to put it in my kitchen but the flooring company is having a problem finding the wood..
    I think I may have to replace all of my hardwood flooring or live without it in the kitchen. Depend on $$$
    Thank you for your help and time,
    Kindness regards,
    Pamela

    1. Hi Pamela, we have oak flooring. If I were you and could not find an exact match for my hardwoods I’d get one as close as I could get to what I already have. A big rule is to not mix flooring!

  29. Dianne A Puckette says:

    How do you store the dried hydrangeas?

    1. I put them in a plastic trash can and cover them with a cloth. Hope this helps.

  30. This was my first Fall Home tour with you. Everything was beautiful, comfortable. relaxing and inviting. I loved the idea of using dried hydrangeas and the small green and white pumpkins instead of large orange and other brightly colored pumpkins.
    Thank you for sharing this on your website.
    Fran

  31. Shelly Bartz says:

    Hi! So beautiful! Thx for the time it had to take to do this! My question is… do you have a link for the white baskets? Love them! TIA

  32. SO, SO Pretty! I can’t wait to see the new foyer rug. I’m so in love with your dining and living room rugs, that I ordered a sample of the dining rug this weekend. The early fall decor is beautiful, and I love the way you’re bringing fall in with a whisper.
    I’m going to try to dry store-bought cut hydrangea from our local market in the way you instructed. We can’t grow them down here in the south, but they have always been one of my favorite flowers and I’d love to enjoy them.
    Well, I’m off to click on all the links you’ve shared as I have turned into a copycat of your gorgeous design and inspiration!
    XOXO

    1. Sometimes store bought hydrangeas have too much moisture in them that they really don’t dry well. I hope they work for you!

  33. I have asked this before but can you tell me where you got the round lidded baskets on the bottom of your foyer table?
    I would love to know.
    Thank you!