Spruce Up Your Home for the Holidays with these Modern Fall Decorating Ideas

Add a little seasonal flair to your home this fall with our list of 10 easy, chic, DIY decorating ideas. From a modern spin on traditional fall decor to using natural accents found outdoors, our do-it-yourself fall decor projects will bring a touch of modern chicness (yes, I believe I just invented a word) to any home.

So, are you ready to give your home a mini makeover for fall? Here are 10 autumn-inspired home decorating ideas we love.

1. Gold Stripe Feathers 

This DIY fall decor is extremely simple to make. With just a little gold paint you can quickly transform plain white craft store feathers into modern fall decor. You can get creative with your designs or keep it simple with chevron patterns. Place them in a bowl, on a tray on your coffee table, or even framed as cheap fall art.

2. Painted Deer Antlers

Embrace the popular decorating trend of using deer antlers to bring chic, modern, outdoor appeal to your home. Perfect for bookshelf styling, coffee table decor, as a unique autumnal display or table centerpiece, and more, painted deer antlers are an easy way to add interest and character to any room. If you don’t have any real deer antlers lying around, you’ll have to find one at an antique store. Or, you could always search the woods for some. (Every year, deer shed their antlers and re-grow new ones.)

3. Fall Tree Branches 

Some of the most beautiful fall decor can be found in nature, and the best part is…it’s free! Especially beautiful in the fall, leaves and branches are an easy way to add an autumnal feel to your home.  The best thing about this project (besides being 100% free) is that you get to experience beautiful fall foliage while you gather your supplies.

4. Sweater Candle Holders 

Candles are often associated with coziness and are the perfect companions for fall decorating. To make them even more cozy, wrap your candles with homemade sweater candle holders. A great mix of old and new, this simple idea gives new life to those old sweaters in your closet – allowing you to enjoy them all over again. Take an old sweater and cut the sleeves at varying heights (depending on the height of the candle holder). Then take your sweater piece and slide it around each glass candle holder.

5. Metallic Pumpkins (with or without glitter) 

As many folks do, I still have pumpkins on my porch leftover from Halloween. Not to fear! Give your pumpkins a chic, modern facelift with a little metallic spray paint — and a bit of glitter if you’re feeling the need for extra sparkle. Simply spray your pumpkins with a shiny metallic spray paint and allow to dry. Once dry, you can either put your shiny pumpkin on display OR you can extend the sparkle with glitter. (Just apply glue with a paint brush and sprinkle glitter on top.)

6. Paper Pretties 

Fall decorating doesn’t have to be expensive, especially if paper is your element of choice. Simple framed silhouettes make an inexpensive impact when used in conjunction with other fall elements while fall themed printables add a fun element to your fall or Thanksgiving décor.

7. Give Thanks Banner 

Show friends and family how much you appreciate them with this easy, homemade banner. You can find chipboard or wood letters at your local craft store, then cover them in your favorite fall shade of glitter. Attach the letters to twine with hot glue and hang above a buffet, mantel, entry table or anywhere your home could use a bit of seasonal sparkle.

8. Nail Head Pumpkins 

Now that Halloween is over, swap out those bright orange jack-o-lanterns for the sophisticated soft hues of ivory and gray pumpkins glammed up with gleaming silver and bronze decorative nail heads. Using white or gray pumpkins, or winter squash, just push the nail points into your pumpkin. Take it up a notch by creating a family monogram our stenciling your home address.

9. Thanksgiving Chalkboard 

Whether you’re serving up an intricate Thanksgiving menu, or simply scripting your favorite fall quote, homemade chalkboards are a fun way to incorporate nostalgia into your fall decorating. Old frames, serving trays, or even pumpkins can be painted with chalkboard paint to achieve this distinctive look reminiscent of childhood.

10. Acorn Vase Filler 

Perfect for a fall mantel, acorns are an easy (and free) way to dress up your glass hurricanes or lanterns. After collecting the acorns, soak them in water for a few minutes to remove the dirt. Then drain the water, place them in a single layer on a cookie sheet, and bake them at 200 or 250 degrees for an hour. This will turn the green acorns into that nice brown fall “acorn-y” color…the perfect fall filler for the candles around your home.

I hope some of these easy decorating ideas have inspired you to decorate your home this fall. In compiling this list, I used some ideas from fall projects I’ve made in years past while others are completely new…inspiring me to try them and make my home even more festive for my Thanksgiving gathering this year.  So, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go monogram a pumpkin now.