Fall Decorating On A Budget

Last Updated on September 28, 2023 by Rachel Granholm

I’m sharing simple tips and ideas for fall decorating on a budget!

This time of year is so lovely. In nature, the cooling temperatures, the changing of the leaves, and the shorter days signal that fall has officially arrived. In your home, the change of your wardrobe from t-shirts and shorts to sweaters and jeans and the urge to pull out your warm blankets harkens the beginning of a new season.

With this switch from summer to fall, you may be wondering how to transition your home decor as well. This can feel like a daunting task to some but it truly doesn’t need to be anything fancy. Today I’m sharing how I used  minimal fall decor in my home and ideas for fall decorating on a budget!

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I’ve shared with you before about my firm belief that you don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars during each seasonal change to decorate your home. This autumn season, I wanted my home to be surrounded by cozy and beautiful things yet still keeping to a minimal and simple aesthetic.

Most of the decor that you will see today has been found secondhand either from the thrift store or an antique shop. I will always and forever love thrifting for home decor, be it vintage or otherwise. I adore the way my thrifted fall decor looks this season and am so excited to share it with you.

Let this be an uplifting and inspiring place to find ideas and takeaways for your home!

Fall Home Tour

For this fall decor tour, we are going to start in the living room. On the mantel, I wanted to display some of my favorite pieces of vintage decor. The right side is super simple with the mantel clock and a vintage crock.

I stuck some red eucalyptus in with the faux pussy willow stems for a splash of color. On the left side, the vintage needlework picture, milk glass banana stand and the antique transferware pitcher were found at my favorite thrift store over the summer! I paid less than $20 for all three of those items.

That amazing antique mirror lives there all year round. My husband’s late grandfather actually crafted it by hand…isn’t that incredible?!

My wonderful mother-in-law passed it down to me over the summer and I just love it. It’s so special to have a piece of him in our home.

For some height, I placed the banana stand on top of a mossy green colored vintage book that came from a small town antique shop. After placing the faux pumpkins and eucalyptus, there was still an empty space to fill.

So, I used the cloth ribbon that came with my decorative wheat bundle and tied it into a bow. It’s so simple but there’s just something about it that I just adore.

Lastly, on the hearth, sits this beauty.

If you haven’t read the story of this antique pitcher, you can find that here. This is my most special thrifted decor piece of all time and wanted it to really shine. To make a bold statement, I placed tall stems of eucalyptus and wheat in it.

Then, to complete the display and to break up all the white tones, I set a thrifted vintage book underneath it in a copper color.

Let’s move on to the living room shelving.

I can’t really give you a step by step process for this as I just go by look and feel. Starting with the plaid scarf as a base, I placed items one at a time.

I pulled from decor that was either in my fall bin or that I had elsewhere in my house.

Many textures and elements were used throughout this shelf including brass, copper, velvet, wood, and glass.

Layers of varying heights and textures in complementing colors helped me achieve a unified and cohesive feel on this shelf.

Faux leaves, pumpkins, and wheat were added to bring in depth and natural elements.

Over on the cabinet, there is a fall vignette displayed. I layered two different vintage linens underneath for some contrast.

A mix of copper, vintage books, transferware, amber bottles, and other vintage finds were used to help usher fall into my home.

Each and every piece that I used in this vignette came from either the thrift store or an antique shop.

I don’t think I paid over $10 for any one of these items, making this display special and one-of-a-kind.

There are a  few other spaces in my home that I added sprinkles of fall to.

I kept the shelf that displays my milk glass collection super simple, only adding some faux stems. The vintage oil painting is one of my favorite pieces of art that I’ve found while thrifting!

The kitchen didn’t get much because I don’t like a cluttered kitchen! All I did in there was tie this ribbon to my peg hook shelf and stuck a few orange billy ball stems in my milk glass cups.

The little shelf in the entryway received a few hints of fall as well. I don’t know the story behind that wood plaque but I wish I did. I found it at the thrift store a while ago for .99 cents.

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The fall barn scene is the epitome of fall to me! I carried more amber glass and wheat into this small space to make it feel balanced.

Fall Decorating On A Budget

These small areas of my home that I’m sharing next are displays that didn’t cost me a dime to create.  I simply pulled from decor that I already had but that wasn’t necessarily fall-themed.

Not wanting to spend any money to decorate the shelf in my hall bathroom, I pulled together decor in shades of blue and cream. Those colors lean more winter to me, so to usher in a fall feeling, I added copper, a wood scoop, wheat, and a few pumpkins.

This shelf looks very different from what’s happening in the living room but feels cohesive due to the textural elements that are present in both spaces.

Opposite that shelf sits another wall shelf. I carried the blue theme over there as well, turning the vibrant blue jars into fall decor by adding large wheat stems to them.

The last area of my home that didn’t cost me anything was this little shelf in my office. My husband built these rustic wood shelves out of scrap wood a few years ago and I love to decorate them for the seasons.

The vintage needlework picture has been out all summer but I think it also works for autumn as well. That was a $4.00 thrift store find a few years ago. I left the red lantern there as well because it complements the picture so nicely.

To bring fall to this shelf and make it feel a little more moody, I simply placed a dark brown crock, more copper, and some old railroad tines that came from the railroad tracks behind my husband’s grandparent’s house many years ago.

Family heirloom pieces, full of rich character and history, are so special to use for any season.

This small space feels like fall but in a more neutral way. You don’t need to do much to make your home warm and cozy for autumn.

Use what you already have and tweak it just a bit to fit the season. It truly is that simple.

Closing Tidbits

I sincerely hope you found encouragement here today. Fall decorating on a budget isn’t fussy nor complicated. It’s actually extremely freeing to decorate your home in a thrifty and minimal manner. This mindset allows you to enjoy the season as it is without feeling overwhelmed. Wishing you all the beauty that fall has to offer, taking each day for the blessing that it is.

Leave me a comment! How do you decorate your home for Fall? I love hearing from you!

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If you are new here, I’m Rachel, the writer and content creator here at The Antiqued Journey. I’m so happy to have you! I encourage you to stop by the ‘about me’ page to get to know me a little more. Here on the blog, you will find loads of inspiration for decorating with vintage and antique decor, simple DIY crafts and many thrifting adventures. If that interests you, I invite you to sign up for my e-mail. You will receive a free digital download as a thank you!

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