Halloween Front Porch Decor- Seamless Transition Into Fall


Really want to celebrate the change of seasons and refresh your tired front porch, but don’t want to decorate for Fall, just to redecorate for Halloween, just to redecorate for Thanksgiving..bam, bam, bam?  This is how to make inspired front porch decor that easily and inexpensively transitions through all 3 autumn decor periods.

Where To Begin?

  1. Decorate for Fall.  A full, non-Halloween complete autumnal display.  Take pictures to refer later too, I know you will remember what it looks like now.  Do it anyway. 🙂
  2. Add a smattering of Halloween touches or all the up to entire additional holiday vignette displays.
  3. After Halloween, simply take away the additions, you can use the pics to remember what you had to return to.  This makes it so you do not decorate for Halloween, and to completely redecorate for fall, then winter.  It is simply a matter of adding holiday items to existing seasonal decor, then removing the holiday-specific items.  I don’t know about you, but for me, it is the planning and complete overhaul that takes the most time and energy. This really streamlines the whole process, letting me focus on the more important matters of dipping into the kid’s candy stash 🙂

What does fall mean to you?  Decorate with those elements.

Here are a few ideas to get you thinking beyond the pumpkins and mums.

  • Dried hot peppers
  • Oak leaves
  • Multi-color corn on the cob
  • Gourds
  • Acorns & Nuts
  • Apples, cider, fresh, dried & seeds
  • Rustic Brooms
  • Wheat / Oak / Other Grasses Sheaves 
  • Lighting – shorter days
  • Scarecrows
  • Football
  • Bonfires
  • Wine
  • Pillows

Fabrics:

  • Velvet
  • Corduroy
  • Flannel
  • Burlap
  • Unbleached linen
  • Plaid
  • Wool
  • Chunky knits
  • Jackets
  • Scarves

Signs of  phrases or words:

  • Fall, Autumn, Harvest, Gather, Season, Family, Mabon, Equinox…
  • Here is a good post covering many fall phrases http://cuttingforbusiness.com/50-fall-sayings-for-crafters-diy-projects/

Traditional Harvest celebrations bridge the gap between Autumn and Halloween and have featured :

  • Rue
  • Yarrow
  • Rosemary
  • Marigold
  • Sage
  • Walnut Leaves & Husks
  • Saffron
  • Chamomile
  • Passionflower
  • Rosehips
  • Bittersweet
  • Sunflower
  • Wheat
  • Oak Leaves
  • Blackbirds
  • Eagle
  • Hawk
  • Pig
  • Salmon
  • Snake
  • Stag
  • Swallow
  • Turkey Vulture
  • Wolf

Halloween Decor is focused more on Fall, but adding in a few select elements that say “Halloween “ to you.  These are easily added for the holiday and removed after to easily seamlessly transition to autumn decor.

All of these elements can be played out in the version that ranges from Goulish to Cutesy.  You choose but stick with a singular feel. Do not mix the cutesy and the ghoulish.

-crows

– ravens

– jack o lanterns

– spiders & webs

– ghouls, goblins & devils

–  witches & black cats

– tombstones, skeletons &  ghosts

– blood & monsters,

–  creepy sounds

–  fog, cauldrons

–  tattered cloth

– bats & vampires

– gothic architecture

– candy, costumes, & unexpected surprises 

Click here to explore my Pinterest board with ideas for inspiration. 

 Everyone who falls in love with an idea.  Great! But, DO NOT DUPLICATE it exactly! The best design comes from inspiration, and then working with what you have or find! 

 So you love a pumpkin grouping you saw and drive from pumpkin stand to pumpkin stand trying to find that one exact shape that was shown in the picture.  Stop. Think of it as Bob Ross’s “Happy accidents”, or make that song your own. Get inspired YES, but translate it into YOURS! You will love it that much more!

Guidelines:

  1. It is fine to go ALL OUT for Halloween, have at it.  Take Halloween down November 1, the first weekend after Halloween at the latest.  Fall can run from late August until you bend to the pressure to decorate for Christmas.  I am speaking to the northern Hemisphere here.
  2. Remember safety.  No unattended fires, or spectacles that inspire intrigue that is dangerous.  Watch the pitchforks, open ‘graves’, and electrical extension cords.
  3. If you are the only one on your street that goes all out for Halloween, you are better off inspiring your neighbors with a few well-placed accents or holiday scenes.  If you go all in, over the top, overcompensating with enough display for the whole neighborhood combined, you won’t make any converts :). Rotate your favorite items, loan extras to friends and neighbors, why not?  You have them, make some converts, spread the fun, and enjoy all of your favorites without alienating your neighbors. Hmmm… alienate, add that to Halloween ideas, an outer-space alien-themed porch display… I guess, pun intended!

 I don’t know about you, but for me, it is the planning and complete overhaul that takes the most time and energy.  This really streamlines the whole process, letting me focus on the more important matters of dipping into the kid’s candy stash 🙂

Related Questions-

What is the front porch light rule as far as Halloween festivities?

Yes, I know a tradition is called trick or treat, leading some to feel as if someone is not participating in the candy give-away at that moment.  But, if there is no porch light, or other clear lit or other invitation, then no, do not extend your Halloween festivities to that household. Do not ring the doorbell for treats, do not ‘play a trick’ on that household.  Come on everyone. This is a fun holiday, spend your time celebrating with other celebrants. It’s just good manners. You do not know the reasons why a house is not joining today, could be simple and could be complicated. Just be respectful.  More mulled cider and candy corn for me!

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