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The Secret to Fantastic Fall Porch Decorating

You don’t have to spend a fortune to have an amazing fall porch. Today we’re sharing all our tips and tricks with you for budget-friendly fall porch decorating!

We absolutely love decorating our porches for fall!

As soon as we feel the first hint of a little chill in the air?

It’s time to go all pumpkin spice, spice baby…

Sorry.

We couldn’t resist!

Seriously though, getting our porches decorated for fall is definitely one of our favorites.

This year we discovered a little secret to make your fall porch decorating easy on your bank account, and we can’t wait to share it with you!

Let’s see if you can figure it out with our hints!

We’re thrilled to be joining 9 talented bloggers today for a fabulous fall porch decor tour hosted by our friend Stacy from Stacy Ling/Bricks ‘n’ Blooms. She’s an amazing gardener from AnnMarie’s home state of New Jersey. If you ever want great gardening tips, she’s your gal!

If you’re visiting us from Jennifer at J Dub By Design, or if you’re new to our blog, Hello and welcome to Simply2Moms!

We’re friends who are lucky to live across the street from each other, and we’d love to be friends with you.

After all, if you’re here right now we must have stuff in common!

We love sharing simple (and budget-friendly!) ideas for home decor and DIYs. Plus some healthy meal inspiration and recipes, and tips for raising teens and beyond.

But you’re here for fall porch decorating ideas, right?

So let’s take a look at our porches all decorated for fall! We’ll start with Anne’s and then head across the street to AnnMarie’s.

Anne’s Traditional Fall Porch Decorating

Anne’s home is a traditional southern style with a big welcoming front porch that stretches across the front of their pretty home.

fall front porch floral wreath on front door mums pumpkins gourds lanterns on either side of alcove from door

The front door is set back and she likes to keep everything symmetrical in that area of her porch.

Blame that type A personality! LOL

Don’t you just want to knock on that pretty black front door Anne painted last year?

It used to be red.

But everything just pops against that black door!

Displaying pairs of mums, pumpkins, and lanterns on both sides of her entryway create a beautiful welcome for you!

And what about that amazing door wreath?

You have to go check out how she created her simple fall floral wreath for a fraction of the cost of buying one!

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Shop the Anne’s Porch

AnnMarie’s Farmhouse Style Fall Porch Decorating

Although AnnMarie’s house is also a bit traditional, she loves the modern farmhouse style.

She gave that vibe to her front porch with some great farmhouse decorating elements.

fall front porch with pumpkins mums and lanterns cornstalks flank door with basket filled with fall flowers hanging from door hanger bench with throw pillows and blanket

Using the steps and area next to the sidewalk to display pumpkins, mums and lanterns makes her small front porch feel bigger.

She recently updated her front door so she switched up her usual fall wreath for a farmhouse style flower basket for something fresh.

Stay tuned for a tutorial to make a basket like this yourself!

Shop the Post

Tips to “Dress Up” Your Mums

Although we want our fall mums to look pretty we don’t want to spend a fortune.

So what’s a girl to do?

Reuse planters you already have!

I bet you have flower pots that you plant annuals in each spring and summer.

Just dig those back out and drop your grocery store mum in.

Easy Peasy!

view looking out of front door mums pumpkins and lanterns

See what I mean? Boom! That plastic pot instantly gets a pretty new look.

Another trick is to paint old bushel baskets to give them new life.

Anne painted her baskets black to coordinate with the other planters and decor items on her front porch.

We’re both all about shopping our homes and reusing what we have to keep it simple and affordable.

stack of three pumpkins with mums in decorative containers behind

For fall, AnnMarie pulled out a galvanized olive bucket she already had to use as a planter for her mums.

And the tall one behind? That’s the planter that’s always on the porch and gets changed out seasonally with different plants or flowers.

AnnMarie refreshed her whole front porch this summer. It looked good before, but you’ve got to see all the details of the transformation!

mum plant in metal container lined with burlap on wood stool on fall front porch

This wire basket planter has a white plastic liner.

It looked a little out of place with all the farmhouse fall elements.

But adding some burlap to wrap the liner gives AnnMarie all the farmhouse feels she loves!

Using a variety of flower pots adds visual interest and makes it look “upscale” when you’re decorating your porch for fall.

mum and fall plant in bushel basket with gourds and pumpkins lanterns and mums next to house on front porch

Anne added a colorful coleus plant with a small mum in a $2 basket she picked up from our local farmer’s market.

Don’t you just love the different texture the coleus provides to break up the mums!?

Our Fall Decorating Trick for Pumpkins & Gourds

Heirloom pumpkins are so much fun when decorating for fall, but they can be pricey.

Farmer’s markets and garden centers have beautiful heirloom pumpkins, but they come with a pretty high sticker price.

We found some right at our local grocery stores for less than half the price!

They may be a bit more banged up.

But if you dig through that big box outside the supermarket, you’ll find some great pumpkins like we did.

overhead view of stack of pumpkins mums wood crate with another pumpkin on top

We wanted to fill our porches with pumpkins but even at half the price that can add up quickly.

Especially on Anne’s large front porch!

Want to hear our simple trick?

Mix in faux pumpkins & gourds along with the real ones!

gourds and pumpkins in iron tiered tray on fall front porch

Anne mixed some faux mini pumpkins from her stash with some real grocery store gourds in an iron planter.

No one would ever know the difference!

overhead view of mum and pumpkin on small wood stool another pumpkin with mum and lantern in front of stool

And here you can see a peek of a large faux pumpkin nestled between the mums and real pumpkins.

See that cute little black riser?

It’s actually a footstool that usually is by Anne’s pool area. She snagged it to use here on her front porch.

Which brings us to our next tip for fall porch decorating…

Mums, Pumpkins, Gourds: OH MY!

Have you noticed the different heights in our front porch displays?

We use risers to vary the heights of our mums, pumpkins, and gourds!

So simple right?!

Using wood crates and boxes adds lots of texture and more visual interest.

side view of front porch with corn stalks three mums in decorative containers stack of pumpkins lantern on wood crate

But you can also use stools as risers…

…footstools

…regular stools

…or even little mini stools.

mum plant on bottom porch stone step candle lantern and small wood stool with pumpkin on top next step another mum on top front porch step

That little pumpkin would look lost between the large mums and lantern on AnnMarie’s front steps.

But propping this little guy up on a mini stool gives him some height.

And let’s not forget the farmhouse charm!

gourds pinecone letter z decor piece and faux fall stems in vase styled in plant stand on porch

Another way to add some visual interest and height in your fall porch decorating is with a tall statement piece.

Anne uses this tall, three-tiered iron planter on her front porch and changes how she styles it seasonally.

Did you know Anne has a collection of Z’s?

So that little Z tucked in between the gourds is the perfect personal touch for their family’s fall porch.

Light Up Your Fall Porch Decorating

What fall front porch wouldn’t be complete without some candle lanterns?

They’re a decorating staple in both our homes!

We love lanterns in all different sizes, shapes, colors and styles.

But for outdoors we tend to stick with classic metal lanterns.

Black is the perfect color to coordinate with our homes!

mum in galvanized planter next to side walk leading to front porch candle lantern next to mum and pumpkins on either side

This lantern has a battery-operated candle which is a great alternative to a real candle outside.

wood crate with pumpkin leaning in front another pumpkin and small gourd on top of crate with lanter filled with mini pumpkins

But lanterns aren’t just for candles!

Why not fill them with mini pumpkins or gourds?

This traditional black lantern looks super cute filled with little faux white pumpkins (less than a dollar a piece!).

long view of side of front porch with two rocking chairs with pillows and throw blanket on rockers and outdoor run in front with mums lanterns and pumpkins

Our Number One Secret For Fall Porch Decorating

So.

Did you figure it out?

We dropped you some hints throughout…

Our number one secret to fall porch decorating?

Using grocery store mums and pumpkins!

Seriously, you don’t have to spend a fortune on big, beautiful mums or gorgeous heirloom pumpkins!

We’ve found the best deals on pumpkins & mums right at our local grocery store!

And the quality has been fantastic!

No need to travel to a garden nursery or farmer’s market anymore.

Just check out your local grocery store!

We found oversized mums for just 2/$12!

And gorgeous heirloom pumpkins for only $5.99 each! Even the biggest ones were only $5.99!

At a price like that you can buy enough to really make a statement, don’t you think?

We hope you enjoyed the tours of our fall porches! Did you like our ideas for decorating with grocery store finds?

We’d love for you to become part of our Simply2Moms community! You’ll get access to all our exclusive printables and get insider tips by becoming a Simply2Moms VIP.

You can also find us over on TikTokInstagramPinterest, and Facebook so you don’t miss any of our tips, tricks, or stories!

And now, be sure to visit our friend Jessica from Itty Bitty Farmhouse! She has transformed her home into a beautiful vintage farmhouse that’s been featured in American Farmhouse Style Magazine!

You can find links to all the other bloggers participating today below.

If you have any questions or suggestions, contact me or leave a comment! We’d love for you to follow us over on Instagram and Facebook so you don’t miss any of our tips, tricks, or stories!

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