It’s that time of year when I have to pull a million weeds, and I’ve lost some of our smaller potted plants to the debilitating heat. But then it cooled off this week. I’ve always been a reluctant fall decorator. So when the faux flowers I’d added to our front porch for the spring were no longer believable, it was time to switch them out with something else that felt a little more appropriate for the upcoming seasons. I love growing actual living things, but there’s something pretty fun about adding drama with elements that could be pricy and fussy to maintain each season if they were to remain potted on my porch. I heard a quote that said something along the lines of, “Nothing blooms all the time in real life, and neither will you.” It felt right to remove my spring blooms, add a little more character and maybe even a few pumpkins to slowly usher in fall because I live life on the edge like that. The cheater’s guide to an easy fall porch! 

It’s always fun to look back at these photos, and remember how far we’ve come with this house!

I caught a few photos of this after a pretty wild rainstorm the other afternoon, just as the sun was setting. I love the juxtaposition of the steam and sunshine. 

Our porch is tiny but mighty. And today, I’m sharing a few of my fave tips: The Cheater’s Guide to an Easy Fall Porch! {Pssst… almost all of our sources can be found here if you need a shortcut. Some of these are affiliate links. Thank you for understanding!} 

1. The Cheater’s Guide to an Easy Fall Porch: Be Welcoming
House numbers and well-lit areas are always nice, especially for the pizza / Amazon delivery person. We’re guilty of frequent visitors of this nature. Consider ways to make it easier for friends and visitors to find your home! It’s a basic element to add that can be quite priceless. We still adore our light from Kichler, and our house numbers, too – from Drop Cap Studio. 

2. The Cheater’s Guide to an Easy Fall Porch: Layer up. 
With door mats, pillows, and more. It makes us happy to be able to make this small space cozy. While we would love to eventually expand the porch {again, a septic, setback, and all the things issue to maybe be examined at a later date} we do love what we have, regardless. And we love to make it feel homey in the meantime. 

We added this rug to our doormat with these pillows {similar} + love the way it looks with everything.
… Rocking chairs are from here. {No longer available in that color – but we have loved these – I have a similar color here.} 

3. The Cheater’s Guide to an Easy Fall Porch: Don’t Be Afraid of Color. 

I mean, honestly, haint blue for the win. But you can also incorporate small elements without making your home feel too cluttered. Clearly, we’ve gone for a quiet backdrop and offer pops of color with our rocking chairs, pillow selections, and more. And yes, we’re always mixing it up. But just because it’s fall doesn’t mean it has to be neutral. Too many people shy away because they’re not sure how to make it work. Do what you love! Color is always so welcoming in all its beautiful hues on the front porch. 

Repeat after me: I can do color. 

I loved bringing in these colorful flowers for a pop of fall. {See how we made our pumpkins, here.} 
Colorful fall wreath from here!

4. The Cheater’s Guide to a Fun Fall Porch: Go Faux. 

Yes, I did actually just write that. Yes, I did do it. Yes, I DO kill my mums every year. And honestly, you can’t tell from where everyone else sees them. {Friends use our side door}. It all started with the mums, and now I’ve evolved to larger pieces. {See our spring version here.} I have zero regrets. 

Here’s the key:
1. Mix them in with real so that people have to look twice.
2. Add moss on top of the fake ones that have gaps, so that when looking twice, people still wonder.
3. I get tired of losing investments every year. These can be rinsed down and reused every year, storing them away in the meantime. YES, I am shameless. I just switched out my spring finds for my fresh fall ones. I adore the fresh look. 

This is me giving you permission to do it. You won’t regret it. 

See: My actual current garden situation, still holding fast to the vestiges of summer. No one will know. How would they know?

5. The Cheater’s Guide to an Easy Fall Porch: Diversify with Height. 

Last spring, we brought in some pretty large planters, so that we could build height with our picks. This fall, it was easy to add more. The key is to add bricks inside the planters before covering them with moss, so tipping during storms doesn’t happen often. Planters are here {tall + short} 

We adore this gigantic olive tree so much that we purchased two- they would look great inside, too. + added these little topiaries to complement the look. 

The mums were purchased a long time ago, but I do love these here. 
Additional pots from here. 

6. The Cheater’s Guide to an Easy Fall Porch: It Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect.
Oh, and in case ya think this looks great, and that I totally have my crap together, don’t be fooled by photoshoots.

Because we’re still recovering from college move-in, some of my plants were dead since it’s that time of year, I need to clean, pull weeds, and back to school is killing us. But one day at a time. Good times. Hey… it’s the little things for sure.

While I am opposed to my Insta feed being filled with Halloween the day after the Fourth of July, at the end of the day, do what makes you happy and is easy. It’s a win for everyone. What are some of your tips for easy fall decorating? We love a good fresh look for the changing of seasons! We’d love to hear!

Have an inspired day!

{See our entire list here!}