Easy Home Decorating Ideas for Fall
An amazing ritual is
once again underway. The days are getting shorter;
leaves are turning brilliant shades of yellow, orange
and red; and flocks of birds are making their way
south. Inspired by the changes brought on by Mother
Nature, people across the country are initiating changes
of their own, giving their home décor a new
lease on life.
According to the American Society of Interior Designers
(ASID), fall is one of the busiest times of year for
people who work in the home decorating business. “The
calls just pour in from people who want to spiff things
up before the holidays,” says B.J. Peterson
of the Peterson-Arce Design Group in Los Angeles.
“They’re getting in the mood for entertaining,
or have people coming in from out of town and want
to make an impression.”
Fall isn’t only a busy
time of year for interior decorators, but for arts
and crafts stores as well. Do-it-yourselfers flock
to stores like Michaels, the nation's largest specialty
retailer of arts and crafts, not only for materials
but for ideas. “It doesn’t matter if you’re
a novice or an experienced crafter. Home decorating
is so easy, anyone can do it, and you can find everything
you need to complete a project at one of our stores,”
says Laura Byrne, Director of Marketing at Michaels
Arts & Crafts stores. Among the most popular do-it-yourself
projects in the fall: wreaths, candlescaping, seasonal
decorating and decorative painting.
* Wreaths and Floral Arrangements
Creating a wreath is one of
the more popular and easy crafting projects you can
do this time of year. Wreaths can be round, square,
or any shape you desire to complement your style.
Hung from a door or a wall or placed on a tabletop,
wreaths are a wonderful way to add the elements of
the season to your home. Items that can be used to
decorate a wreath are as limitless as your imagination.
They include silk or dried flowers, fruits, vegetables,
berries, ribbons, and bows. You can find everything
you need to create a wreath at your local arts and
crafts stores, which have a wide selection of decorative
tools and embellishments. For novice wreath makers,
many websites now provide step by step instructions
to help you create your very own wreath. One of the
newest additions to Michaels.com even includes interactive
visuals to guide you through the wreath making process:
www.michaels.com/easywreaths.
B.J. Peterson says one of the
easiest ways to set a mood in a room is with a floral
arrangement. “You can really let your imagination
run wild when you create one of these,” she
says. “For fall, you can use pinecones, seasonal
fruit, evergreen branches, dried flowers, or even
reeds to fill a vase, decorate a table or fill a corner
of the room. The idea is to bring a piece of the outdoors
inside.”
* Candlescaping
Another popular and easy way
to bring the look of fall inside is through candlescaping.
At its most basic, multiple candles can be displayed
on a large platter. Taken to the extreme, it can be
an entire room filled with decorative candles of varying
heights, sizes and shapes, filling the space with
soft, warm light, creating a cozy environment for
your family.
“Candlescaping is more
than just scattering a few pillars around; it's creating
a mood or telling a story using texture, scent, color
and light. The candle aisles of your local Michaels
store are filled with beautiful pillars, tapers and
tea lights in every imaginable size, shape, color
and scent, allowing you to develop a look that fits
your own personal style,” says Byrne.
To create a more unique look
with candles, some people use stencils and paint to
decorate the candles with seasonal motifs. Fall leaves,
English ivy and pumpkins make great accents this time
of year.
* Dimensional Paint Decorating
An easy way to add accents to
candles, and many other surfaces, including walls,
vases, fabrics, and more, is with the use of Texture
Magic, a pre-colored dimensional paint packaged in
an easy-to-use tube.
If you have ever frosted a cake,
you are already an expert at applying Texture Magic.
Spread the paint on the surface you want to decorate
then add your accents, such as glass beads, metal
pieces or ceramic tile, and press objects in the wet
paint. This process allows you to capture the look
of high-end mosaics at a great price.
You can also use the paint to
create an impression. Simply spread a thick layer
of Texture Magic on the surface you want to decorate,
let it set a bit, then press the object -- a foam
stamp, leaf, or flower petal -- into the wet paint.
Remove immediately, leaving the image pressed into
the surface. Arts and crafts stores offer all the
tools you will need for a home décor project
as well as larger sizes of paint.
Carvable Pumpkins
And what crafter’s fall
décor wouldn’t be complete without a
bunch of pumpkins on the front doorstep. You can find
realistic carvable foam pumpkins in all shapes and
sizes at craft stores along with all the tools you
need to bring them to life. These pumpkins add a seasonal
touch for fall that can last on your porch or table
the entire season. Use them traditionally or get imaginative
creating topiaries or carving whimsical characters
and seasonal images. If you’ve struggled with
carving the real things before, you’ll be amazed
how easy it is to accomplish results with carvable
pumpkins.
Fall home decorating is easy,
simple and inexpensive to do yourself. So go ahead
and try it, you’re bound to create beautiful
home décor accents that will be both eye-pleasing
and unique.
