DIY Porch Decorations for Fall

A DIY is more than just a fun project to take on for a weekend. A DIY gives you a sense of pride and accomplishment. And there’s no better time than the present. Here is a compiled list of some fall DIYs that will be sure to stand out on your front porch this autumn.


Pumpkin Doormat

Pumpkin Doormat
Courtesy of The Merry Thought

One thing every porch needs is a doormat. Despite its primary purpose of keeping dirt outside, it can also dress up your door. It’s one of the first things guests will see on your porch, so it’s best to make it welcoming and, in this case, festive! Check out this DIY pumpkin doormat to make this autumn.

Materials:

  • Doormat 
  • Pencil 
  • X-acto knife 
  • Scissors
  • Paint 
  • Paint Brush 

Instructions:

The first step to making this festive doormat is to flip it upside down so that the bottom of the mat is facing up. From here, you will sketch your pumpkin on the back of the mat. You can do this freehand or by using a reference photo. Once you’re happy with the drawn shape, take your X-acto knife and cut off the edges so that the mat is in its pumpkin shape. Then, you’ll flip the mat over, right side up, and clean up any messy edges with scissors. Finally, creativity comes in! Use your imagination and paint the mat. It can just be an outline of the pumpkin so the natural mat shows, or you can use any color that will match the rest of your porch décor.  

Mums in a Pumpkin Planter

Mums in a pumpkin planter
Courtesy of Simple Sojourns

Chrysanthemums, also called mums, are a staple fall flower because of their vibrant red, orange, and yellow hues. Mums are sturdy flowers that will last throughout the fall season. One easy way to step up your mum game is to place them in a unique planter. What is more unique and autumnal than a pumpkin? Read these next steps on how to plant your mums in a pumpkin to dress up your flowers.

Materials:

  • A Mum 
  • A Pumpkin Large Enough for the Mum 
  • Knife 
  • Large Spoon 
  • Sharpie Marker
  • Potting Soil 
  • Ribbon 

Instructions:

Your first step for this planter is to select your pumpkin-chrysanthemum combination. There is little rhyme or reason here, so pick what you like! It can match your other porch decorations or simply complement them. The one rule is to make sure your mum and pumpkin are proportional to each other and that the mum can fit inside the pumpkin. To get started, remove the mum from its pot and set aside. From here, grab your pumpkin and draw a circle around the stem using the plastic planter from the mum as a stencil. Now, cut the top of the pumpkin open where you drew a circle.

Once open, take the time to remove the guts and seeds using a large spoon. With this step, you want to take out the majority, but whatever little bit is left will just be turned into fertilizer. Be sure to save those seeds for roasting! Next, add the soil into the pumpkin so that the bottom of the mum will sit an inch below the opening. Now, the fun part. Plant the mum into the pumpkin and water it. You can stop here or decorate it with ribbon. Be sure to water it every other day and enjoy your new planter! 

Autumn Leaf Archway

Fall archway on decorated porch
Courtesy of Macy.Blackwell on TikTok

This DIY is no small feat, but it makes a big impact. With this fanciful leaf arch, you will be the talk of the block. It may be a more time-consuming project, but it only has four materials you’ll need.

Materials: 

  • PVC Pipe
  • Chicken Wire
  • Garland 
  • Zip Ties

Instructions:

Build an arch with PVC pipe based on how big your arch needs to be to fit your porch. Attach three pieces of chicken wire to form the square arch shape with zip ties while ensuring it doesn’t stick out too far. Then, fill in with strands of garland, attaching with zip ties. The number of strands is dependent upon size. However, you will likely need at least 20. Continue to add until it is at your desired fullness. 

Pine Cone Door Hanger

Pine cone door hanger
Courtesy of Country Living

Wreaths are a porch necessity for all seasons. However, the trends are often changing on what kind of wreaths are becoming more popular. So, rather than a traditional round wreath, consider a hanging pine cone door hanger for this fall season. 

Materials: 

  • Pine cones, preferably real 
  • Eye-Bolt Screws
  • Ribbon 
  • Stapler

Instructions:

This DIY works best with natural pine cones you can scavenge from the forest or your front yard. First, take your pine cones and screw your eye bolts into their tops. Depending on your cones and screws, you might be able to do this by hand, or you may have to use a drill first. Screw it in until the eye hook touches the cone. Now, you have to visualize how the pine cones will lay. You will want them at staggered lengths rather than one bunch. So, lay out the pine cones at the varying lengths you want. Next, cut your ribbon to the desired length plus two inches for tying room for each pine cone.

Thread your ribbon through the eye hook, leaving one inch on the other side. Fold the inch onto the longer portion and staple them together to secure the pine cone. Repeat for all pine cones. From here, gather your ribbon-hung cones and lay them out how you visualized them. This is best done with the longest in the back and the shortest in the front. Once it looks how you like, staple all ribbons together near the top to make one hanging bunch. Now, cut the tops above the staple to make them even. Add a loop at the top with more ribbon, still stapling the two ends to the existing ribbon. Finally, use the remaining ribbon you have to decorate! You can add a bow near the top where the bunch will hang or at the top of each pine cone to add playful layers. 

Three Pumpkin Stacked Topiary

If that archway was a little too extravagant, try this DIY topiary. It will give a similar effect on a smaller scale. This is a perfect touch to a porch, especially for those who don’t have a green thumb. You can customize this project with different pumpkins, leaves, and garlands. You could even use jack-o-lanterns and spiderwebs for a Halloween theme

Materials: 

  • Urn Planters
  • Potting Soil 
  • Three Different Size Plastic Pumpkins
  • Wood Dowels 
  • Hot Glue Gun
  • Glue Sticks
  • Drill and Drill Bits 
  • Faux Fall Leaves
  • Grapevine Garland

Instructions: First, fill your planter with the potting soil. Next, you can begin preparing your pumpkins. Take the largest pumpkin and drill a hole in the bottom of it, big enough to insert the wooden dowel but not too large. You want it to fit snuggly on the dowel. Now, put the pumpkin dowel down into the soil. It’s time to add leaves! Remove the stem on the pumpkin simply by pulling or cutting it off. Then, use a hot glue gun to attach some leaves to the top of the pumpkin. You’ll want them to appear as if they’re lying on top of and falling off the pumpkin.

Now repeat! Drill another hole into the top of the bottom pumpkin so that it can hold the dowel of the next pumpkin. Drill and add the dowel to the second pumpkin, stack, add leaves, and do it a third time for the top pumpkin. Lastly, wrap the now-built topiary with grapevine garland to give it a rustic feel. Ta-da! New topiary! Make two and add them on each side of your door for a symmetrical effect.


Any of these DIYs are sure to impress. When you have guests over, and they ask, “Where did you get that?” You’ll be able to say, “Oh, I didn’t buy it. I made it!” It seems like an ideal conversation starter and something sure to boost your pride. Pick one out and work on it today!

   – Materials needed: A Mum, A Pumpkin (large enough for the Mum), Knife, Large Spoon, Sharpie Marker, Potting Soil, Ribbon.

   – Instructions: Cut the top of the pumpkin, remove the guts and seeds, add soil, plant the mum inside the pumpkin, and water it regularly.

   – Materials needed: PVC Pipe, Chicken Wire, Garland, Zip Ties.

   – Instructions: Build an arch with PVC pipe, attach chicken wire to form the arch shape, and fill it with strands of garland using zip ties.

 

   – Materials needed: Pine cones (preferably real), Eye-Bolt Screws, Ribbon, Stapler.

   – Instructions: Screw eye bolts into the tops of pine cones, arrange them at staggered lengths, attach ribbons to the eye hooks, staple them together, and create a hanging bunch with the pine cones.

   – Materials needed: Urn Planters, Potting Soil, Three Different Size Plastic Pumpkins, Wood Dowels, Hot Glue Gun, Glue Sticks, Drill and Drill Bits, Faux Fall Leaves, Grapevine Garland.

   – Instructions: Fill the planter with potting soil, drill holes in the pumpkins, insert wooden dowels, add leaves to the pumpkins with a glue gun, stack the pumpkins, and wrap the topiary with grapevine garland for a rustic touch.

Fall Indoor Plants for Your Lake House

Photo courtesy of Pinterest.

Indoor plants add a sense of life to any room. A dull furniture set immediately becomes more colorful with hanging plants or potted flowers on a side table. Especially at a lake house, bringing the outdoors in is a relevant trend. It allows natural lakeside scenery to integrate into your home decor seamlessly. Plus, the beauty of indoor plants is that you aren’t bound by gardening zones.

Indoors, you can engineer the environment for them to grow. However, it would be best if you still considered seasonality for house plant care. As the seasons change, so do plants’ needs. For this season, check out these fall indoor plants to maintain your lake house’s bright, happy atmosphere. 

Red Aglaonema

Photo courtesy of Costa Farms.

Red aglaonema is one of the most colorful house plants with a green base. Its varying shades of red and pink add color variation to fall’s typical orangey-brown tones. Plus, it’s simple to care for this slow-growing plant that only requires indirect sunlight. That ability to use lower light environments makes it perfect for a home office.

If you’re working from your lake home during COVID-19, keep in mind that office plants have tons of psychological benefits from stress reduction to increased creativity. If you’re new to plant care, this is the perfect, low maintenance addition to your lake home. 

Snake Plant

Photo courtesy of Better Homes and Garden.

Of all fall indoor plants, this one might be the easiest to grow. As a succulent, it tolerates low light and is quite forgiving towards forgetful owners. It’s considered a plant of steel due to its hardiness. This trait makes it perfect for a second home like a lake house, where you won’t be readily available for plant maintenance.

Snake plants are also strikingly beautiful with a combination of yellow, light green, and dark green. Additionally, it’s an unintrusive floor plant because its thick leaves grow upright. Like aglaonemas, they require indirect sunlight so you can place them in most rooms of your lake home — provided it’s not a pitch dark basement. 

Amaryllis

Photo courtesy of gardeners.com.

When it’s cold outside, and trees are bare, the amaryllis’s red, white, and pink shades add a rare vibrancy for your selection of fall indoor plants. Its colors also bring out a festive, decorative flare during the cold-weather holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

To grow them, pot the bulbs yourself and keep the soil damp but not wet. However, growing the bulb in water is also an option. Whichever you choose, remember to plant your amaryllis in a heavy pot. If the pot is too lightweight, the flower will keel over once it grew to full size. 

Goldfish Plant

Photo courtesy of Green Obsessions.

Native to Mexico, Brazil, and Costa Rica, this house plant comes in 25 different types. Its name comes from the bright orange blooms that resemble goldfish among tiny dark leaves. These colorful blooms are most vibrant in the summertime. However, they’ll keep their fiery tone in the fall, as long as you care for it properly.

To keep your goldfish plant alive, place it in bright but not direct sunlight with some humidity. Because of its curved leaves, it looks attractive as a hanging plant.

Aloe Vera

Photo courtesy of Smart Garden Guide.

You may think of aloe vera only in relation to sun protection. However, it’s status as one of the best fall indoor plants shouldn’t be ignored.

As a succulent, it’s tough and requires little water to stay alive. Mostly, it just needs indirect sunlight, making this plant perfect for your lake house’s kitchen or den.

Although its juices can aid in healing cuts and burns, be sure not to ingest this plant as its toxicity can cause nausea and indigestion. 

Christmas Cactus

Photo courtesy of Almanac.com.

As indicated by its name, the Christmas cactus’ beautiful colors will help you start celebrating the winter holidays. These tubular, bright blooms will be a perfect addition to your windowsill this fall.

Unlike typical cacti, this plant isn’t native to arid environments. It’s native to the rainforests in Brazil. Since they’re accustomed to humid environments like this, you’ll need to water more regularly.

Croton Plant

Photo courtesy of KOMARGALLERY/GETTY IMAGES via mydomaine.com.

When it comes to fall indoor plants, the croton plant is a particularly fun choice. Usually grown outdoors in tropical climates, it also makes a great house plant. The shades of dark gray, orange and yellow create a whimsical yet striking look.

Because it’s native to a tropical environment, it dislikes humidity. Keeping the plant on a pebble tray and regularly misting it should do the trick! Also, it’s crucial to avoid moving the croton plant if possible. It doesn’t like being transferred to new environments, and doing so will result in leaf loss.

Rubber Tree

Photo courtesy of Vintage Revivals.

If you’re in search of a tall, sturdy house plant, a rubber tree is perfect. When it’s young, it can fit comfortably on a desk. However, it can reach extraordinary heights. In the rubber tree’s native home of southeast Asia, it can grow up to 100 feet tall, and domestically, it stretches between six and ten feet. It prefers indirect light, so a placement by a sheer curtained window is perfect. 

In addition to preparing your existing house plants for fall, we hope you add one of these new fall indoor plants to your collection. No matter which you choose, they’ll help evoke a peaceful atmosphere in your lake home. 

Turn Your Lake Home Into a Haunted House With Halloween Decorations

The temperature is dropping, the leaves are changing and the smell of Fall is in the air. With Fall, comes one of the most exciting times of the year: Halloween!

Trick or treating, scary costumes and apple-bobbing aren’t the only things to look forward to.

Decorate for Halloween

Halloween decorations are just as fun!

haunted lake house

If you’re looking for some advice on spooking up your lake house a bit, look no further, we have some great ideas for you!

Of course, there are the classic Halloween decorations like cobwebs and fake spiders.

Adding these too your house and dock (which may already have cobwebs on it) is a surefire way to spook up an area.

Always use jack-o-lanterns, as these are super fun to make and are great decorations. Place them on your front or back porch and dock for all to see and fear!

Scarecrows are also a frightful sight, especially this time of the year! Stick a scarecrow in your yard, and it will be sure to turn some heads!

Other Spooky Ideas

Some other spooky ideas include:

Bone Door Knocker – What better way to spook your neighborhood ghouls and goblins by having a super scary door knocker? For this decorative setup, you’ll need some fake bones and a door to place them on. Knock Knock! Trick or treat!?

Witch’s Cauldron – A great idea is having a witch’s cauldron in your front yard! Buy a large plastic black cauldron, set up three long sticks to suspend it from, add water and dry ice and you’ve got yourself one spooky decoration!

Or, if you would like to impress the neighbors across the pond, use this same setup on the lakeside of your home, and add a couple of spotlights to highlight your setup!

Gothic Wreath – Make a black wreath with sticks jutting out every which way, and place a fake crow in the mix to add a spooky atmosphere to your door.

Spooky Face in the Mirror – Remove most of the paint from a mirror and stick an old portrait photo behind it. Paint the mirror frame black, and you have yourself one spooky mirror!

Graveyard Tombstones – Use cardboard and spray paint to create ghostly tombstones and stick them in your front yard, or near your dock, and put them on display with spotlights!

Window Silhouettes – Use cardboard and a sharpie to outline the shape of a ghoulish character from one of your favorite horror movies! Cut it out, stand the silhouette in your window and let the shrieks begin!

Zombie Hands in Ground – This one is a classic and surely freaks everybody out. Buy a few fake severed hands, and bury them halfway so that they stick out of the ground. These can be purchased at any Halloween store.

They can also be placed on your dock, as if the zombies are coming out of the water. Nothing is scarier on the lake than water ghouls!

But, your main focus on Halloween should always be to just have fun with it!