Inspired by the porches of Pinterest, I decided to unleash some pumpkin spice magic on our small porch to celebrate fall. I'm pretty sure I was the first one on our street to put out pumpkins in September. Despite the 80 degree temperatures I couldn't wait to decorate for fall.
Though fall for me is usually plagued with allergy symptoms, I try to focus on the beautiful fall foliage and yummy autumn foods--pumpkin spice lattes, apple cider, honey crisp apples and pumpkin pie. My fall porch expresses my excitement for cooler temperatures, and the apple-picking/pumpkin-carving season.
I started with placing a berry wreath I purchased from Pier One awhile ago on the door. Then I got some faux stone urns from Home depot and filled them with some red mums. The other potted plants are actually ornamental kale from the grocery store. Not sure if it can be eaten or not, but regardless they are cute to look at and remind me vaguely of Cabbage Patch Dolls.
Flanking the Kale pots are two metal lanterns, which were centerpieces leftover from my sister's wedding. I actually moved these up under the porch later so the elements wouldn't rust them.
The hay bale and pumpkins I also got at a local grocery store. The hay bale serves no function other than sitting pretty. The pumpkins will probably be carved for Halloween and emptied of their seeds. Toasted and salted pumpkin seeds are a delicious treat!
The Autumn sign was a DIY. I printed out some large letters in a word document, cut out the letters, and traced them on a long board of wood. The sign was then hand painted with craft paint from Michaels (Americana paint in Light Buttermilk and Folk Art paint in Real Brown). I also distressed the sign a bit with sandpaper to give it an aged look.
The corn stalks were a freebee from my date who works in Agriculture, but I've seen them at numerous farmers markets for purchase as well.
If I've achieved nothing else, at least the mailman feels a blast of autumn charm as he has to navigate our front porch to get to the mailbox.
Anne with an E