As soon as the air starts to feel crisp, it’s time for fall decor. Putting festive decorations around your front porch and doorway is one of the best ways to ring in the harvest season and make your home feel cozier. Creating a seasonal entryway also ensures your house makes a good first impression with your guests. As a bonus, most decorating ideas for a fall front porch are easy and inexpensive.
Below, you’ll discover the basics of how to decorate your front porch for fall, the top fall decorating ideas for your front porch, and chic fall decoration ideas for front doors. Learn the secrets to decorating your front porch for fall no matter its size or your budget.
How to Decorate a Front Porch for Fall
Before diving into some specific ideas for front porch decorating, here are some general ways to decorate your front porch for fall:
1. Find or Make a Festive Wreath
Hanging up a wreath is a basic way to give your front porch seasonal cheer. A homemade wreath featuring living materials is an excellent way to mark the start of autumn and show off your love for fall. When making your fall-themed wreath, feel free to use bold colors like gold or red and plenty of autumnal materials like chrysanthemums, corn husks or pine cones.
Keep in mind that live wreaths will eventually wilt and may not be the most frugal front porch decorating choice. Whether you enjoy making your own wreaths or prefer to purchase yours at the store, any type of wreath is sure to liven up your front door decor.
2. Feature Fall Foliage
Once the first leaf falls, it’s officially time to embrace fall flowers. In autumn, the best flowers to decorate your front porch with are chrysanthemums, marigolds, asters and pansies. Take advantage of these beautiful fall blooms by dressing up your front deck with a variety of bouquets.
The way you plant your fall flowers can also play up your front porch decor. Try placing your autumn flowers in stylish planters like a giant decorative urn or a rustic bucket. You can even double-down on your fall motif by planting your flowers directly into hollowed-out pumpkins.
3. Layer Your Look
Incorporating some hay bales into your front porch design is a great way to add some dimension to your decor and elevate the overall look. You can use hay bales as risers to stack other fun fall accessories around your front porch. Straw hay bales in various shapes and sizes are readily available at any craft store, so you can find whatever suits your style best.
4. Create a Cozy Fall Seating Area
Adding a bench to your front porch will turn the area into a comfy outdoor living space you’ll love spending time in. Play up the fall aesthetics by setting a simple bench near a railing or exterior wall and covering pillows in festive patterns and throws in weather-resistant fabrics. Consider adding a wooly rug to complete the cozy look.
5. Light up the Night
Soft candlelight can do wonders for your outdoor fall decor. Lanterns are an especially beautiful way to make your front porch look elegant, warm and inviting. As a versatile piece of decor, lanterns can be styled any way you want. If you choose to use extra-large lanterns, you can fill them with a variety of fall items, such as candles, faux leaves and small pumpkins.
Regardless of which type of lantern you pick, make sure you fill it with flameless or LED candles instead of a burning candle. Using flameless or LED candles will keep you from having to worry about remembering to blow out real candles.
6. Go Pumpkin Crazy
The first rule of fall decorating is there’s no such thing as too many pumpkins. Take your fall front porch decorations up a notch by putting out a big collection of pumpkins. Try to use a variety of pumpkins, including the classic plump orange pumpkins, sleek white pumpkins, funky green pumpkins and cute miniature pumpkins.
10 Front Porch Decorating Ideas for Fall
Now that you’ve got the basic guidelines for fall decorating down, check out these 10 ideas for decorating your front porch for fall:
1. Autumn Plant Ladder Display
Create a unique fall ladder display for your front porch to step into the season. You can set up a rustic ladder and display colorful floral arrangements on its rungs. Beside the ladder, try placing hay bales and pumpkins to keep with the autumn theme. You can also add vases of corn stalks to complete the harvest look.
2. Rustic Welcome Sign
Give your front porch’s decor a boost and make your guests feel welcome by putting out a rustic welcome sign. For a woodsy-style welcome sign, look for a tall wooden board with the word “welcome” spelled out vertically in large letters. Flank the plank of wood with pumpkins and add a fall floral wreath to the front door to finish off this fall display.
3. Rustic Halloween Decor
Embrace the Halloween spirit this season by putting out a wooden ladder with the word “boo” spelled vertically down its rungs. Make a centerpiece for your design by setting up a hay bale topped with a pumpkin and gourd arrangement. Tie the look together with an attractive Halloween-themed wreath.
4. Spooky Fall Display
If you want a more subtle Halloween design, try putting a slightly eerie touch on traditional fall decor. Fashion your front porch with lanterns and white pillar candles to give your porch a haunting look. Then, perch black ravens along your porch’s railings as if they are prepared to take flight any second. Use wicker pumpkins and fresh pumpkins, along with a colorful wreath of faux leaves to give your spooky display a splash of color.
5. The Maximalist Approach
Fall is not the season for going small with decorations. If you’re not into the minimalist look, take the maximalist approach and go all out on decorating your front porch for fall. Make sure your fall front porch design includes pumpkins galore, a giant leaf design, dried wheat stalks and even giant pumpkins or gourds attached to your door.
6. Apple Crate Display
If you’re not a maximalist, tone down your fall front porch decor with a simple apple crate display. Set up a basic apple crate and set a lantern with a white candle next to a miniature pumpkin on top of it. Bring a pop of color into this design by letting colorful faux leaves cascade down the sides of the crate.
7. Fall Farmhouse Fashion
Farmhouse-style is a welcoming aesthetic that’s perfect for fall. Classic farmhouse decor items like rustic signage, vintage furniture and wooden accent pieces pair especially well with autumnal decor. Try decorating your front porch with pumpkins and country-inspired touches, such as a twig wreath, checkered throw and wooden lanterns.
8. Country Scarecrow Display
Scarecrows qualify as quintessential fall front porch decor. You can class up the classic scarecrow by leaning a cool scarecrow on the side of your front door to invite your home’s guests in with style. Bring more harvest vibes to your design with hay bales holding potted plants surrounded by tall corn stalks and piles of pumpkins.
9. Fall Harvest Planter
A fall harvest planter makes the perfect front porch display. If your front porch is large enough, place a wheelbarrow or wagon on your porch and fill it with an assortment of fall items, including pumpkins, gourds, leaves and mums. Alternatively, you can use galvanized metal buckets to show off your vibrant fall floral arrangements.
10. Classy White Decor
Create a timeless fall look on your front porch by using clean white pumpkins as the basis of your design. Incorporate potted white mums along each side of your steps, along with rustic vines to create a framed entryway. Opt for a simple and pretty twig wreath to decorate your door and welcome your guests.
3 Small Front Porch Decorating Ideas
If you don’t have a large front porch, you can still bring plenty of fall flavor to your exterior decor. Start with setting up basic elements like a fall wreath, rustic lanterns and pumpkins and adding in more layers of fall decor until you run out of room. Try using the three tips below to make decorating your small front porch a breeze.
1. Extend Your Fall Decor Beyond Your Porch
If your porch has limited square footage, extend your fall decor beyond your front stoop. Consider lining the walkway up to your front door with pumpkins or gourds to create an autumnal ambiance. You can also put small gourds into window boxes to give your decor a fall twist without taking up extra porch space.
2. Create a Mini Porch Display With Tiny Pumpkins
Save room on your small front porch by creating a display featuring tiny pumpkins. Miniature pumpkins are bright, adorable and all things fall, making them the perfect decoration for smaller porches. You can put a lovely arrangement together by choosing one larger item, such as a ladder, chair or even a big pumpkin, and surrounding it with different colored and shaped mini pumpkins.
3. Decorate With Grapevines
Grapevines are festive fall decorations that don’t take up much space. You can use this versatile piece of fall decor in a wide range of ways, such as wrapping it around your porch railings, framing your front door or threading it through lantern displays. If you already have a fall garland, you can still add grapevines as an accent piece.
5 Front Porch Fall Decorating Ideas on a Budget
If you’re looking for fall front porch decorating ideas on a budget, you might want to consider making your fall decorations yourself. DIY fall decorations are easy to make and look just as good as most store-bought decorations. Making your own fall decorations will also put you in the seasonal spirit!
Take a look at these DIY fall decorations for front doors to get some inspiration this harvest season:
1. Decorated House Number
Commit to the fall theme by decorating every portion of your front porch, including your house number. You can really embrace the season by painting your house numbers onto pumpkins and stacking them in the correct order. Alternatively, you can use cut-out wooden numbers to create a more rustic house number for fall.
2. Fall Door Sign
Nothing will make your guests feel more welcome at your home than a handmade sign. Depending on how crafty you are, you can paint a pumpkin design onto a wood pallet, glue faux leaves and letters together to make an autumn collage or use an embroidery hoop to create your fall door sign.
3. Painted Fall Doormat
You can turn a regular doormat into a charming homemade fall doormat by painting it with warm fall tones. Adding a splash of bright red, gold or bronze to your doormat can transform it into a fall front porch centerpiece. Make sure you use outdoor acrylic paint when you paint your doormat so it can withstand the elements.
4. Fall Door Banner
Hang a homemade fall-themed banner above your door to bring some harvest cheer. Use felt and precut letters to make an adorable “Happy Harvest” sign. Your fall door banner can also feature leaves, plaid, pumpkins or another popular fall motif instead of words.
5. Fall Plant Display
For those of us on a budget, fall plants like mums, pumpkins and gourds are relatively inexpensive. Once you’ve purchased your fall plants, you can use vases or planters you already have to arrange them. Experiment with different fall plant set-ups like positioning them in creative clusters, mixing them with greenery from your garden or lining them along your front porch stairs.
5 Ideas for Fall Front Door Decor
If you’re wondering how to decorate a front door for fall, you’ve come to the right place. This section has stylish and festive fall decoration ideas for front doors. Whether you love the look of a classic wreath or want something more modern to dress up your door, we have the fall decorating tips you need. Learn how to decorate your front door for fall with the following inspiration:
1. Chalkboard Sign
A chalkboard is the perfect fall decor piece because it fits well with the rustic farmhouse theme while allowing you to customize what your sign says. Depending on the time of year, you can make your sign say “Happy Halloween,” “Happy Thanksgiving” or whatever else you’d like. If you can’t find a chalkboard sign you like at the store, you can make your own with chalkboard paint.
2. Jack-o-Lantern Front Door Decor
Make everyone who sees your house smile by outfitting your front door with grinning jack-o-lantern decor. Creating a jack-o-lantern face on your front door will bring energy to your home and demonstrate your fall holiday spirit. Stick with the pumpkin theme by positioning an assortment of pumpkins around the front door.
3. Fall-Themed Wreath
Wreaths are versatile exterior decorations that can easily fit with the fall theme. Here are some fall decorating ideas for the front door that involve wreaths:
- Go for bold colors: A contrasting wreath in a bright fall color like red will make your front door stand out in the neighborhood.
- Add a bow: Putting a bow with a fall pattern on a wreath you already have is a great way to turn it into a harvest season staple.
- Choose a wooden design: Purchasing a wreath with a wood-based frame can add a rustic charm to your front door.
- Pick pumpkin: Using small pumpkins and zucchini in your wreath design will make it fitting for the fall season.
- Use wheat: A wreath made of wheat stalks, acorns and yellow or orange berries will add a rustic-chic touch to your front door.
- Dry some flowers: Making a wreath out of dried flowers is a simple way to enhance the look of your front door this fall. All you have to do is attach flattened, dried flowers to a flat wreath form.
- Feature fall foliage: In addition to flowers, you can add other elements of fall foliage to your wreath, such as dried leaves, berries, pine cones, corn husks and more.
- Double down: When thinking about how to decorate double front doors for fall, wreaths are a perfect solution. Hanging a wreath on each door will create a beautiful, symmetrical aesthetic.
4. Bucket Fall Door Hanger
If you’d like to swap out your traditional harvest wreath for something unique, try putting out a fall bucket door hanger. Fill the bucket with greenery, fall flowers and mini pumpkins to make the arrangement pop. Complete the harvest look by flanking your front door with pumpkin topiaries.
5. Harvest Garlands
Garlands are one of the best front door entry fall decorating ideas because they frame your front door without taking up too much space. Choosing the right garland for your doorway involves finding a design that suits your aesthetic and speaks to your love for fall.
Here are some strategies to use when shopping for or making an autumn garland:
- Choose your color scheme: The colors you use in your garland will set the tone for the rest of your front porch design, so choose carefully. Fall colors like red, yellow, green, gold, tan and orange go well together and will likely work with the other fall decorations you use.
- Pick some flowers: Sunflowers work especially well for autumn garlands. Their bright yellow petals really stand out against the backdrop of any doorframe. Decorating with this vibrant and dramatic flower will surely impress your guests.
- Layer with leaves: A leaf garland is great for hanging above your front door because it adds a lively burst of color to your entryway design. A leaf garland will also play up your autumn aesthetic and look great alongside your other fall decor.
- Use plenty of ribbon: Ribbon is a must for a fall garland. Choose a striking and unique ribbon with a fun pattern that intertwines bold colors. Try to find a ribbon that matches your fall color scheme and features a fall pattern like plaid or checkers.
- Include pine cones: If you can find a garland that incorporates pine cones in its design, you’ll be able to use the garland well past Thanksgiving. Because pine cones are often included in winter decor, a good pine cone garland might be a smart investment.
- Supersize it: An oversized garland can be a beautiful statement piece for your front door. Twirling up your front door with a stunning, oversized garland will allow each of your guests to make a grand entrance.
- Pair it with a wreath: No garland is complete without a complementary wreath hanging on the door. Try to match the color and style of your garland to your wreath to ensure they make the perfect pair.
Use Your Front Porch Fall Decorating Ideas on an Entry Door From Quality Overhead Door
If you’re ready to test out some ideas for front porch fall decorating, start by renovating your entry door. At Quality Overhead Door, we offer a wide variety of stylish entry doors that will look gorgeous with your fall decor. Browse our collections of durable and attractive entry doors to find which one matches your aesthetic.
For more information about finding your perfect fall entry door, request your free quote or contact Quality Overhead Door today.
Additional Resources on Entry Doors:
- How to Decorate Your Front Door and Porch for Spring
- How to Decorate Your Front Door and Porch for Winter
- How to Decorate Your Front Door and Porch for Summer
- How to Decorate Your Front Door