Inexpensive Fall Decor with House Plants – The Gifted Gabber

Your plants are already the show-stealers in your house. Why allow your fall decor to compete? House plants and store-bought seasonal decor can work together beautifully to add fall splendor to your home. Today, I am going to share how to dress up existing house plants with a little inexpensive fall decor for decorating for fall on a budget. 

By the way, one (just one!) plant in this post is not a real plant. Can you guess which one is the faux plant? The answer is at the end of the post.

I’ve mentioned before that I got tired of the Hubs referring to me as a hospice for house plants and decided I would show him. If caring for 55 potted plants – some big, some small – hasn’t shown him yet, I don’t know what will. I’m proud to say I’ve kept some of these babies humming along for close to a year now. Sure, I’ve lost a few since starting this mission in early January of this year, but keeping 48 or so alive out of 55 ain’t so shabby. There has been great joy in caring for all of these guys, and there was a pang of guilt and sadness each time I had to say goodbye to a potted friend.

Anyhow…back to showing you how to use indoor plants with a little inexpensive fall decor for decorating for fall on a budget.

Adding Inexpensive Fall Decor to Existing House Plants 

First, I remove a lot of my summer bright pillows, baskets, and cloths, replacing them with neutrals and pops of blues and oranges. The next thing I do is to simply toss in a few fall-inspired textures and metal finishes. 

A few of my bright flower pots will remain in the mix because, hey, I already spent a fortune on pots. I don’t plan on splurging on more pots right now. But I do have extra terracotta pots out in the garage I could switch around if the fancy strikes. Plus, many of the pots are teal, turquoise, or blue which is part of my fall color scheme, anyway.

Once I remove any decor that screams summer, I spread a few artificial pumpkins, pine cones, garlands, and pricks around the house. In the dollar spot at Target, I scored several $1 fabric and porcelain pumpkins. I added these to a few I already had in my fall decor collection. The key is to not use too much. If your house is full of house plants, you may already be pushing on maximalist level already! 

Adding Touches of Fall to the Entry Area

Our entry is very narrow, limiting the decor space here. I try to do as much as I can with this fun coat-hanger/chair which I found at an antique mall a few years ago. 

Fall Decor for the Living Room

For the living room, I like to set up several small vignettes with my already existing. Now, I may choose to move some plants around for the purpose of getting the look I want. However, this is something I have to be careful about. Some plants like what they like and don’t like what they don’t like. If a plant seems particularly happy in its location, I don’t want to risk it’s well-being by moving it somewhere where the lightning or humidity might not be good for it. 

I like to set up little vignettes around the TV console table, the mantle, and another bookcase I have. 

This black-and-white pumpkin was the priciest of my fall purchases this season, and I still managed to get it at a good price at Hobby Lobby, thanks to the standard 40% off coupon. It looks classic and chic on the mantle beside my ponytail palm. And I will use it for years to come. 

This wooden box usually lives on the dining room table with glass vases for single stems. For this season, it’s borrowing a little real estate on the living room bookcase to hold candles, two small philodendrons, some wooden beads, and a little more potpourri. The only purchase made for this set up was the potpourri which I bought at Kirkland’s and used in multiple places around the house. 

My friend over at Brush and Pen, painted this sign last fall. With its abstract and bold color scheme, it is the perfect fit for my house.

Simple Fall Decor in the Kitchen 

Silvia, the silver Pothos, looks so pretty as a kitchen table centerpiece. adorning a brass-finished tray with some potpourri.

I couldn’t resist this cute little cup in the dollar aisle at Target. Not only does it serve as fall decor, but I drink my coffee from it year-round. 

Embellishing Plants in the Dining Room for Fall Decor

Hobby Lobby has a great collection of berry pricks which are handy to just tuck into a plant for a subtle hint of fall. I also found a few leaf pricks at Target in the dollar aisle. 

Once all the store-bought decor was in place, I assessed where I might still need a touch of something. At that point, I popped a few fresh pumpkins and gourds around to fill those spots for some inexpensive fall decor touches. 

Tossing in a Faux Plant or Two

Well, any ideas as to which plant in this post is the faux house plant? If you guessed the Morning, Pumpkin plant in the kitchen, you were right! That corner of the kitchen just doesn’t get enough consistent light for me to fight the battle – even though a small snake plant or ZZ plant could probably work okay here. But there is absolutely nothing wrong with a few realistic-looking plants among your fall decor! 

So, there you have it. That is how I add inexpensive fall decor to my existing house plants for decorating for fall on a budget!  Several of the plants featured here today were also featured back in February for my Valentine’s Day Home Tour. I’m hoping these babies will continue to thrive so I can challenge myself to use them in Halloween and Christmas decor, too! We shall see! Also, be sure to check out how I decorate with plants on the Christmas table and on a spring table setting.

The great thing is most of the inexpensive fall decor (pricks and pumpkins) can be used year after year to adorn the house plants in different ways. Switch around the pots, the pricks, the pumpkins among your house plants. You will get a totally different look next year while decorating on a budget! 

Much like how two women can wear the same accessories in totally different ways, so can your house plants!

What are some of your tricks for decorating for fall on a budget?