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I’m finally starting to get the hang of this ‘being an adult’ thing: stable job, roof over my head, feeding myself (mostly) healthy food on a regular basis, scheduling (and keeping!) appointments. I was patting myself on the back the other day when B stated, ‘yeah, but our house still looks like we live in college.’
Aaaaand… he’s right. Why do I still have posters hanging up on the walls? I’m almost 28-years-old. If I’m going to have posters, I should at least pretend to be an adult, and frame them.
Just kidding. I don’t think adults frame posters, right? They buy art.
Not that there is anything wrong with posters, but I decided he was right. I’m one of the most uncreative people on the planet, which is truly tragic because guess what? My family is full of creative people. I have an uncle who is an interior designer for companies, a cousin who stages shops in malls, and the majority of my other family members have incredible fashion style I try (and fail) to copy.
But guess what? I have Pinterest! And Pinterest is a wealth of ideas and step-by-step instructions that even I, one of the most uncreative people on the planet, can follow!
Without further ado… some fall decorating ideas that are both easy and affordable!
Affordable Fall Decorating Ideas, Courtesy of Pinterest
1. This wreath from Confessions of a Serial DIYer is so perfect – why buy a wreath when you can make one, pretty easily, yourself? I wouldn’t even necessarily include all the items Christy did, although you can if you want. A Michael’s wreath, a few stems, and some holiday items (like Christy, I would choose some flowers and a little pumpkin) is all you need. Best of all, it seems like you tuck the items in around the wreath which means… yes… you can use the wreath again at Christmastime! Or whatever festive holiday you celebrate 🙂 I love getting two uses out of one item!
2. You can’t do any cheaper than this fall candle by Laurie at the Passionate Penny Pincher – her post is even titled $6 Decorating at the Dollar Tree. Two glass candle jars, two candles, and unpopped popcorn plus some raffia (the decorative bow around the candle), and we’ve got an easy, pretty candle centerpiece or mood lighting!
3. Kim from The TomKat Studio really goes all out on the post, but my take-away was this gorgeous display. With some festive garland, a few fall decorations (like leaves or pumpkins), and serving dishes of various heights and sizes, this is an absolutely attainable display if you’re hosting Thanksgiving. Kim’s website also includes free downloadable printables, so you can make your own Give Thanks banner using satin ribbon and mini-clothespins. Ribbon, a hole puncher, and clothespins? Even I can do that!
4. Okay, I know this placemat isn’t Pinterest inspired, but I’m going to be honest: all the Pinterest placemat ideas I did find were way too complicated for me. But I love placemats, and this red one from Kohl’s is pretty cute and affordable. If I were hosting Thanksgiving this year, I would probably end up getting it… but now I can just wait for placemats to go on clearance after the holiday 😉
Speaking of Clearance…
One of my favorite places to shop is Cost Plus World Market – if you don’t have one in your city, you can shop online at worldmarket.com. I try to buy my holiday/year round decorating supplies right after the holiday – for example, I just bought a bunch of Halloween decorations on clearance. Sure, I didn’t have those decorations for this year, but next year, this home is going to be decked out!
However, there are still reasonably priced (and sale items!) decorations online at World Market. Candles, string lights, little pumpkins, and more! It’s a good idea to check, even if the holiday hasn’t yet happened, because you never know what little item you may find that’s a perfect addition to your holiday collection.
Are you into decorating your place for the holiday, and where do you find good decorations? Are you more crafty and into creating your own decorations? Or do you just leave the decorating to someone else… like family and friends? No shame if you do! I did until this year 😉
I am always jealous of other people’s holiday decor. I literally own nothing aside from a Christmas tree and some stockings. Maybe one day!
Hey, a tree and stockings are awesome! Those are actually the only major things I definitely have to have every Christmastime. It’s not really Christmastime until there’s some sort of tree and some sort of stockings (I don’t have mantle, so I kind of just hang the stockings where ever I can find room…)
I consider myself to be a creative person but when it comes to home decorating I’m awful..same when it comes to crafts. I think I’m just lazy and would rather be doing a million other things, but I do get jealous when I see homemade decorations and other home decor. I don’t go overboard with holiday decorations since I live in an apt by myself and I’m not super into Christmas anyway. I do like lights and candles though! BTW I love The Oatmeal!
That’s me too! I’m always like, I -could- do this cool-looking craft on Pinterest, or I could do… X Y and Z. And usually X Y Z has to do with blogging or walking the dog, so that usually wins, haha 🙂 It’s definitely easier to rein in decorating and buying decorations when you live in an apartment and/or aren’t into the holiday anyway. When I lived alone, that was me too. Now I live in a neighborhood where it seems like -everyone- is into decorating, so I look around and I’m like… am I defective?! Really glad to see from the comments here that I’m not! 🙂
I love looking on Pinterest for decorating and recipe ideas. I could spend hours doing it. I try not to get too carried away with decorating though since I’m renting and want to move soon.
Hey, at least you will have something to look forward to when you move and have your own place! 😉 I love Pinterest too – I have to kick myself off after like 20 minutes otherwise I get way too carried away! 🙂
I still had a Dali poster from my college days hanging up in my last apartment. It got slightly damaged when my fiance and I moved in together, so we came up with a great, “adult” idea. We cut it up, found 4 interested squares, and framed them in a set of frames that I already had. It looks amazing and not at all like a college poster 🙂
Oh. My. Gosh. That is brilliant!!! Repurposing and you look more adult by having an ‘artsy’ decoration! So cool!! Thanks for the idea! 🙂
Okay, my house has NO decorations either. In fact, I only decorated my old house to stage it for selling. My realtors words were “okay, we HAVE to put some decorations in here so it looks like someone lives here”
Haha, that is exactly what my Mom has said to me when she comes over. She’s like, ‘it doesn’t look like you guys live here… minus the dishes in the sink…’ I -try- to decorate, but it ends up just being totally random and worse than having no decorations. I’m glad I’m not the only one who likes the minimal decor! 🙂
These are all cute! I dream of my house one day having the best holiday and year round decor, but for now we’ve got a funny picture of my fiancé hanging over the fireplace that originally went up as a prank and has never come down…those posters don’t sound so bad now 😉
Haha, you know, year-round that’s probably okay… and my posters are probably (mostly) okay too, but it just seems like at the holidays, I have should have my stuff more together. Hence, posts like these 😉 But it’s nice to know I’m not alone in having a mish-mash of holiday decor (and random pictures/posters)!
I say frame those posters and call it a day! On another note, I have a good amount of decorations but none of them flawlessly flow together. I’ve just gathered up a bunch of decor along the years without any real plan. Don’t get me wrong they are all nice (okay most) but it’s definitely not Martha Stewart status. Maybe one day I’ll have magazine worthy decor. Not today though.
Hahaha thank you!! I did frame one poster… it is of Paris though, so I feel like that makes it more okay (versus framing The Oatmeal posters. That seems less okay). Oh my gosh, once again – we’re twins! I buy decorations too, but they never flow very well together. I call it organized decorating chaos. :-/ You’re not alone! And hey, at least we are trying 🙂
I loveee decorating for the holidays!! Last year we were in our house and I have tons of fall and Christmas decor that’s been collected over the years. Not gonna lie – our house looked beautiful! This year, we’re in an apartment since we moved to NC from AZ, and we have pretty much nothing. I had to get rid of most of my holiday decor items. I spent $100 at Kirklands on fall decor that looked nice and I’m planning on spending another $100 on Christmas decor plus our new tree. Slowly but surely, the house will look fabulous again over the holidays!
That is awesome!! I love decked out houses, inside and out. When you decorate for Christmas this year, maybe you can share pictures on your blog! I always need more inspiration 🙂 Getting new items, although having to re-buy all that stuff, isn’t too bad though… I always have fun looking at new decorations 🙂
You know, I am all for being creative, but since we moved out on our own last year, we have not bothered with any decorations. It’s a sad realization! A Christmas tree wouldn’t have fit in our old apartment, and since it’s just the 2 of us, we didn’t want to spend money on it. I did get some decorations from family members since they have a ton, but making them wouldn’t be a bad idea. I just have to find the time for it! I did recently go to a World Market with my mom a few weeks ago, and we were overwhelmed with the amount of stuff in the store!
The posters totally reminded me of when I was 14, with an entire wall covered with pictures of my favorite bands and artists…yikes. I’m sure yours aren’t that bad! 😉
I agree – I think there is a certain element that, when it’s just the two of you, it doesn’t seem quite as festive decorating your place! Maybe borrowing a child for a couple days… not sure if that’s legal though… haha 🙂 Oh man, I can’t actually go into a World Market store! I end up leaving with beer from other countries, and nothing that I actually went to the store for. It’s terrible – but so delicious! Did you see all the candy from different countries while you were there? That stuff is addicting!
Haha, no, I’ve burned my Hanson poster (just kidding, I was an Nsync girl) so no band posters (anymore). It’s just The Oatmeal for now, and then a framed poster of Paris. Framing it makes it a little classier, I feel! 🙂
This is wonderful. Loved your decorations. Thanks for sharing.