Thrifty Fall Dining Room Ideas | Simplistic & Beautiful

Today I’m excited to share some thrifty fall dining room decor ideas; from a simple table centerpiece to simple fall accessories on a budget.

How do you decorate for fall neutral colors?

The best way to get that “understated” style of Fall decor is to find earthy and neutral colors.

For thrifty fall accessories, you don’t necessarily want to go with the bright whites, for your neutrals though.

Lean more toward soft and earthy colors to create simple neutral Fall decor.

A few examples from nature that are easy to come by are:

• green/white/tan squash or pumpkins
• green or brown dried greenery
• pinecones and acorns
• grapevines
• earthy florals (hydrangeas, queen annes lace, etc.)
• dried herbs
• white mums

If you are looking to buy something:

• candles (beeswax being my favorite)
• earth tone pillow covers
• earth tone or neutral tablecloth & tea towels
• dried gourds
• earth tone pumpkins

If you prefer to watch the YouTube videos you can do that HERE.

https://youtu.be/81daKYJwaL0

How can I decorate my dining room table for fall?

Less is more when it comes to a dining room table for the everyday.

There is certainly a time and place for a beautiful Fall tablescape.

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But for the everyday I like it to be simple.

So I generally use the rule of three.

I put no more than three items on the dining room table so that it can easily be cleared for board games, craft projects, baking with the girls, etc.

But the other thing that is nice about having less on the table for the everyday, is it isn’t usually in the way.

Thrifty Fall Dining Room : Getting Started

Thrifty Fall Dining Room: Find Empty Spaces

When I start thinking about adding Fall decor to our home I always start by finding the places where decor will be out of the way.

This year I almost put some of the pumpkins on the step stool because I thought it would look cute, but then I realized that was a bad idea.

The girls are grabbing that step stool and using it nearly daily.

If I put pumpkins on the step stool it would look cute for sure, but it would be a headache to constantly be moving it from the step stool to the floor and back again.

Thrifty Fall Dining Room: Forage for Decor (Free decor)

The next thing I like to do as I prepare to decorate is to see whats available outside.

This year in our dining room I added pumpkins, apples, and hydrangea.

I thought that was all I’d use, until my daughter brought me a wildflower that was beautiful on the table.

She picked it and brought it to me because she knows how much I love to decorate with flowers from outside.

It’s been a really subtle and yet BIG reminder to me.

(I’ll share more about that at the end.)

Thrifty Fall Dining Room: Use Everyday Items

Then, as usual, I’m always trying to find ways to make our everyday items beautiful.

This year I have a new “everyday item” and I think I’ll use it for decor every year from now on.

But in complete honesty, I almost didn’t do it, because I was afraid that no one else would find it beautiful.

Isn’t that ridiculous?!

Letting the opinions of others dictate our home.

Our Thrifty Fall Dining Room

Okay, now let’s get into the specifics of how I added thrifty fall touches to our dining room.

Bushel Baskets

I found one of these baskets at the family farm on my husbands side.

It’s well-loved, that’s for sure.

But that is part of why I like it so much.

It’s worn and broken in a few areas, which to me speaks to the stories it has.

The other one came with a mum I bought a few years ago and I decided to keep it!

I like the way the warm wood tones help add the cozy feeling.

But I also feel like these bushel baskets are a great basket option during the fall.

Produce

Pumpkins, Gourds, and Apples

I think the best way to decorate for Fall on a budget is with seasonal produce you’re going to eat anyway.

Now, that isn’t true for gourds, BUT they are reusable if you dry them.

I’ve used these gourds in our home for three years now, and they’ve held up really well.

As for the pumpkins and apples…

We are planning on having apple sauce coming out our ears.

We went and picked apples at my in-laws this weekend and I can’t wait to see how much applesauce it makes.

But we’ve also snacked on them and made apple oatmeal bake and a yummy sugar-free apple granola.

I’m holding myself back on the pumpkins right now.

But it won’t be long before I will be using them.

I’m thinking about pumpkin spice coffee, pumpkin sourdough bread, pumpkin sourdough cinnamon rolls, and soup!!

Florals

Mums, Wildflowers, and Dried Florals

In my last post about our Fall kitchen I talked about dried florals, but today I want to emphasize the freshly picked wildflowers on the table.

My daughters picked these for me, and have assured me that they can get me more (which we’re definitely doing for the living room).

Dried flowers are a great option for Fall, BUT that doesn’t mean fresh-picked wildflowers aren’t another good option.

They are another thrifty Fall decor option, that adds life to the space.

Canned Goods

You guys!!!

Are you laughing at this decor idea?

I don’t know why, but when I saw all the jars sitting on the hutch cooling I thought they were gorgeous.

However, I almost didn’t leave any of them in the hutch, because I was nervous everyone would think that canned goods were not beautiful.

I started taking them all to the basement after I told my husband how pretty I thought they were and he stopped me.

*He is so good at reminding me to be true to me*

So I kept some in the hutch and I love that I did.

I find them to be great fall decor accessories that didn’t cost me any more money.

Bible Verse Cards

I move these bible verse cards back and forth from the coffee table to the dining room table seasonally.

For some reason for Fall, I felt like I needed them on the dining room table.

I thought it was because this is where the girls and I do a lot of our homeschooling.

But God had another reminder in store for me that would come a few days after I finished decorating the dining room.

(I’m sharing the story at the end of this post.)

Candles/Simmer Pot

I should have shared this when I shared our kitchen, but I totally forgot.

To help get me in the right mindset for decorating I like to do 2 things.

• Clean the space so I start fresh
• Make the house small delicious

So candles are a big thing for me.

But recently, I decided to burn healthy beeswax or soy candles instead of regular candles.

Those are more expensive, so I don’t feel comfortable buying as many.

My thrifty alternative: simmer pot.

Put a pot of water on the stove, then fill it with apples, orange slices, cinnamon sticks, and cloves (go easy on the cloves-a little goes a long way with them).

Now this idea might not work for every home.

But ours is an open-concept home so the fragrance spreads and is wonderful!

Beautiful Imperfection

The last tip I wanted to share for a thrifty fall dining room was finding beauty in imperfection.

The specific thing I did was use a candlestick holder that my girls broke while they were playing.

They knocked it off the table and the legs broke off the platform that holds the candlestick.

After assessing the damage I decided I could still use it.

I broke the legs the rest of the way off, then I grabbed a nail file and filed down the sharp edges so it couldn’t cut anyone.

It’s not perfect, and in a lot of ways I did like it better before it was broken, but I do like the reminder that it gives me now.

Off the top of my head some other ways to find beauty in imperfection might be a tea towel that has been well loved, a basket with broken pieces, or even produce that isn’t “perfect”.

The options are endless here.

Anything that you find beauty in that isn’t “perfect”.

Homemaking Encouragement

God has been reminding me that the most important thing in my life right now is my family.

This is so obvious, I know.

I recently heard someone say “You are not raising your house. You’re raising your family.”

In an unexpected way, it hit me.

Life has been so busy with canning things from the garden, starting homeschool with the girls, soccer season, and all the regular things that we do.

Somehow I was missing the beauty in all the mess.

Then I looked at the way our dining room table was decorated and I saw that God had given me a beautiful reminder.

1. The bowl full of scripture; to remember He needs to be at the center of everything I do.
2. The wildflower my daughters picked for me; to remember the little moments that will have a lasting ripple effect.
3. A broken candlestick holder; to remember that life isn’t perfect, but our perspective can help us find the beauty.

When I realized that, I was speechless.

I chose the things because I thought they were beautiful, I didn’t realize the symbolism until later.

I’m so grateful God put those reminders on display for me.

So, while for me it was a complete accident, I encourage you to find places to intentionally put things to help remind yourself of your purpose for this season.

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Have a great week! XoXo

Open Your Doors,
Aliya

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