How to Effortlessly Transition your Home for the Cozy Fall Season for Under $100

Autumn is here and my interior designer heart is squealing! I couldn’t wait to transition my home for fall and this year, and I was able to make it happen for under $100! I’ve been in and out of my local thrift stores, rounding up some affordable pieces that will help me usher the new season into my home. I can’t wait to share my findings with you and show you how to do the same!

As you’ll see, I focused my redecorating energy on the high traffic areas of my home: the living room, dining room, kitchen and entry. I recommend doing the same if you’re on a budget vs making just one small change to every room in the house.

I’ve taken before and after shots of how I transitioned areas/ vignettes that were already there to give them a fall feel. I’m proud to say that everything I bought this year was thrifted or crafted, and it cost less than $100 for it all.

It seems to surprise people to see how much of my home and closet was bought second hand. It’s something I’m very passionate about and I get excited about teaching others how do-able it is!

If you’re needing some guidance on how to luck out in the thrift stores, check out this blog post I put together on all my best tips:

Thrift Shopping: 5 Essential Tips from a Self-Made Expert

The Goal

As I began transitioning my home for fall, I kept three words in mind:

Cozy. Welcoming. Warm.

When you live somewhere that goes through seasonal changes, your home loses a lot of natural brightness when fall comes around. The bright warm rays of sun are often dimmed by clouds and disappear much earlier in the day to make way for the night. The cold outside air gives stepping inside your home a whole new allure, and we all end up spending much more time indoors than we became accustomed to in the summer.

We want our homes to feel welcoming, as we will be having more people over and there will be less going out. Creating an atmosphere of warmth and comfort is equally important, as our homes become our places of refuge from the crisp autumn air.

I’m excited to show you some examples of how I transitioned my home for the cozy fall season on a budget. I hope you feel inspired, knowing you can do the same!

The Front Door

We’re starting at the front door – the first impression spot of a home.

The seasonal wreath swap is almost like a rite of passage, isn’t it? I didn’t hesitate to bring down my summery rose wreath before the leaves even began changing color.

This guy was actually a bit of a hot mess when I spotted it in the thrift store. But after a little bit of reconstructing, and using pieces with softer tones to replace the crazy loud colors, I was proud to hang it on my door!

The orange sunflowers were a no for me haha. Quite the transformation, huh?

• Wreath $4.99 – thrifted
• Bag of assorted florals $2.99 – thrifted

The TV Stand

Moving inside and into the living room, I tackled the TV stand first. Before fall hit, this corner was minimally decorated. There was nothing here to swap out, so the goal was finding pieces to bring in some autumn coziness.

A good rule of thumb for decorating in any season is to bring the outside in. Warm wood tones, natural textures, colorful leaves and pumpkins are easy additions.

I started by adding in more of that wicker texture that you see on the bottom shelf with a $3 gorgeous rattan tray. I thought it would make a nice caddy for the remotes.

On the left hand side, I placed a handmade stuffed pumpkin, and next to that, a wooden “hello”, which is an adorable thrifted find that I think it works well here. The light wood brings in more warm natural elements and creates a focal point for the TV stand. I’m loving it!

• Wicker tray $2.99 – thrifted
• Wooden “hello” $1.99 – thrifted

The Coffee Table

The coffee table was a hard one for me to restyle. It was already set up to my liking, following the Rule of Threes, which is basically an interior design term that suggests a grouping of three items tends to be more synergistic than two. I wanted to stick to that rule while Autumn-izing the look.

My wicker tissue box can stay through the fall; the natural textures are always a yes. But the greenery was no longer working with all the fall colors I was bringing in. The summery palm branch candle holder also had to go, so those got swapped.

I laid out this stunning fall garland that I found at one of my favorite thrift shops. It came with a longer matching piece as well, which you’ll see here shortly.

The white pumpkin is from the local pumpkin patch, while the yummy chestnut and clove candle was only a couple of bucks (brand new) at Goodwill! I placed it on a stack of my trusty woven coasters that were a second-hand find from years ago. I love how the terracotta color fits right in with the colors in the garland.

• White Barn candle $2.99 -thrifted
• Garland strip $4.99 – thrifted
• Pumpkin $4 – pumpkin patch

The Couches

Because we are balling on a budget over here, I didn’t go crazy switching out all the textiles on the couches. Instead, I simply added a pumpkin pillow on our main sofa and draped a plaid throw blanket over the armchair. You can see what a difference just these two small additions made!

I’m obsessed with the pumpkin pillow trend, as you can see. To make several different ones (all large) I spent about $30 on materials at Joann’s. However, after comparing prices, I think I could’ve saved at least $10 buying it all from Walmart! I also have some material left over for more crafting in the future so that should be considered as well.

Here’s the video guide I watched to create them!

• Materials for pumpkin pillows $25 – craft store
• Plaid throw $5.99 – thrifted

The Fireplace

I just love the transformation that has happened at the fireplace. During the summer, I had a strip of faux ivy draped over the mantle. Now that green no longer fits the color palette, I decided to switch it out with the other longer strip of garland I found. I thought this was the perfect placement for it!

I added this adorable little pumpkin, placing it on a paisley tray, as well as some flameless candles that were leftovers from our wedding, these adorable amber and gold tealight votives, and a fall colored vase that Manly inherited from his Gram.

As you can imagine, the fireplace and I spend a lot of quality time together during the fall months, so when this area came together, I was ecstatic!

• Garland strip $7.99 – thrifted
• Gold votive $1.50 – thrifted
• Amber votive $1.50 – thrifted
• Ceramic pumpkin $2.99 – thrifted
• Paisley plate $1.39 – thrifted

The Wall Gallery

This adorable little fall forest photo I put up has been making me very happy. The painting was a very affordable Etsy find. It’s a printable download, so it doesn’t get easier than that! You can print it for your home as well here.

And the frame, as I’m sure you guessed, was a thrift store find! Pro tip: always check out the photo frames section at the thrift store. It’ll surprise you what gems you’ll find, and for a fraction of their typical retail price!

There’s another pumpkin pillow peeking out of the blanket basket. See how it’s burnt orange color ties right in with the artwork? It’s really the little details that bring everything together!

• Printable painting $5.25 (on sale) – Etsy
• Ivory frame $3.99 – thrifted

The Shelf

I love this cozy vignette in the living room. It sits against the wall that’s just before the dining room, and adds so much charm! This is another area where only minor changes needed to be made.

Before, this shelf was the perfect place for my bridal bouquet, but now the stark neutrals weren’t quite flowing with the fall color palette we were using. So I removed the flowers and brought in another little glass pumpkin (so pretty!) and placed it on the coasters that I brought up from the bottom shelf.

I exchanged the neutral stack of books with a few more colorful ones from my bookshelf, then placed them inside a pretty wooden crate to incorporate more natural textures. I also added a fake autumn flower to the crate, and put away my little seafoam typewriter for the season.

If you didn’t catch it, the antique clock came from the previous fireplace mantle setup.

• Glass pumpkin $2.99 – thrifted
• Wooden crate $4.99 – thrifted

The Kitchen Window

Lastly, we’re moving on to the kitchen for our final transformation.

The kitchen window isn’t the first place most of us think of when decorating. But for me, cooking and cleaning almost daily, this is a spot where I happen to spend a big chunk of time. So of course, I made sure to give this little windowsill some seasonal love!

I made some pretty subtle changes here. I swapped out the hand towel to another one I already had with a bit more color. Doing this helped carry the blue that’s on our plaid throw blanket in the living room back into the kitchen. It’s all about that cohesiveness!

I also exchanged my pink baking cookbook out with this thrifted soup cookbook. I added a small pumpkin next to it to really tie it all together.

Oh, and I almost forgot! Everyone meet my pal, Gusto. He cooks with me from the windowsill until December when we bring out his more festive counterpart. Stay tuned to see Christmas Gusto- coming soon!

• Cookbook $2.49 – thrifted
• Pumpkin $1 – pumpkin patch

Conclusion

In total, I spent $92.01 for all of the items I purchased to transition my home for fall!

Everything I thrifted was found in ONE day, between 4 different thrift stores. Buying the pumpkins at the pumpkin patch happened on a separate day, as did going to the craft store and crafting the pumpkin pillows. I say all of this to show that this transformation was not only affordable, but it also didn’t require tons of time and effort. I think whether you’re a busy momma or you’re a full time career woman, this could be possible for you as well!

The Joys of Fall

If you couldn’t tell, I’m passionate about homemaking. I adore the art of design and love incorporating the joys of the the different seasons into the atmosphere of my home. This season is my first fall as a homeowner, so this was an especially fun transition for me.

I love the bright, warm color palette God paints with in Autumn. Truly, I think He gives us a beauty we don’t experience any other time of the year, just to make up for the warmth He’s taken from the air. I just love that about Him, don’t you?

You will go out in joy
    and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
    will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
    will clap their hands.

Isaiah 55:12

Thank you for letting me share my home with you! I hope this has shown you how possible it is to enjoy decorating for fall without loads of money to dish out on it. Feel free to leave feedback or questions in the comment section! I’d love to hear your thoughts.

And don’t forget to read my blog post on the best tips for thrifting like an expert!

Until next time!

~Ari