Fall is the best season to fill your living space with decor that you can make with your own hands.
The cozy atmosphere, rich colors and warm scents of the outdoors make your apartment into an autumnal haven.
Filling your apartment with fall cheer doesn’t have to break the bank. These five DIY tips will help you give your apartment a seasonal makeover without spending too much cash.
1. Spruce Up Your Front Door
Your front door is the first thing you see when you get home and adding some fall touches can brighten your evening before you even step in the door.
If your landlord allows you to decorate this space, you can add seasonal cheer for very little investment.
Make your own personalized fall themed front door mat for a useful decoration that can also entertain your neighbors.
Your imagination and a quick trip to the craft store can result in a beautiful piece to hang on the front door.
2. Add Fall Foliage
One of the most inexpensive and beautiful ways to bring fall into your apartment is to fill it with the gorgeous colors of the changing foliage in the great outdoors.
If you have a green space around your apartment, you can collect leaves, branches and flowers to place around the apartment. Local parks can serve the same purpose, just be sure not to pick anything from landscaped areas. Stick to already fallen leaves and branches.
Once the season is over, you can donate your no longer needed decor to the community garden compost pile.
If you have time and a green thumb, you can also begin growing your own fall flowers. A packet of seeds is generally less than a dollar, and you can grow several lovely flowers that will look great on your balcony all year round.
3. Add Fall Texture to Your Living Area
Layering your living space with fall colors and patterns is easier and less expensive than you may think. A few throw pillows in rich reds, bright oranges and browns instantly adds autumnal flair to your sofas and chairs.
Making your own pillows is inexpensive and could not be easier. You simply need two rectangles of fabric and something to stuff them with. If you have a sewing machine, it could take as little as ten minutes to make one pillow, but it’s easy to sew them by hand as well.
You can also add a cozy feeling to your living area with plush, knitted throws.
4. Decorate With Gourds
Nothing says autumn is in the air like a healthy amount of fall gourds scattered around your apartment. They are an inexpensive, eco-friendly fall decoration that you can leave up until the holiday season rolls around.
Tiny gourds can be arranged in a bowl for a centerpiece, carved just like a pumpkin or even painted.
Fall gourds are a fun fall DIY project that tests the limits of your creative imagination.
Once the season is over, you can compost them or even bake them into delicious dishes. Be sure you know which ones are edible as some decorative gourds are not for human consumption.
5. Add Autumn Scents
Fall has a certain smell that comes as a refreshing change after odors produced by the stifling heat of summer.
Infusing your apartment with spicy autumn aromas is a great way to subtly add a comforting touch to your living space.
Candles are an easy way to fill your home with delicious smells. Buying candles can quickly get pricey but making your own is surprisingly simple and budget friendly.
Creating your own candles from scratch also allows you to customize your scents to your own preferences, making the aroma as subtle or powerful as you choose. All you need are essential oils, inexpensive votive holders and melting wax.
Cinnamon is another amazing scent that adds a fall flavor to your apartment. You can pick up cinnamon sticks at your local market for next to nothing. Add them to bouquets or hang them around the room to let the scent permeate throughout your home.
A delicious and fun way to scent your home is to make a batch of mulled cider. The fall spices that go into the recipe can simmer for hours making your home smell wonderfully inviting.