Early Fall on our Porch

It’s beginning to feel a lot like fall around here. We have been having beautifully sunny days, but the air is cool and crisp. The trees are starting to get little patches of leaves changing colours and the days are getting shorter.

Another signal that fall is getting near is the gorgeous mums at our local grocery store. Every year I look forward to seeing one of my favourite plants in all of the rich harvest colours – burnt orange, deep purple, golden yellow and burgundy. And I can’t forget the rustic grasses, straw bales and cornstalks. Nothing says fall more than a bunch of cornstalks.

Once I see all of that lovely fall goodness I’m always inspired to begin sprucing up the exterior of our home for the season. So we stocked up on some of the fall essentials and I took advantage of the beautiful weather and got to work.

I always feel like I can being a little more bold with my fall decor outside. I have no fear in using rich, traditional fall colours and accents.

I started with our gorgeous leafy fern. We’ve had this since the summer and it’s still surviving, so I didn’t want to replace it just yet. I simply added a few birch branches to make it a little more rustic feeling.

Now for some colour. I’ve mentioned before that I am really drawn to burnt orange and rust this year, so I used a few mums in this colour to brighten up our front porch. I placed one mum in this beautiful vintage Canadian Butter crate I picked up this summer. I think it’s such a fun and unexpected piece, and I just love the extra bit of character it adds. I also planted a smaller mum in this little galvanised bucket I picked up at the dollar store. I thought it was cute and added a little bit of a farmhouse feel.

I layered in a straw bale for some extra texture and it was the perfect perch for one more mum. I also added in a cornstalk behind the potted fern. It helps to add a little more rustic charm mixed with the fern and birch branches. And finally, I incorporated a few orange mini pumpkins and my black lanterns into the mix.

And I have to mention my wreath. It’s not fall without a gorgeous fall wreath on your front door. I picked up this wreath from HomeSense a few years ago. I love the simplicity of it, however, it got lost against the deep navy of the door and you could barely notice it from the street. So instead of buying or making a new wreath (and avoiding a lecture from my husband on my wreath addition), I simply gave this one a little makeover. I picked up a few branches of faux orange and yellow leaves for the dollar the store and added them to this already beautiful wreath. The brightly coloured leaves add an extra punch of fall colour and now the wreath pops against the navy.

All of these elements work together to create a perfectly cosy and inviting front porch. I hope you enjoyed this little tour of our entry, and I can’t wait to show you the rest of our fall home tour later this month.