Posted by Dan O'Malley in Home Design

Your favorite home décor store’s aisles are slowly filling up with pumpkins and sunflowers, your go-to coffee shop’s menu is changing over to seasonal beverages, and fall is right around the corner!

If you’re still wanting to savor summer while slowly starting to sprinkle in some tasteful fall décor, here are 7 easy ideas to subtly start to transition your home’s exterior.

Subtle Fall Décor for Your Home’s Outdoors

The key to decorating subtly is thinking a little outside the box: not every piece has to scream fall with pumpkins and bright autumn colors.

Get ready to refresh your front or back porch with minimal fall décor that introduces a just-right amount for this time of year.

Locally Sourced Pumpkins, Flowers, Gourds, and Corn

We’re all about opportunities to shop local, and what better way to support your local farmers market than to stock up on all-natural fall décor!

Just always remember the odd-number rule to decorating: pair a larger gourd or pumpkin with two smaller ones to add more dimension to this ornamental fall cluster.

Front Porch With Yellow Door, Mums, and Pumpkins

Seasonal Pillows and Greenery

For a nearly effortless transition, find throw pillow covers to swap your porch pillows out with. You can find dusty pinks, warm greens, rusty oranges, and chocolaty browns to intersperse.

Don’t forget to find a few textured or patterned options to add more variety.

Screened Porch With Subtle Fall DecorationsDeck With Subtle Fall Décor

You can also change out more summery porch plants like succulents with mums and sunflowers or even faux plants that feel more like autumn.

Fall-Themed Outdoor Rug

To complement your fall-fresh pillows, opt for a similarly colored or contrasting area rug, such as these outdoor rug options.

Covered Patio With Outdoor Rug and FurnitureDeck With Outdoor Rug and Furniture

Cozy Outdoor Lighting

Warm up your outdoor living space with some ambient lighting, such as string lights, lanterns, or LED candles. This makes the area irresistible in the evenings—it’ll be the perfect spot to chat with friends or curl up with a good book!

Patio With Furniture, Candles and Outdoor Lighting

Autumn Wreath

If you want to add a festive wreath to your door just be sure to keep the other fall outdoor decorations at bay. Otherwise, you’ll quickly reach the point of no return with your décor.

Front Door With Autumn Wreath and 3 Pumpkins

You can still opt for warm fall colors, or you can go with whites and browns to blend in with your home’s other exterior shades.

Festive Doormat

If your front porch or stoop is on the smaller side, a great way to keep an appropriate amount of décor is to simply switch your doormat to a subtle fall option and maybe add a pumpkin or fall planter if you have the space.

Fall-Themed Doormat With Thankful Text

Moody Blacks and Whites

Using a black and white theme to offset your fall décor makes for a stunning, dramatic display while still keeping things understated!

Opt for only one or two colorful pieces to stand out, and add in some neutrals to smooth out the whole look.

Black and White Fall Décor

As the season progresses, you can rotate out your minimal outdoor fall décor pieces for carved pumpkins and classy Halloween décor if you wish.

Halloween Decorations With S'mores

It won’t be long before you are ready to decorate for the beautiful fall season indoors, too! Get our indoor fall decorating tips.



Author

Dan O'Malley
Dan O'Malley

Author

Dan O’Malley is the Vice President of Product Development for M/I Homes.With over 30 years of expertise in residential architecture and design, Dan has been overseeing the product needs of the company's 16 divisions located throughout the Midwest, Southeast, Nashville and Texas for the past 12 years. Before joining M/I Homes, he was a partner in the Chicago office of BSB Design, a national residential architectural firm, for 14 years. Dan is an expert in all aspects of single-family and multifamily design and has received several awards for his successful projects. He is also a popular speaker at various industry events, including the International Builder’s Show, Midwest Builder’s Show, and Multi-Housing World.

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