Get Your Home in the Fall Spirit: Decorate with Pumpkins

Fall festivals are staples of the season, but not all of those pumpkins you bring home have to be destined to be jack-o-lanterns! Whether you carve them into flower pots, paint them for your front porch or try one of these other six ideas, pumpkins can almost instantly put your house in the autumn spirit…

House Number Pumpkins

Even those of us who aren’t crafty can handle this one. Whether you put the numbers all on one pumpkin or you get a pumpkin for each number, this decoration is functional and cute: https://www.countryliving.com/diy-crafts/g1350/pumpkin-decorating-1009/?slide=79

Ice Bucket Pumpkins

Having a Halloween party (or just gathering some parents during trick-or-treating…)? Hallow out an extra pumpkin to serve as your ice bucket: https://www.hgtv.com/design/decorating/design-101/10-surprising-ways-to-decorate-with-pumpkins-pictures

Pumpkin Flower Pot

While you’re hallowing out extra pumpkins, grab an extra one to use as a flower pot. You’ll still want to put an actual pot inside, since the pumpkin will deteriorate, but it will be porch-perfect for a couple of weeks, depending on the pumpkin and the weather: https://www.homedepot.com/c/ah/diy-pumpkin-flower-pot/9ba683603be9fa5395fab9070e916a6

Light the Way with Pumpkins

Metal pumpkin luminaries are popular, but you can also make temporary ones using real pumpkins that are perfect for lighting the way during Halloween. This Old House has a tutorial using a string of lights, which are obviously brighter than a traditional or LED candle: https://www.thisoldhouse.com/how-to/how-to-create-beautiful-pumpkin-luminaries

A Basket of Pumpkins (and Gourds)

Not really into crafts, but have quite a few of those of those little $2 pumpkins, gourds (and maybe even a corn stalk) you couldn’t pass up? Grab a basket – vintage or not – and arrange them for your porch: https://www.cottageintheoaks.com/2013/10/autumn-front-porch-2013/

Put Them Everywhere…

OK – maybe not EVERYWHERE, but Pinterest is packed with adorable ways to display pumpkins in basically any room of the house and on any surface, from bathroom sinks to bedroom dressers to coffee tables to kitchens and more. If you want to raise the bar on those plain pumpkins, you can try chalk painting them (https://www.prettyextraordinary.com/diy-chalk-painted-pumpkins-for-fall/) or adding a little sparkle!