House Tour: Fall and Halloween Decor {plus a 3-step decor DIY}

Boo! It’s Halloween {season}! And… Boo! I took these pictures ten days ago and am just now getting around to posting them.

Just as I suspected when I ‘brought my blog back’, lingering posts like this one would weigh a tiny bit on my shoulders for all ten of those days. Sigh

Don’t worry, I know exactly how ridiculous that is.

So, today’s practice in daily self-care is getting these pictures up and posted!

I don’t do too much, but I like what the small seasonal transformations do for our family’s festive spirit. I hope you enjoy, too!

XO! Amanda Macy Hall

Welcome to our dining room / front room! The first thing we did when we moved in, was to line this wall with simple white bookshelves.

I wanted to lean large-scale pieces of art along it for an easy look that was easy to change. Still loving it 4+ years later!

The set-up of this space gives me lots of freedom to decorate for holidays and birthday parties. It’s truly a lot of fun for me to give it little tweaks to evoke different themes.

These houses have held tiny Christmas bottle trees, Madeline paper dolls, my elephant collection, Easter eggs, and much more.

An apothecary jar is another easy element to switch out for seasons. On an everyday basis it holds faux lemons. New for this fall are these white and gold mini pumpkins from Target! Thank you, Mom!

Of course a sweet chalkboard is worked into this space as well.

And…. a large one too. Instant customized decor!

I’ve finally put tiny white nails into the wall for a wreath and to string my various garlands. So much easier, why did that take me so long…

This is our little entry-way moment. I seem to have been feeling cheeky when I wrote on this pumpkin chalkboard.

PS: DIY instructions on how to make that pumpkin are below

The only addition to this bookshelf is the DIY ‘Boo’ sign that I made for this potion project.

A tiny fall moment in our kitchen. This chalkboard changes often, shockingly.

I couldn’t part with that cute ‘thankful’ candle holder, so I filled it with a pumpkin and mini cinnamon bushel. It actually puts off a good bit of beautiful fall scent!

This is the spot in between our kitchen and dining room. It’s the place that always sees the largest transformation for a holiday or birthday.

This time I rearranged the everyday containers, filled them with faux pumpkins and foliage, added a runner and called it Fall!

The spooky haunted house from Trader Joe’s was a fun activity for MJ and me. Thank you, Smith Family!

At the time, it was way too hot to be considered fall. Things are much better now. But the chalkboard remains. And likely, will not be changed.

I usually toss a garland over the chalkboard too… looking at this pic, I am wishing that I had. Bringing it back next year!

Honestly, I prefer our kitchen to stay super functional. So the addition of the tiny ‘Drink Me’ signs {from here} and the gingham pumpkin are all that made the cut.

That bowl of freshly picked apples is working in my favor though.

That tiny photo-bomber is the best part of this fall moment under our television. {scroll right}

Threw in a ‘thankful’ pillow, ‘gather’ garland and filled our everyday navy ceramic tray with faux pumpkins and an orange candle. Done

I keep our holiday/seasonal books stored away in each season’s storage tub. It’s fun to bring them out once a year and leave them on display on the table or in a cute basket for easy reading moments.

MJ and I painted this wooden garland a few years ago. It’s such a sweet treasure, for me. We used gold, deep orange, and green. Let’s be honest, I chose and restricted the color pallet. 😉

Wooden garlands like this can be found in the craft sections of Target and Hobby Lobby. Great activity to do with your kids! I already have my eye on a few new ones for Christmas. Yay!

Last stop on our fall tour is our front door. We’ve added a few more pumpkins from our recent pumpkin patch adventure since these pics, and one will be carved super soon!

This is my first time bringing this chalkboard out and onto the front door and I think I really love it! Wreaths are hard for me and I just can’t make that basket look work without scratching my pupils every time I enter the house.

DIY Pumpkin Chalkboard How-To:

The unfinished wooden pumpkin was found at Hobby Lobby {some fall ones are still in stock, and the Christmas/Winter ones are cute!}.

Paint it the color of your choice with craft paint.
Once dry, add this chalkboard finish. Follow the directions, it does take a few thin quick coats. {other brands make a similar product}
Season your chalkboard thoroughly and enjoy!