Autumn is the perfect time to embrace all things cozy, whether it’s through colors, scents, flavors, or otherwise. And when it comes to decorating your home for the season, there are a number of ways to up the autumnal vibes without giving in to the over-consumption of low-quality (and now often AI-generated) junk found on the shelves of many big box stores. Beyond the obvious emphasis on shopping small and local for your seasonal goods when possible, we rounded up some nature-centric foraging ideas for “bringing the outside in” when adorning your space this autumn.
The best part? So much of these ideas are things you can likely find in your own backyard!
FIND YOUR FAVORITE LEAVES
Go on a leisurely walk around your neighborhood and grab a few freshly fallen leaves that catch your eye. Bring them home with you to press in a book for perfectly flat leaves or let dry out on a shelf for a more curled and natural look. Hang them in box frames, string them up for some garland, or simply display them on your mantle next to your other trinkets in a more rustic fashion.
COLLECT BRANCHES AND VINES
Instead of purchasing more plastic, pick up some interesting looking sticks, branches, or vines from the ground for your various arrangements displayed throughout your home. This could be displaying maple branches (sans leaves) in the vessel next to your fireplace, creating a curly vine arch above a doorway to embody all of your Practical Magic greenhouse dreams, showing off some dried hydrangeas from your garden in a stoneware crock, and more.
SCENTS GALORE
Have some dried herbs from your summer garden? Consider incorporating them into some homemade fall potpourri or running a simmer pot on the stove to fill your space with the aromas of the season! Ingredients like orange slices, rosemary, thyme, cinnamon sticks, clove, pine, vanilla, cranberries, and more are all great options (just be sure all ingredients are dried if you’re using them for potpourri). While not all of these items are likely to be in your backyard, you can certainly find them from local retailers.
DISPLAYS THAT DELIVER
Get creative with your displays—many of which can be found at secondhand stores or estate sales. Choose a cloche (either empty or with an existing natural specimen) to show off a special find, hang an old printer tray to display your found objects from walks or trips to other destinations, opt for a one-of-a-kind ceramic bowl to present your collection of found pine cones, etc.
LET AUTUMN’S SPLENDOR INSPIRE YOU
Without physically bringing the outside in, embrace the season’s color palette in creative ways. Consider using fall colors as inspiration to paint your own art, bead your own jewelry, create a cozy mantle arrangement using vintage books with colorful spines, hang thrifted copper molds in your kitchen, and more.
Simply play around to see where your creativity takes you! You never know how the season’s natural luster might inspire you.
Written by Sarah Suydam, Managing Editor for West Michigan Woman.
This article originally appeared in the Fall ’26 issue of West Michigan Woman.