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Decorating your home shouldn’t break the bank. You don’t even need to spend lots of money to get a budget-friendly, high-end look for fall! Check out 5 free fall decor ideas I love to use every fall season in my decorating!  Bonus today: keep reading for some other bloggers who are sharing some gorgeous budget-conscious fall decor today too!

If you’re hopping over from Jen at Midwest LIfe and Style today, welcome!  I am so glad you’ve stopped by my little corner of the world!

 For my regular subscribers, a huge thanks for being here.  I hope this post inspires you to take a look around and see what free fall decor ideas you can come up with to use in and around your own home!

First…confession time:

I used to have so many bins of fall decor.  Truly…sooooo many!

And bags (and bags) full of faux pumpkins.

Then, there were all of the many bulky items that doesn’t fit in bins or bags…

Can anyone relate?!

Over the past couple of years, I have changed my fall decorating style a little.  I actually decorate a lot more for fall but narrowed it all down to one (large) bin, a couple bags of dried gourds, and a lot lower budget.

How?

It’s actually really simple!  Best of all, these are all free fall decor ideas that you can incorporate for some budget-conscious decorating.

Simply put, I really focused on making my fall decor more natural.  As a result, I discovered that I enjoyed decorating for fall so much more when I used free fall decor ideas and items from nature.

(Now don’t get my wrong, I have my share of cute jack-o-lanterns that rest in the attic from November through August.  Of course, I love to pick up cute little decor pieces here and there too!)

In general, however, most of my fall decor comes from simply using free fall decor ideas from nature and mixing them with my favorite, year-round decor pieces!

Best part?  All of these natural things are free!

Even more exciting, there are several bloggers that I’m joining with today to share our budget-friendly fall decor ideas with all of you.  Trust me when I say these are truly budget-conscious ideas.

At the same time, though, each fall decor idea looks amazing.  It is so fun to see what some creativity, a little elbow grease, and Mother Nature can do to help you make some inexpensive fall decor for your home!

So, who’s ready to save some money and get creative?

Let’s dive in and take a look at 5 free fall decor items that I love to use in my seasonal decorating!

5 Free Fall Decor Items You Can Use for Budget Decor

Free Fall Decor Idea Must-Have Item #1:

Branches.

It’s true.  The leaves don’t change color where I live.

So my best option for real branches with real leaves that aren’t green is to find dead branches!  Even though I am not blessed with a location full of colorful fall leaves, I figure out how to make do with some free fall decor ideas!

One day when I was on my way home, I realized that my neighbor had a nice stash of dead branches.  These were just what I needed for my fall decorating!  Under the cloak of darkness, I convinced my husband to help me get those back home later on that night.

Of course, it started raining on us.  There were thick vines holding some of the branches together, but we managed to get that mess into our driveway and I started having fun decorating!  Haha!

(Tip: Gathering your free fall decor ideas may result in some fun (or funny) adventures! ????)

I am so glad he helped me and that we made the effort because those branches have made great decor all around our home!  The rust color of the leaves helps it feel a little more like real fall around our home rather than the usual bright green leaves and I absolutely love that touch of fall color!

How can I decorate with fall branches?

One of the easiest ways is to use the branches in a vessel like the crock on my apothecary.  They are so tall and make a dramatic statement in front of the mirror!  Try layering branches in front of mirrors to get extra dimension and texture in your decor too.

Add clips of free branches to an existing fall arrangement.

In addition, I cut some smaller pieces of the branches and tucked them around a big arrangement of dried gourds and around another arrangement of real pumpkins. They fill in the gaps in the arrangement perfectly and soften the edges, as well as adding great texture and fall color!

Add branches to a chandelier or light fixture.

Since I had a nice number of branches to work with this year, I tried a new way of decorating with them and I love it!

Robb helped me arrange them over the ladder and chandeliers in our back dining room.  I love all the texture they add and how they give some extra dimension to the space too!

Where can I get free fall decor?

Take a little walk around your area!  If you have a wooded area around you or just forage the tree trimmings in your neighborhood, there are so many great ways you can use free branches to bring the fall vibes indoors!

I’ve also been known to pull over more than once to pick up branches by the side of the road!  What can I say?  It’s free decor!  There’s no shame in my game! ????

#2 Free Fall Decor Idea I Always Love to Use:

Pinecones.

We may not have leaves changing, but I always have plenty of pinecones right in my own yard!  In fact, we get so many pine cones and pine needles that sometimes some members of my family may even consider them a nuisance.

However, they just don’t know what great free fall decor ideas the pinecones and pine needles can be used for!  Actually they are perfect for adding some natural texture to fall decor.

Last year, Harrison gathered a big bag of pinecones on our New England trip.  Our vintage Airstream campsite in Woodstock, Vermont was full of pretty pinecones and we ended up bringing home a bag of beautiful, huge pinecones with some great memories tucked inside too!

How do you decorate with pine cones?

When we got home, I added the pinecones to some of my mortar & pestle collection.  By filling 3 bowls, I was able to carry the decor idea throughout the entire space.  At the same time, the pine cones added some pretty wood tones and texture to blend with my fall decorating.

Can you decorate with pine cones all year round?

Pinecones are great for winter and Christmas decor, too, so keep them around when you start packing up the fall decorations!  You can tuck in a little twig of evergreen to turn your fall arrangement into a winter one!

In addition, pinecones are a great filler for dough bowls too!

Where can I find pinecones?

As I said, we have a lot around our house.  However, if you don’t have them at your home, ask around.  You may find someone who will let you fill a bag for free from their own yard!

You can also find them in craft supply sections and maybe even a thrift store!  One year, I found some gigantic pinecones at a flea market.  They made perfect place card holders and a centerpiece for our Thanksgiving table one year.

You could get the same look with smaller pinecones and a pretty leaf or feather!

Free Fall Decor Idea #3:

Corn husks.

Even though corn husks depend on location, you can usually find them in the fall season.  Farmer’s markets, craft stores, and garden centers often have them for sale.

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably seen my makeshift corn husks!

Dried banana branches for the win!

What can I do with my corn husks?

There are so many fun ways to use even small pieces of corn husks with your free fall decor ideas!  Small corn husk pieces are perfect to tuck around arrangements, dried gourds, or even between pumpkins!

One of my favorite ways that I style small pieces of my dried banana leaves (or corn husks) is to stack my pumpkins in a large vintage bowl, tucking pieces of my banana leaves around each layer.

In addition, you could display an arrangement like this so beautifully in a large dough bowl!

Where can I get corn husks for free?

If you don’t have any corn stalks, take a trip to your local pumpkin patch or a produce stand where they sell corn stalks.  Chances are, there are some broken off corn husks laying around that they will let you have for free!

Have you thought of free fall decor ideas like this #4 item?

Pine needles.

Do you use pine needles in your fall decorating?  Maybe you already use this free fall decor idea in your fall decor but I just love them!  Last year, I kind of forgot about using them so perhaps someone else needs a reminder to grab a handful of them, too!

If you live where there are any pine trees, you have plenty of pine needles, just like I do!  As I said before, our driveway and yard are always scattered with them, especially after we get a good Florida storm or rain shower!

What can you make out of pine needles?

Pine needles are the perfect rust/orange tones to add to fall decor and they make a great backdrop for a pumpkin stack or lining the bottom of your favorite tray or dough bowl!

In addition, pine needles would also be so pretty spread down the center of the table, under your Thanksgiving centerpiece!  What a pretty way to make a big statement with some free fall decor ideas!  

You can check out more fall tablescape and centerpiece ideas in my e-book!

Out of all the free fall decor ideas, my favorite is #5:

Weeds.

Yep, weeds!  And while we are on the subject, I wrote this awhile back about weeds.  I needed a reminder and maybe it could be helpful for you today too!

Want to know a fun fact about me?  Admittedly, it’s a little odd.

One of my favorite things to do when we travel on road trips is to observe all the weeds and flowers and plants along the way.  Maybe in another life I’ll take classes and learn about them!

Nature is so inspiring.  Even though I don’t consider myself an outdoorsy type, I am always inspired by beautiful nature scenes…including weeds!

Most of all, I love seeing how different everything looks in different parts of the country when we travel!

One blessing of Florida is that we have no lack of greenery, all year long!  Sometimes I cut weeds ahead of time (these wild grapevines are some of my favorites), let them dry, then bring them in.

How can I use weeds in my free fall decor ideas?

Sometimes I cut weeds fresh from the yard and bring it right inside to style.  This is especially helpful when doing tablescapes and I don’t need to worry about putting it in water.  I used some grapevine under and around my harvest tablescape and I loved how it turned out!

Weeds are another opportunity to combine a hunt for some free decor with a nature walk!  Harrison, especially, loves to help me clip different weeds and greens.  If you have kiddos, get them involved too!  A lot of meaningful conversation can be had and memories made when spending time doing things one-on-one with my kids.

(*obviously, watch out for poisonous plants and be cautious with younger kiddos who might try to put things in their mouth!!!  I am past that season of life, but I teach little ones, so I get it!)

I hope you have fun foraging for some weeds to bring in and mix with your fall decor!  Fall is the season when dried out really works, so you can get away with leaving them around your arrangements for awhile too!

Happy *FREE* Decorating!

I hope this post has made you think about what you have and how you can use it to add to your free fall decor ideas.  If nothing else, it’s a good excuse to get outside for a little adventure!  You never know what you may find that will end up being great fall decorations!

As I said before, there are some wonderful, budget-friendly fall decorating ideas linked in this blog hop!  Next, I hope you’ll hop over to my friend Kelly at The Tattered Pew and see how she created this beautiful fall look on a small budget.  It’s proof that budget-friendly can be beautiful and unique!

Thanks for joining us today!  I hope you’ll visit all of the blogs in this blog hop.  Make sure to pin the ideas that you want to save for future reference!  It can be helpful to have a Pinterest board for Fall Decorating and also one for Budget-Friendly Decorating!

Have fun creating fall spaces in your own home!

More Fall Décor on a Budget Inspiration

Eleanor Rose Home | The Country Peony | Green Valley Gable | Stilettos & Shiplap | Cottage In The Mitten

Le Cultivateur | Midwest Life & Style | Robyn’s French Nest | The Tattered Pew | Cottage on Bunkerhill

(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.  Posts on Robyn’s French Nest may contain affiliate links. You can see our full disclosure details here.)