Create a dazzling display of colour in your home with these fabulous craft ideas for the change of season. Whether it's a simple centrepiece or an extravagant, pumpkin-piled porch, we've got an autumnal craft decorating idea that is perfect for adding something special to your home until Christmas comes around. Click or scroll through for inspiration...
The key to making a cosy living space is layering up textures – enter macraweaving. A hybrid of macrame and weaving, this tactile wall hanging takes inspiration from an autumnal landscape. Follow Hobbycraft’s tutorial to create the macrame string base then use roving (wool used for weaving) in your chosen seasonal colours to build up textures.
Capture the beauty of autumn by preserving its colourful leaves in resin to make a set of cool coasters. Crystal resin is a little trickier to work with but once you get the hang of it, you’ll be addicted. Gently press in your leaves and add a sprinkle of biodegradable glitter for an extra special touch. After 24 hours, your resin will be set and your coasters will be ready to pop a pumpkin spice latte on.
Transform an old birdcage into a regal display that wouldn’t look out of place in a stately home. Simply plant up the bottom of the cages with a little dried moss and arrange church candles in the centre. These look great positioned outside or inside, but remember to never leave lit candles unattended. If in doubt – use battery-operated versions.
Embroidery is a wonderfully mindful craft that’s ideal to do curled up under a blanket on a chilly evening. Nature-inspired designs in warm, autumnal shades, like these ones by Hawthorn Handmade, are a rewarding project to complete and will look beautiful perched on a shelf or hung on the wall.
This idea couldn’t be simpler but looks spookily effective! Use a black permanent pen to draw simple ghost faces on white tapered dinner candles and display them in sleek black holders for a sophisticated Halloween-inspired display. Alternatively, buy them ready-made from Ginger Ray.
A festive leaf garland will brighten up a porch and is as easy to make as pumpkin pie. Here, Katherine Lucy has used felt fall leaf shapes and chosen a rich autumnal colour palette. The leaves are stitched onto string and given hand-embroidered vein details. What a comfort to come home to!
Take your festive dinner outside with this fabulous alfresco decorating idea. Create a rustic family feast with a large central bouquet, natural placemats and recycled glassware. Finish with candle votives, cute fabric pumpkins and cutlery tied with silky orange ribbons and sprigs of seasonal foliage.
Create an evergreen mantelpiece marvel using faux foliage. Use gold florist’s wire and pliers to layer artificial autumnal leaves, flowers and grasses to a garland base. Once happy with your design, use it to adorn a staircase, fireplace or chest of drawers. For an extra touch of magic, weave in a length of twinkling battery-operated fairy lights.
Freshen up your front door by creating a colourful seasonal wreath using real foliage and delicate dried elements. This DIY kit by The Happy Blossoms provides everything you need to add a bright splash of colour by combining traditional reds and oranges with softer hues of sage and lilac. Suitable for outside, the fresh elements will naturally dry out so you can keep your creation for years to come.
Just because it's autumn doesn't mean that everything has to be brown! We love this fresh take on an autumn floral display which uses dried flowers and grasses in vibrant colours. To make the vase you will need masking tape, brushes and a craft paint in four colours; lemon yellow, grey, a metallic and black. See the full tutorial on the Make It Yours website.
Pressing botanicals is a great activity to do with kids or on your own, and it's an ideal way to preserve leaves or flowers you’ve found on a walk. Bear in mind that plants will take up to a month to fully dry, but then you can frame your pressed botanicals to create some beautiful pieces of artwork or to decorate books and boxes.
These lanterns are a great way to reuse tins for autumn; just use a hammer and nail to create your chosen design before setting them out on the patio or windowsill. The soft glow is perfect for setting the scene on a chilly evening. A word of warning: make sure you secure the tin in place before going at it with the hammer to avoid an injury!
The wicker trend has been a huge part of this summer's interior stories and it looks like designers are sticking with it for autumn/winter too. This minimalist woven wreath can be used for any season and becomes colourful and welcoming with eucalyptus and orange autumnal foliage entwined within it.
Use a pumpkin to hold flowers instead of a vase to complete a seasonal bouquet. Make sure it's well carved and either line the inside with plastic or hide a pot inside to avoid any leaks and to keep your autumn creation lasting longer.
Decorating your porch for autumn has become a much-loved tradition. Why not think like an interiors stylist and use second-hand upcycled furniture in your display? The 'well-loved' look goes perfectly with the rustic theme and can be spruced up with a lick of paint and seasonal props. Yellow Prairie Interiors has done a fine job of decorating an old door with corn and a rustic sign.
Little extra decorative touches look endearing and will cheer up any space in the home. Choose a wooden sign to personalise with a cute seasonal message that's surprisingly easy to achieve. A pyrography tool heats up and allows you to burn traced designs into wood, so it is perfectly apt at harvest time.
Give old vases a new lease of life by giving them a glow-up in autumnal shades. Use acrylic paints suitable for use on ceramics to add any designs you choose – from a simple two-tone effect to fun terrazzo-inspired speckles. Feeling extra creative? Have a go at making your own pots using air-drying clay.
As we live in a world of instant gratification printables are a great way of decorating, and yes you can do it right now! These uplifting leaf prints and quotes will add a touch of fall to your home in an instant – all you have to do is hit the download button!
Welcome the season with a stylish wooden sign, made using a readymade log slice. It's charmingly rustic and can be personalised with an upbeat quote or pretty motif. Paint the background white and allow it to dry before using an orange permanent pen or acrylic paint to draw your design freehand or use a stencil.
This gorgeous fall floral wall hanging could make a beautiful piece of art for your home. Using the macramé technique and a wooden branch, it's easier to make than you might think. If you think it looks too tricky, Fancyropesandroses makes these beautiful versions that you can buy ready-assembled.
Painted pumpkins don't just have to be for Halloween – they can bring a practical message, too. Coat a set of similar-sized gourds in white paint – or source white pumpkins – then use a metallic pen to write each word of your phrase onto a separate vegetable. Once dry, stack up outside your front door to impress visitors.
Structurally beautiful and rich in colour, succulents are visually stunning plants to use in decorating whatever the season. Don't worry if you aren't green fingered as this stunning succulent wreath is made entirely from felt and will add a magical autumnal feel wherever it hangs. Take a look at Hobbycraft for the full tutorial, it would make a beautiful centrepiece, too.
If you enjoy welcoming guests with the wow factor, why not praise the new season's arrival with a fantastic DIY hallway display? Go out for an autumn forage to collect pinecones and dried foliage to decorate, then layer up a seasonal exhibit to dazzle visitors. Include cosy lanterns and pretty, shadow-casting pumpkin votives to complete the look. It's also one you can easily switch up as we slide towards the holidays by replacing pumpkins with berries, holly and ivy.
Add a touch of gold and amber to your cosy dinner table with these homemade salt and pepper pots. Made from coloured resin and gold craft flecks, they are sure to be a dinner party conversation starter. Take a look at the Hobbycraft tutorial and see how easy they are to make with a silicon mould.
These hand-cut oak leaves by Raven Glass Craft are the perfect way to recycle torn pages from old books. Use paper scissors to snip autumnal leaf shapes then embroider vein details using contrasting thread. Leave threads long for hanging or make them into a garland.
Fill the house with warming aromas by burning fragranced candles. Rather than buying them, have a go at making your own with beeswax and spices from your kitchen. Think spiced apple or pumpkin pie and use cinnamon, cloves and ginger. Then, wait for that first chilly night and get cosy with the gentle glow and yummy scents around you.
Natalie Beard has created this stunning autumn wreath bursting with colour and seasonal motifs. This type of beautiful wool decoration takes patience to create but makes a real 'ta-dah' moment once finished and can be reused year after year. How adorable is Stanley the Squirrel in the centre? Find the crochet pattern at Hobbycraft.
It doesn't have to be Christmas to hang a wreath. Check out this contemporary DIY reusable design from Make it Yours. A geometric wire wreath has been beautifully decorated with oak leaves sprayed with metallic copper. Filling the wreath just two-thirds not only shows off the stylish frame beneath but also makes a striking and modern feature that looks great in any room.
Make sure your table is suitable for cosy get-togethers with atmospheric decoration. Mix rich colours and natural props like painted 'Jack Be Little' pumpkins and sprigs of eucalyptus with geometric crockery for a smart and stylish setting.
Autumn is the season of harvest so it's the perfect time to get friends together and be thankful. Host your own ‘gratitude gathering’ as IKEA stylist, Emma has done. Choose dark seasonal colours from nature-inspired tones of grey, green, blue and mustard, especially in natural materials such as wood and straw. A hanging hoop centrepiece tied with dried wild grasses will add impressive rustic charm.
The change of season and chillier climates come hand-in-hand, so crafting a crochet blanket is the perfect project for cosy nights in. This chunky blanket with woodland motifs comes as a kit that you'll be proud to snuggle into once completed.
Dress up your fireplace with this simple styling idea that adds drama to a mantelpiece. Rich tones of burnt orange and flame red transform this white mantelpiece with cascading autumnal branches displayed in large, ornate urns. The trailing leaves seem to grow up and down the walls, as they would in nature.
Cosy, warm fires on blustery days are one of the pleasures of the season. Make your fireplace a focal point by stacking up a pile of logs and lining up a selection of carved wooden mushrooms and toadstools in front of the wood burner for a fun look. However, do be careful not to place them too close, or they could scorch! If you're handy with woodworking tools, you could even have a go yourself or decorate pre-cut blanks. This charming woodland display will certainly make guests smile.
Give passersby a fabulous fall treat and welcome guests with the ultimate autumn porch. Drape a seasonal leafy garland around the doorway, hang a large matching wreath, then frame the entrance with buckets of rosy apples and plenty of perky pumpkins to complete the sensational look.
Put fallen pine cones to good use by making a rustic candle holder. Whitewash an old flowerpot and surround a candle with the prickly pods. It will look festive as a centrepiece or why not make a few to create a feature for your windowsill or mantel?
Accessorise your space with comforting textiles. Soft wool will add subtle texture and make your home cosy for autumn. These pretty knitted pumpkins are super cute and add cheerful visual interest to the plain window frame.
Move your summer scheme into autumn by spraying accessories and furniture in rich, metallic colours. Inspired by the golden tones of fall, this nest of tables looks luxurious and shimmering set against grey walls. Continue the theme by doing the same with some thrift shop finds, such as bottles, vases and mini plant pots. This typographic frame has been created by writing with a metallic leafing pen on the glass and removing the back. Just make sure to secure the pane at the back with tape all around the edges.
Welcome guests with a fun doormat to set the tone. While you can pick up doormats like this in stores and supermarkets, we think it's much more fun to make your own. There are lots of tutorials to show you how online, such as this step-by-step one by Brittany Goldwyn. To start, you will need a coir doormat, acrylic paint suitable for outdoors and a stiff paintbrush, you'll also need to make or buy a stencil.
Bark has a wonderful texture, so layer up slices of a tree trunk to create a rustic arrangement. Place candles wrapped in hessian and pine cones on the varying levels and finish off with little posies of dried flowers at the top. Use a glue gun to secure the display so that you can move it from room to room as you please.
Give your large porch display extra height by setting out hay bales. Not only are they a symbol of harvest but are relatively cheap and will give your space a farmhouse feel. Finish off by filling the area with plenty of colourful gourds and pumpkins. Plus, this is the one time you don't need to sweep your steps as fallen leaves complete the look.
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