Here are some great dollar store fall decor ideas to help you celebrate the season beautifully, no matter what your budget looks like!
These dollar store home decor posts have become some of my most well-read home decor posts, so I’m excited to share some more ideas for how to decorate your home using these affordable finds in today’s look at dollar store fall decor. The idea is that we often think of the dollar store as somewhere to find “cheap ‘n cheerful” disposable junk, but I’ve realized over the years that quite a few things I’ve bought at the dollar store have actually stood the test of time. I’ve had a lot of my favorite dollar store home decor items for more than ten years, and some of them have stayed in my decorating rotation for much longer than some of the more expensive home decor things that I’ve purchased over the years.
It just goes to show you that just because you bought something at the Dollar Tree, Dollar General, or Dollarama, it doesn’t mean that you need to throw it in the trash and buy something “better” as soon as your budget allows, and that counts for fall decorations as well. I thought I’d put together a little list of some of my favorite ultra-affordable fall decorating ideas today since it’s almost that time of year now!
Galvanized Metal Buckets and/or Watering Can
Do these dollar store galvanized containers make every single post about dollar store decorations I put together? I think they do. 🙂 Ever since I learned how to age cheap, shiny galvanized metal buckets, I’ve found them to be so helpful for decorating throughout the year, and also to use as planters during the warmer months. What better time of year to enjoy their rustic charm than when all the autumn colors come out?
I love how this galvanized watering can reminds me of the fall harvest season and another bright-orange pumpkin is always welcome in my autumn decor.
Basic Ceramic Pitcher
I’ve found that you don’t usually see plain white pitchers at the dollar store, which are the ones that I find most useful for fall or thanksgiving decor, but you can often find them in simple, classic shapes with some kind of a design on them. If you’re someone who likes to do a few crafts every now and then, all you need to do is get out the can of spray paint and you’re all set! You can see this little dollar store pitcher that I spray painted years and years ago holding some dried hydrangeas in this photo.
Faux Fall Leaves
OK, fake leaves can definitely look tacky sometimes, but they can add a lot of great fall-ish atmosphere if you’re having a party or other festive gathering at this time of year. You may not want to scatter fall leaf decorations all around your house, but they’re definitely really fun to have out for a short time for an eye catching display of red and orange-yellow colors. And they’re totally reusable, so it’s worth it to have a little bag of them in your stash. The leaves that adorn the porch in this photo are actually totally fake! Combined with real fall flowers, corn, and wheat, they create a charming scene.
Burlap Ribbon for Dollar Store Fall Decor
There was a time when burlap ribbon was really expensive, and you could only find it in specialty decorating stores, but now it’s pretty much a dollar store staple! It makes a great vase filler for adding a rustic vibe to any space, or you can use it to make a big poofy burlap wreath like this one I made many years ago, but that I still kind of think is a fun idea for the season if you’re on the hunt for ideas for DIY fall wreaths.
Fall Floral/Foliage Picks
These are kind of hit or miss at the dollar store, but I do have to say that my all-time favorite little bunch of faux fall branches came from the dollar store… maybe 11 years ago? I still use them every year. This year I’ve seen some pretty decent berry branches and some faux Chinese lantern branches that I really liked as well. As far as dollar store fall decor goes, this is probably the toughest one to get right. This is the one suggestion that I’m making today where you’ll really have to use your judgment once you get into the store because there are some great things but also a lot of not-so-great things.
Mason Jars for Dollar Store Fall Decor
Can I really do a post about fall decor without including mason jars? Definitely not. Mason jars make perfect little holders for candles or really cute vases with just the right amount of rustic-ness for your table setting. Scatter them around a table centerpiece to create a cozy vibe. I really liked my white pumpkin idea on a mini cake stand idea (from a few years ago) shown above as well. I believe I found those little stands in the dollar section of Target, so they count for this post as well. 🙂 A mini gourd on top of the cupcake stands would also be adorable.
DIY Cotton Stems
These aren’t really so much a dollar store find as something that you can make with dollar store finds. You can find everything you need to make a whole bunch of these branches at the dollar store, except for the plain sticks you’ll need as a base. Find out how I made these here: How to Make Your Own Cotton Stems.
Grapevine Wreaths
Creating a cozy fall space requires texture. It just does. Grapevine wreaths can be tucked on a shelf or behind a pumpkin on a console table and can really help to pull the whole look together. You can add a few seasonal trimmings to a grapevine wreath, like a dried hydrangea or three, tie them on with some twine, and hang the finished product from your front door for a warm, festive welcome.
Embroidery Hoops
You can use basic embroidery hoops for so many things! I used them to make these fun decor orbs, but they also make great modern wreath bases. Just google it if you haven’t seen those embroidery hoop wreaths yet that have been popping up everywhere. 🙂
Faux Pumpkins
The things that people can do with fake dollar store pumpkins are pretty amazing. I’ve seen faux pumpkins painted just about every color of the fall palette, glittered, papered, the list goes on. You can still buy the plain, tacky orange pumpkins and paint them yourself, but the dollar store is starting to catch on and is now selling some more interesting faux pumpkins that are already fancied up a bit. And they really aren’t half bad, actually! Check out those glittered pumpkins and the mirrored glass ones too!
What great dollar-store fall decor finds have you come across?
MORE IDEAS LIKE THIS
- Growing Your Own Pumpkin Patch
- Fall Decor: My Best Quick and Easy Front Porch Ideas
- The Creek Line House Fall Archives
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Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.