Guys, I had to. I had to! Ever since I gave this little barn/shed in my backyard a makeover last summer, I’ve wanted to dress it up for a holiday or season. And when I drove by a local farmer’s market this week and saw tons of huge mums and pumpkins still waiting to be scooped up and loved, I just couldn’t help myself.
I filled my car to the brim with the biggest mums I could find, a dozen pumpkins of all shapes and sizes, corn stalks, and some tall fountain grass. I used a little wagon to haul everything to the backyard and got to work creating the cutest little barn all decorated for fall. This project wasn’t done out of necessity, but strictly for pure creative enjoyment, and I’m so glad I took advantage of the beautiful weather we’ve had well into October to play around and refill my creative cup.
Welcome to my backyard, friends…
Normally I really try not to splurge on an excessive amount of mums and pumpkins that are eventually going to just die and decompose. As much as I love decorating for the season, it feels a little wasteful. Do you ever feel that way? Maybe one day I’ll stretch myself and try to grow some pumpkins that I can use to decorate with each year, but until then I like to find small local farmers, produce stands, or markets to buy them from.
The inspiration for this whole barn setup actually came from my oldest son, Alec, who spent his summer and hard earned money this year to start a straw baling business with one of his buddies. I was so stinking proud of their entrepreneurship and hard work and wanted to buy a couple bales from them to decorate with this fall. My front porch that I shared here is way too small for any straw bales, but this little barn in my backyard was just calling for them.
This fall display was really simple to put together, and I have a few tips to make your outdoor fall decorating a little easier this year:
- Look for pumpkins in various shapes, colors, and sizes to add interest. I like finding ones with interesting curvy stems myself.
- As soon as you bring your pumpkins home, scrub them with a bleach cleaning solution to help keep them last longer before beginning to deteriorate.
- Frequently remove any dead blooms from your mums and keep them well watered throughout the season.
- Try to use varying heights in your displays. Set some mums and pumpkins up on straw bales, a bench or stool, etc. to get some of them up off the ground. Add extra height with corn stalks or tall fall grasses.
- Add a little softness and pattern with a rug, blanket, or throw pillows if you can.
- Lanterns and candles instantly set a fall mood!
I don’t have many product sources to share with you for this look, because pretty much everything I used is either from nature (pumpkins, corn stalks, straw, mums) or pieces I’ve already owned for years. I didn’t buy a single piece of new decor (unless you count all those dang pumpkins lol), and I love how simple, yet special it feels.
The white adirondack chairs are from World Market.
The tall wooden planters I actually made myself out of cedar, and you can find the tutorial for those here.
The lanterns and bench are old old.
The blanket and pillows are either Target or Wayfair.
And the details of this sweet little barn you can read about here.
Normally by October 16th, my grass is already completely toasty and dead, but this year I am still mowing a thick, wet, lush lawn halfway through October. I shouldn’t complain about the extended yard work though, because we all know how quickly this fall weather can turn from beautiful to brrrrrr. Although I am still patiently waiting for the leaves on the trees to start changing colors! Have they changed yet where you are?
When I shared my front porch decorated for fall this year, I had to laugh because I always get a few comments about my boring white pumpkins and how pumpkins are supposed to be orange. I learned many, many years ago that you can’t please everybody, and I try hard to create for myself, not for what anyone else will think or say on the internet. So for all my color-craving friends, this is my ode to traditional, colorful, bright orange pumpkins… next to white mums and a white barn. 🙂
What can I say… I am who I am lol.
Isn’t this the sweetest view from my deck? Those soybean fields in the background are finally starting to turn and about ready to be harvested.
Welcome to my little slice of Indiana. I hope you enjoyed seeing some outdoor fall decorating ideas today, and I’m so glad you stopped by!
MORE FALL DECORATING:
Fall Bookcase Decor
Fall Front Porch
Cozy Fall Fire Pit
Fall Mantel in the Bedroom
Hints of Fall in the Living Room
Decorating an Outdoor Space for Fall
Fall Warmth in the Living Room
As always, I sincerely appreciate you shopping through the links I share, which allows me to make a small commission from your purchase while your purchase price stays the same. When you use my affiliate links, I’m better able to create content for this blog as well as support my family, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting what I do!
I hope you utilize the seating out there by the shed. It looks so refreshing! A different view, time of year, fresh air…wow it just sounds so dreamy! Would you like some company?
🔥H🐶A🐱P🐸P🐷Y H🐭A🦊L🐻❄️L🐹O🐵W🦁E🐮E🐨N :*}💥
I would love to have some company out here! It definitely is peaceful spending time out in this beautiful fall weather. 🙂 Happy Halloween to you too!
Such a cute vignette! And don’t ever change who you are Liz! I bought your book and started following your blog specifically because of your beautiful, neutral decor. I find it so relaxing and calming to look at with just the right amount of texture to keep it from looking bland and I’ve learned so much from your posts! Thank you for all you do!
You made me both cry and smile, Carolyn! Thank you so much for your sweet words, and you’re absolutely right. You have to do what you love and makes you happy! 🙂
So charming and serene!
Oh, so well worth it! It’s beautiful! It’s been so hot here I don’t know how long my pumpkins and mums will last but by the middle of October you’ve gotta have some! Can’t wait to see what you do to the barn/shed for Christmas!
Christmas will be so fun to decorate the barn! Hope your pumpkins survive to the end of the season. 🙂
I absolutely love the autumn barn!!!!! A good book and a cup of tea beckons….
Absolutely!! Thank you, friend. 🙂
Just beautiful! Perfect fall decor for your little white barn! I did something similar with our shed. We had added a screened in extension a couple of years ago so during the quarantine last year my husband finished the interior and we painted it Sherwin Williams Iron Ore on the exterior and Alabaster on the interior. I have mums and pumpkins decorating the outside. This year I added a few pumpkins in orange and white at the base of a few trees in our front yard. They really add a pop of color. My husband is still mowing too. This has been quite a growing year for trees, bushes, and grass. When we were buying all the pumpkins I thought about the waste too but I felt a little better that we were supporting a local farm and eventually they will decompose and go back to the land. We have a spot on our property where we put brush, et. Maybe we will have pumpkins there next year! Thank you for your decorating ideas. Kudos to your son and his friend on starting their business!
Your little screened in porch sounds amazing! And I’m not the only one who still has mow this year. 🙂 Thank you for stopping by and checking out the barn!
Oh, Liz, pumpkins are so easy to grow! The main thing they need is space and you seem to have that in spades. You start from seeds in a mound in May and water them when they need it, that’s it. This year I grew ‘jack be littles’ and wonderful gray ones called jarrahdale. Shop for seeds, Botanical Interests is a good online source, and get ready to do this next spring. Oh, and the pumpkin vines are wonderful for decorating too.
Thank you for all the pumpkin growing advice!! Maybe next year will be the year I become a pumpkin farmer 🙂
So cute and elegant.