Autumn Outdoor Decorating Ideas

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By S. Herlihy, eHow Contributor

Autumn is a good time to decorate an outdoor space such as a terrace or backyard. In many areas the weather cools down after the heat of summer. People spend more time enjoying the crisp air and admiring the fall colors. Decorating an outdoor space is not difficult. Use holiday themed items and seasonal flora to create a design that will make any outdoor space feel comfortable and inviting.

Halloween
Halloween is a fun holiday where adults and children alike dress up in unexpected ways. Dress up your outdoor space to reflect the season. Place fake headstones in the yard with the names of family members, coworkers or close relatives. Drape sheer sheets with two holes cut out over the entrances to porches to create the illusion of ghosts. Wrap black cloth around trees. Hang skeletons from tree branches. Place orange and black cushions on any outdoor furniture. Line a walkway with orange lamps. Scoop the guts out of a pumpkin and carve a face, then add a candle to your jack-o-lantern.

Seasonal Bounty
Autumn is harvest time in many places. Apples, squash and many different varieties of gourds can be picked fresh from local fields. Purchase preserved gourds and place them outside doorways in decorative patterns. Purchase mums and other flowers that bloom during this time and hang the baskets over a porch. Plant additional mums in the ground to line a walkway and decorate a lawn area. Hang stalks of Indian corn on trees. Place cushions with pictures of apples and other produce on them on any outdoor furniture.

Gobble, Gobble
Thanksgiving is an occasion for welcoming guests, so make the outdoors as inviting as the smell of roasting turkey. Make a cranberry wreath for the front door, using a purchased wreath form. String cranberries in rows along the wreath, using pins to attach the ends of the cranberry strings to the form. Add pizazz to the wreath by using thick brown and orange ribbons tied around the wreath form. Draw turkeys on pieces of oak tag. Draw freehand in order to give the finished product a sense of charm and a folk art feel. Cut out and laminate. String the turkeys together to form a chain. Place the chain around tree branches and doorways.

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