Most of us don’t have the resources or energy to make every part of our outdoor spaces inviting in fall and winter. But we can choose 1 or 2 spaces that we see daily and give them a little extra attention.
One of the spaces I chose to give a fall refresh is the small deck space I see when at my desk/sewing table.
I wanted to share with you how I did this on a budget. I had looked through our household finances and found $20 I could use. And I wasn’t starting completely from scratch.
Here’s what I had to work with, 2 lime green pots of last year’s yellow mums, a deck chair and table, and a potted arborvitae. I also had access to some lime green patterned chair cushions.
Since this is a fall refresh, my first thought was to buy a couple of those cute and tiny pumpkins from the produce section of the grocery store. One problem — squirrels think those are food! My next thought was to take that $20 to Dollar Tree and see what they had for fall decor.
I stopped in the DT that’s across the street from Walmart after grocery shopping a couple of weeks ago. I looked at everything and bought the 2 small foam pumpkins.
A few days later I needed to get something from Home Depot. A different DT is on the way home from Hone Depot. Different DT stores sometimes have slightly different stock. I searched through everything in this store and chose this larger orange pumpkin, a small green pumpkin, and this solar lantern.
Re foam pumpkins — are they designed to be outdoor decor? No, however what will happen to them? Critters could try to nibble. Squirrels have done that with one other faux pumpkin, but not all of them. Elements will fade the paint over a season or two. But these can be repainted with a quick spritz of spray paint.
They are lightweight and could blow away/around. Yes, that’s true. So I turned the pot pumpkins into stakes using plastic knives, and I duct taped the table and deck pumpkins in place. We had a fairly blustery day this week and they didn’t go anywhere.
The solar lantern—I don’t know how long it will last—a couple of years, maybe? When it fails to recharge, I can remove the solar candle and replace it with a new outdoor candle. Other solar lights sold at Dollar Tree have performed well. I expect this one will do as well as those. Can it physically break? It’s all plastic.
The yellow mums from last year — the bunnies kept snacking on the mums, so I moved them to the deck. I left the pots there and was surprised this past spring when I saw new growth. We did have a mild winter, and I’m sure that helped.
The plants are not as full of blooms as last year, but they should be pretty nonetheless. To fill out the understory, I scavenged some yellow primroses from the garden. My first thought had been to use ornamental kale. But I didn’t see any at Fred Meyer or WinCo when shopping. The kale would have been pretty all winter, but the primroses will come back and bloom year after year. Anyway, I tucked the primroses on the front edge of each pot, and they help to visually distract from the legginess of the mums.
I cleaned up the outside of each pot, moved the potted arborvitae over, and moved the chair and table to where I can see them from my desk/sewing table.
What I spent:
Grand total for this refresh $17.13, including tax.
How long I expect the look to last — through the blossoming of the mums, about till the end of October. At that time, I will use the rest of my budget to buy one Thanksgiving outdoor decor item from Dollar Tree. When December rolls around, I’ll bring in the fall decor pieces to store until next year and place a few red outdoor ornaments that I already have plus some stems of evergreens, such as holly and cedar, into the pots. Maybe I’ll hang a few of the red outdoor ornaments on the arborvitae.
For $20 I have a charming view to lift my mood on those drab and gloomy days to come. On nicer days, I hope the view will draw me outdoors for a mid-morning coffee break.
I love how cozy your setup looks. DT is my favorite go to store. I have solar lights that I purchased from them three years ago that are still going strong. I like to use the solar stakes in potted plants. It lights them up beautifully at night. I have a wide variety of pillow covers that I bought at Hobby Lobby on clearance ($.99-$1.99 each) a couple of years ago. Black/white Buffalo check, red, velvety dark green, orange. I have black chairs and a side table and change out the color of my outdoor pillows with the seasons. The black/white/gold honey bee covers will come off soon and the orange will go on until December 1. Then red until January 1 when the green will go on until February (back to red for Valentine’s) then in spring the honey bees reappear. Seasonal swap for pennies. Also, for a free porch decoration you can cut branches from an evergreen and place them in a pot. I do this after the outside Christmas decorations come down. The cold keeps the branches green and fresh until Spring. Annie
ReplyDeleteHi Annie,
DeleteI'm glad to hear your DT solar lights continue to do well for you. I'm hoping my new lantern does equally well. Incidentally, my daughter told me that she saw this exact lantern in an article online billed as "flying off the shelves."
Your cushion covers sound like a delightful change-up for the seasons. My lime green patterned ones were sewn from a Value Village shower curtain. I covered old outdoor cushions with that fabric. They've held up well for a few years.
Have a great weekend, Annie!
That's a nice touch of fall on your deck. I'm sure you will enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteMy father-in-law is a tinkerer and loves to buy things with lights in them from the dollar store. He takes them apart and puts the lights in other things. He says it's cheaper this way and he enjoys figuring out what he can remake with the parts.
Hi Live and Learn,
DeleteYour father-in-law sounds like a clever man. I have a neighbor who has taken DT solar stakes and put the lights into other items, making cute garden decor sing what she has on hand plus the solar stakes.
Thanks for sharing what your FIL does, it provides inspiration for future projects for me.
Have a great weekend, Live and Learn!
Such a pretty autumn deck area! I think your DT foam pumpkins are perfect for your purpose, and as you say, you can refresh them with paint when they need it. I love having a few things in storage that I can pull out to decorate for the season. Fall is my favorite. Still waiting for the crisp air here, but it won't be long!
ReplyDeleteHi Kris,
DeleteI agree, it's really fun to have a box of seasonal decor pieces to change things up. I like to get out one or two things a day closer to mid-September. And I like to put decor items in new locations around the house, porch and garden. It refreshes how I see areas.
I often forget that it's still summer-like in many (most) parts of the country. It's been chilly in the morning hours here, with barely warming when the suns comes out in the afternoon. I hope you have a nice long stretch of summer yet to come in your area.
Have a great rest of your weekend, Kris!