Easily transition from summer to fall with these simple fall shelf decor ideas! You don’t have to spend a lot of money or buy a bunch of new decor to make your house look gorgeous and seasonal!
Fall is coming, friends! Don’t get me wrong, I love summer, but lately I have been feeling so ready for sweater weather, football season, changing leaves, and alllllllll the pumpkin things! Oh, and fall decorating, of course!
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.
coffee table | entertainment unit | lamp
Simple Fall Shelf Decor
I recently started to change the way I think about seasonal decorating. Because I love to decorate and because I do a lot of decorating posts here on the blog, each season I would decide on a color scheme to use and then I would use some items I owned and also buy a bunch of new items to match my desired color scheme.
This worked and it was fun, but I quickly realized that I was accumulating a ton of decor (not to mention spending money on a ton of decor) that I would then have to store and, unless I used the exact same color scheme the next year, much of it was going unused.
So this fall I decided to keep it more simple. Instead of changing out colors again and again, I decided just to stick with my favorites– lots of neutrals + touches of aqua– and use the decor I already had in these colors to decorate for the season.
Now I realize that aqua is not exactly a traditional fall color. But I quickly figured out that one simple rule would immediately help turn my aqua summer decor into aqua fall decor without much hassle at all. So what is my one rule?
Put a pumpkin on it. 😂
Simply by removing some of my more nautical summer touches from our IKEA BESTA entertainment unit and adding a few pumpkins and fall-like [faux] florals from my “fall bin” that was stored away in our basement, my shelf decor was instantly transformed for the new season!
light fixture | rug | aqua pillows
I am loving this strategy because I can still use my favorite color scheme for any season and I’m not adding extra clutter to my home– win-win!
I’m not saying that I will decorate with aqua for every season forever and ever and ever (or that everyone needs to pick one color scheme and stick with it all the time– do what makes you happy!), but I love knowing that it is pretty easy to make just about any color scheme work for just about any season with just a few simple swaps.
Speaking of simple swaps… I found another quick tip while decorating these shelves for fall that I wanted to be sure to share! I needed something fall-ish to go in a bare frame, but I didn’t want to spend a ton of time or money to figure it out. I ended up simply grabbing a photo of pumpkins that I had taken in our last house and running it through the Waterlogue app to make it look a little more artsy.
Once I had the new image, I stuck it into a Word doc, sized it to fit my frame, and printed it on card stock, and I had easy and free seasonal art! (You can spot it on the top shelf in the photo above.)
Do you have any favorite tricks or tips for creating simple seasonal decor? I would love to hear them in the comments below!
If you could use tips for styling shelves in your own home, these posts may be helpful:
How to Style a Dining Room a Hutch
Shop Our Living Room
Some of my oh-so-talented blog friends are sharing their beautiful and simply styled fall mantels, shelves, and vignettes today as well as part of the Seasonal Simplicity series, hosted by my dear friend Krista at The Happy Housie! Sheila from Maison de Cinq is sharing her gorgeous fall mantel next, and you can visit the rest of the tour by clicking on the links below!
The Happy Housie // Bless’er House // Rooms FOR Rent // House by Hoff // The Turquoise Home
The DIY Mommy // Sincerely Marie, Designs // Craftberry Bush // Amber Tysl // Just a Girl and Her Blog
Maison de Cinq // So Much Better With Age // Hallstrom Home // Shabbyfufu //
Town and Country Living
Summer Adams // Finding Silver Pennies // Paint Me Pink // Clean and Scentscible
Nina Hendrick Design
Jenna Kate at Home // Modern Glam // Place of My Taste // In My Own Style // Kelly Elko
Rambling Renovators // Just Destiny // Deeply Southern Home // Setting for Four
Willow Street Interiors // Stacy Risenmay
Have a wonderful day!
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.
Heather Luckhurst says
September 11, 2018 at 3:09 pmI adore all your blue touches for Fall! So gorgeous! Happy Fall Abby!
justagirlabby says
September 12, 2018 at 1:34 pmAw, thanks so much, Heather! Hope you’re having an awesome week! <3
~Abby =)
Lori says
September 11, 2018 at 4:20 pmAbsolutely beautiful and a great idea to add the pumpkins.😊Love the colors!
justagirlabby says
September 12, 2018 at 1:35 pmThank you, Lori! I’m loving them, too! Have a great day! <3
~Abby =)
Ashley says
September 11, 2018 at 5:00 pmAbby, love these soft colors for fall! Great way to ease into the season.
justagirlabby says
September 12, 2018 at 1:35 pmThanks so much, Ashley! <3
~Abby =)
Amanda says
September 11, 2018 at 6:08 pmGreat tips as always, Abby! Thank you for sharing! I have a question for you. I have some boring space above my kitchen cabinets that I have been trying to spruce up but I just can’t seem to get it right. Do you have any tips about that to share with us? Thanks so much!
justagirlabby says
October 19, 2018 at 11:18 amHi, Amanda! I have never put anything above the cabinets myself; the space above ours is so small that I think it would look cluttered rather than cute. But this post gives some great tips if you’re looking to decorate that space: http://www.houseofjadeinteriorsblog.com/2013/05/how-to-decorate-above-kitchen-cabinets.html . Have a great weekend!
~Abby =)
Sheila Irwin says
September 11, 2018 at 9:32 pmLove all the aqua – and I couldn’t agree more! “Put a pumpkin on it” totally works:)) And it is so you’re style!
Loved doing this hop with you Abby!
Sheila
xo
justagirlabby says
September 12, 2018 at 1:35 pmThanks so much, sweet girl! Such a fun hop to participate in! Hope you’re having a great week! <3
~Abby =)
Laura says
September 11, 2018 at 9:36 pmWhat a fresh and fun take on fall, Abby! I love how you incorporated all of the aqua! So inviting!!
justagirlabby says
September 12, 2018 at 1:33 pmThank you, Laura! Hope you’re having a great week! <3
~Abby =)
Jamie says
September 11, 2018 at 10:47 pmSuch great ideas, Abby. I love how you styled these bookshelves and love the cool blue-y/green colors.
Hugs, Jamie
justagirlabby says
September 12, 2018 at 1:32 pmThanks so much, friend! Happy Wednesday! <3
~Abby =)
Destiny Alfonso says
September 12, 2018 at 10:15 amJust love the way you coordinate all your colors girl! Looks beautiful and inviting and organized 😉
justagirlabby says
September 12, 2018 at 1:32 pmAw, thank you, sweet girl! Hope you’re having a wonderful week! <3
~Abby =)
Krista says
September 12, 2018 at 12:20 pmFantastic tips Abby! Nothing wrong with aqua pumpkins in my opinion. 🙂 Thanks for taking part in this hop!
justagirlabby says
September 12, 2018 at 1:32 pmI agree! 🙂 Thanks for having me, sweet friend! <3
~Abby =)
Aubree says
September 12, 2018 at 4:11 pmI love this! Everything coordinates so well. I just made pink plaid fabric pumpkins, and the pops of color (fall or otherwise) make me so happy!
justagirlabby says
September 15, 2018 at 2:14 pmOoo, that sounds GORGEOUS! Pink will be beautiful for fall! <3
~Abby =)
Stacy Risenmay says
September 13, 2018 at 1:54 pmOh I love the turquoise fall decor! It is so fun to see non-traditional colors. Your shelves are stunning.
justagirlabby says
September 15, 2018 at 2:13 pmThanks so much, Stacy! I am loving it this year, too! Have a great weekend! <3
~Abby =)
Marly at A Brick Home says
September 13, 2018 at 2:36 pmThis is so pretty, Abby! I love how you kept the aqua tones. It looks so festive and inviting. Happy fall!
justagirlabby says
September 15, 2018 at 2:13 pmAw, thanks so much, Marly! Hope you’re having a wonderful weekend! <3
~Abby =)
Marie says
September 15, 2018 at 12:44 pmI think this is my favorite decor post you’ve shared yet! So simple and natural.
justagirlabby says
September 15, 2018 at 2:12 pmAw, thank you so much, Marie! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Hope you’re having a wonderful weekend! <3
~Abby =)
Dawn says
September 15, 2018 at 3:47 pmLove the fall decorating with an aqua color scheme. I actually have a teal pumpkin sign for the front door but hadn’t thought about using the color scheme inside my house. Not sure if you know this or not but teal pumpkins are super popular around Halloween due to the food allergy initiative – teal pumpkin project – https://www.foodallergy.org/education-awareness/teal-pumpkin-project
We participate due to my son’s food allergy but I thought I’d mention it because if you use it on your front door you might have some trick-or-treaters expecting non candy treats.
justagirlabby says
September 19, 2018 at 1:03 pmOoo, love that! My youngest has a peanut allergy so love to see things like this. Thanks for sharing, Dawn!
~Abby =)
Laura Didea says
September 15, 2018 at 4:50 pmHi Abby. I just followed the link from your newsletter. It was very timely and encouraging for me. I really love your fall shelves and how you stayed true to your style. Also going through Building A Framework and it is so helpful! Your hard work has been a great blessing to me!
justagirlabby says
September 19, 2018 at 1:03 pmAw, thanks so much, Laura! So glad it’s been helpful for you. Love to hear that. Hope you’re having a great week! <3
~Abby =)
Tina says
September 15, 2018 at 8:49 pmI love the aqua accents.
We go crazy for fall and Chrome dramas but do not buy a lot of new items most years.
We also used some fall printable in frames on our shelves this year and we absolutely love them.
2 Things I have found to help change seasons and still save on storage space and money are using the same burlap base wreath and changing the accents with each season and adding bows and forals/leaves to the items in our everyday, whimsical, ecclectic decor.
justagirlabby says
September 19, 2018 at 1:07 pmYes! Love those ideas. Thanks for sharing, Tina!
~Abby =)
Leona says
September 25, 2018 at 1:44 pmThank you for sharing your home. It is beautiful and inspiring.
justagirlabby says
September 26, 2018 at 7:44 pmAw, thanks so much, Leona! <3
~Abby =)
Kris says
September 25, 2018 at 9:30 pmHi! I’m obsessed with your builtins and you decor!
We are having builtins installed. Would you mind sharing the depth of the cabinets your tv is on and the depth of the shelves on the side?
Thank you!
justagirlabby says
October 19, 2018 at 11:21 amHi, Kris! So sorry I missed this earlier! The deeper cabinets are 16″ deep and the shallower ones are 8″ deep. I hope this helps! Have a great day!
~Abby =)