Expert Tips For Making Stunning Fall Wreaths
Decorate your front door for fall with an easy DIY fall wreath! Here are several ideas to inspire you, along with expert tips and my must-have wreath making tools.
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Creating a beautiful fall wreath is a great way to add seasonal charm that welcomes guests to your home. With the right guidance and tools, you can easily craft a stunning fall wreath for your front door.
To me, fall is the most beautiful season of the whole year. The humidity and temps are more comfortable, the air is fresher, and nature puts on the most amazing show, filled with foliage in glorious colors – for free!
I feel like the arrival of the fall season is a time to celebrate and what better way to do it than by welcoming it into our homes by crafting our very own diy fall wreath?
I love to make myself a new fall wreath every year. Each one of these wreath ideas that I’m sharing with you is unique and sets the tone for the fall decorations on the rest of the front porch and gives a nod toward my fall decor on the inside.
Nothing gives a more heartfelt and cheery welcome to my guests than greeting them with a beautiful wreath on my front door!
Down below, I’ve also included my favorite must-have wreath making supplies that make the job so much easier! Not that it’s a hard job, but who doesn’t love any type of tool to simplify things?
Basic DIY Wreath Steps
You’ll see that all of the wreaths use a grapevine wreath for the base, instead of a wreath form. They are my favorite when it comes to making a wreath!
The textures they provide are great, they are inexpensive, and the vines are perfect for wedging picks into. Often they don’t even need to be wired or have things glued in place.
The beauty is that I can simply deconstruct things after the end of the season so that I can use the grapevine wreath over and over again!
No matter how complicated any of these diy wreaths may look, every single one of them is easy to make.
The steps will vary by wreath, but let’s break making a fall wreath down into very basic steps:
- Choose the right size wreath. As a general rule, the diameter of a wreath should be ½ to ⅔ the height of the door. The larger the wreath – the greater the statement.
- Supplies to have on hand include: floral wire, wire cutters, hot glue gun, and glue sticks. See below for my must-haves.
- Decide on the look you want – flowy and full, clean and simple, or somewhere in between? Determine the orientation you want – picks only on the bottom or top, only on one side, or all the way around. The ideas here can serve as great inspiration!
- Decide on a color scheme and shop for a variety of faux greenery and leafy stems, stems with berries, acorns or pinecones, and/or floral stems. You’ll want a variety of lengths and bushiness.
- Begin wedging the picks between the vines in layers. Start with the longest stems and work your way forward with short stems. Heavier stems may need a little help with floral wire and/or hot glue to hold them in place.
- Use small bushy stems or pieces of moss to help fill gaps and to add accents.
- Top your wreath off with a bow made with a gorgeous ribbon that pulls the design together.
TIP: Hang your wreath with a piece of ribbon that matches or coordinates with the bow instead of using a metal wreath hanger. To secure the ribbon, place a Command Hook, upside down, at the top of the interior of your door. Run the ribbon up from the wreath and over the top of the door. Tie a knot at the end of the ribbon and place it over the hook.
Navy & Burgundy Chinoiserie Wreath
This wreath was inspired by my love of blue and white and all things chinoiserie.
I determined that I wanted the decor at the bottom with the pumpkin and bow slightly off-center for an asymmetrical look.
The first step was to add the long eucalyptus and fall leaf stems, facing opposite directions, while leaving a bit of space where the pumpkin would ultimately sit.
I love to add a bit of drama to my wreaths, so I then added a few long, narrow leaf stems. Some are oriented upward and drape down a bit and others are angled so that they hang below the wreath.
From there, I added the rest of the items, tucking them into spots that needed filling. I made sure to leave room for the large flower blossoms, seed pod, bow, and pumpkin to be added last.
I did have to wire some of the long stems that are upright to the grapevine wreath to hold them in place. The pumpkin was added last with a small amount of hot glue.
TIP: To remove an item secured with hot glue, hold the heated tip of a glue gun to the hardened glue until it softens.
Front Door Hanging Basket
Sometimes a front door wreath isn’t a wreath – it’s a front door basket.
Using a hanging basket is a wonderful way to do a something a little different on your front door for fall. Why not add a little variety to your life!
This type of basket is so easy to assemble, but I do have a few tips for you:
- Choose a basket that is sturdy enough to support the weight of the stems and florals you will use.
- Use a variety of stem types and lengths, but place the longest stems toward the back.
- Create a focal point. It could be a statement flower or a combination of blooms that draws attention. It can be in the center or off to one side.
- Add the “base” layer of foliagestems first, spreading them around the basket. This will help to provide a foundation for everything else.
- Add longer stems toward the back of the basket.
- Arrange the rest of the items in a visually pleasing way, placing some toward the front and others toward the middle.
- For drama, incorporate trailing elements that hang over the edges of the basket.
Tip: Fill the bottom of the basket with black trash bags if the stems you are using are too short for the depth of the basket. The black bags will disappear in the openings in the weave of the basket.
Traditional Fall Colors Wreath
If I had to choose a favorite fall front porch that I’ve decorated, it has to be the one with this wreath.
I just love the combination of colors, the fuzzy yellow whimsical balls and the attention grabbing black and white ribbons used to make the bow.
This wreath started out with a base of both green and fall colored, eucalyptus stems. Notice that the stems are going in opposite directions, which is based on where I wanted to locate the bow.
I’ve used and reused the green eucalyptus pieces so many times in wreaths and on Christmas trees, that I’m surprised they aren’t worn out!
Tip: Save money by purchasing picks that will be used as filler from the dollar store. They may not look nice enough to use in an arrangement inside, but they’re just fine for a wreath.
Make A Knockoff Wreath
Truly gorgeous wreaths at many retailers are priced at $150 or more. That was the case with this one.
I fell in love with a wreath from Pottery Barn one year, which was priced much higher than I was willing to pay.
But – upon examination, I felt like I could easily get the same look myself for much less. Especially since I already had so many of the needed components on hand that I’ve accumulated over the years.
As you can see, it’s just a leaf wreath with mix of green grape-like leaves, instead of fall leaves, with a few pumpkins, fall crabapple colored berry picks, and a few small pinecones added to it.
TIP: Browse catalogs from your favorite retailer, Instagram and Etsy to look for knock-off wreath ideas.
DIY Embroidery Hoop Wreath
If you want something more simple and a little different, this is a great option.
You only need a few supplies to make a knockout diy fall wreath like this one. You’ll need a large embroidery hoop, two types of ribbon, a few fall sprigs, a cute fall sign, and a hot glue gun.
This wreath was perfect for me when I was super strapped for time one year!
TIP: When making an embroidery hoop wreath, use both the inner and outer rings to give you a wider surface to adhere elements to.
Embellished Grapevine Wreath
You don’t even need any hot glue for this cost-effective wreath. All you need is a pre-made grapevine wreath and a few sprigs with a mixture of elements.
I only used a total of four fall picks – and that’s it! They’re simply wedged in between the stems of the grapevine wreath.
The picks are so pretty on their own that no bow is needed.
Even though this example is hanging in my foyer, it would be equally pretty on a front door too!
TIP: For more fullness and impact, look for picks with multiple elements incorporated in them.
Must-Have Wreath Making Supplies
I make a different wreath for every season of every year – that’s a lot of wreaths!
I’ve found these “tools” to make the job much, much easier.
See a diy fall wreath idea that inspires you? Let me know in the comments!
Ohhh…so many lovely ideas! But I think the basket has to be my favorite. It’s so beautiful!
I love all your wreaths, so pretty, but I especially love the mantle and hearth decor. Our fireplace is undergoing a renovation, we need to hurry up and get it finished so I can use some of your ideas!
Love making fall wreaths! The colors of the florals are so beautiful!
Thanks for the basket wreath idea for my door. It’s simple enough for even me to make and is so pretty.
Lovely wreaths! Fall is my favorite season and these ideas bring me back to the craft table ? Thankyou for the inspiration!
I love all these wreathes. I cannot even choose a favorite. They are so gorgeous.
Marilyn
You are one talented lady. All of these wreathes are so appropriate for Autumn.
Joan
i am in awe of your Fall wreathes. They are all so beautiful and well made. You did such a good job. Thank you for sharing.
Marion
I love how versatile you are, totally inspiring! Every look is my next favorite! I love the basket most thought I think
Your gorgeous porch gets me every time! And it looks so cozy with that gorgeous Fall wreath!
Such beautiful decoration ideas! Love those wreathsl, and the flowers that are added. Adding flowers to any decoration is never too much. Thanks for the inspiration!
What did you put arpund the grapevine wreath that is on your front door with the sunflowers and berries. It looks like you put something else around the rest of the grapevine wreath as well. I just love how it looks!
Hi Audra. Glad you like my wreath! The extra things that you see are faux bittersweet branches that I cut apart and tucked in between the vines of the grapevine wreath. SO easy!
Love your fall mantel!
I love how you suggest not to throw out seasonal décor. The idea of adding to it or painting it is economical and helps me not to get bored with the same thing each year. Great Tips!
Wow – love that wreath! Well done!
Love the grapevine wreath with the bittersweet. Simple and lovely!
Great ideas for reusing wreaths over and over. I’m going to give that a try.
I love a 30-minute craft. And your wreaths are always gorgeous!
Love all of your decorating ideas and tutorials.
I love that long wicker basket. I’ve seen them in my craft supply store but have never been able to imagine what to do with them. Now I know. Beautiful!!!