• Hottest Fall Trends for Less

Hottest Fall Trends for Less

Fall is yet another season that inspires us to start fresh and get busy creating and having fun. Something about the crisp air, start of a new school year and welcome change of weather makes us want to refresh our homes and wardrobes. The average parent spends several hundreds of dollars on back-to-school shopping, making it one of the busiest retail seasons, second only to Christmas. Many retailers take advantage of this by introducing new product lines during the late summer. Read on to discover the hot fall trends and how to achieve those looks for less.

Trends in Home Decor

"Green" continues to dominate the way we choose our home interiors. Nature-inspired colors and textures are the rule in trendy items for fall 2010. Choosing items that are "green" as well as items that will save some green dollars are also popular. Here are a few ideas to incorporate this popular eco-trend in your fall home decor.

• Refresh with vignettes. To instantly update a space for fall, group together items with natural colors and interesting textures. For example, place a framed vintage photo next to a vase filled with acorns or seed pods gathered from nature. Add a burlap cloth for a rustic effect. Or instantly add an upscale feel to the frame by clipping on an old pair of earrings or other piece of forgotten jewelry. Create a few of these vignettes around your home for instant fall appeal.


• Consider items that do double duty. Items that have reversible elements such as wreaths, banners and wall pockets offer significant budget savings since they allow us to go easily from season to season. A wall pocket can decorate your front door with a fall design for a few months and be reversed closer to the holidays to sport a Christmas design. A multi-seasonal wreath can show off fall decorations, which can later be removed and replaced with winter decorations.


• Use old sweaters in a new way. One of my favorite fall trends that is even more popular this year is using old sweaters to create new accessories for home decor for a cozy, warm effect. Throw pillows, pot holders, coasters and coffee cozies are just a few of the things you can whip up by cleaning out your closet. To stretch your stash even further, use your die-cut machine to cut fall motifs such as leaves, acorns or owls. Use the die cuts to decorate lampshades, old throw pillows or other accessories that need a lift.


• Home decor that looks recycled is definitely in. It used to be that we created items from recycled materials and tried to make them look anything but "recycled." Now, items that scream "recycled" are becoming more and more prevalent, which is good news for your budget. Create napkin rings from recycled cardboard tubes. Let the natural cardboard show but enhance it with blooms created from layers of newspaper. We no longer have to blush when someone realizes that we have created magazine storage containers from empty cereal boxes. It's now so chic!


• Layer up in new combinations. Combine pretty textures such as velvet and lace with burlap, jute and cheesecloth. For instance, sew a vintage doily to the center of a burlap-cased pillow. Another example is to showcase natural items such as pinecones and twigs with luxurious satins in a shadow box. Aim for contrasting but interesting combinations. 

Trends in Fashion

Fall fashion trends closely mirror home decor trends in that eco-chic is the rule of the day. Wearable art is making a return in the form of crocheted, knitted, beaded, stamped, appliqued, hand-painted and stenciled clothing and accessories.

• Deconstruct clothing and accessories to create new looks. Anything taken apart and reconstructed is super hip. For example, deconstructing a sweater to create a trendy shrug is in. Find joy in not only the finished product but also in figuring out how to make the whole thing work. Creating a wool felt tote from a sweater is another example of this trend.


• Create unique accessories from very unconventional materials. Bracelets made from cut-up credit or gift cards are one example of this trend. Again, when creating an item, consider keeping it identifiable as what it was originally. Crocheted and knitted jewelry mixed with beads offer the sought-after crafted look that is making a strong comeback this fall. Wrist cuffs made from recycled sweaters are easy to create by cutting the sleeves off and embellishing the cuffs to your heart's content.