Cottagecore On A Pound: 10 Autumn Decor Ideas That Don't Cost A Fortune

There seems to be a point every August when the internet collectively decides that autumn decorating requires an entirely new house.

Suddenly we need £40 pumpkin cushions, matching amber glassware, enormous wreaths, new bedding and approximately seventeen candles with names like Woodland Hearth.

I love autumn. I love cottagecore. I love making the house feel completely different when the seasons change.

I just don't particularly want to bankrupt myself doing it.

And actually, I think the homes that feel most genuinely cottagecore are normally the ones where things look as though they've been collected, painted, repaired and made over time rather than ordered together from the same autumn collection.

So forget the bowl of pinecones and the bundle of dried twigs.

Here are ten more unusual ways to give your home that cosy, folk-art, autumn cottage feeling without spending a fortune.

1. Paint an old bedside table like a piece of folk art

This might be my favourite one.

Find an old bedside table, little cabinet or wooden stool that nobody particularly wants.

Facebook Marketplace, charity shops can be brilliant for these.

Instead of simply painting it beige and calling it a day, make it into something that looks almost handmade.

Paint the whole thing a warm autumn colour such as:

• mushroom

• tan

• muted ochre

• dusty terracotta

• olive green

• tobacco brown

Then use a cheap stencil — or make one yourself from cardboard — to add little cream flowers, curling leaves, berries or vines around the drawer fronts and legs.

An uneven hand-painted flower actually makes the whole thing better.

You could even paint a tiny flower inside the drawer where nobody sees it until they open it.

Very old-European-cottage.

2. Turn an old lampshade into an autumn lampshade

Lampshades are one of those things we don't think about changing seasonally, but they can completely alter a room.

You don't need to buy a new one.

Take a plain lampshade you already own and add a little autumn detail.

Try tying a narrow strip of velvet ribbon around the bottom in rust, chocolate brown or olive green.

Or glue a piece of vintage-looking braid around the edge.

For something more cottagey, use a stencil and a tiny amount of fabric paint to add a repeating leaf or flower pattern.

Suddenly the boring cream lamp in the corner looks like something that belongs beside a fireplace in a 200-year-old cottage.

And in spring, you can change it again.

3. Make tiny framed autumn 'paintings' from old wallpaper and fabric

Charity shops nearly always have tiny wooden picture frames that nobody seems to want.

Buy a couple for £1 or use ones you already have.

Then forget putting photographs in them.

Instead, frame scraps of:

• floral wallpaper

• old wrapping paper

• embroidery

• vintage fabric

• pages from damaged old books

• botanical packaging

• leftover wallpaper samples

A square of faded mustard floral fabric inside an old wooden frame can genuinely look like a tiny piece of folk art.

Group three together on a wall or stand them along a shelf.

It's much more interesting than buying an "AUTUMN LEAVES & PUMPKINS PLEASE" sign from a shop.

4. Paint the inside of a cupboard

If you have an old kitchen cupboard, Welsh dresser, bookcase or little cabinet, paint just the back panel or inside a deep autumn shade.

You could use leftover tester paint.

Think:

burnt orange behind cream crockery

dark olive behind old books

mustard behind brown pottery

It creates this gorgeous little pocket of colour without turning your entire house orange.

For an extra cottagecore touch, stencil a few tiny flowers along the inside edge.

It's like decorating a miniature room within your room.

5. Turn an old drawer into a tiny cottage shelf

If you've ever seen an old broken chest of drawers being thrown away, steal the drawer.

Well. Obtain it legally.

Take one wooden drawer, remove or keep the handle, and mount it sideways on the wall.

You now have a deep little box shelf.

Paint the inside a contrasting colour or cover the back with floral wallpaper.

Then fill it with a few things you already own — perhaps an old book, tiny vase, candle and photograph.

The drawer handle underneath can even become somewhere to hang a tea towel, dried herbs or ribbon.

It costs practically nothing and looks delightfully odd.

Which, in my opinion, is exactly what cottagecore should be.

6. Give boring plant pots little folk-art makeovers

Instead of buying seasonal ornaments, decorate things that are already in the room.

Terracotta plant pots are perfect.

Use leftover cream paint to add little hand-painted:

• daisies

• stars

• vines

• hearts

• wavy borders

• tiny leaves

Slightly wonky folk flowers look far better than anything too precise.

If your pots aren't terracotta, paint old tins, jars or little containers instead.

Put your normal houseplants back in them and suddenly the whole windowsill feels autumnal without a plastic pumpkin in sight.

7. Make a patchwork cushion from clothes that are beyond saving

Not every old piece of clothing is good enough for the charity shop.

But the fabric might still be lovely.

An old checked shirt, corduroy skirt, floral blouse or wool jumper can become part of an autumn cushion cover.

Cut squares or rectangles from several different fabrics and sew them together.

Again, perfection isn't really the goal.

Think farmhouse patchwork rather than immaculate department-store cushion.

Browns, faded reds, checks, tiny florals, mustard and cream all look wonderful together.

If you can't sew particularly well, this is actually a pretty forgiving first project.

8. Decorate old books instead of buying ornaments

I don't mean painting beautiful antique books beige. Please don't come for me.

I'm talking about old damaged books, notebooks or cheap charity-shop hardbacks that nobody particularly wants.

Cover one or two in scraps of wallpaper, brown paper or leftover fabric.

Add a piece of ribbon around the spine.

You can then stack them beneath a lamp, use them to raise a plant pot, or sit a candleholder on top.

They add height and texture to shelves without buying another piece of seasonal decor that has to live in a cupboard for nine months of the year.

And when autumn is over, simply unwrap them.

9. Paint an old serving tray and leave it out as art

Look in almost any charity shop and you'll find an abandoned wooden tray.

Usually for next to nothing.

Give it a coat of warm brown, olive, burgundy or creamy paint and then paint or stencil a simple folk-art design into the centre.

Flowers around the edge would look beautiful.

So would little stars.

Or a border inspired by old Scandinavian or Eastern European folk patterns.

Then prop the tray upright on a kitchen shelf like a piece of artwork.

When you actually need a tray, it still has a job.

10. Create your own 'autumn heirloom'

This is less of a specific craft and more of an idea I absolutely love.

Instead of asking, What autumn decorations should I buy this year?, make one thing that you're going to bring out every autumn for years.

Paint a wooden box with leaves.

Embroider an autumn saying onto a scrap of linen.

Make a patchwork table runner.

Paint a little stool.

Decorate a candleholder.

Make a tiny fabric pumpkin from an old shirt if you really do want a pumpkin somewhere.

Then write the year discreetly underneath.

Things became meaningful because people kept them.

They were repaired, altered and brought back out year after year.

And eventually they became the things everybody remembered.

Cottagecore was never supposed to be expensive

The ironic thing about modern cottagecore is that it's often sold as a luxury aesthetic.

But the actual homes we're trying to imitate weren't filled with people ordering coordinated seasonal collections four times a year.

People painted furniture because buying new furniture was expensive.

They patched fabric.

They reused jars.

They embroidered things.

They altered curtains.

They passed things down.

They made their homes beautiful with whatever was available.

And I think we've lost a little bit of that.

So this autumn, instead of asking what your house needs you to buy, have a look at what's already there.

That slightly battered bedside table might need some flowers painted on it.

The ugly tray in the charity shop might need rescuing.

The old checked shirt might have one final life left in it.

Sometimes the cosiest homes aren't the ones with the most autumn decor. They're the ones where somebody has clearly had a lovely time making things.