Harvest is a time for gathering. A time when food, family and friends are far more important than getting things done. Rich colors and spicy scents are in abundance. With a little help from Mother Nature, feathering your nest for the holidays is made easy as another growing season comes to an end. So head outside, gather up a selection of fallen foliage, in a mix of vibrant hues and textures, and join me in my journey of creating an atmosphere of rustic style and comfort by co-mingling the found with the fabricated in small vignettes throughout home and garden.

The Halloween and Harvest Style Challenge Box Arrives

The process of the Style Challenge is short and sweet from start to finish. A mystery shipment is delivered to my doorstep, and I am given a couple of weeks to complete a design project, using the contents of the box. The goal of the project is to inspire Home Depot Blog readers to try their hand at some DIY holiday projects of their own.

I hope you are inspired to try your hand at something you see here or in the many other wonderful Style Challenge posts. You will learn that many of the projects are quite simple and can be accomplished in just one weekend or less, creating holiday memories that may end up lasting a lifetime.

Upon opening the shipment, I discover nested crates, harvest wreaths, burlap pumpkins, grapevine pumpkins, stuffed fabric owls and wood yard signs. The wood and moss green toned color scheme has all the perfect makings of a rustic harvest theme for the home.

Halloween Decorations for the Front Door and Entryway

A home’s entrance sets a tone for both family and guests. These shimmering Harvest Basket Wreaths hanging on the outside of the front doors make the perfect first impression, transitioning our home from summer to fall. A pumpkin spice scented candle in the foyer adds a spicy scent, adding another layer to the style statement.

Halloween Decorations for the Mantel and Fireplace

In the family room, I stripped down the fireplace mantel, leaving it looking rather cold and in desperate need of the warm seasonal colors of fall.

As the days get cooler and the nights come earlier, I wanted to create an atmosphere around the hearth that was both soothing and restorative, using earth tones and warm flickering candlelight.

On the mantel, you can see a few items I collected from Home Depot, including these Mini Melted LED Candles (set of 3) and Rustic LED votives. I also mixed in some cotton stems I already had. The burlap pumpkins from Home Depot (available seasonally) add both texture and charm to the rustic setting on the mantel.

For the firebox I chose to stack the nested crates and assemble vignettes within, using a variety of found fall foliage and a mix of candlelight to entice those who pass by to sit and enjoy an unhurried moment or two.

After completing the mantel, I made a quick trip to my neighborhood Home Depot store to pick up some items for the garden. That is when I stumbled upon these charming and well-constructed pottery pumpkins. I fell in love with the rustic tones and festive faces, so I decided to scoop them up and see how I could incorporate them into my design.

These cheery grinned pumpkins add a playful and primitive feel to the firebox. I will use these pumpkins again in another outdoor nighttime display that I will post on my blog.

Halloween Decorations for the Backyard

With a balance on my Home Depot gift card and plenty of product yet to be utilized, I decided to spice up the backyard in preparation for holiday celebrations with friends and family.

 I wanted to use some string lights across the patio to brighten the area so I studied several how-to videos online then got to work. I went back to The Home Depot and purchased two flower containers to use as the base for the string lights. I set 8-ft. tree stakes in the center of the containers using Fence Post Concrete.

To add color to the project, I filled the containers with an assortment of festive flowers.

 I used ½-inch PVC piping to create a drainage hole for the planned flower bed.

I inserted eye hooks on the top of the tree stakes to anchor the café string lights.

Seasonal flowers are so cheerful. It was hard to limit myself to purchasing only enough flowers to fit inside the containers. So I didn’t.

I had enough flowers and plants left over to fill another small planter box that you can see on my blog.

A dozen of these grapevine pumpkins came in my shipment. With a little bit of work I knew I could make them into lovely luminaries for the yard.

I inserted a battery-operated pack of string lights into the center of the basket cage. I cut 8-in. strips of rustic color ribbon, and looped it through the top of the glittered foliage then hung them on shepherd hooks along the border of the yard.

To add more lighting to the border, I set these cheerful, candlelit pottery pumpkins underneath each of the hanging grapevine baskets.

The remaining pottery pumpkins were placed underneath two weathered fence boards to make a display shelf for the nested crates. This could also double as a small bench or a side table to place food and drinks… oh the possibilities.

One last look at the patio before the festive transformation:

All aglow and ready for festive twilight gatherings that can now easily extend late into the night thanks to the addition of the glimmering lights and the harvest home décor from the Home Depot.