Simple Fall Entryway Decor Ideas for a Welcome and Cozy Hallway

Looking for ideas for your fall entryway decor? Do you have a small foyer with not a lot of room but want to make it a welcoming place for you and your guests? Check out these four essential tips for decorating a small hallway for fall.

Your entryway decor can set the whole mood for your home. It’s the first thing you and your guests see when they enter the house. A first impression is important, which is why we want our entrances to be beautiful, inviting, and a reflection of our character and style.

Create a Cozy Entrance for Fall

My hallway is a small space and it needs to fulfill a lot of functions. I optimized the under the stairs area for all of my storage needs. I wrote a whole post about all my small hallway storage solutions earlier.

Even though my entryway is on the small side that doesn’t stop me from making it a welcoming space to invite guests into my home and add seasonal decor to set the mood. I loved decorating my hallway space for fall this year.

Let me show you how I created a cozy entrance for fall in four simple steps

Welcome Autumn Into Your Home With Fall Entryway Decor

When decorating a room for the new season there are a few basic steps to follow. Every season has a color scheme that feels natural. Every room needs a focal point that sets the scene. Adding layers and textures is necessary to create a cozy atmosphere. And choosing the right accessories to compliment the decor adds the perfect seasonal touch to your room

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Step 1 Choose Your Fall Color Palette

When I decorate a room – especially a small room like an entryway – I chose my color scheme carefully. The basic decor in my home is neutral, with lots of whites, soft greys, and beige undertones. For every season I choose a small selection of colors to compliment that basic color scheme. In summer it might be blue accents in my living room, or aqua touches in the bedroom, in winter I accentuate warm winter whites and in spring I love cheerful colors.

This year I kept the colors in my fall entryway decor neutral and natural. I knew I was going to bring in a big focal point for this small area so I opted to keep the colors muted and undistracting.

Step 2 Create a Focal Point

When you enter my home through the front door there is a wall directly opposite, not exactly an open space. To make sure the entrance doesn’t feel crowded, I choose a natural and neutral fall theme for my hallway decor this year. The big focal point is my twig wreath that got a new autumn outfit.

Twig wreaths are the easiest wreaths to personalize and decorate with. I love the natural look of the twigs, and their darker color fits perfectly with the change in season. Changing up my simple, bare twig wreath into this beautiful and colorful fall wreath only took about 15 minutes and two small bouquets of faux flowers and leaves. 

I simply cut the stems of the flowers and grasses (a mixture of faux and real) to size and pushed them into the twig wreath. The combination of a twig wreath and fall foliage is golden in my book.

It only took me 30 minutes max to change this bare twig wreath into an autumn show stopper.

Step 3 Add Layers and Textures

For my fall entryway, I added as many layers and textures as I could get away with. There is a wicker basket with a chunky throw blanket on the side. I added a little faux fur into a rustic wood bowl. Pinecones are stuffed into a vintage egg basket. There are soft feathers and a shiny ceramic pumpkin. There is of course the texture of the twig wreath and the branch it is hanging from.

To make so many different textures and layers in such a small space work it is important that all of them share a common theme. In this case, all the materials I choose are in the same color range and they all have a natural character.

SHOP THE LOOK

Step 4 Choose the Right Accessories for Fall

Fall accessories are easy. It is always a good idea to use a pumpkin or three (faux pumpkins or real ones), there are of course pine cones, acorns and nuts everywhere, there is wheat and dried grass (check out my DIY wheat wreath) and then there are throw blankets and candles and everything for a comfy atmosphere.

Both the branch and the pinecones are natural decorations that I gathered for free while hiking in nature. That’s the most wonderful thing about this season: decorating for fall on a tiny budget is easy because mother nature provides us with so many decorating props for free.

I also love mixing vintage fall decorations with new decor items. The fresh pinecones in the vintage French egg basket, and the antique breadboard that is accentuating a new and shiny ceramic pumpkin.

Related Reading: If you like these easy ideas for fall decorating you will love my 7 tips for creating a cozy fall bedroom too!

How to Decorate a Small Entryway

If your entryway is small and narrow, like mine, then decorating it becomes an extra challenge. A hallway is a high-traffic zone which means that people should be able to walk around easily especially when they are carrying backpacks or laundry baskets.

I’ve accepted that my hallway cannot hold a nice hallway table or dresser and that I have to keep my wish for decorations to a minimum.

Nonetheless, I have come up with a few ideas for decorating my small hallway.

Use Narrow Furniture

A small hallway asks for narrow (not necessarily small) furniture. Instead of a traditional dresser use narrow shoe cabinets, and instead of a hallway table go for a bench.

There is no room in my hallway for a console table or a dresser. I can only fit in a very narrow hallway bench. I use that hallway bench as a little side table and add my fall decorations to that.

Go Up

In a small hallway use all the vertical space you have. Don’t forget to decorate the walls because that will not take up much room.

I went big and bold with my wall decoration in my fall entryway. I used a large twig wreath to decorate the wall in my entryway. It provides a big focal point and eliminates the need for a whole lot of other decorations to create the right fall feel.

Because the bench is very low, I had a little challenge on my hand. If I would hang the wreath at eye level (as you normally do) it would hang way too high above the bench and it would feel disconnected. But hanging the wreath at the right height in relation to the bench left way too much white space above it to look good. So I used a little trick. By hanging the wreath between the bench and a big natural branch I made the whole composition work. The branch hangs at eye level and fills up the empty space on the wall. The wreath is now perfectly positioned to work with the bench and is anchored in the space by the branch above it. 

Limit Your Color Choices

A small hallway can get busy really easily. To make sure that the room doesn’t feel crowded and overstuffed it is best to limit the color choices. Don’t use too many different colors, go for a fairly neutral color scheme and use pops of color sparingly. You can add interest by making sure you use colors in different hues. My hallway uses many variations of brown and beige, it adds interest while staying fairly calm too.

When the house is loud and busy enough on its own, don’t make your decorations scream for attention too.

Use Accessories Sparingly

This tip for small hallway decorating ties in with the tip to use fairly quiet colors. Don’t overaccessorize a small room.

In a small room, a few carefully chosen accessories can go a long way.

It is even better if your accessories can have a function too. Choose a mirror over a painting because it bounces around extra light, use pretty baskets to accessorize and organize the entrance, or add pretty hooks to hang both useful as well as pretty items on the wall.

I hope you have liked my tips for adding fall decor to your entryway. I had fun decorating my hallway this year and sharing it with you.