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Cheesiest Fall Home Decor Trends

It's fall, y'all! Time to go through your closets and attics and pull out all of your festive decorations to celebrate the start of short days, long nights, electric blankets, pumpkin spice, and that extra 15 pounds that show up inevitably every year. And while not everyone gets a bad case of the Fall 15, some of us do make terrible fall decor choices. 

Let the skeletons rest in peace and ditch those tacky message boards and glittery pumpkins! Candy corn is for eating, not decorating—and what Minions have to do with fall is still unclear. We should be thankful and blessed every day we see the light of day, not just fall—so it's time to switch up your cheesy, predictable holiday decor.  It's the 21st century, aka the era of minimalism and eco-friendliness. And while some decor remains a classic representation of upcoming holidays, much of it simply clutters up your home, and too much time and effort are spent on setting them up and taking them down.

But don't let us tell you what to put in your home! It is, after all, your personal choice. But here are the cheesy fall decor trends we think should no longer be on your radar when fall decor shopping.

Painted Mason Jars

Painted Mason Jars

Ahh, nothing says fall like painting the inside of a crummy mason jar with acrylic paint...NOT! Once people started discovering Pinterest, the price of mason jars skyrocketed. Everyone was convinced they needed to use them for the aesthetic. The aesthetic of what exactly? Some farmhouse crap apparently.

Back before the dollar store was selling painted mason jars, this was a pretty nifty DIY project to do with your kids. But now, it’s just gone too far...right along with burlap and shabby-chic farmhouse decor. Put the mason jars down people, you don’t need another table-side centerpiece filled with cheap silk flowers you got from the Dollar Store. 

#Blessed Everywhere

#Blessed Everywhere

Back in the ‘90s, daily affirmations became very popular. People would write them on their bathroom mirrors in the mornings so they could recite them before facing the day. However, nowadays instead of listening to our therapists, we try to convince ourselves that we’re okay by plastering #blessed on literally everything. 

Wall decals, throw pillows, picture frames...you get the drift. People need to know that they are “blessed and highly favored.” But just like lip filler...a little goes a long way. Tone down the blessings, or maybe even share them by taking some of that blessed decor to your neighborhood Goodwill. 

Image via Amazon

Pilgrims

Pilgrims

 

We can’t believe we’re still having to talk about Christopher Columbus and the pilgrims. Everyone paints these little “settlers” like they were quaint and peaceful saints...but the truth is they were not. In fact, these people ruthlessly abused indigenous peoples and spread horrible diseases throughout the Americas. 

 

So, next time you have those little pilgrims sitting on your Thanksgiving table or mantle, just remember one thing. Smallpox blankets don’t make friends, and they’re definitely not something to be thankful for. Throw those pilgrims in the trash. Besides, aren’t those little figurines wrapped in wool cloaks a little weird anyway? 

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Signs That Literally Just Say "Fall"

Signs That Literally Just Say "Fall"

Yes, it is the season after Summer and before Winter. If you needed a sign to delegate which season it is, wouldn’t it be a little nicer to say the lovely word “Autumn” over the downgraded term “Fall?” It does rhyme with “Y’all” so that’s a bonus...but otherwise it’s kind of a weird word to hang on the wall. 

Just having the word “Fall” hanging on your wall could also be a little confusing. Are your guests going to fall through the floor if they stand underneath that sign? In all seriousness, it’s time to move past the dumb trend of hanging useless words on our wall and calling it decorating. While you’re at it, ditch that kitchen sign too. 

Image via Amazon

Candy Corn Everything

Candy Corn Everything

Candy corn is terrible enough when you have to eat it, but now it's started to invade the world of home decor as well! We just can't seem to shake this disgusting fall "treat." 

No one, and we mean absolutely no one, needs a giant jar of candy corn to get into the autumnal spirit. That being said, if you absolutely must use candy corn as decor, that stuff never goes bad, so you'll have fall decorations for years to come. 

(Image via Facebook)

Hay Stacks and Corn Stalks

Hay Stacks and Corn Stalks

The leaves are changing, and you know what that means ladies? It’s time to throw a haybale and a bundle of crispy corn stocks on your front door. That’s right, throw them right up there...in everyone’s way. Just don’t wonder why little Billy’s allergies are flaring up. Hay is a utilitarian thing...it’s not decoration. 

While you’re using hay for your cliche porch decoration, some poor animal out there is shivering in the cold or going hungry because you had to have a haybale for no reason. Not to mention the mess these things make. What do you even do with the haybale after Thanksgiving? At least donate it to the farmer’s co-op. 

Burlap Everything

Burlap Everything

Do you see that? As far as the eye can see...burlap. Whoever said it was cute to put potato sacks on literally everything was, well not right. One person got crafty and used an otherwise cheap and cool textile for a project, and people went nuts. Everyone, everywhere, needed burlap on everything. 

Table runners, tablecloths, pillows, curtains...you name it and it’s out there. A touch of burlap for fall can be pretty cute but going overboard is just not the look. Keep the burlap limited, and maybe only choose it for outdoor decorating. It could make cute bows for your scarecrows, but it’s just not cute anywhere else. 

"Thankful" Message Boards

"Thankful" Message Boards

Again, with the useless signage…Listen, it’s always a good thing to be thankful but do you really need a sign for that? I mean at this point we are aimlessly labeling everything in our houses! Not every room or feeling needs some dumb sign to remind you where you are or how you’re feeling. That’s what your brain is for. 

So, use that amazing miracle and think twice about some random signage. We all got caught up in the trend too, so don’t be embarrassed. This is just a gentle suggestion to take the sign down. That’s right, take it down. It’s okay. You can do it! All joking aside, these signs are out of style and have been for a while now. 

Image via Amazon

Not-So-Scary Scarecrows

Not-So-Scary Scarecrows

Those cutesy scarecrows that people always put out when fall rolls around are just terrible at their job. Does that really look like a face that could actually scare off crows? We didn't think so. 

Not-so-scary scarecrows might look at home in an elementary classroom, but they're so tacky and overdone when you haul them out onto the front porch. Terrify those crows and create a horrific, Halloween scarecrow instead!

Eerie Sound Generators

Eerie Sound Generators

It's the spooky season. The days are getting shorter, and the nights are getting longer, but contrary to popular belief your neighbors still sleep. To every soul that turns on these machines on October 1st and doesn't turn them off until November - there is a special place in hell for you. 

Your neighborhood is filled with shouts, hollers, cackles, and howls, and your neighbors loathe it. Sadly, they are excellent neighbors, unlike you, so they won't challenge you about your poor decisions on your own land. These monsters should only be used between the hours of 8 am and 7 pm. Only on Halloween is it acceptable to run them all night long.

An Abundance of Gourds

An Abundance of Gourds

It wouldn’t be fall without a pumpkin! Pumpkins only come around once a year, but when they do...people lose their minds. Some people may buy a couple and others buy a couple of dozen! They line their walkways and front porches with these colorful gourds as if to say “Look at me, I spent a hundred dollars on gourds!”

The problem is, after you’ve taken your Instagram pictures and it rains a couple of days, these pumpkins start to look a little suspicious. They are produce after all! Leave a cucumber outside for a couple of days and see how that fairs. A couple of pumpkins are totally fine, but no one wants to pick up dozens of rotten gourds. 

Fall Throw Pillows

Fall Throw Pillows

The laziest way to decorate is using throw pillows. The traditional fall pillows are the best way ever to say, "I don't care about the environment, and I also have poor taste." When the first snow starts to fall, most individuals don't have a place in mind where these splurge buys are going to go.

They are far less aware that they are falling into a trap of seasonal pillows. You have bought fall, so you might as well get the other three seasons, all of the holidays, and then.. some for the bedroom. It's a slippery slope. It's best to stay away while you still can.

Skeletons Just Chillin'

Skeletons Just Chillin'

Around Halloween, people think it’s hilarious to throw out a couple of skeletons chilling in lawn chairs. And it’s usually those same people who cram their yard full of tacky blow-ups. We love Halloween as much as the next guy, but too much of a good thing turns bad real quick. 

The problem is, it’s never just one skeleton. It’s always a whole family of skeletons hanging out in someone’s front yard. Usually one for every person in the family! It’s kind of morbid to look at your family in terms of skeletons! Ookie-spooky right? The worst is when one of those skeletons has a beer in its hand!

Image via Instagram

Fake Gravestones

Fake Gravestones

"Behold be here as you pass by. As you are now, so once was I. As I am now, you soon will be. Prepare my friend to follow me." A wonderful poem on an old gravestone, but a horrible insult to those that lost someone when etched into styrofoam in your front yard. 

Someone in your neighborhood lost someone in the last two years. It was someone they loved dearly. Seeing the reminder that you think death is a joke when they come near your home screams tacky. Save the paint and markers and instead opt for spiders or fake webs for your yard.

Fall Corn

Fall Corn

The celebration of fall started out as a festival for the harvest. Back when we actually had to work for our groceries, the fall was an important time of year because it was when the whole winter’s worth of food was harvested and stored. To celebrate a whole Summer’s worth of work, people would get together in the community and eat. 

Now we waste our food as decoration! Fall corn is a colorful type of corn that comes in orange, red, and brown. Back in the day, this corn would have been eaten, but now we just put it in our centerpieces and call it fancy. It’s kind of hilarious honestly to think about corn being decor...it’s just corn at the end of the day. 

Image via Amazon

Lanterns for No Reason

Lanterns for No Reason

Another Pinterest project gone wild is the fall lantern trend. For years people have been collecting lanterns and spreading them throughout their houses during the holidays. They fill them, stack them, but rarely ever light them. It’s laughable how many lanterns some people have. 

This trend has gone the way of throw pillows. You’re told to buy some, and then you just keep buying them because that’s all you know. These lanterns got so popular that some people made them a permanent fixture in their decor. Having a lantern (read: one lantern) can be a tasteful accent piece, but too many become a bit obnoxious. 

Dream Catchers

Dream Catchers

People just love appropriating Native American culture. Dream catchers became a fad in the ‘60s although indigenous people have been using them for centuries. Using someone else’s culture as home decor is just about as low as it gets. Besides, do you want to be one of those people? 

You know, the people who hang macrame, tapestries, and dream catchers on their walls just to convince you they are different. Whatever you’re trying to prove by having a dream catcher on your wall, just drop it. Leave the dream catchers out of your fall decor and go for something equally as tacky...like a giant clock. 

Giant Inflatable: Anything

Giant Inflatable: Anything

Yes, yes. The inflatable thing they sell at your local holiday place. It seems super cool. Your inner child would love it, but don't give in. These inflatable monstrosities are a drain on the environment, and your wallet all season long. Not only are they distractions for drivers, but they also pose a risk to pets and wildlife.

They scream "Look at me. I'm special" It's super cheesy and your neighbors are not amused. To add once it inevitably breaks (Because hello - it's cold outside) it instantly becomes a source of sorrow. Your kid's sad, you're sad, the dog misses his friend. It's all around sad. Skip the 1k electric bill and get a pumpkin like the rest of us.

Glitter Pinecones

Glitter Pinecones

Every fall season, the ground is littered with pinecones that have done their duty and spread seeds. What better to do with these than dip them in glitter and put them in your home? Well, as anyone who’s decorated with glitter knows, that stuff gets everywhere. But it’s constantly falling off whatever it’s glued to, so the chaos never stops. 

It’s recently come to our attention that glitter is terrible for the environment, so for that reason, we’re declaring that glitter is tacky. That’s right, TACKY! Pinecones are perfectly fine as-is. Put them in your wreaths and let their natural beauty speak for itself. Let the pinecone be a pinecone, it doesn’t need glitter. 

Image via Amazon

Gnomes

Gnomes

Gnomes outnumber all other lawn decorations on the planet. They are always old, always male, always bearded, and always wearing a conical hat. In recent years, some charmed people have come to the conclusion that it is time to bring these creatures into their homes. These tiny guys scream tacky with their festive hats and cheap holders. 

Surely beauty is in the eye of the beholder and we all need a little self-expression in our lives. Yes, that is self-expression, but it's the kind of self-expression that makes the rest of us cringe!
Humorous? Yes. Tasteful? Not much, but then again, "excellent taste" wasn't really the goal if you have one of these guys inside.

Wooden Cut-Outs

Wooden Cut-Outs

If you’re catching on to a DIY theme on this list, you’re right. It’s not that DIY is bad, it’s just that it can look really tacky if it’s not done correctly. We love homemade projects, but these wooden cut-outs have gone too far. You can’t even find a decent section of fencing at lowes anymore because of all the weekend warriors buying it all up. 

People turn these into pumpkins, signs, ghosts, etc. But the thing is, we’ve all seen it. It’s time for something new! Be original and make your own creations. If you’re looking for a hint about when a trend is out of style, just check your local big-box store. If you can find it there, it’s officially out of favor. 

Pampas Grass

Pampas Grass

The year 2018 saw the initial global craze for dried pampas grass. Though the tendency is still in full bloom as this year end draws closer, because of how adaptable pampas grass is, it is being utilized by celebrities, influencers, florists, and designers worldwide, and the craze shows no signs of stopping.

This decorating style shouts sheep like nothing else. Oh, you saw a famous person do it? Better start shopping for weeds to put in your kitchen. That will make your area more fabulous. Go for it - if you desire daily reminders that you lack independent thought or simply enjoy having death in your home.

Lawn Words

Lawn Words

Families all throughout the country are rehashing their yard "art" as we enter the fall. They need everyone to know that it is, in fact, autumn. These masterpieces are placed in the bushes, around the home entrances, and propped up beneath windows. "Pumpkin Time", "Fall," and "Halloween Season." We are all conscious of the time of year. 

Save it, unless you are suffering from amnesia and require a reminder of the time of year you are currently standing in when walking into your home. Yes, your neighbors are looking down on you because this stuff is so ridiculously silly. A pumpkin, mums, or even a wreath will do just fine to get the yard in the spirit.

Outdoor Black Lights

Outdoor Black Lights

The summer is officially gone, so you can stop worrying about sunburn—or can you? Blacklight, often known as ultraviolet light, can harm not just our skin but also our eyes. UV light is produced by blacklights. Photokeratitis, often known as sunburned eyes, is a disorder caused by UV rays that can harm the eyes.

You might be setting up a magical scene, but you're putting your neighbors in danger, most notably - their kids. It's totally cool (It's not) if you want to risk your own eyesight but keep the black lights inside so others aren't put at risk. Opt instead for things that glow in the dark - after dark.

Velvet

Velvet

Velvet is a go-to material for chilly weather when it comes to seasonally appropriate textiles. In addition to being incredibly soft and giving everything around it a rich appearance, it also makes you want to curl up inside. Velvet has just one drawback: too much of it may make a room appear a touch tacky rather than stylish.

You may add richness and texture without going overboard with velvet if you choose a focus item, such as a few pillows, a duvet, or (if you're feeling very daring) a sofa, as your primary attraction. However, if you go all in with this cold weather material, it becomes downright cringe-worthy.

Pumpkin “Christmas” Lights

Pumpkin “Christmas” Lights

Pumpkin string lights are just the epitome of Halloween cheese. Don’t try to vibe with two different holidays unless you are Jack Skellington, because it’s just not going to work. Pumpkin strings lights are just so extra. They are so festive in a holiday that’s supposed to be about scaring people - or I guess technically ward off spirits.

But I digress. There’s also the issue that nobody is really going to tell you have pumpkin lights unless they are up close to your house. From the street, they are just going to look like orange lights and they are going to cost you a lot more than some standard Christmas lights just for being in the shape of a pumpkin. Lame.

Pumpkin Curtains

Pumpkin Curtains

Pumpkin curtains, faces or not, are a definite extra cheesy fall décor idea. It’s fall, we get it. You don’t need to oversaturate your home with pumpkin everything. Don’t we have enough pumpkin spice going around to constantly remind us all that it’s the fall? I think we are covered.

Your curtains don’t need to be that on the nose. If you want some fall vibes in your home, you might just want to consider some fall colors when shopping for curtains. Sometimes a little subtlety is key in decorating your home with a little sophistication. You don’t need to throw autumn in people’s faces.

(Image via Amazon)

Cages

Cages

Unlike you are going for some kinky vibes, you really need to chill out with the cages around Halloween. The cage thing, is like, so overdone with people putting just about everything in a cage to make it look scary. A rat, a skeleton, a pumpkin, a ghost – whatever it is – it’s going to be cheesy.

So, just don’t! Leave the cages for the birds – real ones. Sure, the idea of being locked in a cage is scary but even if you got something moving in your cage, everyone is going to expect that animatronic crow to move anyway, so they’d have to scare pretty easily to get startled by it.

Pumpkin Vase

Pumpkin Vase

So, this idea is just so common that quite frankly, we are sick of seeing it. The idea is that you use a pumpkin in place of an actual vase and boom, you got instant fall. You can hollow out a real pumpkin and use that or you can purchase a pot or a vase in the shape of a pumpkin.

But just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should. The pumpkin vase idea is just way too overdone and something that is so obvious at this point that it’s pure cringe. Just use a real, regular looking vase with some fall flowers. People will appreciate the elegance of it a lot more.

Pumpkin Statues

Pumpkin Statues

Seriously, people really need to calm down around the Fall when it comes to pumpkins. There are pumpkins everywhere. Most people also have real pumpkins that they are going to enjoy for Halloween, so let them do that. You don’t need to have pumpkins all over your freakin’ house.

Pumpkin statues are just the worst idea of all. Because like what are you even doing? You are going to have your real Jack O’ Lanterns out and then also some statues of them? Your statues are just going to detract from the real ones to the point that nobody will even notice them. Why go through the effort of carving them at all?

Cornucopia with Fake Fruit

Cornucopia with Fake Fruit

As it is, the Cornucopia is one of the most overdone of all Fall motifs, particularly around Thanksgiving time. As a reminder of the harvest, you are going to find a cornucopia of cornucopias laying around during the season to the point that they really no longer have any meaning at all.

If you are going to have a cornucopia sitting around, at least have some real fruit in it. There’s no worse decorating idea, Fall or not, than having fake fruit laying around. What business you have making people hungry with fake fruit? Get some real fruit for gawd sake! It’s good for you.