For a home’s exterior, the transition to fall can be tricky. In some areas, the plants are still thriving and there’s plenty of green to go around. But depending on the weather in your area, plants may be leggy and gone to seed, and a couple of early frosts is all it takes to wilt flowers and leaves. Here are some fall front doors and exteriors that are focal points for the harvest season.
Take your cue from the hottest seasonal colors. Designer Jeffrey Douglas painted the door of his Victorian a warm goldenrod and went with an inky blue for the trim, for a modern, eclectic edge.
Photographer: Michael Graydon
Source: House & Home January 2013
Designer: Jeffrey Douglas
Maxime Vandal and Richard Ouellette of Les Ensembliers placed potted boxwoods below a pair of handsome, lantern-style sconces for a symmetrical, visually-appealing effect. A classic berry wreath stands out against the black front door.
Photographer: Andre Rider
Source: Maison & Demeure December 2009
Designer: Richard Ouellette & Maxime Vandal, Les Ensembliers
This lovely Edinburgh terrace house (the home of blogger Samantha Lawrie, her husband Chris and their two little girls) has an abundance of historical charm. The stunning front door is painted in Farrow & Ball’s Oval Room Blue, a heritage hue that adds a fun pop of color.
Photographer: Chris Tubbs
Source: House & Home December 2014
This DIY wheat sheaf wreath makes a bold, black door even more attention-grabbing. It’s an easy project you can do in an afternoon!
Photographer: Alex Lukey
Source: House & Home October 2020
Designer: Jennifer Koper
Homeowner Natalie Morrissette in the entrance at of her family’s secluded beach on Lake of Two Mountains in Quebec, where oversized, symmetrical planters and lanterns add to the grandeur. Two planters of russet chrysanthemums are quintessential fall picks, and they can be picked up at grocery stores. Keep them alive by placing the pots in bright, indirect light, water consistently throughout autumn and cut off buds as they wilt.
Photographer: Andre Rider
Source: House & Home October 2018
Designer: BlazysGerard
This beautiful modern farmhouse doesn’t need much to dress it up: a tall fringe of swaying grasses, a grove of cedars and golden fall leaves. The area between the two halves of the home serves as the entrance and offers picturesque views of the pond beyond.
Photographer: Alex Lukey
Source: House & Home October 2018
Designer: Mazen El-Abdallah, Architecture by John O’Connor, Basis Design Build
Rustic accessories give a mellow, traditional effect to the farmhouse, which is clad with rough-sawn, board-and-batten siding.
Photographer: Alex Lukey
Source: House & Home October 2018
Designer: Mazen El-Abdallah
An iron European-style awning and trellis-texture box planters add drama to this Toronto home’s facade. Though they hold two standards of twining Stephanotis vines now, it’s easy to sub in some pine boughs, branches and ornaments in the planters come December.
Photographer: Angus Fergusson
Source: House & Home January 2012
Designer: Tommy Smythe, Sarah Richardson Design
Bathed in late afternoon golden sunlight, this country Victorian is the embodiment of fall charm. Two curvy iron urns hold yellow mums that pick up the sandy hues of the exterior’s stonework.
Photographer: Robin Stubbert
Source: House & Home October 2018
Designer: Susan Burns
When a house is painted in a dark color, it’s easy to set a cozy, dramatic tone — even a broom pops when laid casually against the siding. The mossy undertone in Broadway by Behr works perfectly in woodsy surroundings.
Photographer: Virginia Macdonald
Source: House & Home October 2018
Designer: Morgan Michener
Consider how outdoor furnishings play a role in accenting an exterior color scheme. A grouping of graphite Muskoka chairs pick up the charcoal roof and sconces.
Photographer: Virginia Macdonald
Source: House & Home October 2018
Designer: Morgan Michener
