Coastal Fall Decor

Coastal Fall Decor

Many years ago while visiting our old stomping grounds (West Palm Beach), we visited a nautical antiques shop that was simply FABULOUS. While no longer in business there, I’ve had a prized pair of lobster buoys since our visit. And one of them recently inspired me to create some coastal fall decor.

lobster buoys

And to bring my beachy plan to life, I decided to recreate my Japanese fishing floats in a way…

fishing floats from thrift store vases

…But with pumpkins instead of glass vases from the thrift store!

Seems like a fun experiment, right? And the perfect project as we bid farewell to summer and welcome Fall with open arms.

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A Funny Lantern Story

When I first thought about creating some coastal fall decor, I remembered that I had thrifted a very beachy lantern a couple of years ago!

coastal lanterns

It was perfect- shaped like a lighthouse, with a driftwood finish and a nautical rope handle on top. But when I went to look for it, it was nowhere to be found.

Not in the house, not in my storage unit. I either gave it away during one of the pre-move panic purges or I somehow overlooked it in my <quite thorough> search.

SUCH A BUMMER! Until I waltzed into Michaels to get a few supplies and spotted a similar lantern in the summer clearance section.

beachy lantern

Not that I LOVED the idea of buying a NEW lantern for this post. But I was dejected, and it was 75% off…and I decided that it was meant to be.

I planned on filling the lantern with some mini pumpkins that coordinated with my orange and turquoise buoy.

lobster buoy in orange and turquoise

First, I grabbed some mini white pumpkins (faux, from the craft store) and matching craft paints.

painting pumpkins for coastal fall decor

Then, I painted them in orange and turquoise, adding some dry brushed-on tan paint to tone down the color and age them a bit. Just like the inspirational buoy…

coastal pumpkins to go in a lantern

Beach Pumpkins for Coastal Fall Decor

But I wasn’t done with my pumpkins, of course. Now it was time to tie the fishing net around them!

hemp twine for macrame net

Now, I won’t bog down this tutorial with the step-by-step instructions for macrame fishing net. I already did that in my Japanese Fishing Floats post here.

I followed the exact same steps here as I did on the glass floats. First, I looped everything around the stem (using hemp cord this time), then started my knotting.

how to tie a fishing net on a pumpkin

Lastly, I knotted all of the hemp cord strings underneath each mini pumpkin, cut off the tails, and gave the knot a touch of superglue to ensure it stayed put.

fishing net pumpkin

I did the same thing to a larger white pumpkin that I painted in the turquoise (with some dry brushed taupe paint to tone it down). And I used sand-colored jute twine for that netting, since the pumpkin was so much larger. Ironically, the pale jute twine was ALSO in the summer clearance section near the lantern!

Anyway, aren’t they ADORABLE?

coastal pumpkins as blue fall decor

Then, I gathered all of my mini pumpkins- painted and netted- and carefully layered them in the beachy lantern. And yes, I *did* also paint a few mini pumpkins with the taupe/tan paint, as well.

coastal fall decor in orange and turquoise

Now- ready to see how my coastal fall decor came together?

Coastal Fall Decor

Voilà- a beachy vignette inspired by my lobster buoy! It feels so good to finally use of one of them, because they’re just so cool.

coastal fall decor

This is certainly a departure from how I normally decorate for Fall, and I’m sure it won’t appeal to everyone. But I simply HAD to try tying some fishing net around pumpkins- and it worked out better than I could have hoped!

ideas for blue pumpkin decor

I’m so, so glad I experimented with the idea. They turned out SO cute and pumpkins are a great shape for that kind of basic macrame.

Since the little white pumpkins didn’t sit very evenly (from the knot underneath), I made a makeshift stand. One vintage mason jar lid filled with sand (since we’re going coastal and all) was the perfect thing!

beach pumpkins

Well, what do you think? A fun departure from the norm or a little too weird for your tastes?

Speaking of blue pumpkin decor, you may also enjoy this quirky flannel project that uses a similar color palette, as well!

blue fall decor with a pumpkin throw pillow

Craft on!

S

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blue pumpkin decor for fall

blue pumpkin decor

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Sarah Ramberg is the owner of Sadie Seasongoods, a website that celebrates all things secondhand. From upcycling ideas and thrifted decor to vintage-centric travel itineraries, Sadie Seasongoods is a one-stop shop for anyone who loves thrifting and approachable repurposing ideas. Sarah is also the author of “Crafting with Flannel” and has been featured in numerous media outlets and magazines.

Comments

  1. I just love this, the colours and those sweet little pumpkins are gorgeous, I am sure everyone will feel the same way.So glad you found a lantern like the one you had, this is the sort of thing that drives me crazy but we all do it.xx

  2. Looks fantastic. Great job

  3. Pamela McDowell says

    Very cool! I love anything coastal and it was so creative of you to take the pumpkins there and incorporate the buoy and lantern into a beautiful fall display.

  4. Buying a new lantern should insure that your old one shows up! Those lanterns can be used for SO many things–one probably wasn’t enough anyway. I really liked this project as living in Maine, a lot of us decorate with coastal/nautical stuff. I hate that new lobster bouys are foam now instead of wood. I have not been able to master macrame, but this knotting works for me–I have made numerous plant hangers this way. Another great project–and clear tutorial, too!

  5. Love these ideas! Coastal decor is a favorite of mine, I will be using these ideas this year for sure!

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