When looking for autumn decorating ideas for the front porch, ideas are often just around the corner. Ideas and inspiration can be found simply by driving through your own neighborhood. Today, I toured the local streets to see what seasonal touches caught my eye.

The house color is the first thing that caught my eye in the photo above. The rusty red contrasts so nicely with the yellowing foliage nearby, it seems as if this homeowner designed with fall in mind.

Sometimes it is the potential that is most noticeable. On this house, the annuals in the terra-cotta urns have been removed, leaving a space crying out for seasonal touches. A pair of large white pumpkins, a pyramid of gourds, a display of branches or berries, or even two globes of grapevine would fill the space perfectly.

This homeowner cleverly tied accents to home color, with the orange pumpkin similar to the door color and white ghost reflecting the house trim. Now, the accents can stay small but still be noticeable.

When your entryway is far from the curb, choose one big item rather than several small items. This large, decorated pumpkin in a witches hat is perfect for grabbing attention.

Of course, a welcoming feel at your entry is always the right idea. On this porch, the pumpkins lead you up the stairs to a cozy bench, perfect for a visit with your friends and family.

If you look, you can find ideas and inspiration for seasonal decorating everywhere, even right next door.

This post is a part of the Front Porches: A Fall Drive By sponsored by Melissa at The Inspired Room.

Note: All photos have been taken either with permission or from public property, however house numbers have been blurred or altered as a courtesy.

I've been talking quite a bit about thrifting, and I thought it would be fun to see how all this "stuff," actually gets used.

My son's room has a vintage western theme, built within the basic cottage style of the rest of the house. So his room has the basic palette of cream and white, but then brings in the additional colors of red, blue and rusty brown. As I've thrifted for him, I've kept these color and style ideas in mind. It's a work in progress, but here are some of the items I've used so far:

1. The chandelier I found at Habitat for Humanity ReStore. I was surprised that my son wanted it for his room, but I think it looks great. We spray painted it a mix of charcoal and copper and removed all the beads. I'll use those elsewhere.

2. A copper metal airplane music box from Salvation Army ($6). He also has a car that plays "Tijuana Taxi."

3. A handpainted, handmade wooden rocking horse from Goodwill, a steal at $5.

4. The quilt is my own creation, but the shams are from Goodwill ($1-$2 each). I'd like to change the shams to a solid now that the quilt is finished.

5. This painting was about $6.50 at Goodwill. Collecting original paintings in this price range takes patience, but I just love thrifted paintings. I'd like to add some other items here to fill out the wall.

The rest of the items are from clearance or discount stores. I'm happy with how it's coming together and recycling and saving money at the same time!

What about you? How have you used your latest thrift item?

Resources:

Wall Color: "Decor White" from Sherwin-Williams. Bed, curtains and curtain hardware: IKEA. Bookshelf: Cost Plus. Hanging metal stars: Fred Meyer. Word art: JC Penney.

Isn't that a gorgeous shade of green? You are looking at the most pristine 1930's bathroom set I have ever seen, in the perfect shade of vintage green. I found the set at ReStore a couple of weeks, ago, $95 for the tub, toilet and sink, complete. Mint. Yes. Mint.

I didn't buy them.

I know many of you will be shocked, especially given the mouthwatering combination of vintage, charming and cheap. But as much as I love the idea of these pieces, they just don't fit into what I'm doing at the moment. For me, by the way, this is the hardest part of thrifting: leaving something fantastic behind.

But when dragging various lost and found objects home, especially big ones like this, it's a good idea to have a handle on what will and won't work for you. If you are a person with innate style and unswerving taste, this is probably not an issue for you. But if you are like me, a person with broad likes and more enthusiasm than good sense, having spent some time figuring this stuff out is probably a good idea.

Here's some examples of what I'm talking about.

What's Your Style?
There's as many styles of cottage as there are cottage-dwellers. Shabby, beachy, modern, retro, English, French... or some mixture. Not everyone knows for sure what their style is. I've been in love with all of these at one time or the other over the years. Right now I'm really in love with the clean lines of farmhouse and the natural influence and bright palette of Scandinavian.

Tolerance for "Character"?
Though we all love to look at magazine photos of houses full of character and individual style, not everyone loves living with the realities of those choices. Are you willing to hand-tighten your vintage porcelain faucet knobs twice a week? Bathe in a very shallow, or chipped tub? Put up with perma-dirt ground into your old barn cabinet? There's no right answer, but know your limits.

How Handy Are You?
Not only is there no guarantee that a vintage fixture will fit into your space, it may or may not use readily-available parts or pieces required to hook up or maintain it. You may have to be clever in solving this problems, and some experience in this area is helpful, or access to a clever (and patient) person who is handy if you're not.

Personal Preference or Resale?
Is this your forever house? Are you living for your own utility? Or do you need to keep one eye on resale? Can you afford to install permanent fixtures that are extremely personal? Or do you need to confine your personalization to your paint and accessories?

What is Appropriate for the Home?
I definitely don't recommend slavish adherence to this, but there are limits. My 1950's ranch is calling for a cleaner line than my 1930's English did, even though everything is still very cottage. But clawfoot tub, though beautiful, isn't really appropriate to this home. Likewise, translucent acrylic room dividers weren't really appropriate for my last, older, home.

For me, the right answer for now is to make neutral, low-maintenance choices for permanent fixtures, and accessorize to personalize. But my next home, who knows?

What about you? How are you approaching these choices in your home today?

This post is part of a five part series entitled, "Why I Thrift," beginning with Why I Thrift, Reason #1: To Save Money.

I like to think of myself as a creative person, even though there are so many who have greater talent. This is an additional reason that I like thrifting. By it's very nature, thrifting encourages creativity. You find things you weren't expecting, learn to use finds in creative ways, and generally be creative in finding, using, or re-purposing your finds.

For example, I was shopping one day and found these adorable floral shower curtains. They looked so charming and full of cottage style, but I didn't have any need for shower curtains. I couldn't pass them up, so I brought them home.

When I got home I realized I had the perfect use. In my studio, I have a wall of oddly short closets with bi-fold doors. The doors were awkward space hogs, plus not very cottage-y, being wood colored.

I took them down, hung up a curtain rod ($10 from IKEA) and hung the shower curtains using some clip rings I had leftover from the old housel. Voila! Cute, functional and full of cottage style!

So the very process of thrifting generates creative thinking. As a result, your space tends to reflect that creativity. In my home, I have green salvaged windows hanging in my entryway. The front room is filled with thrifted finds, but the windows in particular tend to elicit the compliment that I must be quite creative. It's nice for people to notice that.

What about you? What thrifted item shows off your creativity the most?

This post is part of a five part series entitled, "Why I Thrift," beginning with Why I Thrift, Reason #1: To Save Money.

One of the things I love most about decorating and gardening is creating a space that deeply reflects my unique personality. I don't want "cookie-cutter" spaces with suites of furniture bought en masse or plants dropped in by the local builder. Even if I wanted to pay for that (which I don't), and felt good about that kind of consumption (which I don't), I still wouldn't want to do it. I don't want a space that looks like a catalog, or the neighbors' house. I want a place that's uniquely mine.

One of the best ways to do this is to thrift. You can find one-of-a-kind items that few people will have, like this large, ecru-colored handmade pitcher or the vintage hand embroidery in the photo above.

Sometimes pieces have been altered or personalized before they get to the thrift store, like this picture frame, which was painted lavender and gilded by the previous owner.

Once you bring it home, you might personalize it further, like I'm doing with this china hutch (that I got, yes, for free) by sanding most of the paint off.

Sure, it takes longer to do a room when you're hunting and gathering your pieces, but it's so worth it to have a space that's completely unique and completely you.

What about you? What pieces have you found that are one-of-a-kind or just so you?

This five-part "Why I Thrift" series continues with "Why I Thrift, Reason #4: More Creative."