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Fall Curb Appeal Ideas: 20 Inviting Exteriors That Celebrate The Season

By Wendy Jacob + Jenna Wilhelmsen On

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. Scroll down for fall front doors and exteriors that are focal points for the harvest season!

If you’re looking to transition your home from summer to fall, take cues from this rustic farmhouse. Designer and homeowner Sydney Carlaw reimagined a ramshackle property into a magical retreat for her and her family. Boxes stuffed with evergreen boughs and coppery magnolia leaves amp up the natural beauty.

  • Photographer Janis Nicolay
  • Designer Sydney Carlaw

House & Home December 2021

“The property felt like an enchanted forest right out of a Walt Disney movie,” says Sydney, who preserved an original log cabin on the property and set up a fire pit for cozy fall gatherings and added an evergreen to the porch.

  • Photographer Janis Nicolay
  • Designer Sydney Carlaw

House & Home December 2021

When it came to reimagining a 1970s boat-shaped bungalow, designer and homeowner Jaclyn Peters chose to preserve the 50-year-old Manitoba stone, which she considers to be the “heart and soul of this house.” Modern windows and doors brings the mid-century home into present day while keeping the look clean and focussed on the materials.

  • Photographer Ariana Tennyson
  • Designer Jaclyn Peters

House & Home January/February 2022

If there’s any color to get you in the cozy holiday spirit, it’s red. In his vacation home in Maine, Tom Scheerer opted for a cranberry-hued door. Combined with wooden chairs and checkerboard flooring in the same berry hue, the layered look is a balance of rustic and preppy.

  • Photographer Francesco Lagnese, Otto
  • Designer Tom Scheerer

House & Home November 2021

Designer Ami McKay has a less-is-more approach to decorating. In her client’s modern Vancouver shingled home, a traditional blue door is elegant yet coastal, while tall birch logs bring a subtle touch of holiday.

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  • Photographer Janis Nicolay
  • Designer Ami McKay, Pure Design

House & Home November 2020

When the lush Pee Gee hydrangeas surrounding this historic Montreal rowhouse fade, homeowner and fashion designer Tu Ly will still be able to rely on neatly clipped boxwood topiaries to elevate his curb appeal through the colder months.

  • Photographer Maxime Desbiens
  • Designer Tu Ly

House & Home September 2022

Designer Barabara Purdy dressed these front steps with colourful pumpkins and foliage that complement the warm tone of the wooden door.

  • Photographer Donna Griffith
  • Designer Barbara Purdy

House & Home October 2021

A 9,000 sq.ft. cottage in the Kawarthas makes use of outdoor seating even into the cooler months. Bring out heavy blankets to enjoy the seasonal colors and falling leaves.

  • Photographer Donna Griffith
  • Designer Barbara Purdy

House & Home October 2021

Gather an array of difference sized gourds and pumpkins from a local farmers’ market to display on your front steps or porch.

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  • Photographer Valerie Wilcox
  • Designer Allison Willson

House & Home October 2020

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
  • Designer Jeffrey Douglas

House & Home January 2013

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 André Rider
  • Designer Richard Ouellette & Maxime Vandal, Les Ensembliers

Maison & Demeure December 2009

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

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!

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  • Photographer Alex Lukey
  • Designer Jennifer Koper

House & Home October 2020

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 André Rider
  • Designer BlazysGérard

House & Home October 2018

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
  • Designer Mazen El-Abdallah, Architecture by John O’Connor, Basis Design Build

House & Home October 2018

Rustic accessories give a mellow, traditional effect to the farmhouse, which is clad with rough-sawn, board-and-batten siding.

  • Photographer Alex Lukey
  • Designer Mazen El-Abdallah

House & Home October 2018

An iron European-style awning and trellis-texture box planters add drama to this Toronto home’s façade. 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.

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  • Photographer Angus Fergusson
  • Designer Tommy Smythe, Sarah Richardson Design

House & Home January 2012

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
  • Designer Susan Burns

House & Home October 2018

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
  • Designer Morgan Michener

House & Home October 2018

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
  • Designer Morgan Michener

House & Home October 2018