15+ Decorative Bowl Filler Ideas for Creative Fall Decor
Hey friends, I’ve been sprinkling in touches of fall decor around the farmhouse. One of my favorite ways to decorate is to fill my thrifted bowls and containers with inexpensive decorative bowl fillers. The options are unlimited, from free foraged items from nature to stunning boutique-worthy bowl fillers. Today, I’m sharing more than fifteen decorative bowl filler ideas that you can easily recreate in your own home. Let’s get started.
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Easy Decorative Bowl Fillers for Fall Decorating
I love gorgeous flower arrangements, but often I’m pressed for time, and creating an elaborate one isn’t feasible. However, you can easily fill your decorative bowls with fillers and still make a stunning display for seasonal decorating. Many decorative items can be used as bowl fillers, including boutique-style decor such as beaded garlands, decorative balls, moss spheres, potpourri, and artificial fruits and vegetables. Then you have many items that are derived from nature, such as pinecones, nuts, acorns, dried flowers, and pods. Today, we will explore how to utilize these options and more to create stunning fall decorations for every area of your home.
Store Bought Bowl Fillers For Fall
Bowl fillers range from bags of scented potpourri to fun decorative items such as artificial fruits, beaded garlands, rattan chains, moss spheres, decorative balls, and more.
These mini pumpkin bowl fillers help to brighten this table vignette when added to the vintage wrapping paper roller.
Here are a few of my favorite small-bowl items that I use in the fall. The gold figs are a favorite bowl filler year-round, but with a few dried flowers, they are perfect for a fall vignette. The inexpensive rattan chain adds textural interest to the green leaf bowl.
This favorite thrifted brass bowl holds a combination of blue and white decorative balls, moss spheres, and faux pumpkins. A few bleached okra pods add texture to the bowl filler for a stunning entry table display.
Insider Tip
If you have a large bowl, you may want to add paper filler before adding your decorative pieces. You can use kraft paper, shredded paper, basket fillers, or spanish moss to fill the bottom of the container and then add your decorative pieces to cover.
Resources: Shop This Post
Free Foraged Bowl Fillers For Fall Decorating
There’s nothing better than free when it comes to fall decorating, and thankfully, Mother Nature provides us with an abundant supply of free elements. Just because they are free doesn’t mean they look cheap. Wait until you see all the creative, decorative bowl fillers that are free for the taking, and give your home a warm, inviting autumn feel.
Insider Tip
Before bringing foraged materials inside your home, I recommend reading this Foraging Safety Guide: Tips for Pinecones, Acorns, Flowers, and More.
Nature’s Elements and Fruit For Bowl Fillers
A combination of a wooden bowl and a wicker pedestal bowl creates a stunning dining table centerpiece when filled with nature’s free elements and faux fruit.
The bowl holds a combination of wheat stems, dried okra pods, pinecones, and persimmon stems, along with fresh fruit. The fruit basket holds faux apples, pinecones, pears, and fresh persimmons.
Pinecone Bowl Fillers
You don’t have to travel far to find all the free pinecones you desire here in the south. Our driveway and woods are filled with a variety of sizes and shapes, all free for the picking. Therefore, my seasonal decor always includes a few bowls filled with pinecones.
I like the natural finish of these oblong cones, which I used to surround battery-operated candles in a vintage wooden bowl.
However, if you prefer to jazz it up a bit, you can enhance your foraged pinecones with a touch of spray paint. This ironstone bowl is filled with copper-tinted pinecones for a fall vignette.
Free Acorns For Fall Decor
One thing we have an abundance of is free acorns. When we are walking, I’m always picking up large acorns and bringing them home. I mix them in with other fall decor or fill a bowl full to add a dash of fall color.
Dried Gourds
Decorating with dried gourds is a fall harvest staple. I used them on table settings, the front porch, and on countertops. Smaller gourds are ideal for filling large bowls. Here I added three gourds and some dried flowers to a large ironstone bowl for a table centerpiece.
Dried Hydrangeas
As fall approaches, the beautiful blooms on the hydrangea bushes begin to dry and fade. I like to cut mine before they completely dry and hang them in a dark spot for a few weeks. Once they are completely dry, they make the best decorative bowl fillers.
I have filled a vintage dough bowl with several blooms and tucked it above the kitchen cabinets. These blooms still look great after several seasons since they are protected from the sun and risk of damage in this out-of-the-way hideaway.
Dried Magnolia Seed Pods
Our Magnolia trees are loaded with seed pods this year. Each day as we walk, I’ve been collecting the fallen ones. They are perfect for filling a decorative bowl to add a unique touch to a fall vignette. They will also be great for holiday decorating.
Sweet Gum Ball Bowl Filler
I have several projects that use sweet gum balls, but adding just a few to a bowl creates an interesting decorative touch that is simple and free.
Hickory Nuts Bowl Filler
This white pedestal bowl looks adorable filled with free hickory nuts. I used shredded old book pages to fill the bottom of the bowl and then mixed in the nuts for this fall coffee table vignette. You can use any nuts that you have available, such as pecans, walnuts, or almonds, for this type of bowl filler.
DIY Decorative Bowl Fillers For Fall
In addition to free foraged materials, you can get creative and make inexpensive bowl fillers with easy DIY craft projects. Here are some of my favorites.
Dryer Ball DIY Pumpkins
One of my favorite DIY pumpkin projects is these fun wool dryer balls. These textured pumpkins are great for fall decorating when used individually, but really make a statement when used as a decorative bowl filler. Learn how to make your own pumpkin bowl fillers at DIY Wool Dryer Ball Pumpkin Craft Tutorial.
DIY Napkin Decoupage Pumpkins
I covered several Dollar Tree pumpkins with napkins a few years ago. They are still one of my favorite projects. See how to add napkin decoupage to pumpkins.
DIY Decorative Garland in a Dough Bowl
Decorative and beaded garlands look charming when draped inside large bowls and are a quick and easy way to decorate a bowl. I used my Pottery Barn-inspired DIY pumpkin garland to fill this small dough bowl for the mantel.
Vintage Decorative Bowl Fillers
Another fun idea for decorating with bowls is to fill them with your vintage collectibles.
- A vintage wooden bowl filled with old white milk glass bud vases.
- A copper bowl brightens this tray when filled with vintage amber bottles and surrounded by natural elements.
- A collection of vintage kitchen utensils brightens this old wooden bowl.
There are several other options for using collections as bowl fillers. Here are a few more.
- Vintage tea cups
- Small vintage plates
- Silver goblets
- Small pieces of architectural fretwork, or spindles
- Wooden thread spools
- A bowl of small books.
Let your imagination soar as you decorate with bowl fillers this fall.
Resources
See more resources for this post at Decorative Bowl Filler Ideas.
I hope you enjoyed today’s post and that it has inspired you for your fall decorating.
So many ideas that I’ve never thought of before! I love the Magnolia seed pod and acorn ideas the most. Only because I could walk in the yard and pick them up. Thanks for the new vessel ideas as well! I need to get out my vintage soup tureen! I’ve only used it for plants. Always love your creativity. pinned
Cindy
Thank you for your kind words of encouragement and for always making my day with your comments. Have a blessed week.
You have a lot of charming ideas for bowl fillers. The sweet gum balls took me right back to my early childhood. I was born in Louisiana and lived there until the age of 12. My grandparents had a sweet gum tree in their yard, and little barefoot me was constantly stepping on one…ouch!
Carol,
Thank you for stopping by. Yes, they are not made for bare feet. They work much better in a bowl. Have a blessed week.
Rachel,
I love the Duck…always chose Faith, Optimism, Love not doubt or fear. Rachel now is tĥe time to heal….yes it is taking a long time but you need to take every moment to get better. Dont worry about not being creative..look at all the lovely content you have to share. I dream of having a Glasshouse like you have, decorated and filled with all curated beauties.. You are in my thoughts…just take each day to nourish yourself, take your walks and I will be reading your blog again tomorrow.🥰😍😘
Lorri,
Your support and encouragement mean so much to me. Thank you for lifting me up with your kind words. Have a blessed week.
Shared this post today because I never know what to put in bowls or containers like these! I love how they add a touch of texture and color but you can also change them out for all the different seasons too. Sending you so many hugs and thank you for keeping us posted on your journal. You have so many people cheering you on and lifting you up right now, CoCo
CoCo,
Thank you so much for sharing and I appreciate you for following along on my journal too. You are so kind to lift me up and share my posts. Have a blessed week.