Pumpkin arch diy

Autumn is my favorite time of year and I love to decorate around my front door. I don’t know of a lovelier way to welcome guests than with beautiful fall door decorations this time of the year. I have some great front door decor ideas this year. What is more perfect than to make an pumpkin archway. I have done some similar things, but this past summer I FINALLY figured out a way to make a frame from pvc pipes so that I can quickly make and arch for any season or holiday easily!

How to construct the arch:

The quick basics on constructing the archway are to anchor two slightly larger pieces of pvc pipe in concrete. You will then slide the slightly smaller diameter pvc into those pieces.

Those pieces will go up to over the top of your doorway and will connect with pvc elbows to another piece of pvc that goes across the top of your doorway.

For all of the detailed step by step instructions on this, go to How to Easily Decorate Your Front Door for any Season or Holiday.

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Preparing pumpkins to put on an arch:

The first thing I do to prepare any of the artificial pumpkins I use for decor around my home is to paint them to make them a little more realistic. I start out with Folk Art Treasure Gold Green Gold color. Each ridge in the pumpkin gets a fine line of with that paint. Next I use a combination of two shades of orange, Deco Art Canyon Orange and Spiced Pumpkin. I pull those two right over the green gold stripes while they are still wet.

Here is one of my painted pumpkins next to one of the pumpkins that has not yet been painted. It isn’t a huge difference, but it certainly makes enough difference that it is worth the time and effort to paint them.

For the pumpkins that will be going on the arch, they will need to be drilled. It is relatively easy to drill the holes in the faux pumpkins. If you want your pumpkins to have a topsy turvy look, you will want to drill your holes off center. If you want them straight, drill the holes at the top and bottom of your pumpkins.

Putting pumpkins on and arch for fall:

I used a drill bit the same size as my pvc. This will make it very tight to get the pumpkins onto the pvc. You can always take a knife and make the hole just slightly larger to get your pumpkins onto the pvc. You don’t want the pumpkins so loose that they will slide up and down easily.

I added a piece of pool noodle between each of the pumpkins to space them apart and add some additional decoration. Cut the length of pool noodle you want (I used about 5 inches) and then slice one side of the piece of the pool noodle so that you can slip it right over the pvc.

I used faux leaves, glued to the pool noodle and then wrapped a piece of leaf garland around the noodle. Some of the pool noodle pieces also got some fall flowers. If you pieces of pool noodle want to slip off, use zip ties to secure them around your pvc.

After the pumpkins are fed onto the pvc and the pieces of pool noodle are decorated, it is time to assemble the arch. All that needs to be done is to slide the upright pieces into the pvc pieces in the pots. Next the cross piece is fit into the elbows at the top of the upright pieces.

Each upright flanks the door frame. After each was secured in the urn, they were dressed with a couple of garlands of faux bittersweet.

A Jack O’ Lantern Archway Surprise!

A little bit of magic! By simply turning the pumpkins around on the pvc you have a Halloween jack o’ lanterns surrounding your door! Easy to go from fall to Halloween and back to fall again! Good for fall and for the Halloween spooky season!

If you are hosting a Halloween party, this is the prefect way to greet guests!

The finished product is great for Halloween decor or for fall and all the way to Thanksgiving!

Decorating your entry or porch beyond the pumpkin arch:

The arch is the focal point of my fall porch decor, but is not the only way I intend to add curb appeal for the season. I found these great wooden crates at Hobby Lobby on sale and knew I would use them for many occasions. This is the first time I am using them! I used faux pumpkins of various sizes for fall porch decor.

I have gathered the crates along with some hay bales as a perfect place to display a collection of faux orange pumpkins since real pumpkins aren’t yet available here in Florida. Garlands of fall leaves add autumnal color to my porch and entryway.

To balance all of the orange, I added some white pumpkins to my beautiful display.

Vines of artificial bittersweet were added to the pumpkin arch and then vined on down around the crates and the hay bales.

A seasonal fall welcome mat layered with a plaid washable rug are ready to greet guests this fall season.

Fall pillow covers dress up the chairs as part of my front porch decor. A plaid fall throw at least lets me dream that cooler nights will be coming with the coming autumn season.

A pair of black lanterns filled with battery operated lights and fall foliage, pine cones and small pumpkins adds a nice glow to the outdoor space in the evenings.

A beautiful wreath of matching bittersweet garland and mini pumpkins is the final warm welcome to my front porch design.

More fall decorating ideas:

If you are looking for more great ideas for front door decorations for fall, you might want to check these out:

Decorate Your Front Door for Fall

Amazing Fall Front Porch

Shop My Favorite Fall Finds:

(click on any picture to shop that item)