Custom Fall Decorating: Our First Full-Property Installation of 2026

Fall decorating is officially underway at Pumpkin City Designs, and we kicked off the 2026 season with one of our favorite kinds of projects: a completely custom design built around the home.

This installation shows exactly what we mean when we say custom.

Instead of decorating only the front porch, we looked at the entire approach to the house and created a fall design that carries from the sidewalk and lower steps all the way to the front door.

Designing the Entire Entrance

This home has a long, beautiful approach to the front porch, which gave us an opportunity to create something much larger than a traditional pumpkin display.

Custom fall pumpkin and mum installation designed along the front entrance by Pumpkin City Designs.

We used the architecture and landscaping already surrounding the home and created several coordinated areas rather than concentrating everything in one spot.

The design begins at the bottom of the walkway with groupings of pumpkins and mums, continues along the stairs, and leads your eye naturally toward the front porch.

The result is a display that feels like it belongs with the house rather than something that was simply placed in front of it.

Layers, Color and Texture

Layers of pumpkins, mums, specialty gourds and seasonal greenery create depth throughout the custom fall display.

One of the biggest differences between a basic pumpkin arrangement and a custom Pumpkin City Designs installation is the variety of materials.

For this design, we combined:

• Traditional orange pumpkins

• Large statement pumpkins

• Heirloom and specialty pumpkins

• White pumpkins

• Mini pumpkins and gourds

• Mums in multiple fall colors

• Ornamental cabbage

• Hay bales

• Cornstalks

• Seasonal grasses and greenery

Using pumpkins in different sizes, shapes and colors creates depth while the mums and greenery soften the display and tie everything into the landscaping.

More Than a Front Porch

Custom front-yard fall display with pumpkins, specialty gourds, mums, hay bales and cornstalks by Pumpkin City Designs.

One of our favorite parts of this project is that the design doesn't stop at the stairs.

We created a large fall feature in the front yard using pumpkins, hay, plants and specialty gourds, giving the property another focal point that can be seen from the street.

Then we continued the design onto the porch.

And because fall should still be fun, the homeowners' skeletons became part of the finished display.

Rather than removing what they already had, we worked their Halloween decorations into the design with pumpkins, gourds, hay and mums surrounding the seating area.

That is one of the advantages of a custom installation: we design around your home, your personality and what you already own.

Every House Is Different

There isn't a template for our custom designs.

Some homes need a dramatic staircase.

Others have a large front porch.

Some have a walkway, lawn, columns, gates or an entrance that gives us an opportunity to create several different displays.

We look at the property first and determine where the décor will have the greatest impact.

Then we build the design around it.

That can mean dozens of pumpkins and specialty varieties, mums, cornstalks, hay bales and other seasonal materials arranged throughout several areas of the property.

From Fall Into Halloween

We also love creating displays that work for more than one part of the season.

The pumpkins, mums, cornstalks and fall materials create a beautiful fall display during September and October. Halloween pieces can then be incorporated into the same installation without having to completely redesign the property.

This house is a perfect example.

From the street, it is a large, colorful fall display.

Once you reach the porch, the skeletons bring in the Halloween personality.

Fall décor transitions into Halloween with pumpkins, hay, mums and playful skeleton accents.

Custom Fall Decorating in Maryland, DC & Northern Virginia

Pumpkin City Designs offers both our standard fall decorating packages and larger custom installations throughout Maryland, Washington DC and Northern Virginia.

Our custom projects are designed specifically for the property and can include front porches, stairs, walkways, yards, entrances and multiple areas around the home.

We handle the pumpkins, specialty pumpkins, mums, seasonal materials, delivery and professional design so you don't have to spend a weekend hauling pumpkins around yourself.

Want Us to Design Your House?

If you have a larger property or want something beyond one of our standard packages, send us a few pictures of the front of your home.

We can help determine whether one of our regular packages will work or whether your property is better suited for a custom Pumpkin City Designs installation.

Visit PumpkinCityDesign.com to see our packages or request a custom design.

Pumpkin City DesignsFall Decorating • Custom Residential Designs • Commercial & Event InstallationsServing Maryland, Washington DC & Northern Virginia