DIY Fall Decor: Wooden Box Centerpiece with Pumpkins and Eucalyptus

Thank you to Oriental Trading for providing supplies used to make this DIY Fall Decor idea. All opinions expressed are 100% my own. This post may contain affiliate links.

Pumpkins are one of my favorite things about Fall. They are also one of the easiest ways to add a touch of Fall flavor to your home’s decor. I found some of the cutest little white pumpkins at the grocery store. They are the inspiration behind my Fall and Thanksgiving centerpiece this year.

Instead of traditional autumn colors, I decided to do something different. I am pairing the white pumpkins with green eucalyptus. It’s a more neutral look that I see a lot in Farmhouse decor.

The unfinished wooden planter box I got at Oriental Trading is the third element in my centerpiece. To keep with the Farmhouse theme, I painted it with chalk paint to give it a distressed, faux barnwood finish. It was easy, and I’ll tell you how to do it below.

Don’t want to paint your box? It’s OK to skip this step! The Unfinished Wooden Planter Box from Oriental Trading has a natural rustic wood finish that looks great as-is. 

Whether you choose to paint the box or not, it can be the base for your decorative centerpieces all year long. All you will have to do is switch out the contents of the box to fit the season or holiday. I’m challenging myself to do that every month of the year starting now. I will share each month’s centerpiece idea here at Mom Always Finds Out. Let me know if you have any ideas for box fillers. December’s box may be filled to the brim with colorful round Christmas ornaments.

The white pumpkins and eucalyptus centerpiece looks pretty as-is, but I ended up adding an unfinished wood bead garland. I made this by simply stringing wood beads on baker’s twine. Then, I added the mini wood slice pumpkins. I made them with small unfinished wood slices and twigs from my yard! You can find instructions for how I made them at this blog post. (link coming soon)

My wooden box centerpiece is simple enough for anyone to make. Once you have painted the box, filling it with a layer of faux eucalyptus and adding the white pumpkins takes a few minutes at most. The faux eucalyptus is one of my favorite greenery stems, and will be useful in future centerpiece ideas.

How To Paint Your Unfinished Wooden Planter Box For a Faux Distressed Gray and White Barnwood Look 

Materials Needed:

• Unfinished Wooden Planter Box
• Paintbrush (I used 3 inch size)
• Chalk Paint (White color, Matte Finish)
• Chalk Paint (Elephant color, Matte Finish)

1. Use a paintbrush to paint the outside of the box (include the top edges) with the dark gray color “Elephant” chalk paint. Allow to dry completely. Note: I had originally painted this with a light blue chalk paint color, but decided to go for the distressed gray and white wood look. I completely painted over the light blue layer with dark gray chalk paint.

2. Use the tip of a paintbrush to dab white chalk paint on top of the gray chalk paint. I used the tip of the paint brush to apply the white paint with dabbing motions. I did not try to completely cover the gray color underneath. I did not try to smooth out the white paint. Parts of this layer are thicker than others where I dabbed it on. I did this on purpose so the paint layer will create a texture on top of the wood. Allow this layer to dry completely.

3. Use the paintbrush to apply a second layer of white chalk paint in long, even strokes. Don’t do a perfect job, though! You do not want to completely paint over the gray layer. Leaving the gray paint exposed to create the faux distressed look, especially around the edges where wear-and-tear would occur on the box. Allow paint to dry completely.

Now that your wooden box is completely dry, it is ready to fill with your decorative elements! I filled mine with white pumpkins and eucalyptus. Read on for how it’s done.

DIY Fall Decor: Wooden Box Centerpiece with Pumpkins and Eucalpytus

What You’ll Need:

• DIY Unfinished Wooden Planter Box
• Faux Eucalyptus Stems (3-6 stems)
• Small White Pumpkins (I used 4 real pumpkins, but you could use artificial white pumpkins)
• Box Filler: Brown Kraft Paper

Directions:

1.  Add crumpled brown kraft paper to fill the empty space at the bottom of the box almost all the way up to the top of the box.

2. Arrange faux Eucalyptus stems in a layer on top of the kraft paper. Bend the wire stems to spread out the Eucalyptus leaves as needed.

3. Nestle pumpkins in the Eucalyptus leaves, spacing pumpkins a few inches apart.

Wasn’t that so easy? This DIY Fall decor can be your table centerpiece all season long. It also makes a lovely Thanksgiving table centerpiece. 

Celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with festive party supplies, easy-to-assemble Thanksgiving crafts for kids, a family photo booth complete with stick props, fall accessories and Thanksgiving costumes for the kids! Find plenty of fun ideas at everyday low prices when you shop at Oriental Trading.