Fall mantel ideas – 10 tips for autumnal mantelpieces and fireplace decor

Fall mantel ideas will be the centre of all these pleasant moments whenever you gather around the fire in the upcoming months.

The goal of fall decorating is to make your home look even cosier as the weather grows colder, so the fireplace should be the focal point of your seasonal makeover.

Incorporating some autumnal enchantment in the shape of natural colours, textures, and materials will help you enjoy the stunning natural changes happening outside the window. At the same time, you reimagine the look of your living room or bedroom for the new season.

FALL MANTEL IDEAS

We’ve uncovered some creative fall mantel ideas and consulted experts to get their tips on making your fireplace feel comfortable from top to bottom, whether you’re looking for a full-out celebration of nature or a subtly seasonal gesture.

1. FESTOON YOUR MANTEL WITH FOLIAGE 

Think again if you thought seasonal foliage was only for fall wreath ideas. ‘A shot of in-season foliage draws the eye up and makes a terrific statement on a mantel,’ says Cindy Rinfret, an interior designer. ‘It should reflect the beautiful time of year and feel like a natural addition to the area,’ says the designer.

Choose in-season blossoms or gather some gorgeous fallen branches near your home – in this case, brilliant red and orange autumn leaves blend with fruit-bearing vegetation. ‘You could also deliberately arrange some pinecones or branches across the top to allude to the seasonal change,’ interior designer Emma Sims-Hilditch says.

2. INCORPORATE HARVEST FRUIT AND VEG (REAL OR OTHERWISE)

One of the best aspects of fall is its abundance of new seasonal food. Don’t limit the fun to the kitchen; incorporate allusions to your vegetable patch’s harvest into your mantel decor. Purple blooming cabbages create lovely arrangements, and pumpkins are a must-have mantelpiece accent around Halloween and for your outdoor fall décor ideas.

Choose ornaments shaped like delicious foods if you want something low-maintenance and long-lasting. Beautifully carved and polished wooden apples and pears make for fabulous mantel decor in this home by designer Kit Kemp.

3. GET COZY WITH CANDLES 

There is no better time of year to break out your best candles – even if your mantel is surrounded by fire, fall always calls for a little more warmth.

‘Another small touch I always like to do as the weather changes are changing out white candlesticks or column candles for fall-inspired colours,’ says Rinfret. ‘Look for delicate oranges, greens, or reds – they provide an unexpected but distinctly autumnal touch.’ These tiny details help convert your area to be seasonally suitable.’

In this example, a candle is coupled with pine cones and placed in a brown glass candle holder for a pleasant glow.

4. MIRROR YOUR SOFT FURNISHINGS 

The mantel is the focal point of a room where you spend a lot of time during the fall months cuddling up for warmth and comfort.

Make sure the mantelpiece, which sits above the fireplace and is thus central to this aim, flows with the rest of the autumnal furnishings in your living room. The tartan on the footstool throw echoes the gentle blue and white tones of the mantel ornaments, and one vase is an exact match for the throw on the sofa.

Because of this, the room is unified and immersed in a cosy aesthetic.

5. SWAP IN AUTUMNAL ARTWORK

If a mirror doesn’t cover your mantel, it’s probably adorned with a bold work of art. However, artwork on walls can be moved around if desired. A simple method to give a room a fresh look for the new season is rearranging the frames and paintings on the walls.

If you want to get into the spirit of the season, you might switch to a new piece with an autumnal motif or at least has colours associated with the changing of the leaves. Floral artwork in oranges, reds and mossy greens like this would look lovely with the room’s seasonal colour palette.

6. MIX AND MATCH FOR A RUSTIC LOOK 

Everyone’s ideal fall weekend getaway is a quaint country cottage, but you can bring that cosy country decor into your home by decorating it like a farmhouse. According to Sims-Hilditch, “placing a textured cloth over a mantelpiece,” such a hessian runner, gives a room a more rustic feel. A pair of antique lights on opposite ends, or a pile of old, rustic books, are fantastic ways to achieve a rustic, homey feel.

Mismatched ornaments add a touch of rustic decor to a mantel and can even be used as a creative centrepiece for a fall table. The proprietors of this room have gone as far as decorating with firewood that is also used to light candles and display vases.

7. CHOOSE NATURAL COLORS AND MATERIALS FOR YOUR ORNAMENTS

All the best fall colour palettes revolve around earthy tones, so make them the focal point of your mantel decorations. The richly toned polished woods that serve as the basis for the decor in this spacious drawing room created by Rinfret create an absorbingly autumnal atmosphere.

The mahogany urns on the mantel continue this theme, while the sea-covered mirror frame shows a more casual appreciation for nature’s resources.

8. KEEP THINGS SIMPLE

If you want a minimal look this season, there’s no need to fall tack because of the season change. Sometimes the simplest solution is the best, as Sims-Hilditch puts it. A crowded mantel can make a room seem chaotic. Why not put a candle in the middle or two smaller ones at each end? This is a straightforward method of illuminating the room’s background in a way that feels warm and welcoming.

The empty gold frame and white ceramic vase on this room’s mantel highlight the seasonal orange and yellow ochre patterns on the statement wallpaper by Little Greene.

9. CHOOSE A DESIGN THAT CAN BE EASILY ADAPTED FOR CHRISTMAS

If fall has here, it means the season holidays won’t be far behind. Choose a pattern that can be readily modified as a Christmas wreath concept if you don’t want to rethink your mantel decor entirely in a few weeks.

When December rolls along, you can add a magnificent red or blue velvet ribbon to your foliage, as Rinfret puts it.

These dried thistles will last well into winter, and the light blue ribbon that brings out their silvery, ice tones may be swapped out for red or gold come the holiday season.

10. GREEN CAN STILL HAVE A PLACE

Even though summer has ended, that doesn’t mean you have to eliminate all the green in your life. Your houseplants probably wouldn’t appreciate it.

This room, with its Little Greene wallpaper in shades of white, green, and autumn orange, is proof that a mantel full of greenery is perfectly at home in the fall. Try using terracotta pots and natural materials like twine, hessian, and recycled wooden crates to bring a fall of the season to your mantel.

HOW DO I DECORATE MY MANTEL IN THE FALL?

Looking out the window can provide you with fast fall mantel decor ideas. Put the things that catch your eye most as the seasons change into the focal point of your mantel decor.

You can quickly and cheaply bring the outdoors inside by collecting fallen horse chestnuts, branches of autumnal leaves, and pine cones and arranging them in carefully selected vases, hurricane jars, or wooden bowls or letting larger foliage drape organically across the mantel and even down the sides to the hearth. Make sure nothing can fall into the hearth by securing it well.