How to decorate for Fall: Oodles of Fall Fireplace Mantel Decor Ideas

These fast and easy fall-inspired fireplace mantel decor ideas are a simple way to bring the bright colors and textures of the season into your home. 

With the craziness of school drop-offs, after-school activities, and packed social calendars (not mine, my kids’!), it can be difficult to get dinner on the table not alone decorate my home for the seasons. Like you, I’m strapped for time and energy, and I’m making a tremendous effort to be more mindful of this. I just can’t put forth hours and hours of decorating time like I once did and still keep all the balls in the air.

However, I love the feeling I get when I take a few minutes to add some cozy elements and quintessential fireplace mantel decor into our great room. As a result, I count on less decor making a more significant impact but still giving me the same comfy, cozy, homey feeling that I crave at this time of year. Fireplace mantel decor is a great place to put my efforts – it’s a small area, and it’s a focal point. A few minutes spent here is doable!

To spark your creativity, I’m joining my friend Amy of My Life from Home, and a great group of (equally busy) ladies, in sharing our favorite fall fireplace mantel decor ideas and inspiration. No mantel? No worries! Use these ideas in any corner or gathering spot in your home that can use a bit of fall love.

When thinking of fireplace mantel decor, color is an excellent place to start. There are the typical fall colors – rich plums, reds, yellows, oranges, caramels, and browns. However, they aren’t the ONLY colors of the season.

Begin by looking at the elements and colors you’re already using in your home, then add in complimentary fall colors. For example, I like to leave the bold fuschias, teals, navy, and bits of red, of my room and work in caramels, deep browns, and bright oranges. This cuts down on decorating time (I don’t have to redecorate) and also gives the room a unique twist that is entirely my style.

Use anything from around the house – items that work well at this time of year include textured baskets, soft pillows, thick, heavy blankets, and home accents in the colors of the season – think rustic wood and warm metals such as copper, burnished brass or antique gold.

Once you’ve decided on a color theme, it’s easy to go on a gathering spree – Put away your summer linens and bring out your warm, chunkier knit, faux fur, or microfleece throws and pillows.  Look to the outdoors, too – leaves, acorns, grasses and signs of the harvest, like pumpkins and gourds.

Artwork is one of the first things I change when redecorating. If the center of your fireplace is home to a TV,  lean art on either side or flank each side with a large print that reminds you of the season.

If you are the lucky ones who’s fireplace is entirely dedicated to fireplace mantel decor, first, A) I’m SO jealous and B) this opens up SO many possibilities for easy decorating. Layer art pieces of different sizes as a fun focal point or hang a round mirror for an up-to-the-minute look.

I found colorful, digital download prints on Etsy that I loved. Mounted on white poster board, leaving lots of negative space keeps the saturated colors and bold patterns from being overwhelming. Inexpensive poster frames in 16″x20″ make this a cheap, super-easy project with big impact. I like how the large picture-frames balance the larger accents objects on the mantel but aren’t overpowering. And, I love the burst of vibrant color! These are the specific images I used.

Autumn Abstract Print by Momo Digital

Fall Tree from LottiOMara Art

An easy way to add a touch of the season to any space is with seasonal plants. This bright and lively fuschia Aster proves that fall colors don’t always come in oranges, yellows, and browns!

When I styled this mantel, pumpkins weren’t quite readily available, so, I used various faux and glass pumpkins in different textures and materials. You might remember the bold and bright orange pumpkin from last year! The easy tutorial to make your own can be found here.

In past mantels, I’ve used other fruits such as apples, pears, dried beans and corn and even kiwis for their fuzzy brown skin. Be creative and again, work with your home’s color scheme. And, hey, if you get hungry, you’ll know where to find your next snack – win=win.

Be mindful of size. It is better to have one or two large items rather than ten small items. The former looks chic, while the latter seems cluttered and disarrayed. The large lantern first anchors the space then acts as a vessel for seasonal items. Multi-purpose items are always helpful!

Balance doesn’t always mean having identical items on each side of your fireplace mantel.  Although that is fine, ensuring you have things with a similar scale (height and width) on either side and varied heights of side-by-side items, you can use unmatched items as well. I find an unmatched look to be more exciting and unexpected.

Geometric Candle Holders

In this vignette, the eye travels from the highest object and moves down to the smaller one. It flows -and flow is good.

To recap, there are a billion and a half ways to decorate with fireplace mantel decor. There are neutral themes, pumpkin themes, all white themes, minimalist themes, and traditional themes to go with any decorating style.  As you gather ideas for your fireplace mantel decor, considering these things will maximize your decorating endeavors inexpensively and effortlessly – you might even be able to fit it in before your next activity!

Check out all of these beautiful mantels and see if any inspire you-you’ll be sure to find something in every style and theme!

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