7+ Ways to Fuel Your Fall Mantel Decorating Ideas

Struggling with how to decorate your mantel for fall? These 7+ styling ideas will inspire you to create a cozy autumnal display that can be a warm welcome to family and friends.

The autumn hearth can be a cozy welcome for the Fall months. But decorating it can be intimidating. Where do you begin? If you’ve struggled with Fall mantel decorating ideas, today should help. I’m sharing 7+ Ways to Fuel Your Fall Mantel Decorating Ideas so you’ll know how to style a cozy harvest hearth.

No Mantel? No Worries!

If you don’t have a fireplace or mantel in your home, no worries! You can take the same ideas and apply them to another place. You can use mantel decorating ideas on a buffet, a long shelf, the top of an upright piano, or even a dresser. Create a harvest-filled mantel focal point in any room of your home.

7+ Ways to Fuel Your Fall Mantel Decorating Ideas

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Start Your Autumn Mantel With Art

An easy way to kick start your Fall mantel is with a great piece of art. Pick up an autumn framed print at the thrift store or use a sentimental piece. Your art will give you the color scheme to coordinate the rest of your display and room accessories.

This mantel display started with a church painting that had been one of my mom’s favorites. The burgundy door guided my color scheme.

See the whole look in “Decorating the Fall Mantel with Rustic Nostalgia”.

Decorate Your Fall Mantel With a Vintage Find

If you’ve picked up a favorite recent find, make it the focus of your Fall mantel. Architectural pieces like doors, windows, shutters, and other structures are perfect for this. Lean them against the wall or hang. The rest of your harvest decor can be on an around it.

When I picked up this perfectly chippy orange door, I knew I wanted to use it for my Fall decor. Cut in two pieces, it was the perfect backdrop for a harvest mantelscape.

“Decorating the Fall Mantel with a Vintage Door”

Choose a Theme for Your Harvest Mantel

Choosing a theme for your harvest mantel can be a fun styling challenge. Collect accessories that relate to your seasonal theme. Choose items made out of different textures for interest.

This hunting themed display started with the dog paint by numbers set I found curbside. I continued the theme with ducks, geese, feathers and grasses. Dog figurines were another fun addition.

“Rustic Fall Mantel Decor with Vintage Hunting Theme Style”

Focus Your Fall Mantel Decor on a Holiday

Whatever holiday your family celebrates in the Fall can be a focus for your mantel. If you love to decorate for Halloween, style a spooky display with flickering candles to set the mood.

And remember-if you don’t have a mantel, create a focal point display like this anywhere. I styled this spooky spot on a table at the bottom of the steps. It was fun to pass by during Halloween season.

“Stenciled Cobweb Mirror DIY”

Include Words In Your Autumn Mantelscape

Yes, we’re all a little tired of “Live, Laugh, Love”. And anything with the word “gather” really didn’t work during the C Vid years;) But displaying words that are meaningful to you and your family is a great way to personalize your decor. It’s a great way to communicate through decorating!

Pick up ready-made word signs, or get creative and create your own!

“Thanksgiving Decorating Ideas”

Decorate A Fall Mantel with a Collection

If you’re like me, you’ve got plenty of collections. Using them to decorate a mantel can be a fun way to enjoy them all. Style them all a little differently rather than just lining them up.

On this Thanksgiving mantel, I used several vintage gold frames. The main character is an upcycled mirror with vintage ceiling tin (“DIY Repurposed Mirror Frame with Vintage Tin”). With several other gold framed mirrors around it, the collection becomes a show stopper. Each frame was decorated a little differently for interest.

“Bountiful Thanksgiving Mantle with Vintage Gold Frames”

Color Block a Harvest Mantel

Here in Minnesota our season of Fall is very colorful. But some places have a more neutral-looking autumn. Color coordinate your Harvest mantel to what it looks like outside your window.

An all neutral Fall mantel can be gorgeous when you highlight many different textures. Use character-filled old wood, woven textures like baskets, soft yarny fabrics and plenty of rustic natural touches.

“Decorating with Crows and Enamelware”

Fill Your Fall Mantel with Rustic Natural Touches

Autumn is the perfect time to pile on the organic rustic natural touches when you’re styling. Forage your gardens and hiking trails for flowers and seedpods, gather sticks and pinecones, and add pretty faux versions, too. You can never have enough nature this time of year!

Corral your natural accents in containers like baskets, vintage finds or vases. Or layer them under other accessories. Rustic garlands are another great accent for Fall mantels. See “35+ Decorative Vase Filler Ideas for Beautiful (& easy) Fall Decor” for more ideas.

“Fall Bedroom Decor with Natural Accents”

The top of a hutch can feature a mantel-like Fall display, too. (see “7 Ideas for Decorating the Tops of Armoires, Bookcases (and any tall furniture)” for more).

I hope this 7+ Ways to Fuel Your Fall Mantel Decorating Ideas has inspired you! There are so many fun ways to style your mantel, or other focal point for the harvest season. Creating a cozy home will help you embrace the darker nights and bring contentment to your family.

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