25 Fall Mantel Decorating Ideas to Make Your Hearth More Homey

By Kristin Hohenadel
Updated on 09/07/22
white pumpkins, a candle, and dried fall branches

 The Spruce

Decorating your fireplace mantel is a low stakes way to celebrate the changing of the seasons. Sprucing up this natural focal point can be as simple as adding a vase of seasonal leaves, or as elaborate as creating a full blown homage to autumn. Check out these fun fall decorating ideas that will make your fireplace mantel shine with seasonal spirit.

  • 01 of 25

    Create an Amber Glow

    fall mantel decorations

    Inspired By Charm

    This fall mantel from Inspired By Charm is decorated with autumn leaves, scattered pumpkins, a pair of bird sculptures, and amber bottles that create a warm seasonal glow. Adding tea lights on either end of the mantel and lanterns filled with pillar candles on the floor creates an even spread of light that complements the roaring fire.

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    Turn Affordable Frames Into Autumnal Lanterns

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  • 02 of 25

    Choose a Hero Piece

    fall mantel

    Liz Marie

    Your fall mantel decor doesn't have to be complicated to be effective. Liz Marie built the decor of this simple but striking fall mantel around a vintage antiques advertising sign with retro black lettering, filling the surface of the mantel with a fluffy golden leaf garland. A vase of matching leaves on the coffee table pulls the look through the neutral-toned room, tying it all together.

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  • 03 of 25

    Use Burnished Copper Accents

    fall mantel

    Maison de Cinq

    This fall mantel from Maison de Cinq uses burnished copper accents to complement a vintage-style tableau of pumpkins, urns and jugs filled with greenery and flowers.

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  • 04 of 25

    Use What You Have

    fall mantel ideas

    Design by Leanne Ford Interiors / Photo by Erin Kelly

    This simple mantel decor from Leanne Ford Interiors features an assortment of vintage-style pitchers and vases in soft colors and varying sizes and heights filled with blooms in shades of orange and cream. If you don't have a collection of vases or pitchers, a visit to your local thrift store is an inexpensive way to source an assortment of mismatched items that will look collected over time.

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  • 05 of 25

    Put It Under Glass

    fall mantel

    So Much Better With Age

    This fall mantel from So Much Better With Age displays a variety of autumn leaves under a series of glass cloches with wooden bases, an easy idea that adds polish to a natural seasonal display.

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  • 06 of 25

    Riff on Wheat

    fall mantel ideas

    Thistlewood Farms

    This mantel from Thistlewood Farms is built around pale shades of wheat, from a dried wheat leaf, to bunches of wheat in little tin vases and tied together in bunches. Varying heights and the natural colors of the stalks create dimension and work well with the creamy wall and mantel colors and the gold-rimmed mirror.

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  • 07 of 25

    Add a Pop of Color

    fall mantel

    Hallstrom Home

    This cheerful fall mantel from Hallstrom Home includes faux foliage such as a yellow leaf garland and a vase full of pomegranate branches, plus black spray-painted candlesticks, mercury glass candles, and a handful of chalk painted pumpkins.

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  • 08 of 25

    Use Muted Fall Colors

    fall mantel

    Deeply Southern Home

    Dried florals layered in front of a landscape painting create a 3D fall effect on this this living room mantel from Deeply Southern Home. An assortment of pottery in neutrals and a focus on muted autumn colors creates a harmonious feel that is carried onto the sofa cushions and coffee table display.

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  • 09 of 25

    Create a Foraged Look

    fall mantel

    Liz Marie

    Liz Marie created a rustic fall mantel with a foraged look using collected pieces including a gold mirror, vintage books, dried pampas grass, feathers, and faux green pumpkins in shades of muted green.

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  • 10 of 25

    Assemble a DIY Fall Garland

    fall mantel decorations

    A Beautiful Mess

    If you are into crafting, try making your own mantel centerpiece that can be used from year to year, like this seasonal garland made from fall-colored faux flowers from A Beautiful Mess.

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  • 11 of 25

    Keep It Neutral

    fall mantel

    Maison de Cinq

    This soft and neutral fall mantel from Maison de Cinq is lined with greenery, large cream and pale green decorative pumpkins, and bookmarked by bunches of dried wheat.

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  • 12 of 25

    Use Your Words

    fall mantel

    Modern Glam

    This fall mantel from Modern Glam has a simple seasonal chalkboard message that welcomes autumn like an old friend.

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  • 13 of 25

    Coastal Farmhouse

    fall mantel

    Happy Housie

    This fall mantel from Happy Housie takes its cues from the coastal farmhouse style of the interior, with a whitewashed chalk paint stone fireplace and shades of blue, cream, and green. Simple fall decor like bright green faux maple leaves, a watercolor painting, an acorn print, faux pumpkins, and a piece of driftwood fills the space while maintaining the light coastal look.

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  • 14 of 25

    Mix Mirrors with Greenery

    fall mantel decorating ideas

    Design by Leanne Ford Interiors / Photo by Reid Rolls

    To create a bigger impact and a balanced look when decorating a non-working fireplace, try extending your decor from the mantel to the firebox. This country cottage mantel from Leanne Ford Interiors mixes small layered vintage mirrors with natural foliage, both on the fireplace mantel and filling a copper pot in the (unused) firebox.

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  • 15 of 25

    Go Full on Rustic

    fall mantel decorations

    Design by Emily Henderson and Priscilla Frost / Photo by Sara Ligorria-Tramp

    This rustic family room mantel designed by Emily Henderson and Priscilla Frost is decorated with vintage style art, retro duck figurines, and assorted objects that give the dark wood mantel and glazed brick fireplace a natural, lived in feeling that looks collected over time.

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  • 16 of 25

    Add LED Pillar Candles

    fall mantel decor ideas

    Thistlewood Farms

    This simple fall mantelpiece from Thistlewood Farms comes together easily with a bunch of dried wheat, some eucalyptus branches, and white LED pillar candles.

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  • 17 of 25

    Mix Earthy and Golden Tones

    fall mantel decor

    Design by Ashley Montgomery Design

    The rustic wood mantel of this imposing fireplace from Ashley Montgomery Design is decorated with a gilded mirror, a row of silver candlesticks, a couple of earthenware jugs, and a small painting in a gilded frame that adds some warmth to the monumental stone facade.

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  • 18 of 25

    Layer It Up

    fall mantel

    Casa Watkins Living

    Casa Watkins Living created a non-traditional fall mantel that reflects the colorful, maximalist style of the home using stacked books, an antique clock, a jewel-toned parrot print layered over a gold mirror, and a vase of maple leaves.

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  • 19 of 25

    Let It Breathe

    fall mantel

    Maison de Cinq

    This traditional style French-inspired mantel from Maison de Cinq is decorated around the existing gold framed mirror with a small seasonal wreath, a vintage-style urn filled with greenery, and a huddle of decorative pumpkins and tea lights.

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  • 20 of 25

    Choose Velvet Accents

    fall mantel

    Modern Glam

    A generous collection of decorative velvet pumpkins in bright autumnal shades sets the tone for this fall mantel from Modern Glam.

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  • 21 of 25

    Keep It Minimal

    fall mantel

    Design by Cathie Hong Interiors / Photo by Christy Q. Photo

    In a minimalist living room, even a small dose of seasonal decor makes an impact. This minimalist mantel from Cathie Hong Interiors includes an evergreen plant on one side and a small vase of seasonal flowers on the other that can be changed from season to season, a private nod to autumn that is easy to maintain.

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  • 22 of 25

    Mix Warm and Cool Tones

    fall mantel

    Casa Watkins Living

    This fall mantel from Casa Watkins Living mixes flat metallic finishes and a mix of cool and warm and cool colors that are carried onto the coffee table, like a tarnished champagne bucket filled with seasonal greens.

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  • 23 of 25

    Use Black and White Accents

    fall mantel decorations

    Design by Brexton Cole Interiors

    This vintage dining room fireplace mantel from Brexton Cole Interiors is lined with a leafy garland and black and white accents like black taper candles in gold candlesticks and a white bust that adds another layer of seasonal decoration to the maximalist vibes of the room.

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  • 24 of 25

    Redecorate Last Year's Pumpkins

    fall mantel

    Casa Watkins Living

    Casa Watkins Living gave last year's faux pumpkins a makeover with lace and jewelry to create a boho style fall mantel that is easy to throw together.

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  • 25 of 25

    Go for the Gold

    fall mantel

    Design by Brexton Cole Interiors

    This living room from Brexton Cole Interiors has fall vibes thanks to a pumpkin-esque orange velvet sofa and warm woods. Adding touches of gold to the mantel, from a gold lamp to a gold stool at the foot of the fireplace, adds just a little bit of bling that can work as a base throughout the holiday season and beyond.

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