As the weather begins to cool and your family
gathers around the living room fireplace, create a beautiful autumn
mantel design to welcome the changing of the seasons. Richly colored
leaves, inviting fall scents and classic harvest pumpkins make this
mantel design as fun as it is stylish.
Leaves
One of the classic icons of fall, leaves make the perfect, living
room fireplace, mantel decoration. While it may be tempting to simply
grab a handful of brightly colored fallen leaves from outside, natural
leaves often crumble and can leave a mess around your home. Opt for
fake, craft leaves available at craft, retail and home improvement
stores. Ways to use leaves on your mantel:
- Scatter single, loose leaves down your mantel, made to look like
they gently fell from a tree. Be sure to mix up the colors (if they are
multi-colored) and arrange them in slightly different positions to
appear natural.
- Place large leaves under candleholders, small clocks, vases or other small accessories on your mantel.
- If leaves are not loose, and attached to faux branches, gather the
branches together like a flower arrangement and place in a clear glass
or autumn colored vase to place on one end of the mantel.
- Be careful not to set leaves too close to the fireplace opening, as
fabric may catch on fire, and plastic can easily melt in high heat.
Pumpkins
Another fall standard for decorations is the pumpkin. This gourd is
easily styled to fit any home theme, from casual kid-friendly, to formal
or Cape Cod nautical. Selecting the correct size of pumpkin, along with
color, shape and finish ensures your fall decorated fireplace mantel
blends perfectly into your home. While you can use real pumpkins, after
more than a week, they can become soft and lose their shape. Try
decorating with plastic, fabric or glass pumpkins to have a mantel
design that will last year after year. Ways to decorate your mantel with
pumpkins:
- Very small, orange pumpkins are the most common form used for household decoration.
- Place one small, orange pumpkin next to a candle or clock.
- Place a line of small orange pumpkins down the line of your mantel.
- To include your children in the process of decorating the mantel,
let them paint faces on the pumpkins, or paint the whole pumpkin in
yellow, brown, green or gold autumn colors.
- Taller, thinner pumpkins make great end pieces for each side of the mantle.
- Painting your pumpkins white, or finding certain varieties of
pumpkins that naturally occur in white, allows them to easily blend in
with modern or nautical themed home styles.
Candles
Candles always make a beautiful addition to any mantel, and fall is a
great time to use scented and colored candles to enhance the decorative
theme. Finding scents that match the season, and are enjoyed by you and
your family is a crucial first step in decorating your autumn mantel,
as you don't want to fill your home with a smell that would bother
anyone. Try buying small, tea light or votive sized candles in some
autumn scents to check which ones you prefer before buying larger sizes.
Ways to decorate your fall mantel with candles:
- Pick candles in colors like brown, tan, gold, orange and dark green.
- Some of the best autumn scents include pumpkin, wood scents, mulled cider and a variety of brand specific fall themed blends.
- Use darker colored, rustic looking candleholders and lanterns for an autumn harvest theme.
- Tall, thin candlesticks work well in formal living rooms, while thicker, tall candles offer a stylish and dramatic look.
- Small tea lights or votives can be slipped inside glass or ceramic pumpkin decorations to mimic the look of jack-o-lanterns.
Garlands
Autumn garlands are a great way to use leaves, acorns and other
natural decorations without having them loosely scattered across your
mantel. Holiday and seasonal garlands are widely available at craft
stores, common retail stores and home improvement stores. Consider using
one of the following garland styles for your autumn mantel:
- Yellow, orange and brown leaf garlands stretched from one end of the mantel to the other.
- Garlands designed to look like branches or vines, with a mixture of acorns and leaves.
- For a minimalist look, find garlands without any leaves or
additions, and simply appear to be dark brown vines that would often be
seen in nature throughout the fall.
Extras
You don't need to completely remove all the items you currently have
on your mantel to decorate for fall. Pick specific pieces to remain on
the mantel and incorporate them into the theme. Leaving some of your
normal accessories will also help blend your home's style with the
seasonally themed decorations. Work some of these common mantel
accessories into your fall setup:
- Clocks are a common décor piece placed on the mantel, and can easily
have leaves placed around them, vines draped over them, or a small
candle placed next to them in a contrasting color.
- Existing candleholders can be used if they are in darker, autumn colors, or covered with leaves or pumpkins.
Decorating your mantel for fall is a fun, simple process that
beautifully incorporates the colors, scents and symbols of autumn into
your home. Using warm tones likes brown, gold, green and tan mimics the
colors of the changing leaves, while garlands and pumpkins bring the
season inside.
