Fall Decorating: How to Decorate a Mantel for Fall

When you think of Fall, it's easy to imagine a warm, crackling fireplace. During that time of year, think of changing the decoration on your fireplace mantel to reflect the ambiance of the season. If your fireplace mantel is dark wood, then you can use warmer colors in your design. If your fireplace mantel is a lighter shade of wood, then you can still use warm colors, but add in some brighter gold-tones and red-tones to add to your décor.

TIP #1: HOW TO DECORATE A MANTEL FOR FALL

The first thing you need to start with is a design. Not only does this mean what sort of centerpiece will you have, but also how you will group the accents, and how tall do you need or want parts of this grouping to be. Be sure and use coordinating colors and pay attention to detail. If you are not sure where to start, or you just need some inspiration, go have a look at the display models that are set up in Home Improvement stores, or flip through a magazine to get some ideas.

TIP #2: HOW TO DECORATE A MANTEL FOR FALL

Depending on what type of mantelpiece you have, and how large it is, will determine what all you can do with it to decorate it for Fall. If you are going to put together your own centerpiece, or buy one, make sure that you measure the mantelpiece so that you will get one that is the right size. It is no fun to finally find the perfect centerpiece, or spend the time making one, only to find out that it won't even sit on the mantel.

TIP #3: HOW TO DECORATE A MANTEL FOR FALL

Finding the right centerpiece for your mantel may take some time, but when you come across the perfect one and get it on the mantel, you can draw some more attention to it or make it look fuller by placing a mirror behind it. If the centerpiece is really full however I wouldn't recommend doing that. It can give it too gaudy a look. Use the mirrors instead to go in behind your candles that you will place on each side, or to one side of it. The mirrors behind the candles will serve another purpose as well. If you choose to light the candles, they will help to reflect the glow of the candlelight.

TIP #4: HOW TO DECORATE A MANTEL FOR FALL

When you are choosing your candles and where you will place them, consider a few different ways to display them. You can, as stated before, place a single candle, or a grouping of two or three in varying sizes and colors on each side. You could just put candles on one side and place some family photographs in elegant frames on the other side. Either way, as long as you balance out the tallness on each side, it should look fine.

TIP #5: HOW TO DECORATE A MANTEL FOR FALL

If you don't want to have candles, there is something else you can use to decorate the mantel. You can get some glass hurricane globes, either one for each side, or get several of them in graduated sizes. Fill them with some artificial Fall leaves or some fragrant potpourri for a beautiful finishing touch. You can also take some artificial Fall leaves and group them around the base of the decorations on the mantel. The different combinations that you can use to decorate a mantel for Fall are as limitless as your imagination. All it takes is a bit of creativity to fashion a beautiful mantel display for Fall.