Mantel Decor for Fall
I admit, I am REALLY proud of this fireplace mantel display. Decorating the mantel in my family room is a great way to add fall decor to my home. This was no simple fall mantel decor! I went all out on this one creating a luxurious look with a white theme. I like to mix it up with a fresh look each holiday season and I had never done fall mantel decorations with magnolia leaves and white pumpkins. In the past I had always decorated with colorful fall leaves.
I would love to say I have been inspired by a crisp fall evening, but that is’t going to happen here in central Florida. Decorating for the new season is an easy way to at least pretend the seasonal weather has arrived!
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Let me show you how I created this beautiful fall mantel decor! Years ago I had a chance to buy these beautiful 6′ magnolia garlands for $9.95 each. I bought ten of them, knowing that I would use them time and time again. As you can see, they had seen better days. You can see (despite my mediocre photography) them in better condition when used in my Coastal Christmas Mantel.
Although I would use some of the garlands in whole, I also cut some of them apart. I used floral wire and floral tape to put longer stems on the leaves and gathered some of them into ‘bouquets’ of magnolia leaves.
Some of the taped leaves got longer stems on them and little loops. I will show you what I did with those!
Use Command hooks as shown to hold garlands on the mantel, or to hold pieces you want trailing over the edge of your mantel.
In addition to the garlands, gather all of the items you are planning on using on your mantel. Notice, I even had some black and white buffalo check ribbon, that I later decided not to use. I love to use the real thing, but since I want to put up my fall decor early and enjoy it through late fall, I have to use faux pumpkins.
I selected this sign for the center of my display, but wanted it to sit a little higher than right down on the mantel. A pair of styrofoam blocks did the trick. Use styrofoam, wood cubes or overturned cups or bowls to raise items to the level you would like for your display.
The picture in the middle and the pair of lanterns on either side of the fireplace give a balanced look to my design.
After placing my sign, I began adding garlands, the first ones hanging over the ends of my mantel.
The next step was to place my candle holders. Some of my candle holders came from a local closing Old Time Pottery. Others were painted gold, so I painted them. Nestle the candles among the garlands, making sure they sit level.
After all of the magnolia garlands were added it was time to add my collection of three large resin pumpkins.
Even though I did not use autumn leaves, I think my collection of pumpkins gives my autumn mantel a fall feel.
The majority of the pumpkins were these medium size. These are a variety of real pumpkins, fabric pumpkins and a few artificial pumpkins. I simply began filling in the space between the three large pumpkins to get the full and lush look I wanted.
Last, but certainly not least was a bunch of small pumpkins to finish off and fill in. Some of these (again, from Michael’s) were of natural materials and already on sticks. I cut those sticks down a little but left them.
Some of the artificial dollar store pumpkins got skewers added to them as seen above.
Having a skewer on the small pumpkins made it easy to tuck them into the magnolia garlands and around the larger pumpkins. If I had just tucked them up there, they were likely to just fall down on the hearth.
I had so much fun creating this autumn decor! This was the first chance I had to decorate my fall mantel since our home improvement project after the fireplace saga you can read about here.
Here is the result of adding the smallest of pumpkins to the magnolia garlands. The faux leaves from my magnolia garlands
The pumpkins were all shades of white, cream and even a little gray.
I know I am so happy to be able to enjoy this gorgeous display with all of the white elements. Will you be decorating your mantel for the new season?
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When we turn down the lights and light the candles, the romantic lighting gives a warm look to the surrounding area. I enjoy to decorating with a spooky look with halloween decor, but this autumn season is all about the fall spirit and the elements of the season. If you would like more fall mantel decor ideas, check out these twenty three mantels from a collection of talented bloggers!
Shop this project:
Magnolia Garlands
Floral Wire
Floral Tape
Command Hooks
9″ Cream Colored Pumpkins
Faux Candles
White rustic farmhouse candle holders
Small white pumpkins
This looks fantastic. You should be proud. I’m loving all the fall inspiration out in blogland.
XO- MaryJo
Thank you so much MaryJo! I am really enjoying all of the fall inspiration too!!
Beautiful. I don’t have a mantel but if I did, it would look like yours.
Thank you Rebecca. I am loving having a mantel to decorate!
So inspiring and looks fantastic! I think you’re better than Martha Stewart 😉 Thank you for sharing.
Thank’s Chas!
This mantel is stunning, Chloe! Now I want to tear mine apart and do something like this! Beautiful!
Shelley
Shelley, I had actually decorated mine and shared it for a cozy fall home tour, but the more I sat and looked at it, the more unhappy with it I was. So, this is what happened!
So enjoyed this post. I’ve been staring at an empty mantle for about a month. Even hubby asked when you going to put something up there? My creative energy is sapped, but your post has kickstarted it. Thank you.
Thank you so much Rhonda. I actually decorated mine and was totally unhappy with it. I think I spent 10 hours online looking for inspiration. This is what I came up with! I hope you enjoy your fall decor as much as I am enjoying mine!
Chloe your mantel is stunning. Magnolia is always a good choice.
Thank you so much Sonya!
You have inspired me to get going on my new mantel!!! Thank you!!!
Thank you so much Cathy! I am enjoying it every day!
Chloe, your mantel is beautiful, and I’m quite sure it would get two thumbs up from Martha (and anyone else who sees it)!!
Thank you so much Kim, I am enjoying it every day!
Really lovely. We finally sold our house & downsized to a rental 1/2 the size… meaning I had to eliminate decorations (not tablesettings, lol). It was painful. I love your older post with the skull topiary and am hoping to recreate it in another year when we settle down permanently. I follow you from Between Naps on the Porch blog.
Thank you so much for stopping by! I have LOTS of storage space, but I am still always trying to weed things out and not keep so much on hand. I am glad you like that skull topiary, it is really quite simple and Dollar Tree skulls make it a bargain.
Here I was asking you about a magnolia garland and you already have one. Why didn’t you say you had a tutorial on that? My live magnolia is dying. Yours looks much prettier. I love this mantel. Love your new email too!
Your mantel is absolutely striking! I appreciate you showing us how to put it together. I could try but I don’t think it would ever look likes your. Love the little pumpkins on the skewers! It’s pretty!
Be a sweetie,
Shelia 🙂
Chloe I love the look of your fall mantel. I have never used magnolia, so this inspires me. The pumpkins are a nice touch. Perfect for fall. I am happy to feature your lovely mantel at Love Your Creativity.
This is beautiful. I love the magnolia garlands.
Your mantle is absolutely gorgeous! You have inspired me. I can’t get magnolia garlands out of my head. Hugs to you.
Thanks Renae! I love a lush look like this!
So I ordered the dictionary prints. Thanks so much, they are very unique. I ordered the blue chinoiserie planter with the green plants, page 9 I think. I am redoing a half bath with some board & Batten on the bottom with Hale Navy paint on the top and plan to use these prints in frames. I will be looking for the frames that have the sides exposed so you can see the paint through the frame!! I’ll send a picture when it’s all done, the prints will be perfect!!
Thank you so much for shopping with me! Aren’t those dictionary prints beautiful? Oh, we have Hale Navy on our dining room walls, I love it! Those are going to be beautiful in that room! I look forward to seeing the photos!
That’s beautiful Chloe! I love the green and white – I might have to steal that combo for this year’s decorating. Thanks for the lovely inspiration!
So pretty Chloe and a perfect Fall look for your Florida home! Using skewers for the smaller pumpkins to hold them in place is brilliant!
Your mantel is beautiful this year. I am glad I decided to visit other blog sites today. I would like to invite you to share this post on this weekends Home Matters Linky Party on my site. I have plans for a Fall mantel roundup post next month from posts shared on the party linkup and your post would be a wonderful addition. Pinned!
Thank you so much for you invitation! I will be stopping by to share it! I would be honored for you to share my fall mantel in your round up! Thank you for pinning!
Such a cute mantel! I’ve done similar decorations but with darker colors, however the white combo looks nice!
Thank you so much Erin! I try and mix it up with different colors every year!
Oh my goodness! I’m so in love with this. You are my hero.