Moody Fall Mantel Decor

Inspired by a vintage painting from an antique store, this moody fall mantel is a fun example of unexpected and non-traditional autumn decor.

Even after blogging for more than 10 years, I am always humbled by your love and comments. I will never be able to express how much your kind words mean to me. Yesterday, when I shared my Fall Living Room, I was immensely touched by your responses to the post. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!

As promised, today I’m going to tell you more about my moody fall mantel decor. I could have included this information yesterday, but I had too many pictures, plus I felt like the mantel deserved a bit more attention.

This year I decided to try something new with my fall decorating. As I just wrote that, I realized I didn’t style the mantel for fall last year. I did, however, give it a spooky chic Halloween look.

The inspiration for this fall’s mantel came from two places. First off, I spotted this vintage painting last year while antiquing. There was something about it that intrigued me and made me bring it home. I hadn’t yet found a spot for it, so I thought I’d give it a try on the living room mantel. It fit perfectly!

Someone on Instagram messaged me yesterday and said, “LOVE .. but to be honest, don’t get the portrait over the mantel.” I don’t get it either; I just like it. And that’s probably all that matters. The great part about decorating is that we get to experiment to our heart’s content. In another two months, everything on my mantel will come down and be replaced with things for the holidays. I will admit that all of these decor changes are a bit anxiety-inducing for me since my decorating attempts are on the internet for anyone to see. Of course, sharing my decor is one of the purposes of this blog!

Okay, back to the mantel. While the painting provided the initial inspiration, a trip to a Roxanne’s Dried Flowers gave me more inspiration. This fun shop is located in the Strip District in Pittsburgh. Every time I walk in there I feel inspired. (Roxanne’s Dried Flowers is a brick-and-mortar business, but it does have an online shop in case you’re not local.)

With colors from the painting and my living room decor in mind, I picked up a bag full of goodies at Roxanne’s: bearded wheat bundles, blue vases, a variety of feathers, small tea light cups, a beautiful fern, and a unique vessel for it.

I arranged all of the items on the mantel and was pleased with how things were coming together but knew it needed something else.

A few days later I stumbled across a collection of gold and glass candle holders in the clearance section at Target. I think they were close to 80% off. What a steal! I thought the touch of gold and glow of candles would be the perfect addition to my fall mantel.

I also picked up this unique match cloche at another local shop, Von Walter and Funk. Not only is it a practical way to light the fireplace and all of those candles, but it’s also a beautiful decorative item.

I wanted to tie in some of the burgundy and red colors from the painting, so I pulled inspiration from myself. (Go figure!) and decided to resurrect one of my old fall DIY projects. All I did was wrap embroidery floss around a bundle of the wheat. I love this simple technique and thought it would give the mantel arrangement the color I was after. (You can find my full Color Wrapped Wheat Tutorial here.)

For a final touch, I tucked in a few of my velvet plush pumpkins that fit the mantel color scheme. I didn’t want the decor to scream “fall,” but I did want to incorporate a conventional autumn element.

With the addition of the pumpkins, clearance candle holders, and colorful wrapping on the wheat, my fall mantel was complete!

I think it turned out well. It’s moody, cozy, vintage, fresh, and masculine AND it speaks to the season. On top of that, when the candles are lit, it has an almost magical quality. What do you think?

The live fern was a fun way to give a nod to the final days of summer. Temperatures are still in the high 80s here, so it’s not feeling fall-like. (As some of you may know, I love to include a green or botanical element in my designs.) I also thought the fern added a woodsy/spooky element, which seemed especially appropriate for the season. Now, if I can just remember to keep the fern watered, it should last me through the season.

And that’s it! I hope this post gave you an idea of how this moody fall mantel decor came together. If you have any questions, please post them in the comments below.

Do you like to try new things with your decor, or do you stick with what you know and love? How will you create a moody fall mantel in your home?

Spooky Fall Mantel Decor Sources:

Artwork: Vintage
Wheat Bundles: Bearded Wheat in Natural Black
Blue Containers: Calhuna. Container
Feathers: Roxanne’s Dried Flowers (not listed)
Fern: Roxanne’s Dried Flowers (not listed)
Fern Urn: Roxanne’s Dried Flowers (not listed)
Small Gray Tealights: Roxanne’s Dried Flowers (not listed)
Brass Candleholders: Target (no longer sold)
Jar of Matches: Match Cloche (Smoke)
Velvet Pumpkins: Plush Pumpkin