Fall Mantel with Plaids, Metals, and Farmhouse Charm
Ideas for decorating your fall mantel and more from 25 home bloggers.
Happy fall, y’all! Well, it’s not officially fall yet, but in our house and in the homes of many of my home blogger friends, autumn has arrived! We’re sharing ideas for decorating your home for fall including mantels, tablescapes, wreaths, printables, and porches. So many great ideas! You’ll see sneak peeks and links to my friends homes at the bottom of the post so be sure to drop by and visit them throughout the week.
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Our living room fireplace has a mix of farmhouse and French country, old and new, plaid and metal. Eclectic? Yes. Cozy? I hope so.
Apparently I’m drawn to rusty metals and have accumulated quite a collection over the past few years. The vintage metal sap buckets were found at the Highway 127 (world’s longest) yard sale a couple of years ago. I loved them but didn’t know what I would do with them. Do you ever do that?
My mantra is buy it if you love it (and if it’s in your budget!) and you’ll find a home for it.
The cotton stems add a nice soft texture to the metal buckets.
Another thing I collect is plaid throw blankets and oversize scarfs. There are actually 4 different ones here…one on the mantel shelf and 3 in the old egg crate.
The vintage egg crate belonged to my father-in-law who was a collector. I love that it has a Nashville farm on it since we lived there for many years. It’s extra special to me. And my throw blankets fit perfectly inside it.
An old wicker demijohn and some old books add a bit more texture to the hearth. Old books always seem to find their way into our house and decor. The wrought iron fence pieces were found in an antique shop in Asheville last fall. Guess what? I didn’t know what I was going to do with them either!
I painted our brick fireplace last week and really love the way it turned out. It has lots of twig and branch imprints and I wanted them to show up, so I did a dry brush technique on the bricks. I’ll share a tutorial for it very soon.
Since it’s nowhere near cold enough for a fire, some dried hydrangeas in a metal tool caddy make an ideal filler for the fireplace opening.
Any time I can add hydrangeas to our decor I do. They add a nice texture and have such pretty muted colors.
The little vintage tin tile plaques came from the Vintage Days market. Again, I had no idea where I was going to put them but knew that I loved the textures and patina on them. They fill in the void below the mantel shelf.
Last year’s fall mantel vs this year’s, after I painted the brick. Such a huge difference! Do you like the lighter look as much as I do? Watch for a tutorial on how I got this look very soon.
Click for sources of items:
- Cotton Stems – HERE
- Metal Tool Caddies – HERE
- Metal Sap Buckets – HERE (similar)
- Vintage Metal Egg Crate – HERE (similar)
- Wicker Demijohn – HERE (similar)
- Throw Blanket on Mantel Shelf – HERE
- Plaid Blanket in Egg Crate (top) – HERE
- Plaid Blanket in metal crate and on chair above – HERE
- Plaid blanket in metal crate #3 – HERE
And now here are all of my friends’ posts on our Fall Ideas Tour. New ideas will be available each day this week, so be sure to visit everyone throughout the week.
Mantels on Monday
Postcards From the Ridge / The Chelsea Project / The Everyday Home / Shabbyfufu /
Tablescapes on Tuesday
Vin’yet Etc. / What Meegan Makes / Home is Where the Boat is / Making it in the Mountains
Wreaths on Wednesday
Worthing Court / Dukes and Duchesses / Cupcakes and Crinolines / My Creative Days /
Printables on Thursday
Inspiration for Moms / Hunt and Host / Domestically Speaking / On Sutton Place /
Porches on Friday
Petticoat Junktion / Housepitality Designs / Hymns and Verses / Cottage at the Crossroads /
Those gorgeous galvanized vases, the plaid and cotton … everything about this is so perfectly Fall!
When I think of fall, these are all of the things that come to mind…plaid, cotton, and loads of fun textures!! Such a gorgeous mantel, Angie. Love all of the amazing details. And wow…paint made such a lovely difference, too!
Angie, I am planning on 'getting my fall on' this weekend so love the inspiration you just gave me. And that egg carrier!!! What a great piece with a fantastic history. And what a super group of bloggers…lots of inspiration here.
Have a great day!
Hugs, Lynn
I love every detail that you shared. I love the way you painted your brick! Using the dry brush technique makes it look beautifully muted!
ANGIE! thanks so much for including me in this tour! I love your tartans and plaids. You even have our family tartan represented. What a warm and beautiful and creative fall mantel!
So glad you joined us on the tour, Yvonne! Thank you for the sweet comments.
Angie, your mantel is gorgeous! I love all the plaid!
Thanks, Lindsay! I have way too many plaid blankets and scarves. It definitely comes in handy when decorating for fall and winter though!
Stopping by from the blog hop – thank you for sharing. Love the newly painted fireplace.
So beautiful, Angie! And I love the look of the brick makeover. Can't wait to find out how you did that!
my kind of math 🙂 you know I love every inch of this mantel, so pretty!!!
Thanks, Kim! So glad you like it!
I'm glad I'm not the only one who shops this way. My garage and attic are filled with things I love that I'm still figuring out how to use! But like you did with your mantel, I know I'll find a place for them at some point. Love everything about your fireplace. I covet your plaid blanket collection.
Haha. Yes, if something really speaks to me I try to get it even if I don't know what I'll do with it. Eventually I figure it out. Thanks!
I just love how you've used one of your plaid scarves on your mantel, and the painted fireplace looks awesome!
Thanks, Jane! I needed something to fill in some dead space and the big scarf worked perfectly. Glad you like the painted look.
Your mantel is fall perfection! I love the combination of metal, wood, old books, scarves, and cotton. I can imagine you lighting a fire this fall and enjoying an evening at home surrounded by your beautiful decor.
I am really looking forward to your brick tutorial. I love how you imprinted twigs and leaves into the paint. The lighter look really is pretty.
Thanks Paula! All of my favorite things piled up around the fireplace make me happy every time I look at it. And the imprints were already in the bricks. I did a heavy dry brush type paint technique to make the show up against the white paint.
Gorgeous! I love all the plaid blankets!
Thank you! I seem to have an addiction to them!
What a lovely tour, thank you so much for including me, I hope you like the tablescape I whipped up. I see we have the same mantra… I do that all of the time, some people actually know what they will do with all of the things they buy, imagine? 😉
Haha, yes. I can only imagine actually knowing what I would do with some of the crazy things that end up in our house! They always seem to find a purpose, though. Love your tablescape! It's so perfect for fall!
I am totally in love with your painted fireplace! I just love the leaf imprints….did the brick come that way? One of my favorite things in Fall are the leaves. The way you styled your mantel and fireplace is perfect for Fall and very cozy.
Thanks so much, AnnMarie! Lucky for us, the imprints were already in the bricks. I did a special paint technique that allowed them to show and not be painted. So glad you like the way I styled it! Thanks for dropping by! ~ Angie
Love how you used the throw blanket on the mantel and the use of different metals is just gorgeous!
Thanks, Maryann! I needed something to fill in the dead space on the mantel and grabbed the blanket. It's definitely different but I like it! ~ Angie
My goodness it always amazes me how a little paint can make such a complete change on a brick fireplace. We painted ours a few year ago too and afterwards I wondered what had taken me so long. LOL I LOVE all your plaid. I have a few too and loved pulling them out this year. Your mantel is just perfect and I know the rest of your home is all decked for Fall, too.
You're so right, paint can change so many things! And I wish I had done it years ago. Enjoy your plaid throws. There's nothing like to to make the house feel more cozy. ~ Angie
Your mantel and fireplace are absolute perfection, Angie! Everything about it made me feel warm and cozy and ready for fall with the exception of the book on calculus…that gave me chilly high school flashbacks. 😉
Haha. Yes, let's call that calculus book a Halloween decoration because it's frightening! ~ Angie
Such a pretty fall mantel, Angie! Love all of those plaid blankets and those tin tiles are amazing! So cozy and warm!
Thanks, Doreen. I'm mad about plaid for sure! And those little tin tiles stole my heart when I saw them. ~ Angie
Your Fall home looks inviting and cozy. Your fireplace looks great painted. Thanks for inspiring me.
Thanks, Meegan! Glad you like it! Have a great afternoon. ~ Angie
Love your textures on the mantel and hearth!! The cotton I can get my family in Arkansas to collect and save me some! Thank you for sharing and God bless Have a blessed and safe Labor Day
You're so lucky to have family that can gather cotton stems for you. I'm jealous! Happy Labor Day to you, too! ~ Angie
Oh I'm lovin' your painted fireplace hearth and the texture you've revealed with your dry brush technique! I'm mad for plaid so your beautiful throws and scarves are calling my name along with your wonderful wrought iron fence fragments!
Thanks, Mary! Those are some of my favorite items too! Can't wait to see your tablescape! ~ Angie
Love the painted brick Angie and your fall touches! Thanks for your work on this tour
Thanks, Janet. So glad you joined us on the tour! ~ Angie
Oh Angie! I love your mantel in plaids and metals. You stole my heart with the galvanized containers filled with cotton stems. It's totally beautiful, sweet friend. Totally. Wishing you a blessed and happy Fall season. Susie from The Chelsea Project
Thanks, Susie! Happy fall to you as well, dear! ~ Angie