Getting Out of My Comfort Zone: Our Woodland Fall Mantel!

September 12, 2024

How to create a beautiful and rustic woodland themed fall mantel. 


I went out of my comfort zone with my fall mantel this year, but I'm so glad I did! This time I added decor I've only traditionally used at Christmas. 

This is my favorite fall mantel EVER. It has everything I love...overflowing with full fall leaves and beautiful, warm autumn colors. 

This time of year I definitely feel the need to nest, and in the fall and winter that means making the house feel as cozy as possible. In general I prefer less decor in the spring and summer, but in the cooler months give me all the layers and textures and colors!

Last year I decorated our mantel with some fall stems I found online: 
brown maple leaf mantel

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These long maple stems have a great array of small to large leaves and look like they have started to turn colors in the fall: 
48 inch maple leaf stem

I paired them with some amber votive holders on the mantel last fall and loved it!:
amber votives fall decor

I knew I wanted to incorporate these maple stems again, but wanted to create something more lush and full this time around.

I didn't have a distinct idea in mind...until I came across this photo online and fell in LOVE
fall mantel with evergreens

I can't find a source for it -- I'm pretty sure it was created with AI online. But isn't it so lovely? Just looking at it soothes me. :) 

That image inspired my "woodland" fall mantel theme. My version leans a little more fall and I LOVE IT. 

Thankfully I had the Christmas greenery to work with, as well as the leaf stems. Although I ended up getting two more stems to fill it in even more.  

I started by laying the evergreen stems down across the mantel. I like to have them falling off of the ends just a bit, to make it look more natural:
evergreen stems with pinecones

I start from each end and work my way to the middle. These are similar evergreen stems with pinecones

Then I added in the maple leaves on top, making sure to weave the leaves in and out of the greenery here and there.

The medium and large sized leaves on these stems have wire behind them, so not only can you manipulate the branches, but the leaves as well: 
fall maple leaves with wire

These stems are substantial (four feet long!). They really are beautiful and very high end, especially for the price.

I wanted to add some more "forest" touches, so I grabbed a few of these long acorn stems at Hobby Lobby:
wired fall acorn stems

These acorn stems from Michael's are very similar, as well as these Amazon acorn versions

Mine have wired branches, so it was easy to position them where I wanted them.

Wired stems are essential to creating a lush fall or holiday mantel arrangement!

I wanted at add just a bit more texture and color, and these colorful fall hops stems were PERFECT: 
colorful fall hops stems

I just love them, and am trying to hold back from going back for more. I think they'd be so pretty grouped together in a vase or vessel. 

I stuck them in the display randomly, just filling in empty spots that needed a little something. These are smaller, so you don't see them from far away so much, but they do help to make the whole mantel feel more lush and thick.

Target has a couple of pretty hops stems as well -- a colorful version like mine or this golden hops bundle of stems that would look fantastic in a bright white vase or a dark and moody one. 

I tucked and bent and rearranged, then stepped back and did it some more. The final touch (using my inspiration pic) was to nestle a few rattan pumpkins in the middle: 
rattan pumpkins on mantel

Those were from Target a few years ago I believe.

It turned out even prettier than I could have imagined...I'm so in love with how my woodland fall mantel idea came together!:
woodland fall themed mantel

I hesitated at first about using the evergreens in fall decor, but they work so beautifully with the warm tones. 

I could not love it more:
fall mantel with evergreen stems

Our dark blue fireplace (Cyberspace by Sherwin-Williams) is the perfect moody backdrop for the pretty fall colors: 
rustic woodland fall mantel decor

Now I'm trying to figure out what florals and/or leaf stems I can add to the greenery on our Christmas mantel! I would love to create something similar, with a holiday theme.

I can definitely use the acorn stems in my Christmas decor too. 

dark blue fireplace fall leaves mantel
I found my glass pumpkin at the Target dollar spot last year, but this one is similar

After living with this for a few days, the only addition I'd like to make is adding a strand of twinkling lights tucked in here and there. Wouldn't that be pretty at night? 

I've been hard at work on my office makeover (check out that link to see what I'm up to!), but I've been putting some fall decor out here and there. 

I hope to finish up this weekend. Until then, we have this beautiful spot to enjoy in our family room: 
woodland evergreen fall decor

I hope this different take on fall decor inspired you this season! Try something different -- you may be surprised at how much you love it. 

UPDATE: I found these amber colored fairy lights and weaved them through the leaves. It's so pretty at night!
rustic fall mantel with greenery

They are on a timer so will turn on and off on their own throughout the season. :) 



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woodland fall mantel ideas



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Comments

  1. Love! Fall is my favorite - your mantel is beautiful! Like the twinkle lights idea too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This looks so lush and full! Can you share how many of each type of greenery you used?

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    Replies
    1. I will try to count! I know I used five of the acorn sprigs and ten of the little hops stems. Thank you!

      Delete
  3. It looks really beautiful. You have a good eye.

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  4. I’d live to see you modify this to work for winter

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  5. Lovely mantel. Thank you for sharing, for autumn is my all-time favorite time of the year.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Where did you get the cute little glass pumpkin candy jar on the coffee table? Can you share a link?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I got it at the Target dollar spot last year, but Anchor Hocking has one on Amazon as well! I added a link under that photo. :)

      Delete

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