Vintage fall decorating ideas for a fall mantel with birdcages and a romantic fabric wreath with flowers. Loving this simple and elegant fall mantel with a definite vintage farmhouse fall decor flair. Let me show you how I pulled it all together with things I had lying around the house.
Elegant Fall Mantel Decor with a Vintage Twist
Did you catch the sneak peek yesterday? When I was showing you my Fall Table Setting, did you see my ‘mantel’ in the background?
This year’s mantel can both be categorized as elegant and romantic as well as vintage and bird-themed. I think it even has a bit of a vintage farmhouse in fall flair. I am quite proud of this autumn mantel. I think it looks very good. But please enter the living room and take a look for yourself. How would you classify the style of my fall decorations this year?
This fall fireplace decor definitely turned out more romantic and vintage than my latest decorations. I blame my fall fabric wreath for that. She set the tone for some vintage fall decorating. But it is okay. I like the tune she is whistling. I guess I am in a romantic mood…..
The soft, faded colors on my homemade fall wreath definitely are feminine, elegant, and romantic. And I love how she is shining as the focal point on my fall mantel hanging on that vintage mirror.
Now that the mantel has been decorated for fall, the season has officially started for me. Giving that shelf a new look is always a marker point for me. It is when I surrender and give in to the fact that the past season is truly over, and the new season has taken hold and it is time to start putting up some fall house decorations.
But I like fall. It is one of my favorite seasons. But giving up summer was hard this year since it was so short. But I am hopeful that fall will have many more beautiful days for us, days that I will enjoy wearing my favorite boots instead of flip-flops.
If you love fall decorating too, don’t forget to check out my Fall Mantel Gallery Inspiration page, these fabulous Fall Wreath Ideas, and an overview of the most stunning Fall Table Decorating Ideas.
Bird Cage Decor Ideas
I like the contrast between my soft romantic colors and the black of the birdcages. Gives the whole thing a bit of oomph, I think. These birdcages had been put away for a long time already. They had been on the ‘donate to goodwill’ list a couple of times. So far, they still survived, as you can see.
I remember when I first started blogging, birds and birdcages were everywhere, and nests. We all did a lot of nests back then. Then the more modern chevron came, and owls there were owls everywhere. Not my favorite bird. I skipped those trends. I did hop on the burlap train for a bit, and I think that one is still running. And now I have bird cages again.
Decorating with birdcages is fun. You can use them in all kinds of different ways. You can use a decorative birdcage as it is, but if you are looking for ideas on what to put inside a birdcage, I have a few ideas.
Some filler ideas for empty birdcages are:
- flowers
- faux birds or butterflies
- houseplants
- collection of decorative balls, ornaments
- coastal pretties like sea shells and coral
- candles
When you use a birdcage in your decor, it forms a container for a little collection while at the same time being open and transparent. And, of course, they bring a bird theme to your decor. How could I not like that?
More Homemade Wreaths You Might Like
<<<< DIY Hops Wreath >>>>
<<<< Winter Scarf Wreath >>>>
<<<< Pinecone Wreath >>>>
Vintage Fall Decorating Ideas
I like looking at my vintage fall mantel this year. The old-fashioned look of my birdcages, the vintage books flanking an antique mirror, and the little milk pitcher I found at a flea market. They all work together to give my fall mantel a nice elegant, and romantic look.
With my birdcage on a stack of vintage books…..
Speaking of books, do you see how awesome this binding is.
It is an old Dutch dictionary, and they used some sort of newspaper to glue the binding together. There is a big ad for Belgium chocolates there, and for pudding mixed in with life insurance offerings. I guess even in the old days, they knew that too much chocolate and pudding wasn’t good for you?
This is a very simple way of decorating with old books, but I have so many more ideas for using books in your decor and for making modern books look old and making them fit in with your decor.
I can stare for hours at the lettering and graphics in old newspapers. I love vintage bookbinding techniques…
And vintage mirrors…
Heck, I simply love decorating with vintage treasures, especially in the fall. Remember that super easy fall vignette with a vintage mustard pot? Or my farmhouse fall mantel with vintage breadboard and kitchen items? Or maybe you have seen my fall table decor with pumpkins that also features a rustic vintage breadboard. See! Vintage and fall decorating go hand in hand.
Mantel Decorating With Mirrors
My vintage french mirror has been the star of many of my mantel decorations. And she does it so well.
Using a mirror on your mantel is an easy and quick way to create a focal point. Of course, a mirror bounces extra light into the room, which is always welcome on dark and gloomy fall days. But it also is a great backdrop that adds an extra wow factor to your decorations.
When candles, flowers, or wreaths are reflected in a mirror, their impact doubles.
So what do you think? Did I get it right this year?
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Marianne Songbird is the founder of Songbird, where she hopes to inspire everyone to create a home they love, one DIY project at a time. She shares anything from craft ideas to home decor inspiration and from DIY projects to decorating hacks. Originally from the Netherlands Marianne and her husband Lex are currently renovating a 250-year-old farmhouse in Germany.
Etta says
Of course you got it right! It is beautiful! You can always add a crow to the cage for Halloween!
Etta says
Just looked at your Fall table setting post again – just love it! and read that you don’t do Halloween. We don’t either although it is becoming more popular in Oz.
Jeanine says
So Beautiful!
Lorrie says
Of course you got it right! I love that mirror, the stack of books and the birdcage. Very lovely.
Karen says
Your mantle is very pretty, love the addition of the bird cages.
Cindy at her Country Home says
Wat een prachtige post lieve Marianne! Heel mooi je schouw met al die poederachtige kleuren en dan zo’n ontzettend leuk vogelkooitje. Je hebt het absoluut “right”! Heerlijk deze herfstsferen bij, ik word er heerlijk rustig van dus blijf nog even kijken hahahah…. Lieve hartengroet van Cin xx
Judy says
Beautiful, it is romantic with the wreath, the big mirror, the white pitchers filled with green and love the bird cages with candles.
Elena @The Silberez Life says
I love the birdcages! And I love the color. It’s adds such nice contrast. I think it’s important to not feel like you have to follow whatever design choices are “in” at the moment and to just go with what you think looks good.
Nancy Wiebel says
I love your mantel. The birdcages look great and I have always liked them. I don’t like chevron so I haven’t adopted that trend either. There are some things that are timeless and I think the bird cages are one of them.
Nancy
Maria Aparecida says
I cant take my eyes out this … it’s so beautiful.
Tone says
Your dispaly is lovely! I have a mirror like that, where the foil on the glass has gotten a bitted cracked with age. The frame has an undesisable brownish color, and I have been thinking of painting it with maybe milkpaint. It would look great on my big, vintage hutch. And I defenitely should get some big old books!