Vintage Fall Mantel Decor

Fall mantel decor 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 be 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. 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. 

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 bird-cages. 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, a collection of decorative balls, or ornaments, or shells, and sea stars. I added some candles to my birdcages for this vintage fall mantel.

When you use a birdcage in your decor it forms a container for a little collection while at the same time being is open and transparent. And of course, they bring a bird theme to your decor. How could I not like that?

 More homemade wreaths your might like

<<<< DIY Hops Wreath >>>>

<<<< Winter Scarf Wreath >>>>

<<<< Pinecone Wreath >>>>

Vintage Fall Decor

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…..

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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