Calling All Hallway Tables and Mantelpieces For Your Autumn Close-Up

Now that we’ve all settled in to drinking our pumpkin spice flavored coffees … ahhh, pull up a chair and let’s talk about decorating hallway tables and mantelpieces for the fall.

First, you do you. Decorate with things that have meaning to you, that you already have, and that make you happy. There’s no right or wrong way to bring joy to your home.

Decide whether you want to go with colorful designs, muted tones of beige and whites or a combination of both.

I went with a combination of reds, oranges and whites, using what I had from other years, plus adding in some inexpensive dollar and grocery store items I picked up.

Add a few real pumpkins and gourds to the mix to conjure the spirit and look of the season. Check out the outdoors for branches and real leaves you can scatter around on your fall tablescape.

Here in South Florida it’s hard to find fall leaves, so I bought some imitation ones and scattered them around.

Cluster or group decorative items together, either by themselves or with another item. For instance, try clustering groups of different size pumpkins around a candle holder or cake stand. You can also throw fruit into the mix. I added some apples for a harvest feel.

When she’s not napping, Bella recommends layering decorations. For example, use a cake stand or a pile of books to get some height and then layer in your decorations.

Look for balance. It could be symmetrical, as in placing two candle holders at either end of a mantel or asymmetrical, with objects grouped in one area.

Our Hallway Tablescape

We don’t have a hallway in our home. When you come through the front door, you’re already in the dining and sitting room area.

So we work with what we have, right? And to give the feel and look of a hallway, we put our round table opposite the front door and hey presto, we have a hallway of sorts.

Putting a table there also takes away the feeling that this space in only a pass-through to the kitchen and family room. Now the dining and sitting room feel as if they’re their own separate spaces.

The focal point of our hallway table is a large aluminum vase. I keep dried and artificial flowers in it and add color according to the season.

For autumn I added some red and gold foliage and scattered the faux leaves on the table. You can probably guess where I got the leaves and the flowers, right? Yes, the dollar store!

Then I grouped various sizes of pumpkins and gourds together, along with a candle. Some of the pumpkins also came from the dollar store and I also added some real ones to the mix.

I used my small blackboard to welcome the season and since every season needs a superhero, Batman graces the sign, along with a pine cone, a few painted bats, a gourd and a pumpkin!

Who says a little whimsy can’t be part of the mix?

It’s easy to transition from Halloween decor, such as the candles below, and put them away before November.

Blackboard signs are helpful for marking all kinds of family occasions, from birthdays and holidays to greeting guests upon arrival.

Here’s how the table looks without the sign.

Autumn Mantelpiece

At the risk of sounding repetitious, we also didn’t have a fireplace in our house. I’m sure the fact we’re in Florida had something to do with it.

But we didn’t let that stand in our way.

We took apart our faux fireplace and my talented hubs put the heater unit (which works) in the wall and made a pine mantel for the top. Then we distressed and stained the wood to give it a rustic look.

We took the frame of the faux fireplace, painted it and now it’s in the master bedroom. Another post, maybe!

It’s not a large mantelpiece but again, in the vein of working with what we have, we can place some autumn-like foliage and decorations along it. At Christmas we put the kids’ stockings on it.

The lights on the clock, a Home Goods find, are really Christmas lights but they work for fall too. Since I have a thing for bright shiny objects, I strung another set of lights along the mantel!

However you decide to decorate, have fun and enjoy your fall space, my friends.

I’d love to see what you’ve done. Comment with pictures of your autumn spaces so we can all inspire each other!