Fall fireplace ideas – 10 ways to create a cozy seasonal focal point

A beautifully dressed fall fireplace makes a wonderful focal point in any room. While fireplaces often provide a natural centerpiece in the living room all year round, during fall and winter the fireplace really comes into its own and can play a key role in creating a cozy home. Indeed what's more inviting than returning home on a cold, crisp fall day to the warm, comforting glow of a crackling fire at the heart of a cozy living room?

Whether you have a working fireplace or an empty fireplace, there are plenty of ways to make it magical for fall – to get you inspired we’ve gathered our favorite ideas along with some handy tips.

11 fall fireplace ideas perfect for cozy season

Sitting at the heart of the room the fireplace makes a fitting place to embrace fall decor ideas. For a touch of seasonal style you can't go wrong with decorative fall mantelpiece ideas, however, decorating the hearth, above the fireplace and the coffee tables and side tables around the fireplace can all help create a warm and inviting focal point, too. Introducing fall-inspired artwork, making sure you have all the right fireside tools and switching up accessories on the hearth are all things you can do to get your fall fireplace looking its best.

1. Decorate with accessories in warm fall colors

Introducing accessories in warm, earthy accent colors such as ochre, rust, and brown will instantly bring a cozy feel to a living room fireplace and they look particularly effective set against dark walls.

In this cozy living room a velvet ochre footstool and throw bring instant warmth and fiery orange pumpkins, candles and sculptural flowers add additional pops of harvest season color. The option is low commitment too, you can switch out smaller pieces around your fireplace for an instant autumnal refresh.

2. Paint the fire surround a warm shade for a cozy living room centerpiece

Of course, painting rooms from season to season is not practical, so we’re not suggesting you get your brushes and overalls out for your fall fireplace. However, if you are embarking on a new living room color scheme it’s worth thinking about going for a cozy fall palette both on the walls and around the fireplace.

Living rooms are places we naturally gravitate to in fall and winter, so it’s important they are inviting spaces. Warm cozy paint colors like earthy terracotta, ochre and brown are guaranteed to create a cocooning sanctuary perfect for hunkering down in during fall, but they can also work all year round.

‘Warmer tones work best in living spaces,' advises Emma Deterding, founder of Kelling Designs. 'Colors like soft ochres or muted pinks can help to create a relaxed and intimate environment that is suited to a space where we relax and unwind with loved ones.'

If you're after color inspiration for a cozy living room paint company Lick recently launched a new Nostalgic palette full of warm colors perfect for fall. ‘Amongst the cozy colors in the palette are earthy brown, burnt orange, brownish red and plum purple-colors that decorators have historically been afraid to use, or have associated with being dated,' says Tash Bradley, color psychologist at Lick. 'These colors are seeing a huge revival, with Google searches for “cozy colors” up +80% this past year, as well as “earthy orange paint” (+50%) and “dark red brown paint” (100%) also seeing increases, reflecting this upward trend.

For a contemporary and enveloping look consider painting the in fireplace the same color as the walls as part of a color-drenching effect. ‘A great way to use the darker, bolder colors is by color drenching an entire room,' adds Tash Bradley. 'This will tone down the intensity of the color as there is less contrast, creating spaces that feel surprisingly calm.'

3. Create a glowing focal point with candles and folliage

When summer starts to fade, bring the outdoors in and create a beautiful mantelpiece decor arrangement inspired by the fiery colors of fallen leaves.

Set the scene with a faux fall wreath and garland such as these from Gisela Graham and nestle in pumpkin ornaments, seasonal scented fall candles, dried flowers and vintage books to complete the look.

4. Forage fall foliage

You don’t need to spend lots of money when it comes to styling a fall fireplace, dressing the mantelpiece with a fall garland made up of foraged greenery is an easy and affordable way to decorate your home.

‘For autumn, dressing a mantelpiece with natural materials such as foliage or hops is a lovely way to bring the outdoors in, especially as we start spending a little less time outside,’ says Poppy Munson, product developer at Nkuku.

‘To add height and contrast, weave in beautiful recycled glass home accessories like glass candle holders in rich tones that work perfectly with natural greenery. As Christmas approaches, why not swap these for our candlesticks in antique brass to add a festive touch?’

5. Switch to seasonal artwork above the fireplace

As it's often the natural focal point in a living room, the fireplace makes a wonderful place to decorate with art. ‘It's important to make sure any artwork you hang is connected to the rest of the interiors, it would look odd to hang a tiny painting on a huge bare wall. Art needs to connect to the furniture and its surroundings, a fireplace perhaps, or in between two sets of curtains,' explains Emma Sims-Hilditch, founder at Sims Hildtich.

Switching up prints throughout the year is an effective way to embrace seasonal style. For fall, why not look to nature and hang a series of pressed ferns and fallen leaves?

6. Use an empty fireplace to store your winter library

For those wondering how to style an empty fireplace, there are plenty of ways to make it magical for fall including lanterns, logs, pumpkins and bouquets of seasonal and dried flowers.

Fall is the time for hunkering down with good books, so if you’re a book worm an empty fireplace might make the perfect storage spot for those books you’ve been longing to get stuck into over winter. If you don't have space for a bookcase or a coffee table the hearth can also make a good spot for piling up your favorite coffee table or inspiration books.

7. Blend charm and practicality with the right fireside tools

If you have a wood burner or an open fireplace it’s important to have the right fireside tools. Fireside tools are essential for handling the fire safely and a fire guard will prevent dangerous spitting embers from catching carpets or marking floors. A log basket is a must, alongside extra buckets or baskets for kindling and firelighters.

And these tool can be aesthetically pleasing too, not just purely practical. Add rustic charm with vintage-looking tools and a fireguard.

8. Create a rustic display with logs

Modern properties with sound insulation and underfloor heating systems don’t require working fireplaces these days, but incorporating one into a design can help create a focal point within a large, contemporary space. When it comes to styling a contemporary fireplace a simple stack of logs can create a Scandi decor feel, alternatively try a series of sculptural branches gathered from the countryside in a rustic vessel.

Introducing organic, natural materials is a great way to blur the boundaries between outside and in and bring softness to contemporary spaces which are often characterized by strong angles and hard surfaces.

9. Decorate the hearth with vintage finds

You don’t need to spend lots of money styling a fall fireplace. For affordable mantelpiece and hearth decor ideas full of character look to nature and decorate with vintage finds.

In this cozy kitchen, a large vintage glass bottle filled with sculptural dried allium heads makes a wonderful rustic fall styling idea while the mantelpiece is lined with an array of rustic ceramics and shapely dried seed pods.

10. Style coffee tables and side tables around the fireplace

British fabric designer Vanessa Arbuthnott’s cozy home is magical at fall. Not only is the mantelpiece decorated with seasonal foliage including Chinese lanterns, coffee tables and side tables are decorated with harvest delights. The ottoman in front of the fireplace is styled with a cozy Welsh woolen blanket and a bowl of windfall apples while occasional tables are dotted with shapely squashes and gauds in a mix of colors.

The fireplace becomes the heart of the home at this time of year, so makes sense to style it, and the space around it to be a cozy, welcoming focal point. You don't need to make a massive overhaul, nor does it need to be an expense. Change the color scheme with decor, switch out any artwork, forage for some fall foliage to put in vases or along the mantle, and of course plenty of candles will do the trick.