How to Decorate With Lanterns – Inside and Out!
Here’s how to light up your decor.
Are you looking for versatile decorations to place around your home? Lanterns are home decor staples that are simple to use in multiple ways, both indoors and outdoors. These pieces range in size and design to fit any aesthetic, plus they shine a little extra light on your space! Here’s how to decorate with lanterns outside and inside your home to fill your spaces and make your rooms feel more homey.
Indoor Lantern Decoration Ideas
1. Place On a Decorative Tray
Have a decorative tray but don't know what to fill it with? Use a small lantern! Decorative trays can be used to hold home accents that highlight your style, including candles. Adding a scented or LED candle is another way to use this decor piece to complete your room and boost your aesthetic.
Lanterns are known for producing light and being candle holders, but that’s not the only way to use a lantern in your space. Swap out the candles for small succulents or plants for a different decor piece that will add a pop of color to your home.
Tip!
You can also place other home decor accessories inside lanterns for a unique decor element that features more than candles.
Bookcases offer a lot of space for home design elements, which means you have plenty of room to style a lantern! Placing a lantern on your bookcase is a great way to bring in an element of height to the bookshelf arrangement. The best way to decorate lanterns on bookcases is to match the colors of your bookcase with the frame of your lantern for a uniformed look.
Tip!
Learn more about styling your bookcase in our guide: How to Style Bookcases.
4. Go Big With a Floor Lantern
Whether you’re looking for an extra light or just a decorative piece, a tall and large lantern can do both while also filling in extra space. If you have extra room at the end of a table or looking to fill an empty corner, use a lantern to bring in height and purpose for any free area.
Wall-mounted lantern sconces are dual purpose – they’re both decorative pieces and ambient lighting. Most households use table lamps or ceiling lights, so switching it up inside your home with a wall-mounted lantern is a unique way to brighten your room and showcase your decorative piece in a different area.
Filling the center of a table is a simple way to decorate with lanterns in your home. Using your lantern as the centerpiece of an end table or dining table is a good way to make the table feel more cozy, especially if you’re using your lantern for candles and lighting.
Tip!
Complete your centerpiece year round with our guide: Table Centerpiece Ideas for Every Season.
Outdoor Lantern Decoration Ideas
1. Place a Pair on the Porch
Placing lanterns on your porch can create a warm ambience for your guests as they enter your home. Create a uniformed, balanced look by placing one on either side of your porch and filling them with LED candles. LED candles are easier to use than candles that need to be lit, since you can operate them with a switch.
Opting for front porch pendant lights shaped like lanterns can create a homey vibe while establishing a beautiful porch. Lantern lighting adds character to a front porch by elevating the design of your standard front porch light for a quaint, charming aesthetic. We love the subtle warm light that these lanterns emit!
If your home’s aesthetic is rustic, lanterns can be used to boost the rustic feel outside your home as well. The rustic aesthetic focuses on warm colors and natural elements like wood – as the frames of lanterns typically consist of a deep brown or bronze, they fit right into this design. Rustic lanterns look beautiful next to a wooden door or on top of a wooden floor, like in the picture above.
Lanterns shine (both literally and figuratively!) on outdoor furniture. Placing a lantern or two at the end of a patio table helps to fill space and decorate your patio area. When using two lanterns, create a tiered look with one bigger lantern and one smaller lantern.
Tip!
For more patio decor inspiration, check out our guide: 12 Must-See Backyard Patio Ideas.
5. Amplify a Glow
Using lanterns outside is a great way to amplify a cozy glow from a fire or from other patio lighting. Lanterns are big (and sturdy) enough to sit on the ground and to boost the cozy vibe. We suggest filling your lanterns with fairy lights and decorative pine cones for a nature scene that matches the atmosphere.
Looking for a simple way to decorate lanterns outside? Switch up your lighting with dangling lantern pendants. The dangling feature is eye-catching and unique enough to be a showstopper for your outside decor (as opposed to the standard wall sconce.)
Now that you know how to decorate with lanterns, it’s time to style your home!
