Earlier this fall when I was decorating, our town crier lantern landed on the hearth. It's been in various locations throughout the house since we acquired it, but I really like it here.
My dad built it for his mother (my grandmother, of course) and my parents gave it to her for a Christmas gift in the 60s. I remember seeing it in her home and she always loved it, too.
He made it using a pattern which was offered in one of his woodworking magazines.
It has a lift which allows the candle to be pulled to the top of the lantern so that you can light and extinguish it. It also has vent holes in the bottom for airflow. I happen to use a battery-operated candle in it now, but those had not even been thought of when Dad built this! See the wooden rod in the picture below? That's how you operate the lift.
Lanterns are great home décor accents since they're so versatile. You can just have candles in them or you can fill them with seasonally-related items. I have even used this one as a centerpiece filled with a Santa figurine, rather than a candle, at Christmastime. I have another lantern which I switch-out for the seasons. For example, here's what it looked like in a post from last fall and I replicated that same look this year...fall lantern. Another smaller lantern I have was a gift from a student and his family and I enjoy using it at Christmastime as I did last year (New Red Lantern). Do you have a lantern? If so, how do you use it?