Fall Mantle

After two weeks of indecisiveness I have finally completed my Fall Mantle, Yay! I don’t know why I had such a difficult time getting it right, I must have arranged and re-arranged my mantle about 8 or 9 times before I finally felt good about it. I think the hardest part for me was coming up with a decor scheme that represents the cozy warmth and feel of Fall without using the typical Fall colors (aka shades of orange & red); instead I wanted to go with a more neutral, nature inspired color scheme that used natural elements and textures with subtle hints of color.

Without further ado, here is my Fall Mantle

Most of the pieces I used were things I already owned, and with the help of a little burlap and twine I was able to give them the fall-like look I was going for.  To give the entire mantle a nature inspired look I put a bunch of raffia down before adding the decorative accents.

I originally wanted to use mirrored accents, just because I have so many mirrored vases, candle holders, etc that are all complementary of one another; however they just didn’t have the rustic look that I was going for,  so I decided to go with white vases full of dried flowers coupled with varying neutral accents. To be honest, I really wanted to create a symmetrical Mantle; however after going to four different home good stores and not being able to find a set of matching vases I decided to go a different direction and mix it up a bit.

Here is a full view of the fireplace

One of my favorite DIY projects was the pennant banner, Here is a link that shows you a step by step tutorial on how I made my AUTUMN Pennant Banner

I wrapped a book box in burlap to give it a little character and used it to add height to the floral arrangement. I purchased the lantern at TJ Maxx for $10.00 (it was on clearance and of course I couldn’t pass it up). Inside the lantern is the Pottery Barn inspired candle that I made a few weeks back.

Here is an up-close view of the twine balls and raffia

I love this shabby chic candle holder, I paid $4.99 for it at Marshalls awhile back.  I took a flower arrangement that I bought this past spring and wrapped the vase in burlap to make them look more like fall. I purchase the glittered gold pumpkin a few weeks ago at TJ Maxx, I thought it would compliment the gold burlap candle that I used in the lantern.

I am not sure why, but I have a ton of these twine balls. I guess I’ve accumulated them over the years, but they are perfect for fall.

I found a bench up in the attic that my grandmother gave me when I was just a baby, so I’m excited to be able to use it again!! I wrapped the base of the flowers with burlap and set it on top of a book box that I also wrapped with burlap. I bought the pumpkins at Michaels (they were 40% off so I got all three for a little more than $10.00).