Have you had nice days the past few? We have had gloriously beautiful days this week! That’s another part of Fall that I love… when the air cools off enough to be clean and clear. I think the sky is bluer this time of year than any other.
Another aspect of Fall that I love is the decor- it was such fun putting together this year’s fall mantel!
Last year, I used lots of color in the mantelscape; This year I focused on texture. I also used some vintage items and heirlooms. Some items are not vintage, but I had almost everything on hand already!
Let’s construct the mantel, shall we?
Anchoring the arrangement is this architectural print. I got it, oh… maybe two years ago, on clearance at Homegoods. It never seemed quite right to me, because it used to look like this:
It’s not that I didn’t like the pickled finish, but with my wall color, it just didn’t ‘pop’!
So, I got out my trusty brush and paints and dry brushed a combo of black, burnt sienna and gold metallic. Now the frame has some depth, and is a perfect complement to the bronze and iron items on the mantel. It’s a small tweak with big impact. I do love the sienna architectural print!
Then, I began to layer items; a shelf under the print for height, a clock on a stand, a tray, some dried flowers, candlesticks and pumpkins. The cloth is an embroidered tablecloth that belonged to my mother and her mother before her. The candlesticks were also my mother’s, and they already had that beautiful hammered finish. Since I wanted to use pillar candles, rather than tapers, I popped into WalMart and bought candle plates, spray painted them with a hammered finish paint, and voila…
Three ears of corn wrapped and tied with twine is a simple way to add color and texture to any fall decor. And the ‘pumpkin’ here? A spool of paper twist ribbon, unspooled, tied through the center with twine and fanned out! A skinny pine cone is plopped on top to serve as the stem! How easy is that?
Incorporated into the design are my twine pears, of course!
And there you are… A few tweaks and some vintage items produce a welcoming mantel with lots of texture.
Like my mantel? Pin it! Thanks!!
To pin, just click on the red ‘Pin-It’ button that pops up on the image…
This post is part of the Festival of Fall series!
I am honored to participate with the other blogs in this fall tour… and am totally thrilled to be co-hosting as well!
I would love for you to visit each of the other blogs who are participating with me in the Festival of Fall, hosted by Barb Garrett of The Everyday Home blog and yours truly!
Each day is a different theme, and I am sure you will love seeing all the great projects presented each day – so please come back and see what’s new!
Monday, Sept 22 – Fall Crafts
Tuesday, Sept 23 – Fall Recipes
Wednesday, Sept 24 – Fall DIY
Thurs, Sept 25 – Fall Decor
Friday, Sept 26 – Home Tour
See you tomorrow!
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