Fallin’ for my mantel

Autumn is in the air! … and now it’s also in my living room.

Having recently painted (and fallen in love) with our (now) black mantel I could not wait to decorate it for Fall. And yes, I’ve fallen for it (ha ha, get it). No? Oh. Please just pretend you did (and sorry for the bad joke).

Anyway, here she is all decorated up niiiice (well, I think so anyway but I’m no professional…).

Since it’s a bit of far shot and the mirror is somewhat distracting let me zoom in to show the fun Autumnal elements!

The best part (well, in my opinion anyway) is that aside from the wreath which I just made (small supplies cost) everything else was FREE as I already had it on hand. I literally just brought it all out, dumped ‘er on the couch and began assembling until I was satisfied!

I got this glass pumpkin a few years back and have always loved it. I designed the mantel with it in mind and chose most of my colours playing off the ‘vibe’ that Mr. Pumpk was putting out. In the back is an opening for a tea light holder which adds a nice warm glow when lit.

I took some of the moss that I bought for the wreath (tutorial to follow in an upcoming post) and used it throughout the arrangement to tie my little vignettes into the wreath focal point.

I love the cozy relaxed nature that my ‘old’ and used candles offer. Having been lit in the past, they are all slouchy and organic. I love how they add to the warmth of this whole display.

Here is a close up of the right hand side. Those two frames were given to me by a coworker who was cleaning out her basement and thought I might like them. YES please! I have something in mind for the large one but before I paint it, it was the perfect hue for this display. The smaller bamboo one had no picture in it but I loved the wood that was simply the inside of the back. I left it this way as it added yet another texture. I personally think layering and texture are the keys to an interesting mantel (or any display really).

Here is the focal point wreath I made and as mentioned, I will have a follow up tutorial post. Not satisfied with the standard ‘Autumn wreath” (bright orange fake leaves and overly rustic) I decided to make my own! I wanted something simple and graphic and am really happy with how this turned out. And it was SO easy to make. Yay for easy.

Here is close up of the wreath. You can see the moss used here which I mimicked through the candles and other elements.

And here are a few nighttime shots with everything lit and aglow. YAY FOR AUTUMN!

Oh, and it SMELLS like Autumn in here too as these candles have the perfect Fall spicy scent. Love it.