Simple Fall Mantel

It's starting to feel like Fall in our area!  Temps have dropped a little in the evenings and mornings, and we're hopeful we'll have a few cool days soon as well.  To get into the spirit of things, I added simple Fall decor to our mantel.  

With the burlap wreath, metal frame and shutters already in place, I added a few other items found in my stash.

I have a tendency to arrange things balanced and symmetrically and really do try to step out and do things a little more free form.  But, balanced won out again this time.  

The method to my madness is to take out anything Fall-like that I have on hand and place it all around me, trying each item and combinations of items on the mantel until I find an arrangement that "feels" right to me.  Our living room becomes an unfortunate casualty during the process! 

By mixing color, textures and different heights, arrangements provide much more visual interest.

Sometimes an item may be just the right height, but is the wrong color or texture, so I weigh options for changing it to make it work.  A couple of those options are to paint the item (my #1 favorite option!), or to temporarily cover or wrap the item in fabric, design paper, etc.  


As mentioned above, the mantel was bare except for:

• Burlap wreath - so easy to make and I will post a DIY soon

• Wood shutters - find my DIY post HERE 

• Framed Metal Art found at Hobby Lobby

As I went thru my stash of decor, the following made the cut and were included in the mantel arrangement:

2 Flameless candles (6" tall x 4-1/2" wide)
2 Candlesticks (9" tall)
2 Flameless candles (5" tall x 3" wide)
2 giant pinecones
2 plate chargers 
2 faux burlap pumpkins
Black striped upholstery webbing
Thick jute twine

I started by placing the two plate chargers in front of each wood shutter, on either side of the metal frame.  The chargers were once bright gold - check out my post HERE to find out how I converted them to the gorgeous Fall-ready oil rubbed bronze color. 

Next I placed the taller candles (wrapped in upholstery webbing) on the candlesticks and placed them on the outer edge of each shutter.  Then, filled in the space by adding the pumpkins, smaller candles, and giant pinecones. 

Finished off with the upholstery webbing banner made by cutting seven 7" strips for pennants.  Cut a triangle from the bottom of each pennant.  On the other end, fold the top of each pennant down 1" to slip over the jute twine.  Secured the folded end with hidden straight pins (or you can use hot glue).  The pennants slide easily along the jute twine. 

The jute twine is tied on either side of the top of the mantel to small tack nails that are concealed by the knotted twine. 

    

Regarding the framed metal art, have you noticed in any of my photos that you're actually seeing the back side of the frame? The back side is the dark metal finish, and the front of the frame is a lighter colored distressed finish that I'm not that fond of.  I've not yet decided which color to paint it, so have been displaying the darker back side for now.  Sneaky, huh?  In this pic you can see the exposed built-in hangers on the lower corners of the frame ...

A few additional details:

The cute faux burlap pumpkins were Dollar Tree finds and I love the way they're lightly glittered and sparkle in the candlelight.

 The upholstery webbing wrapped candles were secured on the back side of the webbing with a small piece of clear packing tape - can be easily removed and webbing reused.

 The lantern sitting on the floor to the left of the mantel is from Home Depot and is filled with a flameless candle surrounded by natural leaves.

The tall metal candleholder is one of my favorites!  Found at a wonderful local plant nursery, it holds 3 flameless candles and the center section lifts out for easy removal of the candles.

The tall single candleholder next to the lantern is one that I've had for years that I believe was purchased at At Home (formerly Garden Ridge Pottery).

One last note - the three hand painted birch bark candles in the fireplace are from Pottery Barn and are no longer available.  But, they currently offer them in flameless and you can find them HERE.  I love them so much I've never lit them.  

Do you find Fall decor and colors to be as appealing as I do?  The warmth of neutrals and natural elements create such a calm and cozy atmosphere. I hope you've enjoyed my Fall mantel and fireplace decor!  It's been such fun sharing it with you!

Thank you to Gluesticks, Pieced Pastimes, Christman's Creations and Must Love Home for graciously featuring this post!
 

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