Simple Fall Mantle (Vintage Bottles + Pumpkins + Flowers!)

A couple of weeks ago, I shared my progress with covering the enormous wall of tile in our living room with beadboard, and mentioned that I styled up our mantle for fall. Well I'm back today to share some details about the simple things I did to pull it together.

I pulled out my collection of vintage bottles since I knew the blue would pop beautifully against the new white backdrop. I inherited every one of these from my grandmother on my mom's side. She had a huge collection, and the girls in the family divided them up when she passed away (yep, she had a ton based on the fact that I have all of these!). They used to sit in her kitchen and I'll always have fond memories of looking at all of them there as a kid when I'd visit :). I'm glad I have them as a reminder of her!

These bottles are timeless and have so many uses. I can imagine a bunch of them clustered together as a centerpiece on a table, a few arranged as a vignette on a table...or up on a mantle like this. Last spring, I gathered several together on a tray and used them as miniature vases for tulips. They were just so pretty!

I used that idea as inspiration for my fall mantle. I used a few of the bottles as vases for flowers (which came from Trader Joe's), and used others to vary the height of the mini pumpkins I wanted to incorporate.

Height variation makes an arrangement like this much more interesting. I love the semi-random heights of the pumpkins and the flowers. Each bottle has a unique look to it with either pumpkins or flowers (or nothing at all), but it has a balanced look overall.

And heck, if a big ole black TV has to sit front and center on your mantle, you might as well make everything around it look pretty, right?

Up close, you can see how unique each bottle is - aren't they fun? I especially love that fish one all the way on the right in the photo above.

So that's my fall mantle: I shopped the house, bought a few pumpkins and flowers, and kept it simple and fun!

What have you done to decorate for fall around your house?

Trend Alert: Copper

image credits from left to right starting at the top: 

terrarium || copper-leafed candles || pendants ||small plant pots || starburst art || kitchen shelves || planters || chair || mirror || large number

Happy Monday y'all! How were your weekends? I just got back from a whirlwind work trip to New Orleans, so I've got a short post for you today that I've been wanting to share for awhile now.

I've seen a fun trend popping up all over home decor and DIY land lately - copper! - and I'm really diggin' it. I think I'm still a gold girl at heart, but copper is a fun accent to throw in as well to change things up. It mixes nicely with other metals and really brings a feeling of warmth to a room - similar to the way that gold and brass do. As many of us start to cozy up our homes for fall with the arrival of cooler temperatures, this is a perfect accent color to bring in. In my (humble) opinion, it looks best in small doses like in the photos above. A little goes a long way!

Copper can be quite an expensive metal to buy (ever taken a look at the price of copper cookware or pipes?), but you don't have to actually buy real copper to get the look in your home. Try spray painting or adding copper leaf to an accessory. Some of those things may be in my crafting future!

What do you think of the copper trend? Is it something you have or want to bring into your home?

Simple and Budget-Friendly Fall Decorating Ideas

We've had a couple of cooler days here in Philly and with football season in full swing, I'm finally willing to turn a little bit of my attention to the season that's now upon us: fall. As I've said before around here, I heart summer like, big time, so it's hard for me to let go :). Once fall arrives, I do love it too - it's a big adjustment for me, haha. Anyway, I'm not a huge seasonal decorator, but I do like to add in some season-appropriate elements around the house when that change comes. Seasonal decorating doesn't have to be super involved, nor does it have to be expensive. A few budget-friendly elements here and there are all it takes.

When it comes to fall decorating specifically, your house doesn't have to look like you planted an orange pumpkin patch all over it (unless that's your thing, of course) and it doesn't have to scream halloween either. There are lots of little ways you can make things feel more like fall in your home and I've got a few for you to consider today. Feel free to add your ideas to this list in the comments section!

First up, cozy things up with texture and natural elements.

I love these birch bark-wrapped candles and woven pumpkins that Four Generations One Roof added to her dining room table.

It doesn't get any simpler than throwing some pinecones, tree branches and white pumpkins into a tall, clear vase and putting it on a side table, buffet or entryway console. No fancy styling tips needed!

Baskets are something you probably already have and fit in beautifully with fall decor. Texture like that just feels like fall, don'tcha think?

Take this photo for example. It doesn't scream fall, but can't you see it in a room with a fireplace and a warm cup of coffee? Cozy.

Here's another great example of incorporating a basket into your decor along with some other natural elements:

Make a fall wreath for your front door a la this corn husk wreath from At the Picket Fence.

Or how about this dyed coffee filter one?

Haul out those blankets from the deep, dark corners of your closet and put them on display. DIY yourself a blanket ladder for them, or find one at a flea market or thrift store like this one below. I've seen these ladders all over the place lately! Or you can keep it simple and just put them in one of those baskets like the photos above :).

Add in some new art around the house. You can make this chalkboard poster art for $4! Talk about cheap thrills.

Another easy idea? Sketch something fall-related on a piece of stained wood. It's simple, rustic, and probably takes about 30 minutes of work (unless you're indecisive like me and can't decide what sketch).

If you've got a mantle, decorate it! Play around with some different fall-related accessories like candles, tree branches, pumpkins, gourds and wreaths. Shop your house, and don't feel like you have to only use things you'd see in the fall section at Target (though, man, they've got some good stuff right now). I'll bet you could find plenty of things in your house and not spend a dime on "fall decor."

Here are 12 ideas to get you started:

Oh wait a sec...25 more...

...and I'd better stop with that. I could go on all day! What are you doing to decorate for fall?

Fall "Makeshift" Mantel

Heyo! I think this is my first official fall post. I had to wait until it was officially fall to start posting about this new season (although I feel like I'm the last blogger in the world to have something fall-related up!). Nothing like a change of seasons to get you in the redecorating spirit though, so on Sunday, I spent a relaxing chunk of time styling our "mantel" in our apartment.

Why did I put mantel in quotes you might ask? Well, it's because our itty bitty city apartment doesn't have a true mantel, so I use the top of the old jelly cupboard we got from my grandparents as a makeshift mantel. The piece is a focal point in our living room just like a fireplace mantel would be, so it totally makes sense to me! I love changing things up on it, and each season brings a new chance to be creative with it.

I'm not one to really decorate thematically - I'd rather bring in a few subtle seasonal items slowly over time. When fall rolls around in September I add in more texture and layer various items to bring in some warmth to my decor.Once October hits, I'll add in a pumpkin and maybe some burlap and call it a day :).

So even though there's no "theme" per se, I did choose a basic color scheme for the major components: whites, silver and clear glass - then I added color in bite size pieces. One of the great parts about this look is that I shopped my house for everything - not a dollar spent here! Hooray. I'll bet you've got plenty of things around your house you could use for something like this too. Just start playing around and see what happens!

Let's start at the bottom with fabrics...I layered two: a nubby off-white table cloth (folded in thirds) on the bottom followed by a piece of powder blue and off-white chevron (it's this Premier Prints Zig Zag fabric in blue/natural *affiliate link).

On top of that sits my big ole rectangular white ceramic platter with a stack of books I covered in brown kraft paper to give them a cohesive look (the covers are REALLY bright colors normally!). The brown was feeling a little blah on its own though. It needed a little something "extra" so I added strips of pretty yellow diagonal stripe washi tape to each edge.

Here you can peek in on the original colorful book covers from the sides.

I've gotta say though, my two favorite parts of the mantel are the silver bowl with the stack of pine cones and the book page wreath I stuck on the mirror.

You might recognize that wreath from my 5 Days of Book Page Crafts series I did back in August. I'm glad I held onto it, because it works perfectly here!

The reason I love the silver bowl full of pine cones is because I really like the contrast between the rustic, natural look of the pine cones and the refined "formal" feel of the silver bowl. When they're together, the pine cones get dressed up a bit, and the silver bowl takes on a more casual vibe. I guess opposites really do attract, huh?

I think that about wraps up my take on a fall "mantel." Let's zoom out and take a look at the whole thing one more time:

If you have any questions, let me know in the comments!

How are you transitioning your decor for fall? Any of y'all dressing up your mantels (or putting together a makeshift mantel like I am)?

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