Impromptu Fall Mantel Makeover

So Baby P and I are visiting Grammy and we took a little trip down to the lake over the weekend. It was so much fun and we had nice weather. Can you believe husband W wants to cut off that sweet baby hair? I love how wild and wavy it is and it makes me sad to think of losing it!

While at the lake, I noticed that the mantel looked like this...

Everything else looks super cute, my Mom is good at rounding up cozy, interesting things for the cabin. But this mantel was just so EMPTY! So I started gathering some things from around the house. Books, lamps, placemats, fake ducks (actually there were maybe 5 to choose from), and some goldenrod from outside. There is tons of it blooming right now (Goldenrod is the state flower of KY, BTW).

The things I tried to consider were the many textures already existing (stone chimney and wood mantel) and the high ceilings (meaning lots of exposed chimney). The fish was not optional. Ideally it would be hung a little higher, but I needed help, a drill and a ladder so I left it alone for now.



I really like the chunky, unfinished wood mantel.

This is a neat textured basket that I found, filled with pinecones and walnuts.

The vase is just a plain, clear glass florist's vase. I wrapped a plaid placemat around it and tied it with a little piece of raffia. The chubby, little pumpkins were swiped from my Mom's dining table arrangement.

On the left is an old-fashioned oil lamp converted to an electric light. I put it on a stack of books to try to get some height. I found an old checkerboard that I stood up against the chimney, it helped the lamp and wooden duck stand out a little against the texture of the stone and added some visual interest. There's a small mason jar full of checkers behind the piece of goldenrod. On the right is a big basket of pine cones and walnuts with the vase of goldenrod and little pumpkins. Also on the right are two small, fake oars. I found them floating around the house and I think they were from a canoe shaped coffee table my parents had years and years ago. Again, I was thinking "Height."

 

This is not an elaborate change and it was definately not time consuming. I think it suits the rustic feel of the cabin and it's not overly symmetrical. There are some things I would change or do differently given unlimited supplies and resources, but it's nice to know that you can do a cheap, easy upgrade with what you can find around the house and outdoors. Puts me in the mood for fall and Thanksgiving!