early fall mantel

Now that the calendar has turned to September, we shifted our decor moderately inside our home. The living room mantel is always a favorite spot to update seasonally. It’s a great focal point and can be viewed when first entering our home. We recently shared tips on {how to start transitioning to Fall decor slowly} and we are applying them here.

I am not quite ready to start using my Fall “specific” decor like pumpkins, acorns, etc. so this mantel is decorated with everyday items arranged in a Fall inspired manner. Truth be told I am not ready to start digging the fall bins out of the attic just yet, so this is a great way to bridge the gap, since I am also not totally ready to let go of summer either. You can see how I set the table in a way to straddle the two seasons here{cloche seashell tablescape}.

I used my favorite color palette for Fall, including browns, greens and gold. The main event are the amber jars and brown bottles DIYed with French graphic labels. The amber jars are from Hearth & Hand @ Target, which I picked up a couple of years ago. You can read about the {French label brown bottles DIY} here, which I made about 5 years ago and I use all the time.

I was prepared to use my limelight hydrangeas, but before I started snipping them in the backyard I stumbled upon these dried hydrangeas in my potting area and decided to use them instead. These were dried from last year’s bounty and I’m glad they survived. I like the organic texture they add to all the hard surfaces.

Along with the dried hydrangeas I also have a bit of gold bling. I just got these and you won’t believe what they are when I elaborate more in a post deeper into the Fall season. When I received these I initially did not think I would like them from the way they were packaged, but they are actually quite lovely and provide the right amount of gold sparkly bling, which is further reinforced by the gold gilding in the frames.

Down on the hearth pillows are piled high to add a cozy feeling by the fireplace. The fires in California are once again ravaging our landscape, which makes burning fires truly undesirable at the moment. There is so much smoke in the air that it’s an unwelcome thought. So the candles, which were on the mantel through the spring and summer, now reside in the firebox and create a nice glow and ambience.

The pillows on the hearth are all in different tones of greens with fabulous textures of brocades and velvets and jacquards and more. I love all the different tones and accents that play so well off of each other. They are pretty as well as practical for anyone who wants to sit comfortably on the hearth.

When I decorate each year I do not like to reinvent the wheel every time. Instead I build on previous years and tweak it for the current season. Last year we started the Fall season with a rustic mantel and if you’re interested, you can see more pictures by following the link below the picture to the original post.

I used the same rustic lanterns and dried hydrangeas from the garden but instead of using grapevine pumpkins {like I mentioned before, I’m not really ready for pumpkins yet} and pinecones, I used the amber jars and brown bottles. Also on the hearth I used a simpler display with the pillows this year instead of the bench and blanket with large lanterns.

The brown bottles with French labels have graced our mantel before many times. Back a few years ago the mantel had an outdoorsy, woodsy feel using these bottles and more.

The “official” start to Autumn is three weeks away and I will slowly be saying good-bye to summer with some last garden projects while at the same time welcoming Fall with open arms.

I love all things Fall, and regardless of the heat around here I am ready to embrace Fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving and all the things the season offers.

“And the sun took a step back, the leaves lulled themselves to sleep and autumn was awakened.”

Raquel Franco

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