Welcome to our fall blog tour week 3 ~ mantle decor ~ and my ideas for small mantles!
fall greenery wreath with a sprinkle of cheerful orange berries ~
Our week 3 theme is “Mantle Decor”. Welcome if you’ve come over from The Crowned Goat 🙂 . I loved Coco’s white and neutral mantle display, with GORGEOUS ironstone pieces!
I have a love~hate relationship with my mantle. My fireplace is open on both sides and divides my living area from my dining area. So I have a mantle that runs around three sides ~ nearly 11′ linear feet of mantle ~ BUT ~ it’s only 4″ wide! I love the overall design, but sometimes hate trying to change-up the decor. It’s really more of a ledge than a true mantle. I have a large rectangular mirror with some hanging votives on the living area side, and a large round mirror with glass candle holders on the dining side. Time to add a little color and decor for fall!
my {small} mantle decorating challenge 🙂
I wanted some color and some greenery that would carry me through holiday with some minor add-on’s down the road. With minimal display space, I decided to try some berry garland on the ledge, and make my own wreaths. I used a few well-remembered tricks from my years of doing retail display ~ hang it up if space is an issue, tell a story with color and add a tassel or bow where you can 🙂 .
channeling my retail display years with wreath making supplies
~ making braided ties and tassels from twine!
I didn’t displace the things already in place. Sometimes I move things around and change them out, but I wanted this to be low-key, so I did not wipe it clean and start completely from scratch. Oh, and short of moving ALL the furniture, there is no way to get a good photo angle on the whole view ~ part of the whole {small} challenge. I added a wreath over the rectangular mirror and berry garland on both sides. Some dark pebbles replaced summer sand in the glass candle holders and vases on the dining side, and all the hanging votives were tarted up with braid and tassels made from natural twine.
berry garland, fall greenery wreath, dark pebbles and twine tassels 🙂
We wind up our fall tour next week with outdoor decor. Another interesting decor challenge for my high-rise place 🙂 . Jennifer from The Striped House will kick us off on Monday, and I will be back on Saturday to share my high-rise solution ~ it’s bluwaterstyle! Hope you’ll join us for the tour!
See you next week friends!
Vicki and Jennifer says
Bobbi- you certainly made the most of your mantels 4″ depth! Your beautiful wreath is truly gorgeous! Also, please tell us you are going to do a tassel tutorial! Love how your creation is from jute! Well done 🙂
bluwatergal says
Thanks so much Vicki and Jennifer! The tassels are easy, and you can make a bunch from a $3 spool of jute twine. Maybe our group should do a tassel and bow party via Skype! Bwg ~~~
CoCo says
Bobbi – This is crazy awesome! I’m with Vicki and Jenn that wreath is beautiful. I love the way you made this space feel seasonal by adding a few new items to the mantle. The jute tassels are amazing, sign me up!
bluwatergal says
Hi Coco ~ glad you like the wreath, as there are 2 more coming for next week! I’m in the school of “if it doesn’t move, add a bow, a tassel or a monogram”. Hmmm ~ maybe I can add a monogram cut-out somewhere too 🙂 Bwg ~~~
Jean Wheeler says
Awesome wreath! You are so talented and it looks so beautiful!!
bluwatergal says
Hi Jean! Good to “see” you! Thanks so much for your sweet comments :-). Miss you bunches!! Bwg ~~~
Jean Wheeler says
Bobbi, where did you get your wreath supplies? Love looking at these pictures.
bluwatergal says
Hi Jean! All the wreath supplies came from Michael’s ~ and I had a 30% purchase coupon too! Glad you like them 🙂 Bwg ~~~