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I have been a little lax lately about updating my mantel piece. I think it should be done monthly.

This is what I have done for fall.

The platter to the right I dearly love. Bought it at a yard sale for $2 but it was in pieces. DH mended it. The platter over the clock was my great-grandmothers. The plate to the left of that was a swap shop find. It is hand painted and was a gift from one woman to another in 1900 (this all written on back) it is of pine cones.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: lady of shallot,

I spy the new Don Quixote bust amongst your lovely decorative pieces. Alas, my fireplace doesn't have a mantel so I don't have that decorating opportunity.

Very pretty!

And yes, I spy the bust as well!

Martha

For about a week -- this was our fall mantle in the dining room -- the mums (from the garden) were leftover centerpieces from a dinner party.

Martha

I really want DH to put a faux (electric firebox) fireplace in our Living room. Since that room is our 'entry' room into the front of the house, I do not want a TV in there. It will be a conversation and reading room. I loved our living room in Virginia, great place to get away from the excitement and loud voices in the kitchen where most guests gathered. We (the gals) could retire to the living room and have a nice peaceful conversation. I am happy to have that extra room to do that with in this house.

We will get to that room next year, after the kitchen is done. But I can live vicariously through you who have your Fall decor up on your mantels. Wonderful peaceful Fall moods going on!

PHOTO: Virginia house, I would pull out RED (through Amaryllis) as a color in the fall and work my way towards adding to that rad for Xmas decor! I would slowly bring in the evergreen foliage. The Fall colors always reminded me of raking, and we could see the leaves on the ground through the windows, so I only brought a few of those colors, if any indoors.

The palms were year round decor to reminisce of my mild winters in Florida (which I have returned to!)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Mary Ruth,

Very pretty - spectacular amaryllis!

Martha

quote:

Originally posted by Linderhof:
Very pretty - spectacular amaryllis!

Agree! I've been wanting to try one - got any tips?????

I had a live one, but it was not blooming at the time of the photo. There are lots of sources online that explain how to force the bulbs to open for Christmas. Love that flower! I brought these silk ones (from Michaels and the single is from TJMaxx) with me to Florida, where I will use them in a different type container.

Those in my photo are silk ones. I loved to bring out the bright reds as the Christmas season started in the Fall. Just gave me the energy and motivation to decorate.

quote:

Originally posted by junk collector:

quote:

Originally posted by Linderhof:
Very pretty - spectacular amaryllis!

Agree! I've been wanting to try one - got any tips?????

So simple. You can buy them now in a kit, a small box with a bulb, soil disc and plastic pot. I always pot them in a decorative cache pot or jardiniere. Walmart and Home Depot have them for cheap. (Last year, the were $5 each at Walmart.)You can also find them on Amazon.

Idiot-proof instructions come on the box. I do them every year and have had wonderful results each time. Just be sure to check the expiration date or make sure they are for 2012 planting.

Great suggestions aychihuahua,
I must be one of those idiots because I have had a few that would not bloom!

quote:

Originally posted by Mary Ruth:
Great suggestions aychihuahua,
I must be one of those idiots because I have had a few that would not bloom!

Rest assured that there are some amaryllis bulbs that will never bloom, despite one's best efforts. I always peek inside the box and pull out the bulb to see if they are hard and fresh looking. If the bulb is withered or soft, mushy and stinky, you know you have a dud.

Here's mine. I always hesitate because I know that the reflection in the mirror of popcorn ceiling and track lighting is not ideal, but it is much less obvious in person than in pictures (and I also always hesitate whether to call attention to it, but much has been mentioned on this forum about having a good reflection in mirrors so it makes me conscious of it...)

I don't have a fireplace but I did install some homemade shelves and display my fall artwork/crafts/yard sale finds on it. I made the shelves from an old dresser top, all frames are yard sale, I did the paintings except the bird watercolor. Found it at a yard sale -- the original was about 2 1/2 x 3 feet but I only liked the one corner, so I cut it up and framed the part I liked. The quail was 50 cents from a Florida yard sale and it was cracked and chipped. I repaired the crack, painted the chipped parts, and lightly brushed the whole thing with gold paint, then sprayed it with high gloss poly. Looks much better in real life.

I would guess the entire display, including the shelf, was less than $6.00.

aychihuahua,
Thanks for the great advice! Well at least I have a more positive outlook for getting some bulbs and trying again! I will be more careful in checking for duds!

We started our interest in Amaryllis through a gift from a family member (of bulbs) and that was such a positive experience that we loved having them at Christmas each year!
That same set of bulbs bloomed again a few times for us.

Nitalynn,
I would not apologize for your mirror reflection! I think you have a nice fireplace and I like the shape of it and how it sits off the floor. Is that a recessed area that is beige? Nice that it frames the fireplace and the over mantel area. Love the pheasants and bowl to, and your using books as lifts. The fall leaves and wreath really echo the Fall season!

Your drapery fabric is lush and so are your wood floors!

MyLifeVacation,
Pretty vignettes for Fall, and the Great BARGAINS you got were incredible! love the effect that the plant & pheasant add to the mix.

Thanks, Mary Ruth. The fireplace is actually protruding, not recessed. An optical illusion I guess! It was orginally all brick and we dry walled over the brick and built the mantel surround.

I am bumping this thread in hopes that some of you have now decorated your mantels for Christmas. I'm having a difficult time with mine. Any advice? I always have trouble decorating my mantel no matter what time of year it is.

LOS, hope you don't mind.

Here is what I would do to your mantel. First remove everything on the shelf and get a lighted green garland to drape across it. Then add your accessories back in starting with the candlesticks. Add just enough to make it look balanced but don't overdo. You probably should use either the center wreath or the two swags but not all three.

quote:

Originally posted by Georgia Peach:
Any advice? I always have trouble decorating my mantel no matter what time of year it is.

I like Cavin's advice to add greenery to the mantel. And lots of it.

What makes a mantel display effective and beautiful, IMO, is for it to tell a story. One of the easiest ways to do that is through repetition or using multiples. GP, you have some lovely items, but together they don't tell a story.

One idea: remove the plates and the lighted snowman (Relocate them somewhere else where they can be better seen and admired. The scale of these items is too small for the rugged brick and wood mantel.)

Keep all three wreaths and candlesticks where they are. Add an array of plain, but hefty pillar candles (in white or off-white)in glass hurricanes or lanterns, in varying heights, in the center of the mantel. This will repeat the lighted effect of the wreath.

No lights are necessary for the greenery with all those candles, but you may want to add one large red ribbon to each side of the greenery and perhaps nestle in a few pinecones to repeat the ribbon-pinecone motif from the wreaths.

More ideas: http://img4-2.southernliving.t...efined-l.jpg?400:400

http://img.hgtv.com/HGTV/2009/...s-mantel_s3x4_lg.jpg

This message has been edited. Last edited by: aychihuahua,

quote:

LOS, hope you don't mind

No I don't mind but maybe we should also start a separate thread for Xmas mantelpieces.

These are pics from several years ago as I have not yet done my Christmas mantel.

Definitely had a theme; which was music, specifically singing. I used sheet music, a violin, the name of the papier mache figure is "Sara Solo", some decoupaged plates of choir boys, a pair of plaster choir boys. . . As aychihuahua says it is easier if you have a theme although I don't usually consciously think of it that way.

I also used an element from a piano I wrested off an old piano in the dump pile. I had once covered it with sheet music.

Any decorating IMHO is easier if you kind of have stores of things to choose from. Not that you need stores of things, but it is easier to gather together a balanced look from a choice of many items.

I love this papier mache figure which I have owned many years. She is a puppet but I just stuck her in a bottle. I think the artisan who made her is very clever

Emily, that is a delightful mantel display.

And, yes, a separate Xmas mantel thread would be great.

I've changed my mantel up a bit with adding greenery and lanterns. Better? I still feel like something else is needed but can't put my finger on it.

LOS, I love the music theme.

I agree with starting a new thread. Next pic of my mantel I'll start a new thread.