Fall Mantel at our House

This year, in partnership with Shaw Floors, I am joining a fall home tour… and I hate to disappoint, but for me that means the front room.  The rest of my house is torn up at the moment… (remember ripping things out is my thing…#remodelaholic)

If you are itching to see an amazing whole home tour please go check out Addison’s Wonderland from yesterday!

Can I tell you a secret? I’m not a big decorator… I tend to fall on the quirky side for decor and would rather have nothing on a table than a bunch of stuff… When it comes to holidays, I decorate for Christmas.  Don’t get me wrong- I am big on dressing up like an idiot for Halloween, but that is about it. – don’t tell anyone, but it just isn’t my thing-  I’d rather be ripping out walls and fixing floor plans to make them function better… hence my house always in a state of upheaval.

So anyway, now that that is off my chest…

My mantel.

It has been a sad place where decor items go to die…  Don’t get me wrong, I have some things I like on there, but often “people” (meaning my dear, sweet family) just put things there.  And I simply ignore them…  not my family – the things….

Want to feel better about yourself…

You are welcome.

The room, obviously needed some help, the mantel also.  The basic finishes for the room are all still in place and I still love them all!  Especially, we love our rug from Shaw.  My custom rug is from Tuftex, a division of Shaw Floors that offers premium carpets. Tuftex offers a custom rug program that allows you to take a Tuftex carpet style you love and have it cut and bound to the exact size you need. The rug in my living room is Tuftex Only Natural in Chateau. The best part is we were able to have it cut to fit the room perfectly and they have several color and pattern options.  All around a great area rug option!

20 minutes later after a quick cleaning, and clearing of the mantel (but keeping the plywood pennants because I still like them- and I feel like they look good for fall…and you can make them for yourself at the link, wink wink!  No more rhyming now I mean it…)

I knew I wanted to use a mirror.  So I used this (affiliate link) Kenitra mirror by Uttermost.

All of you symmetry folks out there are cursing at me right now!  I know, I know, but it did not look good centered.  It will get better soon I promise!

Grabbing a few light-colored items to pop off the black brick.

I have to step back and look at the mantel often, and make weird faces at the camera… that is important!

And here is the mantel all finished.

You can download the “Happy Fall” printable plus 9 other holiday printables here and there are lots of vintage prints here, too, if that’s more your style.

The moral of the story… I think I might decorate for holidays a bit more often.

I know I spent the beginning whining about it – mostly because I don’t feel like I am very good at it.

BUT it is SO much more pleasant walking into the room now.  Every time I do I am pleasantly surprised and cheered- I might just start doing this more often.  We could all use a little holiday cheer, right?

Be sure to check out my dear friend Beth’s fall decor post, Monday on her blog Home Stories A to Z!

Thank you to Shaw Floors for letting me be part of the Style board, for supporting our blog and this Remodelaholic community!  We are your biggest fans!

More simple fall decorating ideas:

easy fall wood slice banner

beautifully simple ideas for decorating with pumpkins

fall and halloween mantelplus 10 more autumn mantels