Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Blue Pumpkin Fall Mantel

I said a while back I would try to at least switch up my mantel with the changing of the seasons. Well, honestly, fall is the most chaotic time in my household. Since early August, I've had back to school, 2 house-guests at different times, 3 kids birthdays, and fall itself. Honestly, I'm EXHAUSTED! But, I love it. It's a good exhaustion (though I still wish at least one of my kids was born in the other 49 weeks of the year)!

Well, despite all that, I did manage to scrape together a fall mantel. Actually, I really enjoyed it, and it only took an hour or so to put it together. I bought a few new florals from Hobby Lobby, and some real blue and white pumpkins. The rest I had on hand from last year. I can't tell you how excited I was to walk into my local grocery store and see a sign for BLUE pumpkins....REAL blue pumpkins. I think I actually high fived my 1 year old! Though the color is more toward green, they are a beautiful shade nonetheless. I decided to build my mantel around them. One was too big to actually fit on the mantel, so I got to decorate my front entrance table as well.

Here is the final product!


Don't you just adore that blue pumpkin?  No spray paint or glitter involved.  Just Au Natural...the way it was supposed to be.  Sigh.  Don't get me wrong, I still love orange pumpkins, especially the fancy and gourd varieties.  But, I am not a lover of orange or red of any kind in my house.  I think I got red and gold'ed out in my last house 5 years ago, and I just can't seem to get past the trauma!  Give me soft blue and gray any day!  Which, brings me to my next beef....my entryway.

Exhibit B...and oh how I hate it!

That dresser has to go!  I saw one just like it in an entry in a beautiful Mediterranean house in Houston's Bellaire neighborhood a few years ago, and immediately I put mine in the entry too.  (It was a dresser in my bedroom, but we did not have room in this house).  But, I don't think it ever worked.  The scale is too large, the color wood is horrid, and it's too traditional for my taste.  



I do like what's on top of the table, but I despise the dresser, wall color, and tile on the floor.  I recently bought a paint sprayer, which I hope is going to do wonders for the diarrhea brown wall color and dresser!!  ;-)

Back to the mantel....more diarrhea brown (lots of painting soon at my house), but I do love the cream/latte and green/blue of the mantel decor.  It's fall-ish enough for me without being plastered in orange and rust.  It makes me happy, and gets me in the spirit of fall, even if it is still 98 degrees here in Houston.  Falling leaves will have to wait until December!

A few more pics:










A huge thank you to Dear Lillie for sharing this wonderful quote:

"By all these lovely tokens, September Days are here, with Summer's best of Weather, and Autumn's Best of Cheer"

I printed the quote on metallic robin's egg blue paper, and displayed in an old brown wood frame that I  spray painted cream.  This project took all of 30 minutes, and I love it.  Such nice words for September, especially Houston where it does remain warm through December.  You can find the link to print your own here.



That's it for now.  Enjoy the rest of your September, then we are on to Halloween!

~Lynette~


I'm linking to the Lettered Cottage.



The Lettered Cottage

4 comments:

  1. ooh, you've totally reminded me that i should print and frame my favorite fall quote, too. i love the muted tones you used. wish i could do that, too, but for me, the best thing is the colors of the leaves in fall, so that means red and oranges and browns.

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  2. your mantle and dresser look fall fabulous! i especially love those blue pumpkins ... must find some for my mantle, too!

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  3. Wow! Your mantel looks amazing! I'm so glad you liked the quote, thanks so much for linking back to us.

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  4. It's all so very pretty Lynette! Funny, this is the one time of the year when I actually CAN handle deep, saturated tones! I was going to do a blue and cream mantel too, but given that my Christmas decor is all turquoise and white, I thought I'd stick to traditional colours for a change of pace. And, BTW, your entryway is lovely as is; but I know what's its like to get a new vision for a space that you just can't shake, lol! Happy Fall to you too!

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