Decorating seasonally does not have to mean turning your living space to a pumpkin patch every autumn (unless you want to). The trick is to mention the disposition of the season but with a brand new twist — warm up your walls using the classic feel of Instagram photos, make a purposeful display using your grandma’s dishes or set up a cozy fireside bar. Styling your mantel is one of the easiest ways to maintain your house feeling clean and current through every season, even if the rest of the room remains the same. Here’s the full scoop on how to attain 10 refreshingly different appearances.
The Brooklyn Home Company
1. Beverages station. Start by anchoring your arrangement using a huge mirror, then add an assortment of decanters and barware. If you do not have fancy crystal decanters, to not worry — just select a few bottles from small-batch manufacturers with pretty labels. If you have any tiny shiny gold or bronze objects lying about (votive holder, small sculpture) try adding them into the arrangement to get a little bit of sparkle.
Etsy
Paris Postcards Collection, Red, by Little Brown Pen – $15
2. Heart on a string. Collect artwork, photographs or postcards using a little bit of red in them select a ready-made collection such as the Paris postcard set from Little Brown Pen shown here. To make your own screen, simply attach a span of organic twine to two small hooks above your mantel (you can make one row or a couple), then clip the artwork to the twine using miniclothespins.
The Cape Cod
3. Family silhouettes. If you’re on the market for new art to spruce up your walls, why not make it personal? Look for “habit silhouettes” on Etsy to locate many fantastic options. Most artists ask you to send in a transparent profile image of every subject to base the silhouette on. You can have the human members of your loved ones, of course, but many artists are happy to tackle pets, too.
Don Ziebell
4. Bowlful of relaxation. Warm your hearth by using Nana’s dishes to make a wall screen. Lay your arrangement, then attach the dishes into the wall. A diamond is a nice general form to work toward, since it feels organic yet still symmetrical.
TILTON FENWICK
5. Nature inspired. Using character as a loose theme for the collection may make a wide assortment of objects feel intentional. Search your house (or some local flea market) for items that might be useful, like branches, antlers, deer sculptures, geodes, stones, rustic wood mirrors and art depicting wildlife and nature scenes.
Emily A. Clark
6. High contrast. Painting the wall above your mantel will make any arrangement pop up. Consider using deep charcoal grey, bitter chocolate (for the truly bold) oxblood red to make a rich backdrop. A flash of gold, like this sunburst mirror, brings the glamour.
Jennifer Leigh Design
7. Goldenrod and farmhouse white. Rather than using all of the rich fall colors at once, pick your preferred to center on. I really like the modern rustic feel of goldenrod paired with new farmhouse white, but pumpkin or persimmon could easily stand in for yellowish if you would like. Pottery is a wonderful way to bring color into your screen — after you have a color in mind, keep an eye out for new bits whenever you are antiquing (or even junktiquing) on the evenings.
Daniel Nolan for Flora Grubb Gardens
8. “Antlers” for vegans. If actual antlers are not your cup of tea, try a staghorn fern mounted on wood rather. These unusual plants make an excellent alternative to the ubiquitous antler screen; just be sure to use them in an area which gets sufficient sunlight.
Etsy
Classic Your Instagram Picture by Small Bird Studios – $19
9. Instagram collage. The faded, vintagey quality which gives Instagram photos their signature appearance is perfectly appropriate to fall. Use an internet service such as Small Bird Studios’ to flip your favourite snapshots to ready-to-hang wall art. Pick pictures with similar colours or a similar disposition, and hang them in a grid to get a uniform appearance.
Merrick Design and Build Inc..
10. 1 piece that is good. A painting which warms your heart is a worthwhile investment, and it may bring attention to an entire space like nothing else. An “art collection” may sound fancy, but it does not need to be completely out of reach.
If being surrounded by art you love is important to you, set aside a little money so you can splurge once every couple of years on a piece of original art you love. Look for student art fairs and small galleries featuring up-and-coming artists to find the best deals.