Dreaming of a Fall Mantel

One of the many things on my decorating to do list or maybe I should say remodeling wish list is to make over our fireplace mantel.  And you all know how Mike has heart palpitations when I mention things like this?!!  Right?!!!  So when my friend Wendy from the blog Old Lake George asked me to share a fall fireplace mantel post with her on our blogs, my first thought was, I really hate my mantel, how will I ever pull that off?  I wanted so badly to fancy up a mantel all fall like and decorate it all cute, but how?  Then it hit me! This will be the perfect way to help Mike “SEE” my idea for remodeling the fireplace, even if it’s only temporary!!  SOOOO I told Wendy YES, now to figure out how!

I have to admit, when we first moved to Lyndale Drive we thought the cut-out above the fireplace was awesome and we loved that our TV fit perfectly.   It is still nice, but I hate that I can’t decorate my mantel.  I mean anything I put up there ends up in the way of the ” TV remote eye” – God forbid we get up to change a channel, just sayin’!

Since I told Wendy Yes, I needed to figure out how to get rid of the TV (or cover it up)!  Sorry for the poor quality picture, I was excited to get this project started and didn’t take the time to snap some good pics!  And I talked Mike into helping me build this cover with out him really knowing what he was doing, so I had to hurry before he figured it out!!!

My idea for a future fireplace mantel is to incorporate some shiplap (kinda like what we added here), change up the tile a bit and add some shelving and cabinetry along each side of the fireplace (which will make a great place for a much smaller TV) – besides there is a GINORMOUS TV down in the man cave. (aka Still N° 22)  I m not sure how long the shiplap “screen” will stay, after all the TV is still behind it and Mike has already asked how will we watch it!  Maybe this winter I will incorporate this look, but for now it is only temporary.

Back to the reason of this post – HAPPY FALL EVERYONE!!!  I love decorating for the seasons and this new (well mock up) fireplace mantel has me all excited for decorating for the holidays!!!  Fingers Crossed I get to do it on a more permanent basis for Christmas!

When I decorate any room in my house I use the things I love.  The items don’t always have to be what you expect, however there should be a theme – a rhyme and a reason to what you are doing.  Try incorporating like colors and items that feel like they flow together smoothly.  I start by gathering up things from around the house that I “think” I want to use, then I start…..moving things around, stepping back looking at it from different angles and moving things around until I get it right!  Believe me, I didn’t get it right the first time…………just ask my buddy Karen!

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I love anything old!  I found this frame a couple years ago, not sure what I was going to do with it, only that I loved it and knew I would find a place for it, other than under my bed or piled up in the garage (the decorating staging area! – Probably why Mike is building me a She Shed!) …….Don’t you agree, it looks cool on the mantel.  So good that I need to work on Mike to keep it there!!

When decorating for the seasons, don’t just use the “typical” holiday decorations, get daring and add some unexpected items!  I found many of these things as second hand stores, Facebook swap pages and garage sales.

Decorating this mantel was a blast and I am so glad that Wendy at Old Lake George asked me to do it!  Be sure to go check out her blog and see how she decorates her fall mantel!  I hope we both have encouraged you to gather up the things you love from around your house and start messing with a fall decorating design idea.