When we moved into this house, it was early summer and so the mantel was mantled with summery objects: sepia prints from South Carolina, along with sand and seashells.
Now it is late summer (almost fall y'all!) and time to gently transition us into autumn hues without making it look like Hobby Lobby has taken over my house.
Speaking of which.
Oh. my. goodness. Have you been lately? They have a giant Thanksgiving-bedecked Christmas tree to greet you when you walk in the door. Swimmer girl calls it a Thristmas Tree. And every shade of orange can be found in the waves and waves of pumpkins, turkeys and pilgrims, along with Halloween black cats and scarecrows. And of course, the Christmas stuff is oozing out all over the place - every time I walk in, it's taken over a few more aisles with ornaments and stocking hangers and decorations. It's like "The Blob" and almost as scary.
Okay, so here was the mantel before I dis-mantled it; crisp black-and-white:
And here it is now, with some yellows and a hint of orange:
Before I plunged in, I considered my options. I have a tub (or two) of fall stuff in the attic. And Mr. Official will be happy to know the floral stuff was recycled, and the candles and candlesticks are also re-used.
But I wasn't quite ready for ALL the fall stuff, so I went through our old photos until I found some of our children's fall pics I liked, then had them blown up and tucked them in frames.
It's definitely a departure from the mantles we've sported over the last few seasons. The other pictures will undoubtedly reappear at some point, either back on the mantel or elsewhere. And like Hobby Lobby with a delayed reaction, I'm sure the mantel will slowly taken on more and more orange, then red. And green.
Happy decorating!
