Fall Mantle-2012

Well, I barely had enough time to decorate this fall (by barely I mean I had better things to do-like watching t.v. all day in my pjs whilst eating chocolate cookie dough ice cream). But I wanted to be able to link up to CensationalGirl's fall mantles party today. So, I threw something together this weekend.

I have my fall scents in my Scentys and I have my decor up but really, it's not fall here in Florida yet. It's still hovering at 85-90 degrees (which, admittedly, isn't awful) but it's certainly no 70 degrees and blustery.

I want a blustery day.  A day where the windows in the house are all open because it's cooler outside than it is if I turn on the air. A day where, when I do have those windows open, it is just this side of nippy in our house and I can make chili in the evening and not sweat my balls off (figuratively speaking). A day where I can light our fire pit out back because there's a nice brisk breeze and the smell of the burning wood floats into our open windows. A blustery day y'all!

But, alas, I live in Florida. And I won't have those lovely days until February. And of course, by then, everyone else will have blizzards and such and be sooo envious of my location, location, location but until then I have to endure my favorite season without the weather to accompany it. Halloween? Hot as Hades. Thanksgiving? As thermal as the turkey in the oven. Yup, that's how my Autumns go nowadays.

Anyhow. Enough of my bitchin'. You're here to view my pics. I'm posting to tell (and show) all those out there who don't have the money to decorate expensively or the knack to pull off a Pottery Barn look, to keep on truckin'. Cuz it takes practice. And I wanted to show everyone that, even though I love, love, love to decorate, I don't always get it right. Or perfect. But I keep trying. I made a post before about how I decorate with trial and error. It's always a work in progress, my decorating. This time is no different.

Here are my pics for my fall mantle:

I'm still not done with it. I think it needs tweaking. I just worked with what I had and tried to find something I liked.

And, of course, since I have no camera, these were taken with my iphone. So, not the best pics.

And here's another photo of another vignette I have up. Mostly going with orange:

This orange vignette is my pumpkin patch. Cuz there are sooo many pumpkins on display.

I wish I had better pictures. Oh well. Now, let me show you some of my favorite pins from Pinterest:





VIA

VIA

VIA

VIA

I always love the natural, rustic vibe of fall. I just can't seem to replicate it at my house.

Here are the issues I have with my mantle vignette (aside from the truly crappy pics):

1) My biggest problem is that it feels busy. Crammed. I hate crammed decoration. It just makes it feels like a bunch of tchotchkes threw up. But when I look at my inspiration pics they don't look crammed and obnoxious. They flow, ya know? And yet they still have stuff on them, like, stuff stuff. Get me?

This is my problem- too much stuff looks cluttered. Pottery barn-too much stuff= warm and inviting, and not too much. Or, reverse effect: my problem= too little stuff looks barren and cold. Pottery barn-too little stuff= minimalist and casual.

Most people say you shouldn't compare your decor to PB. After all, we don't live in a magazine. But still, others somehow manage to decorate beautifully (I only think one of my inspiration pics are PB).

2) I don't like the color of my candle sticks (no other color to tie into it on the other side) and I don't care for the container they're in (too stark white).

3) I'm undecided on the gold rectangular frame. Is it too much for the shelf? I have my mirror, a gold empty frame, and a white oval frame...too many shapes?

Now on to my orange vignette:

 I really like the clock with fall garland and I want to keep the orange platter and white cermaic pumpkins. But here's my issue with this vignette:

1) you can't even really see the 3 mason jars with votives in front of the orange platter due to the garland.

2) Too much orange? Too bright and cheesy? (i.e. the orange bow on my candle?)

3) Again, cluttered. Not simplistic. Your eye is traveling to see too many things so it can't settle anywhere.

My point in critiquing my decor is to tell you-it's not done. And to show people that you don't have to have a perfect look to link up to a link party. And don't get discouraged. Just keep trying. Eventually I will get that "Pottery Barn" look I want to achieve (might help if I had a better camera). It's all about trial and error. Give and take. Add and delete. I will work on my shelf/vignettes some more in the coming days and hopefully (if I'm not too lazy) post those updates.