If you follow me on Instagram, or Pinterest you’ll notice the seasonal decor posts. And while that’s not my sole intention on this platform, if you’re gonna play around with seasonal decor, the fall is the time to do it!
Ok, lets talk pumpkins, Pumkin! Keep it simple and start with organic elements. Not only does it scream “It’s Fall Y”all” but, staying in season also lends benefits you may not be realizing.
The volume of options makes pulling together a look easy. Mixing a variety of pumpkin and gourdes is a trend that is here to stay and offers endless opportunities for design. I have found organic elements at garden centers, craft, hardware, grocery and home decor stores. Even gas stations have options. It’s actually difficult to NOT run into organic elements this time of year.
It’s low commitment. Organic elements have ripened or been dried and now sit with you in their glory. And once autumn is gone, these elements can be tossed with yard trash or composted. No need for storage and your space will instantly become clear and ready for the next season.
Now to refine your ideas. Don’t take it too seriously, just play and stare. I’m sure there’s a formal design term but all you’re doing is building interest through layering various elements. Play around with configurations. You pick the starting line- color, shape, texture and let it evolve. And, good news, your fitbit will track all the extra steps!
Design Placement. Given the color, texture and size range of pumpkins, gourdes, dried wheat, acorns, twigs, a look can be installed outdoors and indoors. When working with indoor designs, make sure to keep the outside OUT. I’m talking little bugs…… Check all gourdes/pumpkins/etc. for any holes or soft spots and keep those outside. For the rest, you can extend their indoor shelf life with a short soak (10-15 min) with 1-2tsp of bleach per gallon of water. For nuts, acorns, pine combs or to dry flowers, you can bake at 200 degrees F for 20 min. This is a step ONLY for items that you can’t confirm have already been pre-treated. It’s safe to say that the dried wheat and flowers purchased from Trader Joes or HomeGoods have already been prepared for indoor use.
Use color to create design boundaries. I’m using the orange pumpkins as a frame. (DIY ghost, clickhere)
What I find more appealing for indoor design is the use of containers, vases, jars, bowls…. whatever vessel you prefer. It’s pulled together, reduces any clutter and plays with light in various ways. Here are some DIY examples that I created this fall.
Mix texture to create symmetry. This design works well as a table-scape.
Use the glass bottle to reflect sunlight, which balances the visual weight of the twig arrangement and cone.
Combine similar shapes with contrasting colors.
Your priority will always be to stay within the limits of the space. So if space is tight and/or you can’t part with any existing decor or design, I hear ya and you and I will stay in our lanes!! But, there are ways to incorporate organic elements into year round designs. Take a peak!
Both the dried wheat and vases harmonize the color and tones of the season
Similar shape in various materials creates rhythm. They look related but not matchy-matchy (yes, that I word I use A LOT).
A similar color palette can speak to both the season and Edgar Degas’ Little Dancer of of 14 Years.
A more modern look with contrasting neutrals. I added this Budda for something unexpected. I have had him since college. How can you not smile when you look at him- he stays out all year round!
Hurricanes are literally great supporters of seasonal decor. Fill ’em up! Keep this design off the floor. A loss of floor space will looked cluttered quickly.
What I like about fall is smelling apples and cinnamon, feeling the sun cool throughout the day and watching leaves turn into shades of a flame. So, these are my inspirations. Think about what excites you about fall. From there, just play and stare….. and when you feel it, you’ll know…….you’re on to something!!
I was just a girl, standing in front of a mantle, asking it to look cool. It wasn’t. So dated, boring and way too many right angles. I had dreams of ripping it out, installing a floating railroad tie…. and CUT SCENE. mmmkay. But, I did start wondering….. how hard could it be…. how much could I really screw up? Would the house collapse, would my marriage fall apart, would the kids run away….? Spoiler alert- none of these things happened but little did I know, this would start me on my way to DIY.
the mantle before- pick a right angle, any angle…. so.many.corners.
If I couldn’t remove the mantle, I could just take the paint off…. then I could sand it, and stain it!! Awesome! Perfect! Wait, how do you do that? After some searching, I came across this product. At around $15 it didn’t seem like too much of an expense and is available at really any hardware store. Please note- you are asking Citristrip to chew through paint. It does not contain methylene chloride, is non-caustic and is safe for indoor use. However, be smart, read the label and follow the directions. Keep your children and pets away from application. I wore latex gloves and safety glasses while handling this product.
Step 1. Prep your space
All surrounding decorative items were moved to leave an uncluttered surface.
I cleaned the mantle with tsp (about 1 tsp per gallon of warm water).
While it was drying, I used painter’s tape to secure drop clothes to the wood below the mantle and given the size, those drop clothes also protected the hearth and surrounding wood floor.
Step 2. Application
Per the citristrip directions, I shook well and applied a thick layer with a paint brush. Good news, it has a nice orange scent. Once it’s on, really you are leaving this product to do it’s thang but here is a valuable tip. Citristrip stays active and wet for 24 hrs. To keep this as tidy as possible, I wrapped it with syran wrap.
Step 3. Ya Wait
It’s so hard, I know…. to wait, to not poke at it, but the longer it sits, the easier the scraping will be. I left it untouched for 24hrs.
Step 4. Scrape
So it’s really just that. Put your gloves back on and gently remove the syran wrap. It will still be slightly soft but intact. I had no idea how many layers of paint would be on this mantle….. lets get to work!
I used a (general) scraper and with medium pressure pushed long strokes across the mantle. And it was really that easy, the decades of paint were coming off almost in a gummy consistency. In parts, I could even pull off sections with my hands (again with gloves on). I was amazed… this was actually working.
first scraping
I scraped for about an hour and this is what I was left with. I did have some difficulty with the molding around the lip and sides, so I applied an additional layer of citristrip to those areas, covered it back up with syran wrap and left of for an additional 24 hrs.
after first scraping
So after 48 hrs, I scraped the remaining paint, gently used a hand sander and then wiped with a tack cloth to bring this mantle back to baseline!
A note about the paint scraps. They should be discarded in accordance with your city’s regulations on hazardous waste and recycling.
after second scraping, sanding and tack cloth
What these pictures do not show well is the underneath stripping of the mantle. I wore safety glasses while scraping, you should too!
baseline- BOOM!
Phase one- DONE. We were back to a raw mantle. I picked up Varathane stain and poly combo in American Chestnut and, after one more wipe down with a tack cloth, I applied a thin layer with a brush. Once it was dry, I used a piece of fine grit sand paper (hand sand) to add some slight distressing.
After one coat of stain with poly
I wanted greater saturation. After gently sanding (by hand) the first dry coat of stain, I wiped again with a tack cloth. Then, I added another thin layer of stain and once it was dry, repeated the steps- taking my fine grit sand paper to distress areas slightly.
after second of stain with poly
I wanted an ultra glossy finish, so after the second coat of stain was dry, I wiped once more with the tack cloth and then added a coat of clear poly with a separate clean brush to amp up the shine. One coat of clear poly seemed to add the perfect amount of shine!
2 coats of stain and poly combo with an additional layer of clear poly
If you’re wondering how much time to set aside for a project like this, I would break it down as the following:
Prep: 20 min
Application: 15 min
Wait time: 24 hrs
Scrape and sanding time: 1-2 hrs depending on molding details
Stain and poly application- 10 min. dry time 6 hrs per coat. A major marketing point for these stains is how quick they claim to dry. I like to add time just to make sure.
Since I did the application and scraping twice, it doubles the time but it was totally manageable amongst all the kids’ schedules and family responsibilities. I would absolutely do this project again. It’s added such texture and visual interest with an approximate cost of $40.
Ever read the book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie? Yeah, well that set off a full on chain of events in our living room….. Now that the mantle was updated, I wanted it to rest on a wall full of interest and design. Enter the SHIPLAP!!! A note about the Shiplap, we purchased the Pac Trim MDF Shiplap Interior Siding from Home Depot and had it installed by a contractor. It was a great idea. In his installation, he used caulking for a clean finish. I couldn’t have been happier with this decision!!!
And since this redesign, the mantle reflects the seasons.
Christmas 2018winter 2019spring 2019
This project was completed in the fall of 2018 and really is where StayingIn Design began. It came from being home, knowing our needs and becoming sick of waiting around to have more time, make more money, for the kids to get older and about a million other excuses. And really, this is just a mantle. It’s not adding living space or more plumbing. But, it’s the little changes that make a big impact. I hope that’s what you take away from this- just a small change started a much larger process. One that I’m excited to share and one that I think anyone can replicate!!
Thought I would take a moment to give a little bit about what StayingInDesign is all about. I am a wife and mother to 3 busy and growing kids. 3plus years ago, I left my full time office based career in higher education. My husband and I made the decision that our lives would be better if we could slow down our pace. So, with his support, I left my job to stay home with an infant, a preschooler and an elementary kiddo. The first few years were bananas but as the kids got older, routines developed and I found myself staring at the walls of our 1940’s cape cod style house. It is our first home. One that we only thought we would spend 3-5 years in TOPs! Mmmmkay, 12 years later, we have found a wonderful community with neighbors we love and our kids are thriving in their schools and activities. So what to do…. that’s when I started to DIY and since then, it’s a been lot of fun learning how small steps can make huge impacts. So really my design process comes from being home, living in this space and knowing our needs. I’m here to learn from others and maybe inspire you to take on a project because if I can do it, why not you?
