Festive fall vignettes

Well, it's done -- finally -- my fall "mantel"! Okay, I don't have a mantel, but I do have a pair of floating shelves and a console table in the living room perfectly suited to seasonal decor.

Unlike my summer vignette, which I finished in about 20 minutes, this one took a couple days weeks to come together. I just needed inspiration to strike! Luckily, even though I had the day off Monday, my inspiration did not take a day off :)

Even though it took me a while, I'm super duper happy with how it came out. Dare I say, my favorite one yet...?

The inspiration began with all these empty bottles my father-in-law dropped by our house a couple months back. Remember the hubs likes to home brew? Well, his dad does too, but needed extra space in his basement, so he brought over all of his brewing stuff, including boxes and boxes of empty bottles. The hubs didn't need them all, and I was very happy to sort through them! I fell in love with the bottles' green, brown and amber colors.

The feathers are authentic turkey feathers, from the turkey the hubs bagged a couple years ago (yes, he hunts and makes his own beer. He is a man's man!). I love the texture they add.

Branches collected from the yard got a couple coats of white semi-gloss spray paint. I purposefully didn't coat them 100%, so some of the bark shows through. A few leaves from the yard add pops of fall color, and a little dab of hot glue holds them in place.

White beans from the grocery store make great mason jar and vase filler! The runner I made earlier this year for my summer centerpiece.

Remember how I wrapped those votive holders in pieces of bark for my dining room centerpiece? I did the same thing to this pillar candle. I picked up the candlestick a while back at Target, on clearance, and moved it from a side table on the other side of the living room. A couple gourds from the local apple orchard add seasonal charm.

For the shelves, I hung a fall-hued bunting I made from cardstock and some jute twine. I really love that tree pattern!

This cutie owl was a mere $4 from Home Goods! He looks chummy next to that mini pumpkin.

Please ignore that Scotch tape. I was at a loss as to how to attach that bunting without permanently marking my shelves! It's only noticeable up close, and it's nearly impossible to get this close without use of a stool, which means no one will notice, I hope :)

On the top shelf, I arranged a few more bottles, including some I wrapped in jute, and feathers. And here's my favorite part, the floating leaves in my flea market frame. I simply glued some more leaves from the yard onto fishing line attached to the back of the frame. I love love love how they just look like they're floating, like they're in the midst of falling to the ground.

On the bottom shelf, I arranged a few of the hubs' old books and a couple more bottles.

I filled my wire basket with DIY jute and sisal twine balls. I'd seen these around the blogosphere, but FYI if you've never made them -- they took forever! I've got another owl down here...isn't he cute?

I filled my wooden bowl from the antique store with rocks I collected while camping and a few acorns from the yard.

A basket next to the table holds my crocheting. I'm making a cozy blanket right now!

On my little phone table next to the television, I put yet another owl, this one a mercury glass guy from TJ Maxx. I wrapped a vase in jute twine and filled it with some dried lilies from the garden. They have almost a Halloween appearance. And this Autumn Leaves candle from Bath and Body Works smells heavenly! Down below are a few more old books and my yarn pumpkin. (Sorry for the lighting...I was losing daylight!)

Lastly, our DVD cabinet got a little fall love with a couple more gourds, a little mason jar candle and a lantern I picked up at a place called The Mill Store. Oh, and more owls! I cut apart a cute gift bag and glued the owls to a piece of white cardstock. I think it's super adorable!

(I also learned this lantern is NOT made for real candles. I left it lit for only a few minutes and when I went to take the lid off to blow it out, it was so hot it burned my thumb!)

And just a couple more pictures...for fun :)

So, that's our fall living room! I hope it was worth the wait. I'm really happy with how it all came together. I love decorating with natural elements, and things that have a special meaning for us, and I think this accomplishes both. Oh, and I had most of this stuff on hand -- only the two owls, the lantern and the gourds are new.

I'm not much for Halloween decor, so this will last me until Thanksgiving and it's time for....dare I say it?...Christmas! Ahhh, I love Christmas. :)

Linking up!

A fresh display for summer

First off, I'm just floored -- another fabulous blogger highlighted little ol' me! Brenda at Cozy Little House included Heart Maine Home in her recent Welcome Wagon Friday roundup. Wow! Thank you so much, Brenda!! I'm feeling so welcomed into this blogger community, and it sure is nice. You have to go check out Brenda's blog -- it's full of gorgeous photography that I know will cheer you up on this Friday as you watch the minutes tick down until quittin' time. Go over and say hi, and check out the other bloggers she featured this week! And to my new followers, welcome welcome! I'm so happy you're here.

Don't worry, I'm not going to let all of this attention go to my head. :)

We've had a pretty lousy May here in Maine -- lots of rain, cold temps and week-long stretches of absolutely NO SUN. It's been a little depressing, to say the least! The sun did come out this week, which gave me the itch to bring in some new, fresh summer decor in the living room. (The sun arrived, but of course did not stick around long enough for me to get nice light pictures...oh well!)

Our spring vignette was playful with lots of color...

For summer, I wanted something relaxing and soothing, like a warm, lazy day at the beach. We only get about three months of beach weather in Maine, so we really cherish those perfect beach days. Maine has lots of coastline and gorgeous, wild beaches, and my absolute favorite thing to do in the summer is walk along the beach, watching the waves crash, the little sandpipers running around, the kids playing in the water -- and yes, I do swim in it! It's very...refreshing :) I'm totally in love with the ocean and all of its colors -- watery blues, peaceful greens, sandy tans.

Using the colors and feeling of the ocean, I put together this summer dislay on the console table and floating shelves in our living room.

Let's take a little tour around it, shall we?

Starting with the shelves...the bottom shelf holds a little succulent that I wrapped in some jute fabric and arranged with some sea glass. I just love succulents, and they remind me of our Aruba honeymoon, where cacti dotted much of the landscape. Next to it is the white vase I snagged from Michaels and used in our kitchen as part of our spring decor. I love repurposing!

On the top shelf: a votive holder with more sea glass, a framed photo and a big glass fishing float I bought at the antique store. I love its color and unique shape

The photo I took a couple years ago at one of our favorite Maine beaches, Reid State Park in Georgetown. I shopped my house for this summery vignette, and stole the photo from a frame in the guest room, and the frame was holding a print in the dining room.

It makes me feel so relaxed...

I kept it simple on the console table -- I didn't really like how busy it was looking with all the little items, so I decided to use fewer, but bigger, items this time around. 

Remember that wire basket I bought in Kennebunkport? I love how it looks filled with a couple more glass fishing floats. Aren't they so neat? I'll have more on those another day.

I arranged a few pieces of coral we collected in Aruba and smuggled through customs (shhh don't tell!) on a white tray. I find the white-on-white very calming.

An old wooden bowl I found at the antique store for only $10 holds my collection of white shells. I love collecting shells, and everyone knows it, so when my mom and my sister go to the beach or travel they are sweet enough to bring me back a few treasures. I have a ton of shells as a result, and I love it!

Rounding it out is my green glass bottle from the flea market, and a wine bottle of sand, also smuggled out of Aruba. 

I love how the warm tones of the wood bowl contrast with the cool colors of the shells and the glass. The bowl definitely brings some dimension to the display.

On the bottom shelf, I added some jute string and shells to the baskets. I don't think I'm liking it though. After I took these photos, I kept looking at them and they reminded me of, ahem, a part of the female anatomy. (Scroll back up to the first head-on shot and tell me you see the same thing! Either that or I'm super immature.) But I do like that the baskets play off the warmer tones of the wood bowl and keep the whole display from being too cool-hued.

A few more photos...

I love how airy it feels with all the glass! And the repetition of a few colors -- white, aqua blue and green, is very soothing to me. It makes me want to put on a light, white cotton sweater and a pair of flip flops and sit down next to the ocean with my toes in the sand.

I stuck all the things I pulled off the shelves and table on top of the media cabinet to get them out of the way, including the book wreath and bundle. I'm kind of liking how they look up there, and how the wreath reflects in the mirror. I think I'll leave them there (but pare down all the stuff, obviously). If that candle ever got lit, that wreath would go up in flames so fast!

I'm working on a new summery centerpiece for our dining room table, and I'm STILL sewing something to add to the living room (okay, a hint: they're pillows!) that will bring in some of those cool blue and green colors. I promise I'll show those to you soon!

I hope you all have a fantastic Memorial Day weekend! We'll be having a little cookout if the weather cooperates (please, please, please!), and I'm really excited to finally use our outdoor space.

We'll also be playing for the first time this game...have you guys seen it? I guess it's called ladder golf, though some may know it as redneck horseshoes (ha!). Being a fellow DIY fan (but in a very different way!), the hubs is planning to build our own set before Sunday. If he does, I'll do a little tutorial in case anyone else is looking for something fun to play this summer.

I wish we were playing on the beach! Photo from Coastal Living

Have a great long weekend! I'll be back on Monday for another Maine Monday, highlighting another iconic Maine creature...can you guess what it is?? :)

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