Happy November!

In the last 6 months, I have been on 27 flights. My house is disorganized and it will take weeks to catch up. However, it is November and a month I cherish. I know many people have already moved onto Christmas, but not here at Bella Terra. November is the resting month before the frantic pace of the holidays.  It’s the calm before the storm and a month I hold dear. This quiet month is host to the Thanksgiving holiday which is a time to gather with loved ones and give thanks. No presents, no decorating, just a lovely meal with family and friends.

November is our fall. The temperatures are cooler and the leaves will start changing soon. It’s back to wearing long sleeved shirts and a light jacket. Fall decor will stay up until Thanksgiving and then the transformation to Christmas begins.

Dining Room Mantel

I’ve been sharing tidbits about making the dining room’s fall decor blend with the shades and tones of the room. Well, I am finally happy with the results. It helps to have talented friends. During my recent visit to Florida to see my blogging friends, I stayed with my dear friend, Chloe from Celebrate and Decorate. Her fall decor is stunning and it gave me the inspiration to think outside the box this year when decorating mine.

Using eucalyptus sprigs, magnolia leaves and dark red hydrangeas helps to add abundance to the deep mantel. The fabric pumpkins in shades of pink, burgundy and greens tie into the colors of the dining room rug. Once I buy fabric in these tones, making the pumpkins is a fun and easy project. You can see how to make them here.

Stepping back you can see the impact of the fall mantel on the room. Now I hope to create a Thanksgiving centerpiece that will be complementary. Copper mercury glass votive candle holders from West End provide a soft glow at night. Unfortunately they do not carry them anymore, but you can find a similar one here.

The faux orchids helps with some height and weight at one end of the mantel. Coral Flower pot is from Dear Keaton. A stack of books with a few sprigs and pumpkins adds some balance to the other side.

Living Room Mantel

The biggest challenge in decorating the living room mantel is the depth and length. With over 112″ in length and 17″ deep, it is a lot of mantel to fill. Typically, my mantel decor is too small in scale. So this time, again channeling my friend, Chloe, I went for a bigger impact.

Using the large ginger jar (from The Enchanted Home)and a styrofoam cone and fall items, I create height near the oil painting of my son. This is my first time doing it and I wouldn’t suggest using my technique. Using clear packing tape, I secure the cone to the top of the jar, which proves to be a bit unstable. Adding long wooden skewers helps a bit, but until I perfect this, I don’t want to show my DIY. Precariously, it all comes together.

Adding these gorgeous blue and copper velvet pumpkins from The Caroline Chateau (I believe they are now on sale), faux fall garland, magnolia leaves and other natural material pumpkins fills the space. I wasn’t sure about adding the faux white pumpkins, but I think it does perk the color scheme up a bit.

Here’s an overview of the living room ~ I am really happy with stepping it up a bit this year.

Coffee Table

Since the living room is filled with creams and blue colors, the pop of orange is perfect here. Adding a few throw pillows to the living room sofa gives it a seasonal feel. Fresh marigolds in my blue and white tulipieres is fresh and fun. Tulipieres are from The Enchanted Home.

On the glass coffee table, is a plant terrarium. Filled with the velvet pumpkins from The Caroline Chateau, I just love the blend of blues and fall leaves. See similar terrarium here.

I am glad that I can keep up the fall decorations for a while longer. Do you keep up your fall decor or are you already onto Christmas? I do admit that I will be thinking about the Christmas holidays earlier this year because of our compromised supply chain. But I am clearly not ready for it yet.

Wishing you all a happy Wednesday. With the exception of a funeral this weekend, I am in town for the next 6 weeks. Hopefully will be posting regularly again. I’ve missed you!