Remember the other day when I gave you a sneak peek of my idea for the gold mantel decor for our fall party? I basically used on that table, the same white, gold, and bay leaves that I was planning to use for my party decor. And this week, we get to see how the mantel turned out. I have to say, I really liked it. And our party guests seemed to like it too!
Gold mantel decor with candles and bay leaves
The basic idea with this gold mantel decor was pretty simple. I had a whole ton of bay branches, which were perfect for the base. Some of them were slightly curved already, so it was easy to get the shape I wanted.
The pillar candles kind of live on the mantel, so they were already there. And besides looking great, they were really useful to help hold in the branches. Here’s a link to some candle holders that are similar. I have these too, and love them.
So starting in the middle, I laid the bay branches on the mantel with the stems facing in. Then working out, I laid another one on, overlapping them, till I got to the edge of the mantel.
For the front and end ones, I just let them overhang the mantel a bit. I love that look, and I think it gives the decor a romantic kind of feel. And the process was so easy – I didn’t have to tie them down or anything. Just fluff them up a bit and make sure they went where I wanted them.
Gold eucalyptus garland
The next step was to add some of this sparkly faux eucalyptus garland to start off the gold portion of our gold mantel decor. I love this stuff! I used two of them, one on either side, starting in the middle. The ends have a little loop, so I could have attached them if I’d been worried about them falling off. But I didn’t need to. I just wove them in and out of the bay branches, and they stayed just fine.
Like the bay leaves, I hung some of the gold garland off the ends of the mantel too.
Gold pears add to the gold mantel decor
After the greens and the eucalyptus garland, came the gold pears. I fell in love with these at a little shop just outside Portland, and couldn’t wait to use them for the party decor. Five of them came home with me, and I just spaced them out along the mantel till I was happy with how they looked. I didn’t secure these either – see? It was a super easy mantel! They were very stable, just nestled into the greenery.
And some ribbon
I do love ribbon, and this one was extra pretty. Not quite a shiny gold, but a lovely champagne colored, non-wired one. It’s always fun to go into the store with no real idea what you want. I almost always find something I love, or that I can use later. This one was perfect for the gold mantel decor.
Here’s a very similar ribbon from Michael’s.
I like to weave the ribbon in and out, and also let it hang down over the ends of the mantel. Because this one wasn’t wired, I couldn’t curl it the way I usually would. But because it didn’t fall that far off the ends, I figured it didn’t necessarily need to curl. And I liked the simple look of the straight drop, when all was said and done.
Adding copper ornaments to the gold mantel decor
As I mentioned in the sneak peek post, when I first brought the bay branches into the house, I put them in a copper pitcher just to keep them out of the way. I liked the look so much, that I thought I’d try to work some copper into the party decorations. At that same interiors store where I got the pears, I also found these gorgeous copper-colored glass ornaments. They were a lot more expensive than the pears, but so worth it – I LOVE these!
I couldn’t find these at the website of the store where I bought them, but here are some ornaments from Amazon that are the same deep rich copper color.
More copper
Besides the mantel itself, I had a couple flower arrangements around for extra party decor. They all featured bay, of course, and white roses, to keep with my white, gold, and bay theme. And to continue the copper, one of them was in my same copper pitcher that gave me the idea in the first place. It’s a bit rustic, but it worked. And roses are always so pretty!
So that’s it!
So that’s it for our fall party gold mantel decor! I’m still deciding whether I’ll go with the same colors for our Christmas decor when I switch very soon. What do you think? Let me know in the Comments.
And stay tuned for next time when I’ll show you how I used the same white, gold, and bay concept for the party food table! See you then!
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This is SO pretty, Barbara! You really can’t go wrong with metallics mixed with greens! Gorgeous job!
Thanks so much Janet! I do love those mixed metals! 🙂
Oh my, Barbara, your mantel is beyond gorgeous! I love every single element. Super stylish! 10/10
Thanks so much Marieza! Can you be the judge for every contest I enter?! 🤣 Hope you’re having a lovely holiday season so far. Happy First of December, my friend!
Barbara, your mantel is gorgeous! I think it is so cool how you were able to use your bay branches as the base for the mantel. The sparkly gold eucalyptus is so pretty and I was already in love with those beautiful gold pears. The copper ornaments are just gorgeous and I would have sprung for those beauties too! The ribbon and candles do add a soft and romantic touch. I think your mantel would transition beautifully into Christmas. Happy Thursday my friend!
Yaay another Christmas vote! (Obviously I was leaning that way already, can you tell!?) The bay is so amazing! The mantel is getting a little dry, with the indoor heat and no water, but the branches I have in vases, and the ones that are in the wreath outside are still fresh and beautiful. When I do the mantel again for Christmas, I might see if I can put them in water tubes to keep them fresher longer. Thanks so much for stopping by – I always love to see you! Happy Thursday to you too!
I’m all about old, new, green and redo…you have hit all those buttons with this post. The holidays are great, but before I go out and buy , I go downstairs and dig in my old decor and try to figure out new ways to use it. Your mantel is so classic and still fresh. I bet we see bits of this over the next few years, because it is all so lovely! Thanks for the pretty post and practical ideas of REUSE instead of purchases more. Hugs, Sandi
Hey Sandi! You’re right on target with seeing bits of this in the future. I love to save things, and I’m still using pieces I’ve had for years and years. Not to mention the ones that are so old, they’re antiques! 🙂 So glad you stopped by – I’m hopping over to your place next!
Absolutely stunning, my friend.
Thanks so much Renae! Hope you’re having a lovely week!
Barbara,
This is simply stunning…I like the idea of hanging those ornaments on the end! Genius! Thanks so much for the inspiration!!!
Hugs,
Deb
Hi Debbie – Absolutely! Any time! 🙂 I’m glad you like the hanging ornaments. Not sure where the idea came from originally, but I do it almost every year, and switch out the ornam ents to match whatever color I’ve got going on. I can’t wait to see what you’ve done this year – your Christmas decor is always spectacular! See you around the internet!
It’s absolutely stunning, Barbara. Classy. Timeless. Gorgeous. Pretty much like you, yourself, friend! ♥
Aww Michele – you’re so sweet!! I’m glad you like it – it was really fun to use all that bay! Hope you’re having a lovely week my friend!
I am really liking the copper colors. This is a metal I have not used before. Thinking I may start looking for some. I decided on a red and gold theme this year. We are going away for Christmas, so I am debating how much decorating to do. Haven’t decided if I want to come home to all of that stuff. Oh well, there’s always next year. We hope. Merry Christmas
Oh copper is so fun Mellody – I bet you’ll love it! It’s always so hard to decide how to decorate for Christmas when you’re not going to be home. Red and gold is a classic combination though, so I’m sure whatever you do will be beautiful! Thanks for popping over!
Gorgeous Barbara! I love the gold pears and the copper ornaments! I also like the casual style you used in placing the branches, beautiful!
I thinks the mantle decor for fall would also work perfectly for Christmas. Why fix it if it isn’t broken?
Thanks Carol – I think I’m heading that way! 😊
Hi Jenna – I’m so glad you like it – thank you! Hope your day is lovely so far!
Good morning, Barbara! Your mantel is stunning and classic! The bay branches are a lovely foundation for your layering. All of the gold accents are beautiful. The mantel is perfect for fall and Christmas! Happy Thursday!
Thanks so much Pam! I’ve always loved gold and it’s so fun to use it. I’m marking you down for the first Christmas decor vote! 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by. Happy Thursday to you too!