Autumnal Mantel | Gourds, Candles and Bottles

Find bottle gourds at Michael’s, The Arts & Crafts Store, or a local farm stand. (This is the type of gourd that is frequently made into a birdhouse.) Here, Matthew sets two gourds upright and one on its side, decorating around them with deep orange persimmons, votive candles, mini-gourds, fall foliage, and antique bottles. (You might also try ‘Jack Be Little’ pumpkins in place of the persimmons.) The mantel is bursting with the colors and fruits of the season.

Polly Bannister

Polly Bannister was a Yankee staff editor and a favorite of readers for more than 20 years. She is continually inspired by New England’s beautiful and diverse landscape—from cranberry bogs, sandy beaches, and granite-topped mountains to thriving cities, white clapboard houses on village greens, and red-brick mill towns.

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