A simple black & white Halloween Mantel

The mantel. That asymmetrical beast… that off-center design challenge… that quirky non-focal point of the room… ugh. I decided that rather than fight with it this year, I’m going for super simple and uncluttered. Just an easy black and white Halloween mantel.

I tend to like a classic black, white and orange color scheme at Halloween time… with a little silver thrown in for good measure. I love mercury glass and I use it whenever (and wherever) I can. I think it softens that sharp contrast between the black and white.

Halloween always needs ravens and crows, and fortunately, the Dollar Store is an excellent place to pick those guys up. I took an old champagne bucket and added a twisty branch that I painted with both black and silver paint, and then nested a bird in there.

The moss in the bucket is real moss that was growing in trees up in the Santa Ynez area. We were up there in August, and if you follow me on Instagram, you might remember this photo of Handsome Hubby being a total trooper and getting some for me.

The wreath is just like a basic fake green wreath you would get at Christmastime, but it was black for Halloween.

I bought a bag of black feathers at JoAnn’s, and added them as well as a few feather picks to fluff it up and add some visual interest.

The whole thing is hanging from a ribbon, thumb-tacked to the top of the shutters… throw in a couple of barn stars (also spray painted black) and call it a day.