CasaCullen

Decorate: How to Create a Festive and Stylish Holiday Mantel

Display a collection or spray paint numerous candle holders in your favorite metallic.

Lighted garland and simple white stockings give this white mantel a sweet addition. We also adore the touches of blue too.

Etched glass candle holders give a great ambiance and glow to any mantel. Learn how to quickly (and easily) etch glass HERE.

Leave your mantel bare and opt for hanging garland from the ceiling rafters.

We love how all the metallic shades don't compete but elevate this gorgeously designed mantel.

Layer candles and a huge mirror for easy decor that'll be classic, elegant and timeless.

Flip those Santa hats upside down for a kid friendly take on stockings.

Or opt for old burlap sacks for a greener approach!

Layer numerous mirrors for a mantel with some serious punch and reflection!

One of our favorites, this greenery and birch wood layout is so pleasing to the eye!

Images from HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE

Shop these Amazing Holiday Decor Pieces:

Christmas

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Decorate: Design Tips - How to Organize Your Home

A DUMPING GROUND, by your commonly used entry door, is crucial for keeping all your goodies in check and will ensure that everything has a proper 'home' too!

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entry tables

TABLETOP/DESKTOP ORGANIZERS are a great way to minimize clutter and home-base for all your go-to items and electronics. Never lose your phone, keys or wallet again with a docking station/desktop caddy.

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desktop organizer

BATHROOM CADDIES are a great way to tidy up your personal space and bathroom basics!

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bathroom organizer

LAZY SUSANS are a piece that everyone should own. Keep things tidy and easily serve those across the table at a dinner party!

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lazy susan

JEWELRY HOLDERS free up coveted dresser space while fashionably organizing all of your baubles too.

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jewelry organizer

STORAGE SOLUTIONS that are user-friendly might be one of the best investments you ever make towards a more organized home.

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storage furniture

Images from HERE

Personal Peek: Decorate - Some Snazzy New Art for Our Home

The art up close:

In the room:

The art up close:

In the room:

The art up close:

In the room:

We love sharing our newest, greatest decor finds with our readers so today's post is a bit of a Personal Peek at some of our recently additions. These three pieces of art, combined, were less than $70 so art doesn't have to break the bank. We told you about 20x200 HERE that has some amazing pieces for just $20. We love getting their daily emails and learning about awesome new artists. So let me do a bit of explanation about each piece above.

The first and third pieces of artwork were actually from the Four Hands Home Warehouse sale right here in Austin, Texas. They have incredible sales and if you're an avid reader, you'll remember THIS post where we highlighted all of our finds from a previous sale. We saw these two pieces and just knew they'd be the perfect compliment/splash of color for our living room layout. We still get so many comments on our painted IKEA shelves on the wall but you must take a peek HERE at what they looked like before their face-lift. We think these two new pieces of art modernize the space and we totally love them!

The second piece of art is from one of our favorite artist/graphic design companies, Penny People. We literally spotted that sweet little birdie print and knew it needed a home sweet home in CasaCullen. We placed it above the fireplace (we're still trying to decide what to do with that area) and it's one of those pieces of art that just makes us smile every time we look at it. We heart that itty bitty grinnin' birdie!

PS - Please don't judge us on the ridiculously non-organized-ness mayhem in image number four. It's where our recycled wood shelves are and it irks me daily. Seriously, we need to get some more baskets/boxes and we need to get that organized, pronto! It's become a dumping ground and that's just not kosher. Boo on us.

Decorate: Entertaining - Napkin Rings

Image from HERE

We love napkin rings and probably have ten different sets of twelve. Since we just mentioned some great Thanksgiving table-scapes HERE and also showed you how to properly set a table HERE, we figured it was high time we start chatting about all the separate pieces that are involved.

Enter exhibit a...the napkin ring! One of my favorite accessories for setting a table, I liken them to the earrings and bangles of my daring fashion ensembles. Check out the great selections below. We love the Flower Beaded Aqua Napkin Ring from Crate&Barrel and you can't beat $1.95! If money weren't an object, the L'Objet set of 4 from Saks in gold pretty much take our breath away. Invest in a stand out set of napkin rings today!

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napkin rings

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Decorate: ReBlog - Easy DIY Decor Ideas for Fall and Thanksgiving

Since we were so late with our festive Halloween decor HERE, we decided to be ahead of the season and get you on board with some awesome fall/Thanksgiving themed DIY decor ideas. Get ready for some seriously great ones...we know you'll try at least one, right? Enjoy!

Click Images to Enlarge

Get more DIY info HERE on this great idea via Holiday Kids Crafts

Why we like it: "Incorporating nature into your centerpiece is a great way to use up those changing leaves and bare twigs strewn about the yard."

Get more DIY info HERE on this great idea via Blissfully Domestic

Why we like it: "Easily say what you want to say via a great banner and spruce up your fireplace mantel. Don't have a mantel? Hang it on a floating bookshelf or open entryway too!"

Get more DIY info HERE on this great idea via Kurt Cyr Interior Design

Why we like it: "Birch is one of our faves and this centerpiece is so elegant, structural and statement making that we'd surely ooooh and aaaaah if we ever saw one in real life!"

Get more DIY info HERE on this great idea via Mana Knows

Why we like it: "Wrapping a massive amount of candles in paper is such a cinch but these phrased candles really steal the show!"

Get more DIY info HERE on this great idea via Everyday Celebrating

Why we like it: "As long as allergens aren't your pitfall, these natural grass stalk bunches are gorgeous! We're imagining wheat for fall and lavender for spring!"

Get more DIY info HERE on this great idea via DIY Life

Why we like it: "Simple, affordable and something everyone can pull off...this center piece is a must for sleek fall decor that even children can help with!"

Decorate: Etiquette - How to Set a Proper Table

Image from HERE

Properly setting a table takes practice, practice and more practice. I set our table most nights before dinner and still have a hard time remembering if the glass goes above the fork or knife/spoon...and I've been setting the table since I was 3 years old. I don't know why it's one of those things that I just can't seem to remember but coming from a Mother and Grandmother that take some serious pride in their entertaining skills, this is something I don't dare do wrong in the presence of company. With that being said, maybe your new to proper table setting etiquette so this post would be news to you. Or, maybe you're just like me, need a refresher course before all the holiday prep begins. Enjoy and you better set those tables properly from here on out, ha!

ReBlog - DIY Halloween Decor Roundup Extravaganza

Spooky frames are simple and spooky via Thoughtfully Simple HERE

Make your own Trick-or-Treat burlap sacks via A Beautiful Mess HERE

Create your own Halloween Garland via JBS Mercantile HERE

Try your hand at these painted mason jars via Crafts by Amanda HERE

Easily jazz up your lamppost via Dill Pickle Picnic HERE

We love these mason jarred adult beverage labels via Tiny Prints HERE

And if you have kiddos, these Mr./Mrs. Potato Heads rock via Kids Stuff World HERE

Lastly, our amazing friend Mary and her gorgeously decorated seasonal porch ROCKS! (Hey Badger!)

Decorate: ReBlog and Under $100 - America’s Top Design Talents Show Off Six Latest Home Decorating Trends

Trend 1: Add Colorful Accents

Look Closer: Although it looks formal and classic, this dining room has some unsuspected elements we just have to point out. The turquoise blue Asian pottery is statement making and the modern (easy to DIY) mantel art is edgy and fresh.

Shop the Look (Under $100):

More Ikea...

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Trend 2: Make a Statement

Look Closer: Indeed it's a bit over to the top for some, but don't shy away from color either. Show off your personality and if high drama is your thing and you're new to decorating, opt for a smaller space for your first test run.

Trend 3: Try Some Trim

Look Closer: You'll see this room is overflowing with trimmed and piped accents and it looks grand. From throw pillows to curtains to lampshades and that amazing moody blue ottoman, this room screams elegance and casual contemporary.

Trend 4: Pick a Theme

Look Closer: We actually didn't even notice all the aviary theemed accents in this room until we actually looked closer. Birds and eggs are all over this modern day living retreat and this theme is what ties every piece together so nicely.

Shop the Look (Under $100):

More Lenox...

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Trend 5: All Natural Accents

Look Closer: All natural accents don't have to be in muted shades. We love how this room just screams girlie and glam and isn't completely created out of earth tones. Natural accents and organic elements are abundant; dark tree statue, tree stump stool, sheepskin rug and the branch picture frame are all great natural pieces!

Trend 6: Symmetry Will Always be Chic

Look Closer: Two is better than one and there is some serious double play action going on in this gorgeous bedroom. The pairs we spy? Two different pairs of lamps (bedside and desk), the black and white artwork and matching bedside tables, just to name a few! We love symmetry and are contstantly playing with proporations and doubling up around CasaCullen. Enjoy!

Images and Story from HERE

Decorate: Under $50 - 20x200's Pretty Maps by Aaron Straup Cope

Pretty Map of the San Francisco Bay Area

Image info/purchase it HERE

Pretty Map of New York City Area

Image info/purchase it HERE

Pretty Map of Los Angeles Area

Image info/purchase it HERE

Image/Artist bio from HERE

We've mentioned to you before how much we love 20x200 and we think it's a great site for finding affordable art at reasonable prices. Numerous prints start at just $20 and go up from there. We'll be sure to use this site for our niece's third birthday because we are adding to her growing art collection every year HERE. Today we're featuring the work of Aaron Strap Cope and we find it downright exquisite and amazing. Here is the artists statement on his three Pretty Maps:

I'd like to generate map tiles that give you that same dizzy feeling you get when you look down at a city at night, from an airplane. We've spent so long fussing over the relentless details in cartography that we've sort of forgotten what things (should) look like at a distance.

Each of these Pretty Maps can be yours for only $50 (for the 11"x14" version) and I think they're a great wedding gift idea if you're heading to an LA, SF or NYC area wedding in the near future. Since we spent nearly two years in the San Francisco area, I'm actually thinking about buying that pretty map for CC Hubby but I also envision a trio being gorgeous hanging on the wall in three museum frames. Let your imagination run wild but be sure to support some of the amazing artisans over on 20x200 today!

Decorate: Switch Out Summer Throw Pillows for Fall Colors - Hand Picked Options Under $50

Switching out those spring/summer hued throw pillows is a great way to bring the fall/winter indoors. Believe me, we're not ones to talk because we usually miss an entire season before switching out our throw pillow covers, but when we do...we rejoice in the new-found palette! Here's some awesome pictures for inspiration just to get you going.

Burnt orange, dark cranberry red and mustard yellow would be your typical fall color palette but we've also totally hand-picked some amazing choices (all under $50) way below and just know you'll scoop a few up. Think of it as switching out your accessories, for your home. You wouldn't don a leather bomber jacket in 100 degree weather, now would ya? Changing out a room's throw pillows really does work wonders on sprucing up the feel of your home decor, in an affordable manner. We promise so make sure to try it, pronto!

Images from HERE

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