Summer Vintage Nautical Mantel Decor

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Summer Mantel Decor

Holy moly…can you believe that we are talking about summer?! Friday marks the last day of school for summer break for my nieces and nephews – it just doesn’t seem possible. In our part of the country Memorial Weekend is the official kickoff to summer. We have a lot planned so stay tuned! First up – summer mantel decor.

You know my life has been a bit crazy as of late, so my home has been a tad neglected. I’m embarrassed to say that there was still an errant bunny or two leftover from Easter that hadn’t been put away yet. After finally having the time and energy I de-Springed the house and packed it all away. Nothing feels better than starting with a fresh, clean slate.

Summer Vintage Nautical Mantel

When thinking about my summer mantel decor I wasn’t sure at first what I wanted to do. I thought back to my own childhood and my favorite parts of carefree summers. Those special times were always spent with my grandparents in Florida near the St. Johns River.

I idolized my grandpa and followed him around like a puppy dog – through his homegrown vegetable field, to his brother’s house down the dirt road or to the corner store with the screened door. By the way, this store is where I had my very first Nehi Orange drink – nectar of the gods 🙂 If you needed to find me you just needed to find grandpa. In fact my great uncle Henry used to say “I see you brought your shadow” and then he’d scoop me up and give me a giant bear hug.

Nostalgia

My absolute favorite thing to do was to go out in the boat. We would walk down to the dock at the river, grandpa would place me inside the boat and he would paddle out far enough until the water was deep enough to turn the boat motor on. It felt like the boat was going 100 miles an hour. Grandpa would let me “steer” once the boat was on open water. Those were wonderful times and I never took them for granted – even as a little girl.

 

Suddenly my inspiration for my summer mantel decor became grandpa, vintage fishing items and the color blue – definitely waxing nostalgic.

This mantel decor came together within minutes once I was inspired.

Y’all know how much I love my cobalt blue vintage bottles.

This old minnow bucket is just like one from my youthful memories.

This vintage photo is the real deal. It is my grandpa and my uncle. It took them all day to bring in this giant grouper. There are a lot of family tales about how long it took them to bring it in – but they definitely caught it!

Weathered wood is so pretty to me, even these old oars. It makes me think of who owned them, what body of water were they on?

Remember the vanity bench I painted and recovered with a tea towel?

 

Isn’t this ceramic garland adorable? It was a birthday gift last month.

Family history and memories run deep in my veins and in my heart. These are some of the reasons why I love vintage decor so much – it reminds me of home, family and love.

 

 

Don’t forget to visit all of the other fabulous design blogger’s and their beautiful mantel’s decorated for summer! Just click the links below.

A big thank you to our sweet friend Amy of My Life From Home for hosting this design series.