Saturday, September 24, 2011

Fall Mini Mantle

Fall is officially here and I am in full decorating mode.  This year I really wanted to play up our new board and batten treatment in our dining room....so I decided to make a mini mantle out of the ledge.  It's only 2" deep, meaning there's not room to layer things to create visual interest...so I really wanted to use color and texture.  I got inspiration from an old Martha Stewart Living (gotta love the old issues) where she used a monochromatic colors to highlight the colors of fall...and to play up the aqua walls I went for a nice gold/yellow scheme.


See all my little soldiers...all lined up in a row? Haha...I told you there was MINIMAL room.  And I'm awful at accessorizing...so this was actually pretty difficult for me.  This meant multiple text messages and pictures sent to Heather to help while she was enjoying a day in Disneyland.  Bless her for putting up with me.  Yes it would have been muuuuuuch easier to use my lovely 12" deep shelf for this mantle project (don't get me wrong...that's still gettin' all decked out too), but I just love my new dining room and really wanted to highlight our new space.  Those mirrors are cheapy IKEA mirros that I've had forever in our bedroom that were in blue and brown.  Just a little champagne metallic spray paint and VIOLA!  Beautiful art!  Sonny was even impressed when I put them up...and he doesn't get to impressed with wall art.  Again, probably a reason why it's 6 years in and we have nothing on our walls.  I'm getting there people!!! 

Anyway, another goal of this project was to make it on the cheap and use supplies I had around the house.  Those awesome white vases are also candleholders (you know, flip 'em over and they hold a tealight) and are a gift from my girl Heather.  She has a set that I eyed and adored forever, so she got me a set, and we joke that we always "forget" about them...then we'll re-use them somewhere else in our house and just fall in love with them all over again.  Case in point, these were sitting in my bathroom doing nothing, I actually forgot they were vases.  Heather suggested them on the mantle, they fit perfectly, and I now caress them every time I walk by because I heart them too much..

And you know I had to get my glitter on with little cheap letters from Joann's.  It's not yellow or gold glitter...but it's what I had on hand from glittering my pumpkins last year.  And come on..orange...still perfect for fall, and adds a nice little pop in the mix.  Plus, considering I went through multiple arrangements to get this area looking how I liked...I enjoy that it looks like the word "Fail" from far away.  Ahhh....what a lovely reminder of my inability to accessorize and my desperate need to have Heather live closer....

I also took some of that champagne metallic spray paint to give new life to some cheap, glass votive holders that I had and never used.  My initial idea was to do a faux mercury glass look...but it just wasn't coming out right.  So I just lightly covered them and kind of love the imperfectness of them.  they look great lit up...and these can totally carry me through Thanksgiving and Christmas!



I just love my little simple mantle.  A lot went into it, actually. With multiple rearrangements, I feel like it still maintains an air of simplicity.  It compliments the space really well....and I think it's also a perfect compliment to the other side of the room, and my new art that I created for Sonny for our 4 year anniversary!



4 comments:

  1. How fun is that?? I am so awful at decorating right now. I have been in my home nearly two years and my walls are pretty much bare. I REALLY love that paint color...can you share what it is? I need to paint the master bedroom and this is so soothing and zen...something my home needs more of, lol!

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  2. @Tamara -

    The paint color is "Rainwater" by Martha Stewart. I've seriously been eyeing it for over a year and FINALLY got a chance to use it!! I love it so much...it may infact go in my bedroom as well!

    xo,
    Lani

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  3. Great ideas you have here...thanks for sharing them with all of us.

    Blessings,
    Linda

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  4. So pretty! Love the glittered fail. :) Fab use of such a small space!

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