Mantel Mojo

When did it get so C-O-L-D outside? They are calling for snow later today in the middle of North Carolina. To be perfectly honest, I'd be OK if I never saw the white stuff again.

We had a little icy dusting last week and I found myself snug under Grandma's crocheted afghan, coffee in hand, watching the dancing flames of the fire. Sounds nice, right? Well, all I could think about was how b-o-r-i-n-g my mantel looks. I mean~ snooze-fest. Needs help. Decor-911!

My mantel in it's current state. Yes that's a cable cord; the horror! Sorry about the glare.

This was the mantel before we added the TV a couple of years ago. An improvement, yes, but still not ideal.

Side note: I couldn't resist adding a pic of my youngest trying to play in the "snow" we got last week. This was about two minutes before he came in complaining that his brother had thrown an ice-ball in his face. As a top Mother-of-the-Year contender, I promptly informed him that he would probably live and to get back out there and enjoy it before it melted in 15 minutes. I'm pretty sure I've got M-O-T-Y in the bag ladies, no need for you to apply.



So while the kids were out trying to make snowballs with 1/2" of ice, I was scouring Pinterest for ideas.

Here's some mantel-mojo inspiration for you:

Soothing in white and cream. But honestly, do people live in an all-neutral state? Nope. Source: My Favorite and My Best

Kara's Chevron Fireplace Before and After

This is a shout-out for Catherine who is currently nutz-O for Chevron!

Click the link to see the amazing transformation.

 I'm K-Razy about these antlers against the stone fireplace. 
Wow! I may have to do a post just on antlers.

Found this one on Pinterest too. 

Again with the white. I feel like I need to go spray paint all my pots white.

Nice for the Holidays. Source: Pinterest

Perusing the pages of Pottery Barn, I came across this little vignette and I think I might have peed in my pants--a little. I ADORE bunnies and spring! I can see doing a whole litter of floppy eared bunnies on my mantel mixed in with eggs and glass cloches, etc.


The banner? Eh, I can take it or leave it.

Source: Sas Interiors See More Here

I love the stacks of books and layers of accessories on this mantel. But for those of us with giant TV's above our fireplaces, we can only go so high. What to do; what to do?

See more of Gail's touch here

Look at this cute one! It's hard enough to accessorize a mantel, but this is like having three! This is where the power of three comes in. Three artichokes, three trays, three sets of books, three pieces of glass. It pulls the whole look together and the subdued color palette gives the eye a calm place to land. Cottage Collection Files

Remodelaholics blog: Spring Mantel

Source: Sophia's Decor Love the collection of nests.

I'm not sure where I found this one, but it might be my favorite. If it came off your blog and I didn't credit you; I apologize! I plead stupidity, not malice.

 So with Spring in my mind, but Winter outside my window, this is what I came up with for my oh-so-boring mantel:

Ta Da! I added the globes to balance the display on the left. Of course now my bedroom is globeless.

      What do you think? I didn't buy a single thing. I just traipsed around the house and "borrowed" from other rooms.

Everything looked really small that I tried up there, so ultimately, I brought out the big stuff.

 I plan to do a post on my coffee-sack covered ottomans in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for that!

So much for winter..... My bunny got to stay. There are bunnies in winter, right?

We would love to see your mantel pictures. Share with us on our facebook page and get an extra chance in our current giveaway. https://www.facebook.com/DecorYouAdore