Holiday Mantel

Hope you had a wonderful weekend. It certainly is a busy time of the year. I spent some time this weekend and worked on our holiday mantel in our master bedroom. I've been dreaming of having a mantel in our bedroom for some time now. I didn't think I wanted an actual fireplace when we built, just a fun mantel to decorate. My husband and I decided to take a trip downtown to a local Architectural Salvage store. We walked through many rooms filled with all kinds of antique treasures, from old door knobs, to trim pieces, several different gorgeous old hand carved mantels, but they were huge. I wasn't looking for anything grand, just a quaint fireplace surround with character, and an extra bonus if it had an arch. We were instructed to look outside too. Low and behold, there it was, the perfect fireplace surround that I had envisioned in my head. My husband and I were both excited, sometimes things are just meant to be. This is an old iron fireplace that had been painted over, and sitting out in the weather, so it was going to need some TLC. I was certainly up for the challenge. Here is how it looked when we found it.....

It's hard to tell from the photo, but the top was filled with rust spots since there were all kinds of metal rusty pieces sitting on the top, and it was just plain dirty. So with a scrub brush, and some cleaner I was able to clean it up and here is how it looks now in our bedroom...

I styled the center with old vintage books, something I've been collecting for years. The artwork I made, and I will have a DIY post about it, later this week. So grab you some boards, or a big canvas will work too. The garland I also made, it's my twist on the popular tassel garland design. I will also have a separate blog post showing you how to make this, so collect some ribbon and yarn. :) Everything else came from shopping around my own home. I really do love this mantel, it makes our room seem so cozy and charming. I told my husband that I feel like we are at a bed and breakfast every night now. Mantels are my favorite thing to decorate, I think if we ever build again I may have to add one to every room. ;) 

Hope you feel inspired to decorate your mantel, or a bookshelf, or furniture piece. These are all ideas that could easily be incorporated. Stop back by later in the week to get those tutorials on how to make the deer sign, and the garland. Have a blessed day!

XO~Gretchen