Seaside Inspired Mantle

For some reason (as if I don't have enough to do) I've been itching to change my fireplace mantle around, so I've been working on a new look for the past few days and thought I'd share what it looks like now.

Just for fun, I took a look at some old photos and this is what the room looked like just before we moved in almost six years ago.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Aaaahh, it's like a breath of fresh air! I've been working on the painting above the mantle for the past week and it's been a lot of fun.

A very sweet reader, Lisa Zimmerman, let me know that she had some old doors in her barn that she wanted to get rid of, so I picked them up.  My husband cut one of the doors in half, and I used it for this painting.

The white sconces on either side of the painting came from Ikea. I covered some old books with scrapbooking paper, then tied them together with twine. And the two topiaries on top of the built-in bookcases came from a yard sale.

You can see in the "before" picture that the fireplace was brick and was really sooty. One day I just decided to go for it and paint over the brick. The paint has lasted really well and it really brightens the rooms. I painted the top of the mantle a dark brown color.

In case you were wondering, the wall has paneling on it and we painted over it.

The photo blocks are made from wood blocks that I decoupaged photos onto.

I should have done this mantle re-do a few months ago since it's a "summery" look, and I should be thinking about decorating for fall soon.

Oh, well! At this stage of my life, it's better late than never!