Mantle Makeover

I recently redid my mantle. Here is a before picture from a few years ago. I thought this embarrassing picture of me proudly displaying it would work just right. I think my sister and her now fiance are looking at me thinking I'm crazy! Well anyways, take a look at the mantle. Really all it entails is the mirror leaning against the wall and the two tall candle holders on each side. I used to really like it, but it looks kind of plain to me now.

Before:


After:


So here is the after pic, what do you think?? I think it definitely has more personality now:) Here's what I did! Despite my fear of hanging such a heavy object, I decided to hang the mirror on the wall. My wonderful father-in-law did this for us! And it did not look easy so I'm super grateful. It required some special hardware, but it was not difficult to find. You can go to Lowe's or Home Depot. Oh and here's a shot of my daughter having some fun with the mirror during the process:



Next, I hung some candle holders from pottery barn. They were actually a pretty good deal if you ask me...$34 for the set! It took me a while to find just the right candles for them and of course after I bought some others the perfect ones were in my house all along! These candles used to be in our entryway. I like the grey hue of them. They are subtle and complement the birds and flower pitcher.

Here are my birds from Hobby Lobby! I don't recall how much they were, but I did get them 1/2 off! They were actually my first purchase for the mantle. I was just drawn to them and sort of had to have them!!! And they kind of look like fish too?? Owell, I love them both;-)

And here is my clock that was the finishing touch. I knew I wanted something smaller, but just peeking over the mirror to go between the flowers and birds. I thought about a candle holder here, but I don't have a clock (like this) in the house so it worked out perfectly. This was 1/2 off from Hobby Lobby as well (love that place!). And I like that I can see what time it is without having to turn around and look in the kitchen:)

Lastly, here are my flowers and flower pitcher! I saw the pitcher from Michael's and fell in love. I thought the color was a perfect complement to the birds. And it was a good height to balance the other side of the mantle. The flowers were the hard part. I think I bought and returned 3 or 4 times...oops! Well, I wanted to get it just right! And I'm pretty happy with these. Yes, yes they are from Hobby Lobby too 1/2 off! I promise that is not the only place I shop, lol! Oh and I used my Michael's 40% off coupon for the pitcher. I think it was around $8 afterwards.

So what happened to those old tall candle holders you ask?? Do not despair...I was able to use them! My clever sister-in-law suggested I put them behind the fireplace screen and I loved it! She also suggested gold candles to pick up some other gold colors in the room. I think it's genius and I love that I can still use them.

So that's it folks. My mantle makeover in a nutshell! Or maybe not. Anyways, I think it has a beachy/country feel. Coastal meets country if you will. I love it, but may be changing it soon as it is pretty summery/springy to me. Maybe I'll do a fall/winter mantle!!!