Rustic Mantel Reclaimed Wood

I like my mantel but I don't LOVE it, I want to LOVE it so I set out to make it happen.

It was just a little bit too wimpy and not deep enough  plus I wanted to introduce more of a rustic farmhouse feel, yep you've heard that a lot from me lately, I can't help it, I just love the cottage rustic farmhouse look!

So when I found this piece of old reclaimed 2 inch thick board I knew I had found the solution.

  You can see the distressing on the edge, PERFECT!

Only one problem, it wasn't deep enough I wanted a ten inch deep board.

Not to worry. My hubby cut me a couple pieces of two by two and I stained it to match the reclaimed board.

  I didn't have one piece long enough so we had to use two pieces, it won't really been seen where it butts together.

 I just used some burnt umber and the match was pretty good,  You can see the old reclaimed board on the right. The new boards are going in behind the main board so any discrepancy won't be noticed.

I scrubbed the old board but other than that I left it in it's found condition, no sanding no stain or poly finish, nothing but pure reclaimed old distressed loveliness.

 Here's the new look.....

Those two curvy posts on both ends were reclaimed  from an old farmhouse .Love em.

Just for fun this is how the mantel area looked when we first bought the house.

It's undergone quite a transformation.

So once again, the BEFORE

And the AFTER

So what do ya think? My hubby just says" well if that's what you want", can't get any opinions from him lol.

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Blessings,

Terea 

Mirror Love

I finally got around to taking down all my Christmas Decor. I don't know about you but I feel decorations clutter things up a bit. Not that I don't love seeing them and doing the decorating part but once they are down, I feel I can breathe if you know what I mean.

It also gives me a chance to change things up a little. 

This is how it looked right before Christmas.

 I decided not to put the wreath back up and put this sweet little oval mirror up instead. I did leave some little white lights up for ambiance. 

 The little mirror has lovely detail on it.

See those crystals on the candle holders? They have magnets on the ends and I just stuck them on the metal ring of the candle holder. I got them at Hobby Lobby and I've used them on many different things in my home.

The little quail were handed down from my mother in law, I just love them.

The little oval mirror used to be, above the sideboard. I found this larger mirror at my favorite flea market, I wasn't sure where I was going to put it but I knew I loved the detail and the different shape so I picked it up for a song and a dance.

I got this little sideboard cabinet for $30 at the flea market, it's just the right size for this wall.

 I fell in love with the detail on this mirror.

I am thinking about doing a painting treatment of some sort on it, just not sure yet.

Blessings, Teresa

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I love It When Decorating is FREE

The topiaries were almost free except for the container. I had the greenery, the twig stems were from the yard, added some moss and there you have it! The coffee filter wreath was made from what else? coffee filters from my kitchen, just added a foam wreath form.

I wanted to add some extra height to my mantel and give it just a tiny bit of a Fall feel. I also didn't want to spend any money. So again out to the yard I went. I found some great little twigs. I just cut them a little and added them to my blue mason jars.

 Some more twigs added to the table around the cloches.

 Totally free and it adds some texture. I like it!

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Dreaming of Spring and Home Goods Finds

Yes I know I'm wayyy too premature but hey, it's a dream! So I went about taking all the Christmas decor down from my mantel

 and greened it up a bit.

I love birds and greenery together. I made the topiaries from Hobby Lobby bush greenery and branches in my yard. The wreath is yes, you guessed it a coffee filter wreath that I just recently got around to making, okay so I'm a slow crafter. Hehe, my husband says it looks like a giant sponge, hmmm it kinda does. So even though it is 30 degrees in Alabama right now I just glance at my mantel and dream of lovely bright spring days.

I added some burlap to the topiaries and across the mantel

And to add to the Spring feel, a new find at Home Goods

Along with this little cutie......

Happy First Week Of 2012!

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