French Country Fall Mantel: Neutrals, Naturals and Metallics

This year, I decided to keep my fall mantel decorating neutral and to combine elements from nature like pine cones, oak leaves, grape vine and white pumpkins (both real and faux) with spray painted metallic pumpkins for accents.

Simple Pastel Spring Mantel Decor

Is anyone else getting a slow start on spring this year?  I am. I decided to put together a quick, pastel, spring mantel this week to add a little color to the living room. It's not just the gray of winter that is wearing on me, it's also the fact that I was afraid that if I didn't decorate the mantel this week, I'd completely miss the opportunity to do it before I tear the wall out next month.

Yes, you read that correctly. It's spring...which means that we'll finally be able to move forward with renovations here at the French farmhouse and the temporary shelf that has been acting as our mantel will be removed (along with the wood paneling that covers the wall) in preparation for the new sandstone mantel and hearth that will be installed this summer when our former living room officially becomes the dining room.

 
Which reminds me, I forgot to show you the fabulous French Casement Cabinets that I scored at the Restoration Hardware outlet in January. There are two of them. They are 42 inches wide and 92 inches tall... and they were seventy percent off!

How could I possibly resist!? There will be one on either side of the window seat in the dining room and they will be used to store china and glassware. One of them had some damage on the inside of the door which was repaired but it doesn't show and even if it did, at that price, I'm not certain that I would have minded!

I've been  so busy collecting pieces for the farmhouse that I'm going to have to do a couple of posts to catch you up on what I've found...but for now, let's get back to the mantel.

Since this mantel decor is the last one that I'll be creating for a while, I decided to incorporate some bunnies and get a "two for one" by leaving these decorations up until Easter

                                                                                  ...or until I get a dumpster...whichever comes first!

The smaller bunny above is a ceramic statue that I painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and distressed slightly so you could see the brown color that he was when I purchased him on a quick little shopping trip to Carter's Cottage in DeKalb with my friend, Mary last weekend.

Of course, a couple of pieces of my trademark ironstone made an appearance, as did a bird's nest, some faux tulips, and the vintage window panels that you've seen before in my bedroom at our last home and my Valentine's Day mantel.

The wreath is made from coffee filters which were water-colored using pink and yellow then hot glued to a form....simple...and under $3!

My Grandmother's crocheted lace table cloth, zinc letter stencils, a muslin flag banner that I made and a vintage French pastoral painting round out the rest of the look.

I added a quick spring pillow to the love seat and hung faux pastel eggs from some branches that I got when the tree trimmers were here last week which were placed in a copper lined vintage basket. I'm sure that the tree guys didn't understand why I wanted the branches but they were really nice about allowing me to choose those that I wanted to save before they put the rest in the chipper.

Other than creating a tablescape for Easter or a quick spring urn for my front entry, this is going to be the extent of my spring decor for this year. It may also be the extent of my summer decor depending upon how quickly things move for Phase 2.  I've spent the last two weeks meeting with our architect, a couple of builders and the village and things are slowly moving forward. 

I'm happy to report that the engineering survey of the property was completed yesterday and I expect that we'll have final drawings soon....I know...I keep saying this...I think that we're on round 19 of the interior floor plan drawings because I keep moving the bedrooms around.

Last week, the master bedroom moved to the other side of the house and the hearth room is now behind the kitchen. I haven't updated you because until I have something final, I don't want you to have to suffer through countless iterations as I tweak the plans....it's bad enough that I'm putting my architect through it!

So, Happy Spring, Happy Easter...Happy Mother's Day...etc. I'm enjoying my pastel spring mantel almost as much as I'm enjoying the fact that I may finally get to chainsaw out the bad bushes around my house in another week also in preparation for Phase 2!

It's been a long, boring winter and I can't wait to start on all of the new changes that are coming to Serendipity Refined and the French Farmhouse this spring and I'm thrilled to have you along!


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Jennifer Rizzo

DIY Repurposed Valentine's Day Mantel Decor

This year my Valentine's day mantel is a collection of vintage and repurposed items that I already had on hand.  It was really easy to put together now that our storage locker is empty and I happen to have enough spare house parts and bins of craft supplies lining the walls of the garage to darned near build a second home and make seasonally appropriate decor to with it.

 If you're wondering why, you're not alone.

Rustic Vintage Ski Lodge Christmas Mantel

This Christmas, my theme is re-purposing.  I suppose that my actual theme is "Let It Snow" (the vintage ski lodge version).  But there's also an underlying theme going on in my life and my holiday decorating this year and it's all about re-purposing.

Before I talk about that, however, I wanted to show you this Before and During photo of the living room. I realize that most people would call this a "Before and After" photo but given that the main portion of the renovation at the French farmhouse hasn't even begun, I'm calling the photo on the right the "during" phase.
I thought that I'd show you how the living room looked in August.

Sometimes I forget that we're still in Phase 1 of this project. I forget how very different things look today than they did just over three months ago when we moved to the farmhouse.  I forget that the cedar paneling above the fireplace was painted green....and pink....and ivory. Or that it took three days to strip.

      I'm probably suppressing those memories.
                                 
                                         I think that I read somewhere that people tend to do that with traumatic events.

I also forget that there really wasn't really a mantel above the fireplace. It was just a narrow little ledge above a brass fireplace screen that fell completely onto the floor (and my foot)  when I tried to open the doors.
                                                                                                          I'm suppressing that memory, too.

Today, there's a mantel.  I suppose that technically, it's a reclaimed shelf with a piece of 1 x 10 on top that's acting as a mantel...for now.  The shelf will have another life next Christmas. It will be re-purposed again as a shelf in my new master bathroom.

Oh, and the room where this fireplace is located...the one that's currently our living room? It is going to (hopefully) be re-purposed into our new dining room by next year at this time. Confusing, isn't it?!

The reclaimed wood snowflakes and vintage ski's? Well, they'll probably find a home in my new studio.... which is being re-purposed from the space that is currently the garage.
                                                                                                                  Are you following along so far?

Re-purposing found objects is one of my favorite things to do.  All it takes is a little imagination. In fact, almost everything that I used to create this year's mantel has had a prior life and a different purpose.  The garland was from my 2012 white woodland winter mantel (here). The bows were from my 2012 Christmas tree. Do you remember that tree? It was the 12 foot tall one...with the plaid cardboard star tree top.  I have to admit, I won't miss climbing a step ladder to put the top on our tree this year.

The colored plastic ornaments were re-purposed from the Grinch Christmas themed outdoor decorations that I made five or six years ago. Yes, I know, it's sad that I found an entire huge bin full of plastic ornaments that I had completely forgotten about in the back of the closet when we moved. I swear I'm not a hoarder....I'm a saver.                                        Don't judge me.

At least I didn't find an entire set of chairs in the back of a closet that I'd forgotten about. Although...there was a 3 drawer dresser...
We're not talking about dressers today. Today we're going to discuss the fact that the only truly "brand new" part of this mantel was the letters "S, N, and W." They are cardboard, purchased at JoAnn fabric and painted to look like wood using craft paint and paraffin wax.

Other than those three letters, everything else is either re-purposed, hand made, or re-used.  I made the 2 x 4 stocking holders (HERE) out of wood from the scrap bin at Home Depot and the stockings are made from flannel shirting using my free stocking pattern  HERE.

The tiny tree with vintage ornaments previously belonged to my Uncle.  The tree skirt is a re-purposed vintage kitchen towel.

Of course, the toy truck had another life some time in the 1960's. I suspect that the prior owner loved it almost as much as I do but it was probably loved outdoors rather than in the middle of the family's Christmas Mantel.

Things were a little different back in the 1960's.  Ahem...not that I'd know anything about that.  *wink*

Thanks for taking the time out of your busy December to spend a few minutes with me and to look at my crazy, vintage, rustic, ski lodge mantel.  I hope that it'll inspire you to find a way to reuse or re-purpose a few things around your home.

Did I mention that I'm re-purposing my bedroom into a new kitchen?  No? We'll talk about that soon.

In the mean time, Let it snow!

Wait...Let it snow right after I finish my Christmas shopping!

Sharing at:
Coastal Charm
French Country Cottage
From My Front Porch to Yours
Jennifer Rizzo Holiday Home Tour
Satori Design For Living

Pottery Barn Inspired Halloween Mantel Witch Silhouette (Free Pattern)

Yes, I do  realize that it's two days before Halloween and I'm just getting around to putting anything even vaguely related to Halloween on  my mantel. Remember my last Halloween Mantel? (More Here)

Yellow and White Spring Bunny Mantel

I don't know about you but I'm getting pretty tired of winter and I'm more than ready for spring!  I've been ready for a month now. I've put our shovels and snow boots away three times so far this year...

Reclaimed Wood Easter Bunny Art {Tutorial}

You've probably guessed after seeing my Stenciled Burlap Bunny Table Runner and Upcycled Baby Food Jar Bunny Candy Holders that I have a bunny "thing" going on at our home this spring.

Valentines Day Mantel (Easy Decorating}

There's nothing I like more than free decorating. Yes, you read that correctly...free...zero dollars. Made from supplies that I already had on hand.  (Let me apologize in advance for the bad humor...keep reading....you'll know why in a minute.)

Woodland Winter Mantel..and NFL Fooball

 
Sometimes, decorating for Christmas in a house full of men has it's challenges...like when they question why I'm doing it at all. Especially when I'm doing it on Sunday afternoon...in the middle of a football game.

The groaning and complaints about ladders blocking the television and vacuuming drowning out the sound  got me thinking....

I have come to the conclusion that my decorating for Christmas is the holiday equivalent of a Sunday afternoon of NFL Football. Yep. They're the same.

Halloween Mantel - Do you believe in Magic!?

I love magic. Do you?

The great, old fashioned kind of magic. With silk top hats, white gloves, and capes.

 I also love Halloween and the special kind of magic that makes a mantel that looks like this turn into

something completely different.

So, I practiced a little magic on my living room mantel this week.

Pallet Wood Sign, A Year of Blogging, and My Fall Mantel

It's hard to imagine that it's been a year since I started down the road to "blogger-hood".  Yep. 365 days. One entire trip around the sun.

Happy First Day of Spring! - My $6 Spring Mantel

At long last, Spring!  

We've had some unusually warm weather in Illinois these last few weeks. In fact, many of my friends are referring to 2011 as the "best winter that never was".  But today, Spring has "officially" arrived!

I decided to keep my spring mantel simple this year. Since mother nature is cooperating, I simply snipped some forsythia branches, a few pussy willows,  and some of the daffodils from my yard. I added some of the smaller pieces from my collection of ironstone, a couple of nests, some lace, and a statue of a garden fairy that  was a gift from one of my girlfriends last year. 

The only purchase was the "SPRING" letters which I found in the $1 bin at Michael's earlier this season.

Speaking of spring and growing things and GARDENING, I'll be announcing a new weekly feature for this
blog tomorrow....Don't Miss It!

Have an incredible day!

xo,

S

Linking to:
The Lettered Cottage
Romantic Home

It's beginning to look alot like HOLIDAYS!!!!!!

Sorry I've been "absent". I've been in "full on decorating" mode and have to work through end of day Wednesday this week. 

I'm picking up the wood "cookies" (slices of tree trunk to be used for chargers on my Thanksgiving table) today so I should have photos of the table to share tomorrow. If not, I'm in serious trouble because Thanksgiving is 48 hours away. In the meantime, here are pix of my family room mantel and the materials and first part of the staircase.

Base lighted garland from Costco 10 years ago. Hhomemade pine cone wreath, reused burlap bows from front door autumn wreaths. Black Metal lanterns close-out from TJ Maxx 8 years ago. Added "frosted garland.

Same base, Costco garland as is in the family room (10 years old, still works!). Added a few larger pine cones: some painted and some "flocked".

Plaid ribbon 50% off at Joann's. Styrofoam balls wrapped with men's plaid shirts (Salvation Army/Goodwill) or fabric. Dollar Store bells. burlap, plastic ornaments 90% off at Kmart last year, Red "velvet" ribbon (you can find it at Hobby Lobby or Joann's but mine came from a hardware store called Wannemakers).

Happy Tuesday!

xo,

S

An Unlikely "Blogger"

I'll admit it, I'm shy. I've never been comfortable putting myself out there. I'm the one who's always happiest working behind the scenes to create beautiful settings for other people's parties and beautiful things for other people's lives.  So, you see, the mere concept of writing about the things that I've done all my life is, for me, more than a little daunting but the desire to create things is as natural for me as breathing.