January 7, 2021

Summer Mantle Refresh

Here in the Southern Hemisphere we are well & truly into our summer season! Transitioning from Christmas to summer decor can be a little tricky! Words cannot explain how jealous I am of my favourite American bloggers who get to keep a lot of their wintery & snowy decor up long past the 25th of December! However, I have managed to do exactly that here in sunny Western Australia... minus the snow!

But first! Let me introduce you to my Christmas tree decorations (& allow me to admire my tree one last time!). My Christmas decor was boho which meant lots of florals & wooden bead garlands! As I dismantled my Christmas displays I simply kept aside all the decor that could transition into my summer style!

I then chose my artwork & focal point to be hung above my mantle which is of course a beach print! From memory it was a whopping $10 from Kmart a couple of years ago. However I didn’t love the creamy, yellow frame it came with. My home is all dark timber & it just didn’t look right so a couple of coats of my all-time favourite wood stain from Dixie Belle Paint Company’s range of Voodoo gel stain in Tobacco Road soon remedied the problem. I then completed this quick and easy project with a light coat of Silk All-In-One-Mineral paint in Saltwater. You can find & purchase these products here.

Check out the subtle before and after;

Next was adding pieces that compliment the artwork. I utilised an old blue glass vase & homed some of the florals off of my Christmas tree. I then used the remainder to poke. them into to the stacked books. I love this so much as it adds colour & character!

Finally I added the bead garlands across the mantle. There is something nautical about the wooden beads that really add to the beachy, summer vibe I’m aiming for! Oh, & don’t forget the little teal tassels I added to the ends for one more pop of blue to the mantle!

I wanted to add function to this space. While I like things to look pretty in my home I also like it to be functional! This space is right by the garage door so I added my hat & beach bag to the wall for easy access when I’m running out the door!

And finally, I added my summer reads & books to my vintage shelf so they’re easy to grab when I’m on the lounge! One of my New Year resolutions is to read more! Not sure this cocktail book counts though! Or does it?

For more information on my cardboard faux fireplace head to https://owlandthewillow.com/blogs/blog/faux-cardboard-fireplace

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