Anatomy of a Mantle

During the Christmas season, I had a lovely pine and holly berry wreath hanging over the mantle. I loved the look of the wreath and when Christmas was over I decided to leave it because January was still the holiday season. By February I was feeling like one of those people who still has their Christmas lights hanging up outside during the month of July. No matter how good of an argument you pose, they are still Christmas lights, not "Independence" luminaries.

I took down the wreath and looked at the lackluster mantle and attached brick. I felt sad. I needed a new wreath. The problem is, I am too picky. I knew that I wanted something floral, something that would be not too summer/not too spring, but just right.

Those flowers look cheap.
Those flowers are too expensive.
That color is not even found in nature.

One evening, while I had some free time, I stopped in Michaels. There it was! A paragon of wreathness. Unfortunately, it was really over-priced. I bid the festoon adieu and went home to my empty mantle.

Last week, I stopped in Michael's again and this time! This time! It was on sale! 40% off! I left the store with my booty, got home and set out to dressing up my space.

See? It's sad right? Sad and bare. What I really want to do is give the whole mantle a face-lift. Can't you just see a sleek white mantle with some dental molding? A new set of brushed steel doors? Yeah, me too.

First I added my Pottery Barn beauties. Remember the free-shipping? My husband sure does.

These little beauties I found at Target for $1.79 each. Now tell me truly, would you have passed them up? Kevin is fond of calling them "hand grenades." I am not fond of this.

They look nothing like hand-grenades. Right? Hmmm....

And there she is, the Wreath. And this is how I put together a mantle. Our next lesson will be on how to convince your husband that a mantle face-lift is a smashing idea.