Mad Love for My Mantle

It was well over a year ago that I did a post on my living room fireplace mantle - and how I could not figure out what to put on it, above it, around it, etc... In fact, it was so long ago, it was posted on the now-defunct Frerichs Family (super underpants boy) blog. This picture was taken before we moved in, with the builder's decor on top.

Fast forward to a year later. After around five purchased-and-then-returned pieces of art, mirrors, frames and doo-dads, my mantle was yet again bare. Nothing looked right. And the deal was, I like darker woods - bronze/chocolate brown - to decorate with. And our mantle was stained a honey color. The two wood tones clashed...and I gave up by leaving it bare.

However, this past weekend, my parents came to stay with me while Troy was in Chicago. With the encouragement of my mom, I boldly walked into Sherwin Williams on Saturday morning and asked to be armed with everything I would need to paint my mantle white. L4 white to be exact - the color of our trim, doors and railing.

Now, I love my mantle.


(isn't it weird how the same wall paint color looks so different in the two pictures?)

I know some people might think I'm crazy for painting it, but to be honest, the original stain job wasn't very good. You could see the brush strokes and built up stain globs. And from the day we looked at the house, I told my realtor and Troy that I wanted to paint it white. They both thought I was crazy...but I was able to eventually turn Troy to the white side.

Anyway, I know this matters nothing more than a hill of beans in the grand scheme of things. But for my little nook of life, it has made the space a bit brighter and less bare. I still need to inject a bit more personality and life into the decor, but it's a start. Thanks for helping, mom and dad!