Transitional Mantel

Happy Day, Friends. I'm enjoying the President's Day holiday by sitting at Barnes & Noble, surrounded by some of my favorite things - lots of books and good coffee. I'm trying not to feel too guilty about all of the things I could and should be doing on my day off from work, and giving myself a few hours of stress-free space and luxury. I find that even when we ladies purposely take some time to recharge our batteries, many of us feel anxious about it. I supppose the coffee (not decaf) doesn't help to ease the anxiety, does it? Haha.

Ok, I did accomplish a little something this weekend and am sharing it here. Our mantelpiece had been neglected after the Christmas decor was put away, left with just a couple of non-holiday remnants and looking bare and unfinished. It was calling out for attention. But one of my weird quirks is that I like to decorate for the season and not jump ahead or lag behind. Ugh, or maybe I just like to overthink every design decision for no good reason!  At any rate, despite some really warm weather we are having here for a couple of weeks, winter is nowhere near its end. This is Nebraska, after all. We often get snow dumped on us in March, and even sometimes in April.

I certainly don't want to decorate with pinecones, pine branches, and snowflakes now that we are heading into March, but I'm not quite ready to add full-on spring decor either. So, I thought I'd try a natural green scheme with just a hint of white, which can transition easily through the next couple of months.

These 2 faux-thyme topiaries, which I bought a few years back at a tag sale and are a staple in our decor, were the jumping-off point. I just love their airiness and texture, and I got them for a true steal! Originally, they came in matte black pots, which looked fine. But a while back, one was knocked over by wind coming in through a window, and it broke. I kept that a design secret for a long time as I displayed them with the missing broken chunk turned toward the back side. But because I still love them as much as I did the day I bought them, I knew that they needed new pots. My favorite store came through for me, once again, and I picked these up at Anthropologie over the weekend. I had to break the old black pots with a hammer to dislodge them, haha. My husband thought I'd lost my mind a little bit!
Don't they look pretty in these new vessels?  It's hard to see in these photos, but the finish is a soft metallic champagne-gold with heavy distressing.

The other faux boxwood double ball topiary in the white pot is from Ballard Designs. I love the look of a collection of topiaries, but there is no way that I would be able to have live ones with my history of plant abuse! So finding the most realistic-looking fake ones is my mission. Same holds true for flowers a lot of the time, although I do incorporate fresh flowers into our decor when I really want to spruce things up.

This large vintage green glass vase has been a staple in my decor for awhile. I often fill it with long branches to fill space and add motion to my vignettes. The branches in here are all faux. They look pretty real, don't they? Thankfully, retailers are getting much better at offering good-looking faux florals now. The pussy willows are always a sign of hope for spring. And I decided to add some flowering branches in white for extra fill, texture, and color (I do consider white a color in this grouping because it's not green, wink.)  The grapevine and moss decorative ball adds just a touch more green and echoes the shape of the double ball topiary.

These windows have been hanging above our fireplace for a number of years now.  I like them because they add a backdrop without distracting from what is on the mantel, and they tie in with the oak finish on the mantel's shelf.  Lately, though, I've considered painting them...black, maybe?  What do you think?  I'm not really a stained-wood type of gal, so I've slowly been painting over some of the trim work in our house.  I'm not sure if the black would be too visually heavy, so I'm still kicking the idea around in my head.

So, here's my simple and transitional mantel for spring.  I was going to say "early spring" but I know myself well enough to be sure that it will stay this way until summer.  At that point, I'll probably have to at least switch those spring branches to something different, and maybe run a feather duster over the rest, haha.  

I hope you're enjoying some mild weather where you are.  I know that some of my blogging friends are already working out in their yards and dusting off patio furniture.  Ugh, I'm so envious!  Here in the Midwest, all we can do right now is "hunker down" and get ready for March Madness :)

Julie

Sharing with: Inspire Me Tuesday, Inspire Me Monday, The Scoop, Vintage Charm, Shabby Art Boutique, Between Naps on the Porch