STYLING MY MANTEL WITH SEED PODS

If you follow my blog you'll know that my rough cedar family room mantel is the thorn in my decorating side.  I seem to always be re-styling it. 

The family room is right off the kitchen and is our most-used room.   Over the years it's become the orange and green room with chrome accents.  When I found a wonderful preserved seed pod, I knew it was the perfect green.  Yep, I'm giving the mantel another look.  The seed pod "branch" is about 48 inches long and mounted on  two iron rods on a large piece of recycled barn wood.  I have the option of hanging it horizontally or vertically. 

MY SEED POD

Next to the seed pod is my plaster ram.  He usually makes an appearance during the holidays when I drape some garland around his neck. 

PLASTER RAM

My stack of orange Hermes boxes tied it all together.  Since they're orange they travel around this room frequently.

HERMES SCARF BOXES

Looking in from the kitchen you can see my favorite ottoman. It's a place to rest your feet, a coffee table when I add a tray, and extra seating for a crowd.   It was an old Ethan Allen piece with some dated blue fabric.  I had it re-done with some orange Trina Turk fabric.

VIEW FROM THE KITCHEN

The oversized demijohn sports some jewelry and picks up the green.

There's more green on the chrome bookshelf, the MCM chair,  and the collage art.

I've mentioned my business partner, Monica  @gatehousedesigns.  Of course we have similar tastes and we both purchased the seed pods for our homes.  She hides hers in her TV cabinet.

MONICA'S TV CABINET

What a lovely surprise when she opens the doors.

SEED POD IN TV CABINET

What quirky accessory have you added to your home?

How I Re-purposed and Styled Vintage Post Offices Boxes

My husband and my son are vintage car enthusiasts.   They also love all  kinds of "guy" stuff.  Old oil cans, automotive and gas station related signs, car parts, and even the top to an old gas pump have found their way home with them.  So, on one of our joint flea market shopping trips it didn't surprise me at all when I opened the van and saw a section of boxes from a post office. 

Vintage Post Office Boxes

They came with all their keys and were outlined in a fabulous greek key design.

Our garage is the holding zone for treasures waiting for a spot in our home.  They stayed there for a while until we realized that they could be our new wine storage cabinet.  We were thrilled when they fit perfectly between the bookcases in the family room.  It was a win win--wine within reach and another find out of the garage.

Post Office Boxes in Their New Home

Perfect Fit

Our wine bottle opener set fits into the bottom drawer.

Of course you've noticed that I couldn't let a flat surface unstyled.  I added a tray to the top then filled it with accessories from other spaces in my home.

The sphere and the Hermes boxes came over from the mantel.

The horse head decided to leave a bookshelf and stay here.

Lately I've been loving anything with arrows.

Marble Sphere on Arrow Pedestal

 I liked my Trina Turk fabric so much that when I had a remnant of it from my ottoman project,
 I framed it as modern art.

Framed Trina Turk Fabric as Modern Art

I wanted to share one of the bookcase shelves.Notice the other marble orb on a pedestal.
It repeats the greek key pattern on the post office boxes.

One of the shelves on my bookcases.

We're ready for a party.

Pops of Orange in My Family Room

There's always a change up in the works at our house.
 This time I'll introduce browns, yellows, metallics and my decor favorite----orange.

I moved this ottoman from the living room to my family room.  It originally had a very traditional solid blue cover, but of course I updated it with some Trina Turk fabric in a bold orange geometric.  I draped it with a tasseled throw and added the orange tray that I normally use on the patio in the summer.  Inside are a stack of vintage books topped off with a moss orb and faux antlers.

I think it's just what the room needed to break up all the green.  The green chairs in the background are new to that spot.  They originally were torn red vinyl.  In the background is my much loved MCM buffet.  It supports our huge TV that I conveniently cropped out.

Detail of My MCM Buffet

Check out how the faux antlers hug the moss orb.

Flanking the buffet are a pair of brass, glass, and chrome vintage MCM bookshelves.

The backs were open to my very uninteresting beige wall.  I filled the space with some architectural prints in leather frames.  They're a good back drop for the nature-inspired vignettes.

Take a closer look at the shelves of the bookshelf on the right.

I'm using my orange Hermes scarf boxes as risers.  The antlers are naturally bleached, 

and resting on the top shelf is one of my spikey spheres.

I stacked some mini books under a cloche and added a turtle shell on top of the pile. 

I found the shell on a walk in the woods.

The antler alongside it is faux.

Gotta share the other shelf too.

The Other MCM Shelf

Another sphere is on top, the Santos traveled from another spot to be on the shelf, the skull is resin.

One of my covered bottles helps hold up one of those always wobbly brass birds.

This lantern also decided to come in from the cold.  

(It will go back to the patio when the weather warms.)

I filled it with my growing collection of velvet pumpkins and some seed pods from a neighbor's tree.

The fabulous brass cube table is from an estate sale.

What colors direct your decor?

Kathy




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Some Quick Befores and Afters

I thought it might be fun to do a post about my Befores and Afters.
Enjoy the transformations.

This little cabinet. . . .

with some citrine paint became this. . . .

And this dated floral chair. . .

covered in a gray linen with some nail head, became this. . .

This funky yellow Mid Century Modern buffet. . . (I only have a photo of the door) with some black paint. . . .

. . .became this fabulous cabinet.

This very plain pine chest of drawers. . .

. . .was transformed into this modern striped chest.

These plain books. . .

. . .became shelf worthy when covered.

This simple side chair. . .

. . .turned out so pretty with a touch of chevron and nail head trim.

This dated Ethan Allen ottoman . . . . . .

....became a modern beauty with some Trina Turk fabric.  

This camel back chair with great bones but dated fabric. . . .

. . . became stylish with some Dwell Studio fabric.

This plain bench with damask fabric. . . .

. . . .took on a modern edge with orange paint and lattice fabric.

This vintage mahogany stool. . . . . . . .

. . . . . with some paint and a coffee sack became this conversation piece.

So, what do you think?  What have you transformed?
I love hearing your comments and getting to know you.

Kathy