Scale in a Room - Mantle Makeover

So I am no professional anything but the other day I realized that the mantle over our wood stove was in a very sad state. The picture hung there had been changed over time and it was awkwardly to one side without any character. All of the nicknacks were the same size in a line and the extra remotes had landed there. Just not pretty or inspiring. So I had enough and go to work on a no cost, little effort mantle makeover.

First I threw on a coat and slippers and went out under the deck to get the board my hubby had cut to size a few summers ago to frame the painting I did. It was supposed to be part of my present, but unfortunately the cutting had happened and nothing else so there they sat for a year and a half. I had to pry them off of the frozen ground and clean them up a little so this took a little longer than anticipated but I kept at it. After washing and we used L brackets to attach the boards around the canvas. See how the size of the painting now looks much more like it fits in the room? I also wrapped a glass vase in twine, added cool moss and pinecones and then put in the tall grass looking stuff from the dollar store that had previously been collecting dust in our bathroom. I also hung the smaller painting up a bit on the wood paneled wall to add some height. After moving some candles around and finding a new home for the remotes I wanted to find something for underneath the new framed painting. Luckily enough my hunter of a hubby had tons of antlers filling up the hutch. I am definitely not into all of that but I realized he is and I should just embrace it. So out came the antlers into a sculptural looking piece. I also took one of the wooden cake toppers from our wedding, painted it black and scuffed it up a bit with some sand paper. Now it is personalized, balanced and rustic, all for free!

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Free Range on Fairview

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