It’s amazing what can be accomplished on a Sunday morning when I don’t go back to to sleep after Whiskey meows in my face at seven o’clock. I’ve never been crazy about our mantle, but haven’t been sure what to do about it. In an ideal world, there would be a gorgeous, neutral mirror on the wall like this one from Ballard Designs:
Bone Mirror, Ballard Designs
But with a nursery to furnish and a million other little projects to accomplish this year, there’s no money in the budget for a high-priced mirror.
Our old mantlescape looked like this (well, like this at Halloween, hence the seasonal decorations):
I bought the floral print at HomeGoods on a whim because I wanted to add more color to the room, but have never really loved it. What I do like are the metal wall-hangings from a Pier 1 sale that are (or rather, were) on another living room wall.
While I could have simply moved them above the mirror, I wanted to try something a little different. So I headed up to my craft closet in search of my paper cutter and some pearlescent ivory paper from Paper Source that was left over from our wedding stationery.
First, I flipped over the wall-hanging and trimmed four pieces of paper to fit inside the back. By lining the paper up correctly, the seams can’t be seen from the front and the wire hanger becomes invisible.
Once the paper was in place, I taped each piece together. Then, I removed the new, large piece and applied double-stick tape directly to the metal before putting the paper back in place and securing it with a few extra pieces of regular clear tape.
The finished product:
After repeating the process three more times, measuring and leveling the wall-hangings, I have a new look for the mantle!
A few wedding photos moved over from another spot in the room add another layer of interest, and I’m sure a future trip to HomeGoods will yield some small, colorful accessories to tie in the colors of the rug.
What I love about these “new” wall-hangings is the versatility; the paper can be switched out for other colors depending on my mood or the season.
Not too shabby for a Sunday morning’s work!
The new mantle looks gorgeous. See what a little time and ingenuity can do for the space!! I’ve been needing an update to my mantle, may I could send you pictures and you can give me a virtual makeover before I do the real one???
It looks so good! The mantle really pops now.
Jenn, of course! Would love to.
I like! I also love your idea of backing the cut-outs in paper. It’s a nice graphic effect and I love how you paired them with B&W photos. Brava!
I love the after now- I think it is just what your mantle needed! It looks great!
Fabulous job lady. It looks just beautiful!
Nicely done!
I love it! And early, productive mornings always make me feel good…as long as I can have a nap later!
That looks so pretty! At first I thought you were going to trace the design on paper and paint it. What a quick way to get a new look. You could switch out the paper with the seasons too.
Karen, I really like the idea of tracing the design. Maybe I’ll try that next!