My Spring Mantel

Dear Blog Land,  I would like to thank you....
I love our home and the way (most) of it is decorated.  Even though I have more of a traditional approach to decorating, I appreciate other decorating styles I see in Blog Land.  I love the chippy white paint, the painted and distressed furniture, the linens and burlap and the vintage style I see in so many blogs these days.  I want to embrace those ideas, but-- I'm scared,  I'm unwilling, I'm cheap, I don't want to make a big mess and I think my home is attractive and comfortable the way it is.  Why make changes if there really isn't a need for a change?  Well, I know it all goes to personal taste.  Some people just must like change more than others.  They love to paint, move furniture and sew new drapes.  I do make some changes in my home, but they are usually seasonal (Halloween, Christmas and Mardi Gras) but lately, I've been making the same changes that I made the year before.

I think I like being in a rut.

Since I'm so unwilling to move, recover or paint my furniture, I have challenged myself to create change in our home using accessories that I have seen and love in Blog Land. I'm going for a more updated look without going crazy.

Let's see how this goes!

Here is my family room mantel and hearth with what I call a "winter look."  I have a number of jugs that belonged to my Dad and I wanted to showcase some of them where I could see them daily.  I like the look, but I didn't want to keep it all the time.  The jugs are pretty, but dark in color.  Not a spring look to me.  I usually place three large, off-white, ceramic candlesticks where the jugs are and use  lighter-colored candles with them.

 So what to do with the challenge and

 the things I like in Blog Land?

I really love plants and this little fern is a hard one for me to grow.  I haven't had it long, but it seems happy on the kitchen table.  I would love for it to go on the mantel, but I fear that it won't get enough light there, so it can't stay on the mantel. 

I love this chippy piece that came off a porch someone was refinishing. I love this and have had it for several years.  I wasn't sure what I would do with it, but I wanted it just the same.

I have been wanting one of these wooden shoe forms for a couple of years...don't know why.  They just appeal to me like the chippy porch piece.  I got two of these in February.  And, you can see a peek of the subway art that I like.  I love it, but I have no wall space I am willing to "give up" for it.  And the oil painting above the mantel....well, I really, really love it since the day I first saw it and it isn't going anywhere.

I like the rusty "stuff" I see in blogs.  Again, don't ask me why.  Here is a numeral 3 that I got at Hobby Lobby.  It looks kinda rusty.  I picked a three because that represents our little family.  I used the burlap-yep, gotta give the nod to burlap (even if it makes me cough).  And the other white chippy piece is a capital from a column that was on my great-aunt's porch.

I found this container at a flea market and just

knew I would use it often and I have.

I swapped out the little fern for this peace lily--

it doesn't take a lot of light to be happy.

 This room is dark--so unlike all the Blog Land rooms

that I've come to admire (thank you-- Kim at Savvy Southern Style).

Well---Here's the new look!

I love my new and lighter, more updated design! 

 What do you think? 

I hope my husband eventually notices...

it's been this way for several days!

P.S. I had a teacher friend who would change her whole classroom lay-out while her first-graders were at P.E.  She did a lot in that quick 25 minutes.  I can still hear her children's cries of confusion and excitement mixed together when they returned to the classroom.  I asked her one time if she moved her furniture at home and her reply was, "All the time."  I never moved things around in my classroom.  I found the best traffic flow and that was how it stayed! Guess I would try changing my classroom tomorrow if I was still teaching....

Joining the party at:

Feathered Nest Friday