Barn Beam Mantel

It's complete!

It's exactly what I wanted. Actually, it turned out better than I imagined. Thanks to Adam.

Let's go back real quick shall we?
Last time you saw the barn beam mantel it was right after our contractor put it together, and before the drywall mud.  Oh also, I was super pregnant.  About 390-ish days ago...

And now...

I finally framed up Ben's newborn photos too. Extra points for me.

Unfortunately, I didn't even get a nice snap of the finished product before we slapped a TV up there!

Like I mentioned earlier, the mantel looks even nicer than I had imagined it would. The barn beams looked awesome, but you could still see where the wall started and where the beams ended. Well, I thought it looked rustic and as complete as it was going to get. But Adam had other ideas...

Adam and I had been holding onto a few scraps of barn wood trim we salvaged from my mom and dad's remodel. It pays to hoard scraps in the end kids.
In one afternoon he easily trimmed out the beams and created the shelving I wanted.

 He capped off the tops of the beams with a "crown molding"

He also covered this blank space behind the mantel with a removable panel. This is where all of our cords and wires will hide. They'll still be easily accessible.

I'm on the hunt for baskets or bins to put on the floor, and smaller ones to put on the shelves to house toys and games. I can't wait to style these shelves!

You can see all the construction photos of the basement right here. Basement Progress 2015

Spring Vignette and Mantel

Finally! Was that a long winter or what?  Spring is here, and apparently so are the April Showers...which I keep reminding myself...

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Then sadly, I remembered I didn't even plant May flowers. I did plant a few June flowers. Gah, not good enough. I made a mental note to plant 5,000 tulips for next Spring. I need tulips in my life!

Anyway, my favorite "Spring-y decor" in our house is our entryway.
This old sewing machine table is really beat up, but I kinda like it that way. To create this vignette I shopped my house and the thrift store.

My sweet baby lamby greets guests at the door. I think she fits perfect in the Spring theme.

I took some cheap-o dollar store plastic eggs and mod podged some old book pages to them. Then stuffed them in a mason jar. Done.

I found a few ducks and bunnies at the thrift store and gave them a few coats of silver spray paint.

QUICK STORY: When I posted the above photo on my Instagram, somebunny (my mother) demanded she have the bunny holding the egg for herself. So off to her house this little rabbit went...

EDIT: here is the bunny in his new home, on my mom's kitchen counter.

Anyway, back to the vignette. The chalkboard was an old frame from Family Dollar of all places. I sprayed the frame white then used a little antique gold rub and buff.

Add a spritz of fresh grocery store flowers for a cheap and true spring touch. (If you are smart and planted yourself some tulips, you are lucky, you can use those!)

I love decorating with old books. The funny thing is, I pick them up for a quarter at the thrift store, and my husband ends up reading them. If he knew I ripped out the pages of some to make these eggs he would may or may not be cranky.

My mantel also had a few Spring additions. I made a burlap and lace banner one evening with a girlfriend at our monthly "Wine and Design"

Added a few little bunnies too, and my mantel is ready for Spring!

See my Winter/ New Year Vignette.
See my Fall/ Autumn Vignette.
You can jump back and see my Christmas Mantel right here.

What do you do to get ready for Spring in your house?
Do you have Spring flowers popping up?

FALL: The good, the bad, and the ugly.

It’s Thursday…and I feel like I’m still recovering from Labor day weekend. I had 3 of my very best friends visit all weekend. We thrifted, shopped, gossiped,  chowed down on junk food--mostly pizza and various types of cheese, drank wine, crafted, laughed, danced in my living room, and barely slept. It was a great end to the summer.

And what’s almost as exciting, my very favorite season is almost here. Autumn.

The Good: It's (almost) here!
Who isn’t ready for boots, chunky sweaters, jeans, bonfires, and anything that has pumpkin in it? This week, I hauled my Fall decorations out of the basement and created this Fall-like mantel.

The vase/candle combo holds each wine cork that has been corked since we've moved in. Please don't count them...
The vase/candle combo was one of our wedding centerpieces. So it's nice to have a piece of that day at home.

The pumpkin was a thrifted find a few years back. It holds a tea light.

I used old books I picked up for a buck a box at a sale. Some of them are history books (Adam studied history in college) See what I did there?

I added my little Isabel Bloom lovebirds which was a gift from my Mom.

I actually received this adorable Fall bunting from a friend last year, but since this time last year we were pulling our hair out building this house, I didn’t get to display it…or blog about it. This year I can enjoy it. Thank you Morgan!


The Bad: Needs more decor
Athough I am happy with the mantel, I am really am disappointed with my Fall decor options I have. I need more pumpkins, bunting, anything autumn-like in my life. Time to hit up Hobby Lobby and HomeGoods I think.

Here is a full fireplace shot.

Fall Mantel...a start.

Also, please ignore our dirty fireplace...that's Adam's job. Plus it looks way prettier during the day with wood in it instead of candles in the winter.

The ugly: Ragweed

In other news, there is one thing I absolutely hate about Fall: allergy season. Anyone else hating their allergies right now? I have been miserable the past two weeks. I’m pretty sure I’m already at my limit for buying the Allergy pills with Sudafed that the State of Illinois legally allows. I will have to send Adam to the pharmacy for me starting next week.
Showers twice a day, and bed linen washing every other day. Still not helping.

I think the worse part is I am a bridesmaid in my best friends wedding this weekend--and I'm worried I will be an allergy mess the entire day!

Do you think the bride will care if I wear this?

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Do you have your Fall decor out yet?
Who else wants to eat everything and anything pumpkin?
Any tips for this allergy sufferer?
Would you let me wear the allergy hat if I were in your wedding party?