Easter / Spring Mantel

We are not so great at all-out decorating for every holiday, big or small.  Christmas is the one holiday we do more than usual; this year we even managed to hang lights outside and we felt really accomplished.  But holidays like Easter don't see much of a change around our casa.  (I mean, Easter baskets sitting around and crosses already hanging on the walls count, right?)  But this year, I pulled a Bonnie Engstrom and decorated the mantel for Easter.  It needed a good dusting last week and one thing led to another and by the end of cleaning the mantel shelf, I had a whole new set up.

It doesn't scream bunnies and eggs (because in all honesty, I'm not a huge fan of that dang Easter bunny) but it's a simple nod to the reason for the season.

The shining glory of the whole thing is this Pieta print I got awhile back from Studio Senn.  The Pieta has always held a special place in my heart because it reminds me of my dad but it's extra special during the Easter season as we look to Christ and his Passion.

The acrylic and brass candlesticks were in my house growing up and the icon was brought home from Anthony during his studies abroad years ago.  The diffuser is this one* and its pretty pattern makes me think it can blend in as decor even though it's really not.  We've only recently become fans of using a diffuser during the day.  My sister has used one for years and gives me all the recommendations on good oils and blends.  This lemon* and this orange* are current favorites for spring.  The mantel happens to be a great spot for our bluetooth speaker* since we always have music playing but I tried to hide it somewhat behind a few leaves.

The other side of the mantel holds this pothos (in this pot* set inside a thrifted wood bowl) that has a couple of uber long vines that extend over a few of our prettier books and all the way across the fireplace.  Can anyone put a finger on where that gold orb came from?  I'll give you a clue, it's a remnant from a past project...

Anyone?

Anyone?

It came off a certain light fixture...

Remember?...

The dining room?...

Chandelier?...

that I took apart, painted, and gave a new lease on life.  You can read about it in this post.

 

When I took the orb off the bottom, I put it away in case I might be able to use it someday and, as it happens, it makes a good little book topper.  :)

The mirror is one of my favorite projects in all the projecting I've done and you can read about its makeover here.  The Christmas lights were hung here two Christmas' ago and never came down because it just adds a whole lot of sparkly, cozy happiness to have lights hanging year round.  I highly recommend.

The basket was Target clearance find years ago, the gold fireplace set a thrift find, and the gold screen came with the house.  The curtains are IKEA that I slightly tweaked.

We really love our fireplace but since we're on the subject, let me tell you how we'd really love it.  I wrote a post about how I'd love to add a schmear and build a new mantel and at the time that I wrote that post, Anthony wasn't quite on board with the whole schmear idea.  Since then, I *think* I've finally convinced him it would look so much better so now we just have to find time to make that happen but also since then, I've changed my mind on the kind of mantel I want to build.  Ha!  It's a little more modern but I think it will still jive with the cottage-y feel of our house.  The only question now is...what color would we want it?

A charcoal gray that matches the kitchen cabinets ten feet away?

Classic white?

Or a warm gray?

My personal fave at the moment is that gray with the dark charcoal sliding into second but either way, I think it might be cool if we could figure out how to make it look like a stone mantel instead of painted wood.

I wouldn't count on this project being checked off the list anytime soon but it is fun to play around while we work on other things.  :)

Back to holiday decorating though, how far down that road do you go?  Are you a little bit for each season or is it all out, every time?  Maybe you're like me and some seasons gets a little more pomp and circumstance whereas some are whatever is used is counted as decor (a Halloween candy basket on the front porch totally counts as decor, even if it's the only Halloween item out, right?)

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Have a wonderful Holy Week and a fantastic Easter!

*These links are affiliate links which means that, if you click over and/or make a purchase through the link, we may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.  I am an Amazon affiliate and also use other sources to link to products.  All of these links will lead you to things we actually paid for or that are similar to the item we paid for in case ours is thrifted/sold out/secondhand.  This extra money helps us with the costs of running the blog and buying paint.  Thank you for your support and for fueling our love to share all things DIY!