The Mantel: A Timeless Tip To Decorate It!

I know many people struggle with decorating their mantel.  My advice?  Keep that mantel simple (except during the holidays, when you can do it UP).

This timeless tip requires 3 key items; single stems of seasonal flowers, bud vases and framed photos.  "Timeless" means you don't have to change it out often, which is a huge plus in my book.  Change the flowers when they fade and go on with your day!

Last week's flowers were tulips.  When I buy flowers, I always get a couple extra to use on the mantel. The short glass bowls had candles in them yesterday (Easter), so today I put polished river rocks in them, but they'll get put away soon.  The tulips and framed photos are enough.  Keep It Simple!

This week I stumbled upon these faux tulips.  Faux makes it even easier!

Would you like to hear how you could update other spaces in your house--easily and affordably?  Call DeCocco Design to schedule a 2 hour design consultation.  I'll give you ideas, make recommendations and tell you where to shop and who to call to get it all done.

Update - now it's March of 2018, two years after writing this post.  Guess what's on my mantel right now?  Take a look:

I'm certainly consistent!  The framed photographs haven't been put back up yet, but they will be soon enough.

Ciao,

Anne

Painting flowers. Who knew?

spray paint flowers, fast easy decorating

The weather here in NC has been wonderful, so I needed to take advantage of the sunshine and move forward with a crafty project.  I cut a bunch of hydrangeas at different times in their drying stage to see what would happen to them.  Mine are Annabelle hydrangeas-a creamy white at peak.  But then they turn a lovely green hue and finally an ugly brown.  Spray painting them white or cream was not a success, so I tried blue.  Love it!

Ciao,

Anne

A Very Simple Project

Renee Treml artwork

Like everyone else, I have been busyand the summer is flying by.  I long for slow, lazy days.  I ache to sit by the beach and take a swim.  But right now, that's not happening.  So I indulged in a short, crafty project that took about an hour, spread over 2 days.   The photo above shows a corner that is restful, serene,,,,and making me yawn.  I found this old frame while at SuZanna's Antiques in Raleigh:

old frame, antique store, craft project, adding color to the room

I perused my many leftover cans of sample paint and chose Sherwin Williams' Gutsy Grape.

purple, magenta, pink, paint project

The next step was going to be to give it a top coat of black, then sand it lightly to let just a bit of the purple show through.  But then a wonderful client and friend, Lynn Alker of Lot 7, gave me this amazing bouquet of Lisianthus and a dahlia.  I propped the purple frame behind it to take a photo to Tweet for Lynn:

Lot 7, Raleigh farmer, micro farmer, purple flowers, dahlia

Once I saw all that decadent, royal, fabulous (not to mention gutsy) purple against my gray walls and next to my gray drapes, I knew the color had to stay.

home decor, interior design, using color, diy, fun with paint

I rehung the gorgeous birds, painted by Renee Treml (www.reneesartwork.com), so they fit inside the purple frame.  Am very pleased with myself.  $25 for the frame was the cost of this little diversion from my busy life.  The result makes me smile.

Art project before and after, diy design, easy paint project, interior design raleigh

Here's the Before and After.  Love it!

Ciao,

Anne