Quick Fix - Mantle

First a little background...this home was a diamond in the rough when we bought it. It hadn't been touched since 1985 - oh my! I could see its great potential and also knew it wouldn't happen overnight. There were so many things fundamentally WRONG with some of the decor (think pink and blue duck wallpaper and peach walls - double oh my!!) . So we decided to pretty much live with the den as is for a while. Well, it has been almost 7 years now and I'm itching for a change!!!

When I decided to leave corporate life to stay home with BBC a while back our big projects really got put on hold. That is one of the reasons I am so excited about blogging! You all have such wonderful ideas and having my own blog keeps me motivated to keep plugging away with small, inexpensive fixes while we save for the big overhauls! I will most likely be repainting in this room very soon but needed a quick fix in the meanwhile.

I picked this mirror up in December at an antique store for around $20. It isn't exactly my style but it has interesting angles and I couldn't find another this size for that price. It worked well with my Christmas decor and was mostly covered up. I have always loved a mirror over the mantle. Our first home was a brand spanking new home with beautiful trim and moldings, high ceilings, and a nice open floor plan. I bought a beautiful mirror for the mantle there. It reflected the beautiful details. I was so excited to bring it to this home and realized...

The reflections were not quite as beautiful here...

(And I know you are jealous of that gorgeous fan - ha) Being a resourceful gal I decided to use the mirror elsewhere and resorted to a picture for the mantle. I'm SICK of that picture! Pictures limit my creativity. I need a neutral backdrop where I can change with my moods - ha! Having this mirror up here reminded me how much I miss that freedom. Still I knew I had to camouflage the view somehow. So here's what I came up with...

Here are two iron pieces from a retired SLAH product line. I have always loved these pieces in theory but I haven't found a place where I love them in our home. They just always looked flat against our walls. So my little brain started churning...

What if I took some brown ribbon and tied the two pieces together...

And then what if they would sit perfectly inside the mirror...

Would that do the trick?

I think so!!! How about you?