Start to Finish Mantel Vignette
Not long before Christmas I applied Minwax walnut stain to the oak mantel and corbels, darkening the color just a tad. There are no plans to paint this mantel or brick.
The print is from a painting by artist Billy Jacobs.
I added the basket cabinets this week, deciding against the oak night stands I originally considered for either side of the fireplace.
The striped chair will be moved to a corner of the breakfast room, after the new hearth room chairs arrive.
I want to keep the accessories, for these cabinets, to a minimum.
I bought the farmhouse print last Fall, just when I was beginning Christmas preparations. I knew when I brought it home, it would be used on the mantel. I wasn’t sure about other accessories, until I began experimenting with different ideas.
The pears have a waxy coating. They remind me of waxed fruit from way back when.
I mentioned to J I would like to use a few crocks on the mantel, but I also liked them atop a section of kitchen cabinets. I thought if I had more crocks to put above the cabinet, I could use the decorated ones in the hearth room.
J said he thought there were a few crocks in the basement. What an understatement! I asked if there were brown ones to go along with the brown crocks leftover from the mantel arrangement. He said he believed so.
I added three of the decorated pieces to a small table, moved to the hearth room from the studio. The box is from Pfaltzgraff about 40 years ago.
Cabinet top before mantel and table vignettes.
Cabinet with all brown crocks. There are crocks still in basement storage. We’ve collected crocks, here and there, for as long as we have been together. I’m happy we decided to bring them upstairs to use in this makeover.
Molly holds a very important supervisory position in all our endeavors.
