Stoking Your Minimalist Fire

I stared at a blank mantel for weeks, feeling very uninspired. You know how when you take your Christmas decorations down and it suddenly feels like your house can breathe again? I wanted to keep that feeling and not clutter up the mantel, so I basically ignored this space for a long time.

That was until Julia, from Chris Loves Julia, posted her I-will-never-get-over-it dining room. I love everything about the entire space, and once I saw those black tapered candle holders, I knew they’d be coming to live with me, too.

If you browse http://www.chrislovesjulia.com you will notice the Pottery Barn faux green petal leaf branches that reside here as well (and they’re on sale!). I now know why she loves them so much. I stuck them in a vase I already had from Target. That one isn’t available, but here’s a similar one.

I knew I wanted to add a little decorative bowl with some greenery in it, but the type I was looking for was around $100 and I wasn’t spending that on a bowl. Then I stumbled on this little guy on sale for $8! Heck yeah. I added these little berry balls, and there ya have it.

A little tip I learned from one of my favorite local store owners (which is now closed…ugh…) is to shop Goodwill for cheap books, take off the cover, and use those books for decoration. You can even turn them around like I did if your colors don’t quite match. I do this all over our house now. Or maybe you’re the book-buyer type who already has a ton lying around – lucky you! I’m a library gal and an admitted non-rereader, so I don’t buy very often.

I really wanted to add some art to the mantel, and during this pandemic it’s been really important to me to try and shop local, so I found this really pretty piece of art on Etsy. Speaking of COVID, I ideally would head to Goodwill to try and find some books that are longer than the width of my picture, but I’m making do with what I’ve got for now.

If you have any favorite mantel pictures you’ve seen or done yourself, please send them my way! I’d love to see them for future ideas.

twss,

Kelsey