our merry winter mantel

Our mantel is redone for the season. I really love the symmetry and scale of it this time.  Let’s take a look in the living room shall we!
living room winter mantel

Don’t be distracted by the king’s chair!  Here is a close up of the mantel.

rocking horse mantel

I decided to skip pine roping this year in my decor.  I purchased a couple of plain jane spruces from the hardware store and dropped them in a pair of galvanized buckets.

galvanized planter spruce tree & vintage grain scoops

This way we can plant these along with our ball & burlap Christmas tree in the yard.  See the theme this year?

IMG_8855

Things evolved from there.  I have a growing collection of vintage grain scoops that I knew I wanted to work into the mantelscape this season.

vintage grain scoops

They seem to make the perfect candle holder and are interesting to look at even when they’re not lit up.

vintage holiday/winter mantel

And as for the focal point – that horse!  It is a piece of folk art history that may have been part of a child’s rocking horse or vintage advertising.  I don’t really know for sure.  This is that state I found him in.

folk horse

As soon as I saw him, I knew he was going on the mantel.  Plus he is a perfect match with the rocking horse ornament collection that we displayed on our tree this year.

folk horse

The chippy aqua door is a fun, non-traditional holiday backdrop.  I had a set of 3 of these doors.  The set had once been used for an outdoor cellar entryway.  I sold the other 2 and this is the remaining one.

chippy aqua blue door

And here’s what we’re normally seeing – the glow of the evening fire and mantelscape!  I love it.  I also love the fact that this scene is not specifically Christmas so I won’t feel the need to undo it on January 2nd.  It just might stay up for a few weeks beyond the holidays. IMG_8761

So what do you think the horse’s original use was?

folk horse

Linking to Ten June, Funky Junk Interiors

on the road

Today was a pretty great day.  The perfect fall day to be on the road with my sidekick, Wilson.  (This was the best shot he’d give me.)  Fall is still hanging on and the sun was shining high.  We had a gorgeous drive.

We made a new friend who was all about posing for the camera.

She wasn’t shy at all.  In fact she gave me her better side.

And then invited me in for a tour.

I don’t know what it is about barns and farms in general that I am enamored with.  I suppose it is a lifestyle that I know little about having grown up in the suburbs but I’m always caught off guard by all of the simple, natural undeveloped beauty a farm offers.

And the old construction of the barns plus the new patina.  Boy, what I would do with that door.  It would look great above my mantel.

So what was a non-farm girl like me doing on this beautiful horse farm?  My upholsterer’s studio is located there!  I know.  Amazing.  I love taking that trip.  There are a couple of cute outbuildings and several homes on the property including a grand old farm house!

Back to biz though.  I picked up a fabulous club chair that I will post about next week after I tweak the finish.

Wilson and I made a few other pickups today.  Mostly of the holiday merchandise type.  Specifically vintage and handmade!

We also made some wreaths, painted a bit and planted paperwhites when we returned home.  Actually who am I kidding?  Wilson took a nap!  I did those things.

Prep mode continues for the holidays at our Brick & Mortar.  Hope you’ll come visit this weekend!  Open Saturday & Sunday 10-5.  Don’t forget, we have Miss Mustard Seed milk paint in stock too!

Other local events that I am participating in this weekend include viewing Freud’s Last Session at Arden Theatre after attending The Scene.

And on Saturday night I will launch my modeling career at The Frock Shoppe’s charity fashion show.  And then I’ll retire my modeling career.

What are your plans for the weekend?