Mantle Mirror (+ new Living Room shots)

Our fireplace mantle has always been a bit bare. When we first moved in, I found some fallen twigs in the backyard, threw them in a clear vase, added a few beachy things and called it a day.

I had been scouring Craigslist on and off for an old window frame that I could turn into a mirror, but I was never able to find one.

Then I decided this room had enough square objects and needed something round and curvy. I was still sold on a mirror to bounce the light around a bit and make the room feel more spacious.

And then... I spotted it (on Craigslist). The perfect mirror.

Of course, gold isn't my shade. But I loved the wavy detail around the outside—it reminded me of a seashell. The size was also perfect, and so was the price: $40.

For the new color, I went with a soft turquoise blue (of course) and now it fits right in. I applied a couple coats of Glidden's Sea Spray and finished it off with a coat of polycrylic for protection.

I'm still not loving the entire wall as a whole and would love to add some modern gray/brown stackstone to it, with some new tile surrounding the fireplace. We'll get there.

I was already in picture-mode so I decided to pan out and take a few pics of this entire side of the living room, since I'm pretty sure I've never posted it as a whole.

Can you see how everything fits together now? Excellent. Moving on...

I had a fun DIY project planned to reveal today, however it's still drying and I wanted to do a couple quick touch ups before I took the after pictures.

Here's a couple hints for you though...

It started as this:

And ended up like this:

I'll post back soon with details.


And finally, let's play the photoshop mockup game, shall we?

Tonight we'll be focusing on our front door. Just so we're all familiar with how it looks:

As you may (or may not) remember, we are planning on removing the old paneled glass and replacing it with solid frosted glass panels at some point. I know it's hard to tell from the above picture due to the exposure, but here's a mock up of how it might look after with the solid panels:

And it's only fitting that we replace the brushed nickel door locks and hinges with oil rubbed bronze:

Ahh, much better. If only I could just photoshop these upgrades in real life.

Someone had suggested that we paint our door so it pops against all the white. I'm happy with the white, but I think it's worth exploring my options.

The only two suitable color candidates I could come up with are a) the deep dark blackish brown shade that's on the front of the door, or b) a soft turquoise.

Just for kicks, I mocked them up:

Exhibit A: Deep brown:

And here with oil rubbed bronze hardware:

I'm not sure if I'm crazy about the dark hardware disappearing against the dark door. Thoughts?

Exhibit B) turquoise:

I really like this... but am I going overboard on the blue? Is this too trendy/taste specific? Should I just leave it the way it is? I'd love to hear your opinions!

That about wraps it up for the week. Yesterday we purchased around $600 worth of bushes, trees and mulch for some much needed front yard landscaping. We're getting a sod quote tomorrow, so hopefully by next week we'll have made some nice progress on our curb appeal. I'll make sure to come back with all the juicy before & after shots. But first... make sure to check back soon for my DIY wood project :)

Happy Mother's Day to my beautiful Mom and all the other Moms out there!

 

PS: My sunroom was just featured on CG's Best of the Blogosphere!