Come Along … My Spring Mantle…

The calendar has flipped.

Clocks have jumped forward.

March winds have whipped our weather around and around.

Spring is obviously ahead.

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SIDE NOTE: I am not ignoring the devastation and sadness in our world. Today, I need a short refrain to talk about the frivolous. I wish our brothers and sisters in Ukraine could. A friend posted today that her morning routine has changed. It used to be wake-up, then coffee. It is now, wake-up, check on Zelenskyy, then coffee! Amen to that… me too! Pray for Ukraine, do whatever you can!

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I change some decor seasonally.

My mother would change the furniture during the seasons; kind of nice. As she was deep cleaning, seasonally, she’d move the furniture to different spots. I recall coming home from school and my bedroom being rearranged: occasionally, different bedding. I don’t go that far, but I like a little of the season in our house.

Since this is our first spring in our lake cottage, I have no “priors”. I aimed at using what I have

Come along with me, as I figure out our spring mantle. Overdoing and leaving negative space in a smaller house is a delicate balance. I’m not a hard-fast minimalist, but I am becoming more so with less space. Too much overwhelms my senses. The high vaulted ceiling gives more visual space not captured in my pictures, which makes a difference. Spacial awareness has a lot to do with my decorating. I’ll give you tidbits about my thought process as we go!

Today, we’ll center on the mantle!

This was our winter mantle. I scaled it way back from Christmas, which I have enjoyed: a little sparse and woodsy. The lit candles in the evening added warmth and comfort. The fairy lights in the branches and bowl were perfect.

This was phase one of the spring mantle.

I liked it, but something seemed off. I was unsure about the dome. You can’t see it from the glare, but there is a nest with eggs under the dome. So, I slept on it. I do that a lot. I give decor fresh eyes in the morning.

In the morning, I realized, it’s spring… it needs real life. So, this was phase two; a live plant.

Better… we are getting there. Of course, this is all subjective. You do you!

Something was missing to make it more cohesive.

I tried this…

NOPE, too much fuss.

I tried this…

Still a NO, not quite!

Then, I remembered this white nobby bowl… YES!

Then this came to mind…

YES, keep those!

Some fresh flowers could take their place when they pop up in the yard.😉

Next, I tried this new Cricut project I made…

I love it, but it clutters the space instead of enhancing it, to me. If it were bigger, I may have tried a few other arrangements. I found another home for it.

So, this is where we are …

The hearth got changed too: pinecones came out of the bowl and my spheres added. I need to add the fairy lights back.

Then, I tried this on my lantern.

Nope, it just didn’t blend for me.

I put together an arrangement from my stash and ironstone pitcher. I love ironstone, but only have a few small pieces. I was happy with it, but the placement just didn’t seem quite right. So, I nudged the candles in closer to the bowl and voilà, I was happy.

Little things mean a lot with decor. Just a flip of things, or inches matter. Maybe, I’m a bit neurotic about it, but my brain registers these things and it makes all the difference to me. Am I the only one?

If you notice, at some point I moved the moss bunny around on the mantle and was happier. Details, details!

I could drive myself crazy sometimes, but eventually, I get happy and decide this is where we stop! I usually give myself a day or two to make boundaries for myself. It doesn’t stop me from editing later. (Hehe)

Do you decorate for seasons?

Have you got any spring decor up yet?

How about a mantle?

SHOW & TELL: Flood the comments with spring pics at your house: little rays of sunshine for our day!

FINAL LOOK …

Praying for Ukraine,🇺🇦