Pages

Monday, December 7, 2009

Santa Christmas Mantel



I finally finished my Christmas mantel and tabletop tree in my den/library/tv room. It came together fairly easy, considering I have the worst cold I have gotten in years. I would have had a tablesetting but since I am sick, I really did not feel like eating anything (quite unusual for me), I will be showing some of my tables later though. Most everything (greens) on the mantel came from Michaels Arts and Crafts store. They are having a 50% off sale right now on very realistic looking greens.



I want to paint this room red, the grey/white walls are just not the comforting color I am looking for, but I am having a hard time finding the right red, I want something more blue-red-rich rather than an orangey red, if anyone has any paint suggestions please let me know.



I love using plaids in my faux english/scottish decor, I think upholstered walls would be great in this room, but way too much work for me to do alone so I shall have to settle for paint instead.

Just a little detail about the mantel. I do like an abundance of greens. The key to acheiving a full and realistic look is to try to vary the kinds of greens you use. The base pine greens in this case were very realistic. All it took was 2 strings/ropes of this pine greenery (1 "string" for the left side of the mantel and 1 "string" for the right side, 8 large picks of hanging/drapey greens, and 1 piece of a drapey lacy cypress type of green. A mixed rope of white hydrangeas and roses (from Walmart a few seasons ago), pine cones (free), faux feathers from Michaels. I held them together with some pipe cleaners, everything was just placed on top of the mantel and simply stuck in the greenry picks, no need for Styrofoam, some glass icicles (from various stores, but I know that Target and Kmart has them) and that was it!


Oh, yes, I am a mad collector of Santas, so I added in this particular one, keeping in with my more woodsy relaxed feel. Closer to Christmas I will go out into my garden and place some Nadina berries into the arrangement for a bit more realism.

9 comments:

BrushedByAnAngel said...

I am glad to see you posting again. I have always loved the look in your home - during the holidays or not. The greenery is beautiful.

food with style said...

gorgeous, i love this look...

Anonymous said...

Turned out really pretty, love your large Santa picture. I have that same rose and hydranga garland from Walmart. They only had two, wish I could have gotten more. So nice to have you back posting and sharing your decorating ideas with us. Kay aka Luvs

niartist said...

THIS IS GORGEOUS!!!! I love the tablecloth for your tabletop tree, and also your gorgeous mantlescape --- it's all so perfect! Thank you so much for the inspiration!!

Barb @ The Everyday Home said...

Hi Judith - its Barb Garrett (The Everyday Decorator). I found you on Garden Web and was so happy to see you have a blog. I always wondered what happened to you, cause I am a huge fan of your floral worl and your style. I look forward to seeing more of your beautiful work.

Dining Delight said...

Hi Judith,

It is wonderful to see you posting on Holidays and starting up your blog again! (I am finding it hard to do both -no time- so have been lurking a lot lately.) Your mantel is breathtaking. I love the fullness and detail in the swag and the way you have the Santa and candle hurricanes on top. Beautiful, especially when clicking on pics to view them large. Just makes me want to curl up in that room with a good book!

DD

Dream Mom said...

Beautiful mantel. Love the Santas. As always, love the tutorials.

As for paint color, I have two suggestions: 1)You could have the paint color colored matched to your rug. 2) House Beautiful has a section every month where designers pick their favorite paint colors. You might try their website and see what blue-reds they would recommend and check out the paint colors from there.

Mary Ruth said...

Hi Judith!
I KNEW your photos would come out spectacular! LOVE the look and I knew that room was special!
Enjoy your holidays in your perfectly beautiful surroundings!

Janean said...

i cannot believe the hanging greenery is not real. awesome. your mantel is the BEST i've ever seen. my FAB FAV by far!!! just can't say enough good things. wow!