Decorating Your Fireplace Mantle For Every Season

by Joanne Palmisano from Salvage Secrets

As a designer I love to switch things around. One of the easiest ways to do that is my mantle. I am constantly redecorating it for every season and sometimes I get carried away and find myself redesigning it twice a season!  A mantle is so unique and I love how it sets the tone of the room.  Great salvaged finds used on a mantle can transform the room magically to fit any occasion or season.

Spring

Spring

Just in time for spring, an old garden box filled with a vase of flowers and assorted pine cones and twig balls becomes the focal point of the room. A distressed metal star adds character and height along with the salvaged vintage iron gate.

Summer

Summer

The summer season adds a pop of color with this bold picture constructed out of vintage architectural trim propped against the wall. The pottery is made by a local potter, and the elephant was made by my husband when he was twelve years old.

Fall

Fall

This picture is from my book, Salvage Secrets.  The mantel is styled with an iron gate and vintage candle holders. The homeowner designed the mantel with a thousand year old piece of wood from Asia, flanked the fireplace with salvaged doors and used a salvaged granite steps as the hearth. This amazing room isa great example of the variety of salvage materials used in one statement fireplace.

Winter

My mantle shown here for the holidays displays a home-made star created with recycled driftwood for DIY Network holiday decorating ideas.  Click for step-by-step instructions on how to make the star.

Winter - Click here for Joanne's story on the DIY network

Follow Joanne on her blog

where you will find many more DIY projects, How-to information and Salvage Secrets!

Salvage Secrets Blog

Follow Joanne on Twitter

Four Easy Steps to “Lettered” DIY Storage

by Joanne Palmisano, Salvage Secrets blog.com
Author of Salvage Secrets 
.
Is it just me or is everyone having a hard time finding things lately? I’ve misplaced my keys, wallet and phone, all in the same week.  Thankfully I found all of them, but my daughter’s basketball shorts and my favorite jeans…MIA for a while.  I think it’s time for me to take storage seriously, and not just any storage – but something that literally “spells it” out for me. I’ve seen some great examples of lettered dressers, end tables, desks, so I thought I’d give it a go with some salvaged finds.

As with everything I do, I try and find things recycled.  Second hand bureaus, dressers, end tables, can be found at recycle centers, second hand shops, garage sales, or online at places like Craigslist or other neighborhood online services, like front porch forum. (You don’t want to travel too far for a $20 dresser-kinda defeats the purpose of recycling.)

I ran down to my favorite local recycle shop (the ReStore Center), which carries most household goods including furniture, and picked up a three drawer nightstand to get me started.  My goal is to have everything in its place in four easy steps. One small step for mankind…or at least the storage challenged kind.

Step One - Sand

.

.

Step 1.

Easy.  Just sand the whole thing. Make sure all the finish is off before you paint. If it is already painted then only a light sanding is necessary to have a new paint color adhere to it.

.

.

.

.

Step 2.

Step 2 - Panit your favorite color

Paint your favorite color. Two coats. You can paint with a spray paint, and do two even coats, no sanding necessary. Or use a small roller brush and a little sanding in between coats. Both are gorgeous. I try to stick to low-VOC paints and a roller — more environmentally friendly than sprays.  This could look great in a glossy lacquer look, use a glossy paint or a semi-gloss. For more of a cottage look, I’d go with a flat or eggshell.  If you are going to put a plant or other watery products on top (like a glass of water), then you can add a vintage tray or seal the top with a shellac (couple of coats).  I just painted mine.

Step 3: Use stencils to 'write' your words on the drawers

.

.

Step 3.

Add your words! I bought my letter stencils at Creative Habitat.  You can pick them up at any craft store, including more feminine letters, such as Martha Stewart Craft Letters at Michael’s Craft Store  or Office Max.

.

Step 4: Find vintage hardware for the knobs

Step 4.

Add some vintage hardware — old drawer pulls or even glass door knobs! These can be found at your local Architectural Salvage Warehouse, or rebuild center, or online on an Etsy.

Voila! Instant Lettered Storage. You can make this feminine with pinks and creams or modern with black and white. This project would be great for an entire closet system, an office wall organizer or even the mudroom for all the hats and mittens!

Here are some other great examples of letter dressers to inspire you!

Have fun and remember….recycle, repurpose and reclaim… and always, share your Salvage Secrets  Ciao, Joanne

 .

.

For more ideas from Joanne, stay tuned to her posts here every month and take a look at her book, a great source of how-to’s and inspiration!

Don’t forget to hop over to her website, Salvage Secrets Blog.com  for more ideas!