All the apartments in our building have a non-working fireplace and a mantle. Ours is in a pretty sorry state. Long after it was working someone decided to re-brick it with those cement style bricks from the 70s. And whoever painted last in here wasn't very diligent about clean-up, so the wood is dappled with white and yellow paint splatter.
In any case, it's a mantle. And there is a lot of potential for it to be an interesting and pleasing focal point for the room. But right now it's being waaaaay underutilized as a catch-all for our knick-knacks and unruly candle collection.
Highlights of our mantle include: two crooked photos hung above it (by yours truly), too many Yankee Candles, our wedding silhouettes, leftover wedding centerpieces, two kissing balls, a Venetian mask thatreallykindofcreepsmeoutbutIamagoodwifesoIletitstay, those little ceramic animals that come in the tea boxes, and some bird statuettes.
Yeah. It's a mess.
So I'm giving myself a challenge. Two weeks to clean it up and turn it into something I'm proud to have in our living room.
Will you join me? Even if you don't have a mantle, just pick one little area of your home that you've been neglecting and want to clean up and make special. Let me know in the comments and report back here in two weeks to see how we all did!
