Mantle Challenge: Results!

I can't believe it's already been two weeks since I posted the mantle challenge. I'm happy to say that I was actually able to clean things up and start something that won't be such an eyesore to look at! I wish that my photos were a little better...our living room, despite having five windows, gets terrible light and pictures always come out a little sad (why I don't take my product photos anymore in here!).

So anyway, here is what was there before:



And after....





So I have always wanted one of those beautiful ornate, gilded mirrors that they have at antique shops, but they are soooo expensive usually. Yeah you can get one at Homegoods, but I really hate pretend antiques, don't ask me why. We went to the Goodwill store and they had a mirror in a nice wood frame....for $9.99! The only problem was the wood was painted a hideous black. Like, an old shredded tire black. But $9.99! So we took it home and I painted it with about a dozen coats of gold acrylic paint. And voila! It looks like the gilded mirrors I always pine over. This project also gave me the excuse to use Scotch Blue Painter's Tape, which is like my favorite invention ever. It's so fun!

We also got a bunch of junk frames in gold colors and I placed them around the mirror. Obviously there are some bare patches and more frames are required. Don't worry though, I'm on it. More to come soon!
Aside from that I just got rid of a lot of the junk that was cluttering up the mantle (by cluttering up other places with it). More projects!

Did you transform a space in your home? Do any cleaning or otherwise make an improvement that's been bugging you for a while? Let me know!