DIY Restyling the Mantel Post-Holiday

Hello, and welcome to Quince Cottage!
First of all, we'd like to wish you a 2016 full of love, peace, and inspiration!

© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

As we see it, there are two ways to view the post-holiday winter season. 
1. Now that all the excitement is over, winter is dull and colorless (depending on where you live of course).
2. Now that all the excitement is over, winter is a peaceful time for reflection and simplification.
Let's go with 2, shall we?
Now, as you may already know, Rhiann's favorite part of the home to style is the mantel, so it makes sense that's where she headed first, once the holidays were over.
If you weren't around for Christmas, here's what the mantel looked like then.

© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

Now, with the goals of simplifying and honoring the bare, frosty, beauty of winter, she started with one of our Chinese porcelain vases, which is icy blue, gray, and white. An IG potter friend let us know this is a crystalline glaze and actual crystals form during an extra slow cooling cycle or a long hold time.

© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

Rhiann filled the vase with branches, some of which already had little faux ice crystals stuck to them. The others were the branches we painted to look like birch and stuck in our Christmas tree. The real branches have glass icicles wired to them.

© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

She strung a garland of crystal prisms across the mantel. Finally she worked on the right side, using her favorite empty Victorian frame and a small watercolor we bought long ago in New England. It's a snow scene at sunset and reminds us of the years we lived in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. We miss the beauty of snow, but not the shoveling, or the bad driving! Finally she tucked in a sprig of faux juniper and added a real jumbo pine cone. We bought a bunch of these pine cones in an antique store and they had a good time laughing at us for buying things they picked up in their yards. They were only fifty cents a piece and unfortunately we don't have sturdy, supersized pine cones anywhere near us, so...

© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

That shot above gives you a nice clear look at the great job Ron did creating an old, distressed finish on our brand new mantel. If you're curious, click here for the DIY.
Now here's a photo of the whole thing.

© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

We'll be sharing other areas of the house that have transitioned from holiday to winter season in an upcoming post. Tell us what part of your home you like restyling seasonally in Comments. We'd love to hear from you!
And of course, it wouldn't be a Quince Cottage post without a cute doggy pic. This was how Daisy and Buster spent most of New Year's Eve. Party animals...

© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

We'll leave you with a beautiful North Carolina sunset to start the year off right. The beauty of Nature is just one of the many things we hope you'll enjoy in 2016.

© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

Quince Cottage Style mixes old and new, rustic and opulent.

Our goal is to make our new subdivision house look inviting, beautiful, 

and as though it wasn't born yesterday!