Fireplace Accessorizing - Using what you have

12/29/09 - edited to add this link to The Lettered Cottage - Favorites of 2009 Thrifty Tips

We all love before and after photos and the idea of transforming spaces, don't we? I know I do! Many times I can look at a space and say "we could buy this, or buy that" and it would be perfect! Piece of cake. But what if you can't? Really. What if you can't spend a dime, not even a penny? You really want a transformation but have absolutely zip in the budget for decorating. Sometimes that's the case when someone asks for my help. I won't say it's always simple to do, but the challenge makes it fun and invigorating.

Some of you have seen the fireplace mantel below, but many of you haven't so I wanted to use it as an example for today's post.
When I arrived at this home, I knew that she wanted me to help her accessorize her fireplace, but I had no idea what items she might have to work with. She let me know that she really liked the "layered look" and did not want anything perfectly symmetrical. As you can see in the above "before" photo, there wasn't a lot to work with on the mantel itself so we went shopping in her house. This is the result:


Just a few points I want to make about this.

1. Make it A priority - We made the fireplace a priority, even though we had to take from other areas to complete it. Making it the priority made sense, in this case, because this was the room where they spend most of their time.

Many of us have a variety of accessories scattered throughout the house with no one area actually completed. Completely accessorizing one area gives you a great sense of accomplishment and motivates you to move on to other areas.

2. Prioritize your accessories - The large wrought iron piece was hanging on a small wall that didn't necessarily need it and the black framed family sign, which is her absolute favorite piece, was hanging by itself in a long hallway where it wasn't really being appreciated. Bringing both of these pieces into the fireplace arrangement gives them the importance they deserve and allows them to be enjoyed every day.

3. Imitate the structure - Remember, this client's accessories show her style and your accessories will show your own style. If your style is more modern, you could still imitate the structure of this arrangement using more modern items. Maybe where there is a wrought iron piece here, you have a modern piece of art and where there is a wreath you have a small round mirror. If you don't like this structure, find a photo of one that you do admire in a magazine or elsewhere and see if you can imitate it.

4. Shop the house! - In this case I already told you where the wrought iron piece and sign were. We found the cream vase empty on an upstairs dresser. The hydrangea was snagged from another arrangement. The little twigs were in a cupboard waiting for inspiration for their use. The candlesticks were in a cupboard because she wasn't sure where to put them. Framed old family photo was on a shelf (we took it apart and just used the little frame beside the wrought iron piece)... You get the idea. Shop the house and expand your mind. Don't look at things for what they are but what they can be.

5. Keep it simple - You may have a lot of things or just a few things, either is fine. Having a well accessorized fireplace isn't about how many things you use, it's more about thoughtful placement of those things.

If your fireplace needs accessorizing, shop your house with an open mind and see what you can come up with!

Hope you're having an awesome day!