You guys are so freaking awesome!! Thank you for all the kind comments yesterday regarding Babygirl’s window! It really was a gratifying project, and for once turned out better than I’d hoped. Hopefully I’ve hit another home run with this latest change in the Living Room.
I know I swore I’d finish Babygirl’s Room before moving on to other rooms, but this mirror practically fell in my lap! And since it’s a huge focal point, I was itching to get it settled. While I loved the mirror, I wasn’t loving it in the room.
It seemed too imposing, and kind of floating around on the pale wall while dwarfing the fireplace. Then some of you genius-readers suggested painting the mantel dark, and my wheels started spinning! (This is where having a decent supply of paint on-hand will get you in to trouble!) After a quick coat of Zinsser 123 Primer (love this stuff, covers almost anything without sanding, and dries in 30 minutes!), and two coats of paint left over from the front door project, my mantel was making a statement!
And it was saying, ‘Woohoo Big Boy, over here!’ The mantel went from boring-builder-non-descript, to custom-looking, in a single hour. Or so I’m saying now…I can always paint it again when if I change my mind.
But I think it definitely gives the mirror something to hang on to, while uniting them both.
I used a satin finish (because it’s what I had on-hand for this spur-of-the-moment project), but I may give it a coat of high-gloss poly once the room comes together.
Patience is not my virtue, and I was itching to style the mantel right away. Fortunately, we left for our Spring Break Road Trip the next day, so the mantel was able to cure for several days before I started dinking around with it. But it’s not naked like this for long…
I think I finally have it staged to my liking and plan on showing you tomorrow. But for only giving you a half-post today…I’ll end with a picture so many of you seemed to enjoy the first time around!
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| My stud, finding the stud! |
What do you think? Does the black mantel give the mirror the base it was missing?
Update: See the fully styled mantel here!
