The Story of my Mantle { that only I love }

So I want to tell you a little story about one of my favorite things in our home....

My lovely turquoise mantle, which serves the purpose of holding up our TV.

This mantle was a point of many "debates" when it first came to live with us.  

My husband complained about it everyday for the first month or so and mumbled, 

"Why can't we just get a normal entertainment center for the TV like everyone else?"

(I would have thought he knew me better than that by now).  

My mother couldn't understand why it had to be turquoise (or any color for that matter).  She asked, 

"Why didn't you just paint it white to match the baseboards?"  

(my love of art and color did not come from my mother)

My dad and step-dad didn't get the "point of it".  They both said, 

"Why do you have a mantle, but no fireplace?" 

(okay, so my creativity didn't come from a paternal side either)

Here's how I ended up with my little mantle....

When we bought our house I immediately knew I needed to find something to put our TV on or in that would fit in with the rest of the house and decour (which consist of a lot of handmade, painted, salvaged and antique/vintage items)

My Nanny and I spent an entire weekend searching for the right piece the week before my husband, Felicity and I were to move into our new home.

Unfortunately I don't have any "Before" pictures, but when I found the mantle it was a creamy yellow and in sad shape.

Even though it was in need of a makeover I fell in love with it the second I saw it out of the corner of my eye.  

It was funny how it seemed as if it were meant to be.....

After an entire weekend of running around through several towns finding a lot of things that "might work", but nothing that I loved, I was feeling down and frustrated and then at our last stop of the day we walked into a little store and I immediately exclaimed, "That's it!"

Have you ever had an experience like that looking for something for your home?

I painted it turquoise and then sanded it down quite a bit to reveal some of the yellow underneath and then painted the low middle part in a navy blue.  I went back just yesterday and added a little bit of Valspar Glaze in a few select places to create the darkened effect you see below on some of the paint.

I hung leopard print fabric in the open part at the bottom to conceal the wall and cords behind the mantel.

I think all the "debates" and negative comments about my mantle in the beginning made me feel the need to love it and "protect" it even more. 

 I know that sounds crazy since I am talking about an inanimate object here, but seriously, that's how I feel about this piece, I am deeply attached to it now.

I'm constantly changing out what is on the mantle, but here's a closer look at some of the things on it at the moment.

This embroidered scarf covering the top was made by my great-grandmother and is a treasure I adore.

This is a new floral arrangement I just fixed up this week...

So that's the story of my lovely little mantle, which holds a TV that plays pretty much nothing other than "Dora The Explorer".

Have you had any similar experience with a piece of furniture or object in your home others didn't like or understand, but you deeply loved it?

I also wanted to show you a new piece just added to my store..... 

Introducing our new funky peacock feather hair fascinators for kids & adults:

www.InspiredByFelicity.com