spring mantel...

Our family room is finally starting to take shape... Here's the before-before pic - before we even moved in. Notice the dark-wood built ins, grass wallpaper and popcorn ceiling. We changed all that - and added recessed lighting.

The shutters started out like this. I think I paid $3 (which is actually kind of lot considering the shape they were in, but they came from Habitat ReStore, so it was for a good cause). I removed the louvres and ran a bead of glue alongside the slats to help them stay in place.

I painted them with my freebie paint from Valspar {love}...

They turned out just a little too "seafoam green" (remember the 90's?) for me, so I toned it down with some of these. Just a little glaze...

And then distressed them really well. I love distressing - you kind of can't go wrong. The candle holders are from Goodwill - maybe 2 or 3 bucks for the pair. Painted them with oil rubbed bronze spray paint. The sea glass and "floating" candles are from Dollar Tree. Oh, and the mirror - purchased from Craigslist for $20 and painted white. Green mercury glass birds from the after-Christmas sale at World Market - I think I paid $3 each. So...what Spring sprucing-up are you doing? Leave me a comment - and link to your site, if you like! HAPPY SPRING! Linking up here...

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