Boho Summer Mantel in Blues & Greens
Betcha thought I forgot the color blue existed, huh? Our old house in Maryland, the little cape in the hill, was filled with various shades of blue from wall to wall – my favorite being the kitchen. It just worked well in that home and felt right. When we moved into our current rancher in Greensboro, NC, in 2019, blue never felt right. I wonder if perhaps it’s because this house faces the west and doesn’t get much sunlight that the warmer earth tones just seem to fit. Whatever the reason, I listened to the house and don’t have much blue here. However, I did hold on to several pieces I just couldn’t part with (they spark joy, OK, Marie?!) and decided to pull them out to create a summery boho mantel. Today, I am joining several other bloggers in sharing our summer-style mantels and you can find all of their links at the bottom of this post. A huge thanks to Krista for hosting! (At the bottom of this post, you will find a shoppable gallery where I’ve curated items that are similar to what I’ve featured here.)
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I started the mantel styling process with this gorgeous painting my friend Dionne of The Turquoise Iris created. I love its summery vibe – it reminds me of a dream vacation home! One I plan to purchase one day. And I really love the texture with which she paints. Her paintings have so much life to them!
On its own, the painting was a little too small for our large mantel, so I paired it with this photograph taken by my brother years ago in California, when he lived there. Again, the colors and subject remind me of the season upon us. But I suppose it truly could be any season in Cali. 😉
Together, they created the palette for this entire mantel: blues, greens, natural colors – and that little pop of goldenrod yellow, which is a color that will always remind me of summers in Maine and going to Goldenrod Taffy to watch the taffy spin in the windows. And, of course, to stuff my face with peanut butter taffy. I always selected fun flavors but then all I truly wanted was peanut butter. The pb would be long gone and I’d be stuck with coconut taffy wondering who the eff picked that. Although I am pretty sure my five year old brain didn’t actually think, “who the eff?”
This mantel is rather wide, and while that may sounds great – so much room to play with – it can also be a little overwhelming. What on earth do I do with all this space? Perhaps a life-size Cassie-on-the-shelf? Nah, I’ll save that for Christmas. (The bison art that was here perviously is huge so it does a great job of occupying space.) I wanted to add a little more blue and green as well as some natural touches to create balance and harmony.
On the left side, I added a couple of green glass candlesticks I purchased on clearance from Anthropologie in maybe 2009? Seriously, that’s how long I’ve had them but I just haven’t stopped loving them. Did you just hear that? It was the loud crackle of joy sparking. I also added a sweet little plant from The Tiny Plant Market that I potted in a vintage planter I thrifted.
On the opposite side of the mantel, I wanted to use glass to balance the sheen and texture of the left. I brought in a few large recycled glass vases I got years ago from West Elm. (They no longer have them, but I’ve sourced some similar for you below.) I wanted to fill them with beautifully wispy chamomile flowers, but Trader Joe’s didn’t come through this time. Instead I opted for baby’s breath, which is still light and airy. Also, I spilled a little water on the mantel.
The crowning touch, of course, is the vintage fringe trim. In our old house, I used this trim I found at a yard sale so many times against our black fireplace. This is the first time I’m using it here! I added some teacup hooks on the underside of the mantel and just looped it onto those. This fringe is what gives it that boho vibe.
As you can see, I hung it in an asymmetrical manner because I just prefer that look. While I love balance, I don’t love symmetry. I never have, really! I always like things to be a little off, like me. 😉
I’ll be sharing the rest of this space in a couple of weeks. I’ve made one major change that’s purely functional and I am excited to tell you about it, even if it isn’t the prettiest. We’re all about making our house work for us, and this was a move that needed to happen functionally. For now, here’s a little peek at the color block walls with the fireplace.
I still owe you guys a tutorial on how I painted these walls – geesh! Better late than never, I suppose. Maybe that will be my summer goal. Or one of them. The other is to get a summer body before summer is actually over. 😉 Of course, my summer body is built on trips to the ice cream shoppe and local breweries, so . . . not likely.
Here’s one last look at my summer mantel. I would love to hear your thoughts on it since it’s a little different than anything else I’ve done in this house. Are you feeling it? Or, are you, like me, feeling ready to take it down? Ha! 
I hope you enjoyed this post. In the next two weeks I’ll be sharing more of our spaces as decorated for summer. If you feel inspired, I’ve gathered similar items below
This week I’m joining some of my talented blogging friends for the Summer Seasonal Simplicity Series! Today we are all sharing our summer mantel decor ideas with you. Be sure to check them all out by visiting the links under the images below.
The Happy Housie // A Pretty Life // Modern Glam // Cassie Bustamante
Rambling Renovators // In My Own Style // Finding Silver Pennies // Dans le Lakehouse
Craftberry Bush // Maison de Pax // She Gave it a Go // Hallstrom Home
Deeply Southern Home // My Sweet Savannah // Willow Street Interiors
