Decorating tips and a summer mantel and armoire

Before I started blogging, 

the decor on our mantel stayed the same

for years, except at holidays when our daughters

were young and, of course, at Christmas.

But, thanks to you, that has changed :).
Now it gets redecorated for each season.

This week I did a little cleaning (needed)

and redecorated our mantel and armoire for summer.

Both are in our family room, 

so I kept a similar theme for both . . .

white, silver, birds and flowers.

Of course, I used the snowballs 
from our snowball bush. 
[Some of you have asked about the 
snowball bush in my last post;

the Latin name is Viburnum opulus.]

Here's the top of the armoire.

I started with a vintage table runner 
placed on the diagonal,
on one corner and a tall vase for height.
I looked around the house and shop to find
more whites that would coordinate with the theme.

Added some alabaster birds,
a white covered dish, 
 a vintage book stack
(went with red, white and blue for the 4th of July),
Decorating Tip: Use books to add height to an item.

a vintage button covered ball, 
which was part of a giveaway
I won from Arbor House Lane,
just because I like it, it's white
and seems to look good with all seasons,

a Scrabble wood letter holder painted black

with Scrabble tiles to spell 
'fleurs' ~ flowers in French,

and a piece of silver to tie in with the mantel
(it's a sugar bowl, but I like its trophy shape).

On the other side I put a wood birdhouse 
 I've had for years that has been
out of the decorating cycle for awhile,
a set of alabaster birds and
one of my shredded paper bird nests,
a small urn I filled with moss and an egg,

a little bird seed lavender sachet I made from canvas

(which will be available in my etsy shop)

I like the way it turned out.

Some Decorating Tips that I use:

 ~ Use odd numbers in vignettes,

~ Keep items in a similar theme or color, and
~ Divide large areas into smaller vignettes.

[On the armoire, you can see a different vignette
on each side using groups of 3 ~ 
on the left, the bird, vase and button ball;
on the right, the 2 birds and the urn;
and the 3 books in the center.
Almost everything is white with similar items: 
birds, bird house, nest and an egg in the small urn.]

Here's the mantel

A picture in the center with vignettes on each side.

3 piece vignette ~ teapot vase, bird with nest, and silver basket

filled with fleur-de-lis dominoes to add a French touch,
and black to match the picture frame.

I felt like it needed a little something more,

so it may be a little random, but I put a picture

of The Captain's grandmother and brother behind the basket.
I like the sentimental touch.

In the center I added a large 
black toile picture we purchased

at an estate sale last year. Love it.

It is very old with a black gesso frame.

For the vignette on the other side, I added

a plate (I like decorating with plates and it has a flower design)

a hydrangea covered ball and a bird.

A vintage book stack under the teapot 
(used red, white, and blue again).

Hope some of these tips are helpful 

with some of your displays.

Just some things I've learned along the way 

that work for me and give me the look I want.

Have a great weekend!

Thanks so much for all of your comments.

I am working on visiting your blogs.

~ Julie 

Click here if you want to sign up for my 
Vintage Rose Giveaway
ends June 27

Linking today with:

http://romantichome.blogspot.com/2011/06/show-and-tell-friday_16.html
http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/2011/06/feathered-nest-friday.html 
http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/2011/06/home-sweet-home-19.html 
http://www.atthepicketfence.com/2011/06/inspiration-friday-no-20.html